There are plenty of educated Iranians within Iran. What's with the structural under-estimation of countries that are not quite like the West? Seriously, Iran has - especially given the sanctions they've been under - consistently outperformed everybody's expectations in terms of capabilities. Assuming they will get their coveted atomic weapon (and there are several paths to that, which I hope they will not be able to complete) we're in for a world of trouble because the only thing that kept Iran contained so far was the thought that maybe if they played ball they would be left to keep on meddling without there being an outright war.
Now that is no longer an option, so their resolve to get that weapon will be ten fold what it was three weeks ago.
You underestimate your foes at your peril, do not underestimate Iran or the Iranian people, they had an advanced culture when the West did not even exist. The fact that they're stuck in religion is the main item that is holding them back from really taking over the region. But there are plenty of countries in the West that have a bit of a religious problem so even on that front you can't point fingers.
You’re misreading my statement. Educated Iranians are plentiful. They’re the ones international people are familiar with. They almost universally hate the IRGC because they see it destroying their country. For every educated Iranian, however, they have tens of their equivalent of Koran thumpers. And those people will support the IRGC’s economic consolidation among their billionaire elite.
> their resolve to get that weapon will be ten fold what it was three weeks ago
They’ll probably get it. I’m almost convinced we’ll see the Middle East or Europe get nuked in our lifetime. Tehran hits Tel Aviv; the latter hits every major city or something.
You won't meet many IRGC supporters outside of Iran, that's the whole reason they are not in Iran in the first place. Just the same with Cubans outside of Cuba. Most Iranians (or people that still identify as Iranians in exile) have fled the regime and/or were connected to the regime of the Shah (and often through their parents, not they themselves).
> I’m almost convinced we’ll see the Middle East or Europe get nuked in our lifetime.
There is a good chance of that, and the last 3 weeks have made it much more likely that that will happen.
> Tehran hits Tel Aviv; the latter hits every major city or something.
That is possible. There are multiple possible nuclear flashpoints, Russia vs one of their neighbors, Pakistan vs India or the other way around, Israel vs Iran or the other way around, the USA because Trump has a bad hairday against pick-your-target.
Of all the parties that have nukes I figure China, France and the UK are the most stable.
And there is no way for anyone to know what Iranians actually think now. No one does the polls there now.