Iran International
Tehran is embracing the very nationalism it suppressed for much of its existence in the wake of a punishing 12-day war with Israel and the United States, signaling authorities' keenness to drum up unity among a weary populace.
From murals of Cyrus the Great to patriotic songs at Shia mourning ceremonies, Tehran is now leaning into pre-Islamic imagery it once viewed as anathema.
For a theocracy built on the rejection of monarchy and secular nationalism, the shift is a dramatic reversal, but one analysts say could reflect desperation, not strength.
“The total failure of the Khomeinism and Islamism as a sort of transnational ideology has meant that if there's anything to fall back upon, it’s version of nationalism,” said historian and author Arash Azizi.
“They understand it's a very foolish game to try to rule Iran and not be beholden to this Iranian patriotic idea that is so widely held," he said on this week's episode of Eye for Iran podcast.
Behnam Ben Taleblu of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies called the move political, not ideological. “This is not an organic phenomenon,” he said.
“It’s the state trying to create more political room for itself by co-opting elements of society by simply changing the discourse of security.”
The shift has accelerated in the aftermath of Iran’s 12-day war with Israel, which exposed serious weaknesses in the country’s military and cyber infrastructure.
No street protests occurred during or after the conflict, but nationwide strikes earlier this year pointed to simmering discontent, and Tehran appears eager to forestall any unrest.
Back to the future
Among the most visible signs of the change in tone was Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s invitation to his eulogist to perform a patriotic ballad during a July 5 mourning ceremony usually dominated by religious chants.
Jonathan Harounoff, Israeli diplomat and author of Unveiled - A Book About Protests in Iran in 2022 - said Tehran's move was fueled by desperation.
“The Islamic Republic for the past 46 years has tried to expunge, tried to minimize and tried to supplant (pre-Islamic history) with this new version of history,” he said.
“Now that the regime has its back against the wall... you see a very clear attempt not to lose the people of Iran," Harounoff added. “I think many observers saw right through it. It was an attempt of trying to save face.”
Nationalistic to the core
But Tehran’s nationalist turn is unlikely to succeed, according to Professor Mehrzad Boroujerdi of Missouri University of Science and Technology, who has studied the Islamic Republic's uneasy relationship with Iranian identity since its inception.
“The regime has tried to de-emphasize any type of the iconography and symbols of Iranian nationalism ... the unease with pre-Islamic traditions like Nowruz, Charchand Besuri and others have continued,” he said. “And yet, Iranians' infatuation with those symbols ... continues to this day.”
Boroujerdi argues this tension has existed since the 1979 revolution, when Ayatollah Khomeini tried to replace Iranian identity with pan-Islamic ideology—and largely failed. “Despite the animosity toward the state that average citizens have,” he said, “Iranians... remain nationalistic to the core.”
Even Iran’s own power brokers, Azizi said, have begun to shift their rhetoric. “They make their arguments almost purely on the basis of Iranian national interest,” he said. “Transnationalist Islamist Khomeini theology has been such a total defeat".
At the funeral of two young men recently killed by security forces, mourners spontaneously broke into chants of Ey Iran—a patriotic anthem once sidelined by the Islamic Republic.
“There is no rally-around-the-flag effect,” Taleblu said. “And if you do see a rally, it's short lived and it's not as sticky.”
You can watch the full episode of Eye for Iran on YouTube or listen on any major podcast platform like Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music and Castbox.
