The uproar in Iran that followed last Friday's elections could bring about change for the first time since the revolution three decades ago, an Iranian who lives in Malta is hoping.
"It is difficult to predict the outcome but I think that for the first time in years there is a good chance that things will change. At least that's what I hope," said Payam Khavari, who has been living in Malta for the past 17 years.
He described the unrest in his homeland as stemming from a conflict between those wanting progress and others who were still attached to the past.
"Those who are clinging to the past and want to retain power are trying to prevent the movement which wants to move forward," he said.
Protests erupted in Iran this week after candidate Mirhossein Mousavi claimed widespread vote-rigging at the election in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has declared a landslide victory.
Iran's top legislative body, the Guardian Council, was preparing to recount specific ballot boxes although it ruled out annulling the election as requested by Mr Mousavi and the thousands of people who took to the streets of Tehran in the past few days.
The Opposition candidate was reported saying yesterday he would seek a new election that would not repeat the "shameful fraud" of last week's vote as he called for more protests.
Several people died during a protest on Monday after being shot at by the police.
Scenes of thousands of people protesting in the streets of Tehran inevitably prompted parallels with the 1979 revolution that saw the Shah unceremoniously dumped out of office. However, most observers have been wary of predictions considering the complexities of the Iranian power structure.
Mr Khavari, who owns a Persian rug shop in Malta, said a good number of Iranians had realised that the country's system was no longer responding to the needs of society.
"Iran is in a period of transition and the people are looking for a different way of running the country," the 47-year-old said.
Iran was trying to grow as a society and as a democracy. "Societies are changing all over the world and Iran is being affected by difficulties associated with growth."
He added that a move forward was inevitable in Iran, where his family still lives.
And although there was a chance that the situation would escalate, he did not think it would end up in civil war.
"There is unrest but in the end one side will prevail. Iranians are not seeking war or terrorism. They are not trying to become kamikaze."
The head of the Muslim Community in Malta, Imam Mohammed El Sadi, said President Ahmadinejad should never have been re-elected. "He lacks diplomacy and wisdom and resorts to provocations. Iran deserves a better President," he said, adding that the President should resign.
"It was unfortunate that he was elected again because he failed to reflect the true values of the Iranian people who want to live in peace with their neighbours."