Iran's mix of violent theocracy and sociopathic madness...ain't working and yet is the CORE of how their power elite operates.

They can TRY to shut off any and every alternative idea...and bits of truth or logic, but it's too late and too little. Their advantage is that a decent % of the public ARE ignorant herd animals.
We have that factor here too. Where it comes apart is that you can't do well basing the plan on the neanderthals in the population.