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One of my first political memories is from 1989, when Iran’s supreme leader ordered the death of a British novelist, Salman Rushdie. I was baffled that anyone could think it appropriate to murder the author of a book they found offensive, rather than, say, not reading it. It was a revelation to me about how extremists think and act.
This week, as we struggle to find out how many protesters Iran’s regime has just massacred, it seems more relevant than ever. Rather than tolerate dissent, Iran’s theocrats and securocrats have ordered their heavies to shoot into unarmed crowds, with snipers deliberately aiming at faces and genitals. After 47 years of oppression, Iranians are desperate for a chance to choose their own rulers, but their current rulers are willing to kill to stay in power—and claim divine blessing for their cruelty.
One of our cover leaders this week explores the
prospects for change in Iran,
including the possibility of American intervention and even regime collapse. Our reporting includes analysis of the horror in the streets and morgues, and an interview with Reza Pahlavi, the exiled former crown prince, who aspires to a role in a new political system. Subscribers can watch that conversation on
the latest edition of Insider,
and hear Zanny Minton Beddoes, our editor-in-chief, discuss the news with our Middle East experts.
In Europe and Asia our cover package looks at
the rise of “gunboat capitalism”—the
trend for governments to project hard power to help their national corporate champions, and to use those companies as a tool of statecraft. Since President Donald Trump overthrew the despot Nicolás Maduro, he has made plain that he wants American firms to control Venezuela’s oil, and that he expects American oil firms to do as he says—despite the boss of ExxonMobil telling him that Venezuela is “uninvestable”. Our briefing
crunches the data
to show how political pressure around the world is forcing multinationals to favour their homelands, or other countries friendly with their own. Advocates of gunboat capitalism say it will make their nations richer and safer. We argue that it will achieve neither of these goals. | 
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