A specter is haunting Iran once again: the specter of revolution. Exiled monarchists, unrepentant leftists, enraged academics, popular celebrities, and disillusioned reformists are clamoring for the Islamic Republic’s revolutionary overthrow, while a young generation of angry dissidents defiantly protests all over the country.

The specter of the popular revolution that toppled the monarchy forty-three years ago is back with a vengeance, capturing Iran’s collective imagination. Revolutionary fervor is particularly strong in cyberspace and diaspora opposition circles and gatherings, where anything less than calling for total regime change is deemed treasonous.

Particularly in the diaspora, even Iranian reactionaries have become revolutionary, unknowingly going back to the original meaning of “revolution” as the restoration of an overturned status quo. Oddly, those who dream of restoring the “golden age” of monarchy are in a bind since their presumed standard-bearer, the son of the last Shah, has declared no interest in wearing the crown. Their nostalgic message, however, powerfully echoes in Iran via a barrage of satellite television programs mainly funded by the US government and Saudi Arabia.