Iran braces for fire festival under shadow of war

He said in an interview with Iran International aired on Monday that a final call for nationwide demonstrations to end the Islamic Republic would come once the authorities’ coercive apparatus had been sufficiently weakened.

“I think all of us, after 47 years of dealing with this criminal government, are counting the days until this system finally disappears,” Pahlavi said in the interview with Morad Vaisi.

“We want to reach the day after its collapse, when the people of Iran can achieve what they truly deserve: complete freedom and an opportunity to rebuild and prosper.”

Many Iranians, Pahlavi added, are hoping that moment will arrive soon but argued that strategy and timing remain critical.

“Conditions must also be taken into account,” Pahlavi said. “As everyone has seen, this government has no hesitation in suppressing people. It is prepared to see hundreds of thousands killed if that means staying in power. Therefore the movement must proceed intelligently. The final call will be issued at the right moment.”

Opposition strategy focuses on weakening security forces

Pahlavi argued that recent developments had already eroded the Islamic Republic’s ability to rely on its security institutions.

The weakening of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and the Basij militia, he said, was central to opposition strategy, describing foreign military pressure and domestic activism as factors that had shifted the balance.

“This campaign delivered a very heavy blow to the structures of repression in the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij,” Pahlavi said.

Beyond external pressure, he talked about what he described as covert organizing inside the country, including activities by a network he called the “Immortal Guard.”

The network, according to Pahlavi, operates inside Iran and carries out coordinated actions intended to undermine the state’s coercive institutions.

“Groups inside the country, members of the Immortal Guard, through organization and coordinated work, have the ability to deliver further blows from within,” Pahlavi said. “Many of the developments we have seen in the country did not occur spontaneously but were the result of organized work.”

He described the network as emerging from within society and said its activities were aimed at protecting civilians while targeting institutions used for repression.

“The Immortal Guard is born from the people themselves,” Pahlavi said. “At this stage it plays a defensive role, helping protect people’s lives and striking institutions that the authorities use to spread fear and violence.”

Appeal to security forces

Pahlavi also used the interview to address members of Iran’s armed forces and police, urging them to distance themselves from the authorities.

“You still have the opportunity to join the people and separate yourselves from the system and its repressive forces,” Pahlavi said. “You can be part of the solution for the future of the country.”

He warned that those who continue to support the government could face accountability if political change occurs.

“Those who choose to remain defenders and guarantors of this system’s survival will have to answer to the people tomorrow,” Pahlavi said.

At the same time, he sought to reassure members of the military establishment that a future political transition would not necessarily exclude them.

“I come from a military family and I myself was a pilot,” Pahlavi said. “I understand the value of those who defend their country. Whether in the army, the police, or the gendarmerie, we need these individuals to maintain the security of the nation.”

Pahlavi said that anyone not involved in violence against civilians should be able to play a role in the future political system.

“As long as someone’s hands are not stained with the blood of the people, there is no reason they cannot serve in the future of the country,” he added.

Plans for transition after collapse

Pahlavi also described planning efforts for a transitional period following the fall of the Islamic Republic, referring to an initiative known as the “Prosperity Project.”

The effort, he said, involves specialists across various fields preparing proposals for how the country could be governed immediately after a political transition.

“The purpose of the Prosperity Project is to ensure that beyond political activists, professionals and experts are also planning for the future,” Pahlavi said.

He cited areas such as the judiciary, economic policy, health care, and education as subjects under discussion.

“For example, legal experts can explain how justice should be implemented during the transition and how officials of the current system should be handled,” he said. “Economists can outline how to rebuild the economy and attract investment.”

Pahlavi said existing state institutions and civil servants would likely continue operating temporarily to prevent administrative breakdown.

“During an emergency transition period, the country will need to be run by the existing institutions and ministries,” Pahlavi said. “These employees must continue their work until we reach the stage where the future political system is determined.”

The long-term political structure, he said, would ultimately be decided by a constituent assembly and national referendum.

Return to Iran

The exiled prince also said he intends to return to Iran as soon as circumstances permit, even if the Islamic Republic still formally holds power.

“I do not know where the first liberated area will be and it may not necessarily be Tehran,” Pahlavi added. “But as soon as conditions allow, I would prefer to be inside Iran among my compatriots.”

He suggested that his presence inside the country could accelerate defections from state institutions.

“My presence in Iran could encourage faster defections among the forces of the Islamic Republic and help them join the people,” Pahlavi said. “I am ready to accept all necessary and calculated risks in order to return to my country.”

National identity and protest movement

Throughout the interview, Pahlavi framed the opposition movement as a national project rooted in Iranian cultural identity.

He argued that the country’s traditions and historical symbols had played an important role in sustaining resistance to the authorities.

