Can Iran's hardline theocracy make concessions? Since September, there has been no sign of it doing so. Now, though, is something afoot? The attorney general is floating the idea of scrapping the morality police, the force blamed for the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. Others hint at a repeal of the 1983 law that criminalised defiance of the mandatory headscarf for women. So far, there's been no follow-up. Are the authorities serious? And will it be enough?
The country's biggest protest movement in decades is calling for a three-day general strike. Demonstrators from all walks of life say their demands go far beyond women's rights as they brave bullets across the country. Can Iran's ageing supreme leader outlast this latest challenge with brute force? Can the system bend, or will it break? We compare the current spiral to what the regime has seen off so many times before.
Produced by Charles Wente, Juliette Laurain and Guillaume Gougeon.
