I would just add, in addition to agreeing with Mr. Stork, that there are a lot of signposts along the way that suggest a positive outlook. I say that not just because I'm a human rights lawyer and optimistic, but also because technology is having its impact.
I speak to Iranians quite regularly. You can look at access to the Internet, at satellite television, at radio being broadcast in the Farsi language into the country from outside the country, and you can look at cellphone technology. The fact is that cellphone pictures of a dozen people hung in an intersection get out the same day, within hours. They get sent via a text message to a human rights group and get posted on the Internet. All of these things are making it harder and harder for the Islamic Republic to maintain its grip on information and control over its own population.
The trends are quite worrisome for them, putting aside the fact that the trends are also worrisome for them economically. They may have an incredible capacity to produce oil, but they actually have very little refinery capacity. They have to purchase gasoline from abroad. With the price of oil dropping, the economy is under increasing pressure. There's a lot of pressure from those who are having serious economic challenges for the government to reform and to engage with the international community.
All of those things, in my view, are signposts suggesting a potential brighter day to come. The Islamic Republic and the supreme leader are trying, of course, to create every disincentive in the world for any of those people so inspired to want to see change come to their country to take action to make that change happen.
I think that's the battle that is being fought within Iran, but I think, as we have seen with dictatorships throughout history, it'll be a losing battle. I'm no more capable of looking at a crystal ball than anyone else, so I can't say how long that will take, but there are a lot of things which suggest to me that over time it will be harder and harder for the supreme leader and the Islamic Republic to maintain control.