India, Jan. 5 -- The Islamic Republic of Iran is in a fix. In an unexpected turn of events in the country reeling under raging protests against the economic slump, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General and commander of Quds Force Qassem Soleimani was assassinated by a missile fired by an American drone near Baghdad airport on Friday.

Iran is facing public backlash against a long-standing clerical rule. The writing on the wall is clear: The protest by ordinary people is a stern warning to the political and religious elite as their yearning for change. The Iranian political elite, although inscrutable, may handle the protesters as they have remained generally ruthless towards dissidents, protesters and anti-Government cam...