(TIME) | March 15, 2010
By Trita Parsi
Iran is the 21st century equivalent of 1930s Russia — a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. The Iranians haven’t stumbled upon this mystifying state coincidentally, and the enigma isn’t the result of outsiders’ failure to try to understand them. Rather, the Iranian government has a deliberate [...]

As the world’s eyes and ears have turned elsewhere, the crimes of the Iranian government continues unabated. To this day, the true number of those killed, murdered and/or raped in the post-election crackdowns remains unknown.

While the government itself claims that no more than 30 people have died, the opposition puts the figure above 100. Both figures are likely gross underestimations of the true number.

“This movement isn’t going away anytime soon, but it may not manifest itself as we’ve seen as of late,” said Trita Parsi, president of the Washington-based National Iranian American Council.

But how it will play out is up for debate, with some experts recalling the Islamic revolution that overtook Iran 30 years ago, while others liken the opposition players to the civil rights champions who rocked the United States.