Iran: What Does It Mean?

Contrarienne would prefer to let others read all the competing information and come to a conclusion she can trust.
But Josh Marshall and Andrew Sullivan are saying over and over that they just can't judge yet, the information is too confusing and there isn't enough credible reporting on the ground. When there is, it must be translated and who's to be sure the translations are accurate.
Josh points to Juan Cole for expertise.
But I have my own biases. This via Sullivan fits right in with them:

Iran is no longer a theocracy. To blame this on "The Mullahs," or worse, Iran's "Right-Wing" is to fundamentally misunderstand what is taking place there. This is a secular power grab done under the guise of Islam and revolution. The perpetrators are the enemies of western rapprochement, and the proponents of economic isolation. The Revolutionary Guards benefit from Iran's economic isolation, much like the mafia benefited from prohibition and other criminalized behavior. As any stereotypical movie gangster might say, "why ruin a good thing?"
I believe we are witnessing the disposal of Islamic pretense, and in fact a more honest and apparent Iranian police state. How that affects their place in the region and the world is still to be determined.