[thomassmith65]

50 years ago, progressive Iranians, predominantly young and educated, made the mistake of collaborating with violent, theocratic rednecks.

After they overthrew the Shah together, the rednecks took over.

It's difficult to bring nuance into the Iranian situation, because the hicks controlling Iran see the world in black and white: they believe they are infallible, and everyone but them - within and outside Iran - is evil.

As a result, they take actions that are difficult for even open-minded people to defend.

Incidentally, only a few days ago, when I heard the IRGC was using child soldiers again, my hunch was that it was only a rumor https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47548780 I mention that as evidence that I'm not consumed by irrational hatred here.