War Handed Public Space Back to Iran’s Regime
Key takeaways
- Iran has entered a critical moment in its postrevolutionary history.
- Since the beginning of the war, the Islamic Republic has actively mobilized its supporters, including the Basij and networks close to the Guards, into the streets of Tehran and other major cities.
- They are spreading across public squares, main roads, and residential districts in large cities.
Iran has entered a critical moment in its postrevolutionary history. Many analyses since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war have focused on the growing dominance of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). This is correct, but it misses another important transformation, which is happening in Iran’s public spaces.
Since the beginning of the war, the Islamic Republic has actively mobilized its supporters, including the Basij and networks close to the Guards, into the streets of Tehran and other major cities. They gather in groups, even small ones, and move across neighborhoods, chanting Islamic and anti-American slogans, reciting the Quran, and organizing mobile rallies. Using loudspeakers mounted on cars, they often shout, “Heydar, Heydar,” referring to the first Shiite Imam, Imam Ali.
Iran has entered a critical moment in its postrevolutionary history. Many analyses since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war have focused on the growing dominance of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). This is correct, but it misses another important transformation, which is happening in Iran’s public spaces.