Iranians always seem to be wishing death to somebody-or-other

It's funny how Iranian demonstrations are reported from time to time, and they always seem to involve frenzied chants of "Death to..." (fill in the blank here). It used to be "Death to Israel" or "Death to America, the Great Satan".
Most recently, they have turned on their own administration for a change, and the chant is "Death to the liars", "Death to the leader" and "Death to the dictator".
Don't get me wrong, this is an almost unprecedented volte face to be sure, for them to be openly questioning the ruling theocracy, and I welcome it. But the form is always the same: death, death, death. Maybe they are just excessively passionate people - they certainly seem that way - or maybe the Persian language lacks subtlety, or  maybe they are just missing a little imagination in their sloganeering.
But, really, can we talk about this? Can we not have at least a little build up? Do we have to go straight to the ultimate death penalty? It all seems a little black-and-white.
And so much for Islam being a religion of peace and compassion...