The protests were hijacked by Reza Pahlavi and notions of Persian supremacy, then brutally repressed by a violent regime The protests were hijacked by Reza Pahlavi and notions of Persian supremacy, then brutally repressed by a violent regime I n late December, Iran experienced the beginnings of an uprising driven primarily by economic pressures, initially emerging among merchant bazaaris and subsequently spreading across broader segments of society. As events unfolded rapidly, calls for regime