Original sentence: In an article on where the 2009 Iranian election protests might lead, he said the government had lost all legitimacy.In particular, the spontaneous uprising had cost it political legitimacy, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's threats - leading to the violent crackdown - religious legitimacy
Edited sentence: However, he said the government had lost all legitimacy.In particular, the spontaneous uprising had cost it its political legitimacy, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's threats - leading to the violent crackdown - its religious legitimacy.In published articles on the 2009 Iranian election protests, he ascribed the unusually open political climate before the election to the government's great need to prove its legitimacy