One of the reasons why some progressives find the IRI regime appealing or at least redeemable is that it is anti-American. https://twitter.com/vahid_yucesoy/status/1343234173058883584

US foreign policy is very problematic, but these progressives, thanks to the promulgation of Edward Said’s ideas, argue that the IRI regime’s behavior is merely reactive to US exploitation and abuse, for example, 1953 explains away everything bad happened in Iran ever since.

They believe by fixing the US itself, the IRI regime will change its behavior. IRI did not change its behavior after JCPOA, it’s because of the US has not been battered enough and has not given the IRI enough, and Trump made it all the worse.

This is where Quincy and Responsible Statecraft come in: they play judo with the US political current, inveigling the progressives into supporting something that’s way more sinister than they can imagine - they do not live in the IRI plagued places to endure the day to day stress

These progressives are mesmerized by a notion, rather than convinced by reality. They sometimes sincerely, yet naively practiced self-battering only to the benefit of the reactionary IRI regime at the expenses of those who actually live under their oppression and destabilization