Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in a message marking the anniversary of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war that martyrdom is the reward of struggle, whether in that conflict or in more recent battles.
“Martyrdom is the reward of jihad, whether in the eight-year defense, in the heroic 12-day war, or in Lebanon and Gaza and Palestine,” Khamenei said in a message read at Tehran’s Behesht Zahra cemetery, where ceremonies for “Week of Sacred Defense” were held.
He added: “Nations grow with these struggles and shine with these martyrdoms.”
Khamenei said this year’s commemoration “has acquired another dimension with the martyrdom of a number of prominent figures of the resistance path and brave young people in various places.”
He called on Iranians to “believe in God’s promise of the triumph of truth and the downfall of falsehood and remain committed to our duty in supporting God’s religion.”
Earlier this week, Iran announced rare changes to its annual military parades, calling off at least two events over what it called security concerns and the need to prioritize military readiness.
The parades, traditionally held during Defense Week beginning on September 22, came this year in the aftermath of 12-day war with Israel in June that dealt the Islamic Republic one of its biggest ever military blows.
Seventy-one members of parliament signed a letter to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and the heads of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, demanding a “review of the Islamic Republic’s defense doctrine,” according to the daily Hamshahri Online.
In their letter, the lawmakers wrote, “We respectfully request that, since the decisions of that council acquire validity with the endorsement of the Leader of the Revolution, this matter be raised without delay and the expert findings communicated to the parliament.”
The lawmakers argued that while the use of nuclear weapons would contradict a 2010 religious edict by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei prohibiting them, developing and maintaining such weapons “as a deterrent is another matter,” the outlet said.
“In Shia jurisprudence, a change in circumstances and conditions can alter the ruling. Moreover, safeguarding Islam -- which today is bound to the preservation of the Islamic Republic -- is among the paramount obligations. On this basis, the original prohibition can, as a secondary ruling, be transformed into a permissibility.”
The initiative was led by Hassan-Ali Akhlaghi Amiri, a lawmaker from the holy city of Mashhad, Hamshahri reported.
Iran has long insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only and cites Khamenei’s fatwa against nuclear weapons as proof of its intentions. The United States and its European allies accuse Tehran of seeking the capability to produce nuclear arms, a charge Iran denies.
The calls from lawmakers come as Iran faces the prospect of renewed United Nations sanctions under a “snapback” mechanism set to take effect on September 28, after European powers accused Tehran of failing to honor the 2015 nuclear deal.
Iran is not known to have made any decision to pursue nuclear weapons, and the government has not commented on the lawmakers’ letter.
For musician Arash Sobhani—a solo artist in exile in the United States and frontman of the acclaimed Iranian band Kiosk—the answer is complicated but clear: there is no real reform afoot, only a choreographed spectacle.
“Reform happens if we see a woman singer, if you see a female singer on stage, that would have been a reform,” said Sobhani, who left Iran in 2005 after performing underground in Tehran for two years.
A recent Sirvan Khosravi concert on the grounds of the former Shah’s palace in Tehran has become a touchstone for the debate.
Videos flooding social media show women in the audience discarding the compulsory hijab and dancing openly—acts that were harshly punished until recently.
The imagery from a site tied to Iran’s ousted monarchy struck some observers as a sign Tehran may have relaxed old taboos.
Sobhani urged caution. “We want people to be happy. Everybody should be happy all the time,” he told the Eye for Iran podcast. “But let’s not just close our eyes and ignore the elephant in the room. Female singers, your colleagues are not allowed to sing, yet, still, and nothing has changed.”
He argues that venue choice and access matter. Staging concerts in controlled, ticketed spaces—often priced beyond the reach of many—differs fundamentally from allowing free, mass gatherings in iconic public squares.
“They (the Islamic Republic) want (events) in closed spaces, not more than 2,000 to 3,000 people … because they can control that,” he said, contrasting it with a hypothetical crowd of “100,000 people” in a central square.
The push and pull were visible beyond Tehran. In Shiraz, the popular band Bomrani performed to jubilant scenes that some hailed as a cultural opening—only for authorities to ban the group from playing in the city and the wider Fars province days later, accusing it of “norm-breaking behavior.”
The reversal underscored how precarious such moments remain.
Joy is not structural change
Sobhani acknowledges that public joy can itself be opposition—but warns against mistaking it for structural change.
“Joy in the way we live is an opposition, is a form of rebellion, is a form of protest ... but ... as long as these guys are in power, no change is permanent. It’s just going to be temporary, makeshift, just cosmetic ... that’s going to be gone in two days.”
The concerts arrive amid the enduring legacy of Mahsa Jina Amini, whose September 2022 death in morality police custody sparked the Woman, Life, Freedom protest movement.
While the demonstrations were crushed, visible social shifts—like widespread noncompliance with hijab rules at public events—have persisted.
A proposed new hijab and chastity law was put on hold earlier this year amid concerns it could inflame tensions, even as authorities continue arrests and executions.
For Sobhani, the real test isn’t a few exuberant nights but who gets to stand on stage and who gets to attend without fear. Until women can sing freely and artists can speak without reprisal, he says, viral concerts are—at best—nuanced snapshots of resilience, not proof of reform.
You can watch the full episode of Eye for Iran with Arash Sobhani on YouTube, or listen on Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Castbox, or any podcast platform of your choosing.
