Iran's New Year celebration of Nowruz finds it weathering a perfect storm of US sanctions, low oil prices and Covid-19. The resulting humanitarian crisis may make it even more resilient, as Iranians rally around their government.

Iran is facing an existential crisis, brought on by  a combination of economic, political and social emergencies which, when combined, threaten to bring the nation to its knees. The United States has, over the years, sought to destabilize Iran in hopes that it would collapse from within, clearing the way for a new pro-Western government. The current 'maximum pressure' campaign, built around stringent economic sanctions targeting virtually every aspect of the Iranian economy, is designed to not only bring Iran to the negotiating table, but to drive its leadership from power.

The chances of such an outcome today, however, are slim. The Iranian government has proven itself to be quite resilient, and the very policies that the US is pursuing in Iran may turn out to be counterproductive, rallying Iranians around their embattled government.