“This uprising is a national movement built around our Iranian identity,” Pahlavi said. “From the first days, the Islamic Republic confronted cultural traditions such as Nowruz and Chaharshanbe Suri (fire festival) because Iran itself was not their priority.”

Despite acknowledging the risks involved in confronting the state, Pahlavi said he believes the authorities will ultimately fail to maintain control.

“I have no doubt that this system will eventually disappear and the people will prevail,” Pahlavi said. “The important thing is that we continue our movement according to the calls that are issued and remain committed to rebuilding the country.”

After two weeks of upheaval — including the death of a supreme leader, the appointment of a successor and a war that has touched much of the country — Tehran’s newspapers are increasingly focused on the daily struggle of Iranians trying to make ends meet under fire.

Across the press, economic anxiety is now front and center.

The economic daily Donya-ye Eghtesad warned of a “red alert for the economic situation,” while Jomhouri Eslami struck a more pragmatic tone with the headline: “The need to be honest with the people in an emergency situation,” urging officials to “separate people’s livelihoods from politics.”

Coverage of the Strait of Hormuz also featured prominently on Monday’s front pages. The hardline Kayhan, whose editor is appointed by the Office of the Supreme Leader, vowed that “Iran’s response will make the enemies regret their actions in this war of wills.”

Ettela’at, another newspaper linked to that office, called on the government to “prevent looming famine and scarcity of goods,” taking a markedly different line from Kayhan’s “jihad economy” — a concept long promoted by the late leader Ali Khamenei.

It even suggested rationing essential goods during the Nowruz holidays, which typically last up to two weeks.

Economists quoted in several papers attributed part of the market turmoil to conflicting political signals and the Central Bank’s efforts to stabilize prices in the final days of the year.

Two key articles published Sunday, in Ettela’at and Jomhouri Eslami, captured the broader mood.

Ettela’at argued for “the priority of bread and ethics over political disputes,” criticizing political factions for turning people’s livelihoods into a battleground even during wartime. It urged officials and media to end factional infighting and focus on stabilizing prices to prevent further erosion of social trust.

Jomhouri Eslami, for its part, advised officials to remove advisers who mislead them and distract from the public’s real problems.

Three broad camps emerged in the press over the weekend.

Hardline outlets like Kayhan blamed the crisis on the war and called for resistance. Reformist papers including Etemad and Sharq described a deadlock and urged major change, including national reconciliation.

More centrist titles such as Ettela’at and Jomhouri Eslami framed the moment as a test of governance, calling for transparency, responsiveness and effective market control.

Despite their differences, nearly all newspapers agree on one point: the coming Iranian year, beginning March 20, is likely to be decisive for the country’s economy, its leadership and its social stability.

Prewar intelligence did not say retaliation was certain, but it was “on the list of potential outcomes,” one source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Two additional sources said Trump was also warned Iran might attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global oil transit route.

Trump said twice on Monday that Iran’s retaliatory strikes on Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait had been unexpected.

“They weren’t supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East,” he said at a White House event. “Nobody expected that. We were shocked.”

The remarks came as the Pentagon sought to underscore the scale of the campaign. US Central Command said it had hit more than 7,000 targets across Iran by the end of Monday, including missile sites, naval assets and command facilities.

Israel’s military issued similarly sweeping claims, asserting in a post on its Persian X account that it had inflicted heavy losses on Iranian forces and leadership and caused declining morale — claims that could not be independently verified.

Yet a report by The Washington Post the same day cited US intelligence assessments suggesting the campaign has not destabilized Iran’s political system and that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is consolidating power, with no signs of major defections or internal fractures.

Trump defended the decision to join Israel in launching airstrikes on February 28, arguing the economic fallout was justified. He called the war’s impact on markets “a very small price to pay,” adding: “You want to see the stock market go down? Start letting them hit you with nukes.”

Major stock indexes have fallen since the campaign began, while oil prices surged as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slowed sharply. Markets recovered somewhat Monday as oil prices eased.

Trump also argued the war was necessary to prevent a wider conflict, saying that “had we not done this, you would have had a nuclear war that would have evolved into World War III.”

Seventeen days after the outbreak of war, connectivity in the country has fallen to about one percent of normal levels, leaving most people unable to reach the global internet.

Some users initially managed limited access using specialized VPN configurations, but many say those options have largely stopped working since Sunday.

Asked in a CBS interview why he was able to conduct a Zoom call while ordinary citizens could not access the internet, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he had access because he is “the voice of Iranians” and must defend their rights.

The comment drew criticism from Iranians still able to briefly connect.

“People of Iran are not voiceless themselves, and this man is not their voice,” one user wrote. “Open the internet so you can hear the real voice of the people from inside the country.”

‘No picture, no voice’

Even among the few who can still connect, the internet is barely usable. Users say images and videos on social media often fail to load, and in many cases, core features of platforms have stopped functioning.

“Direct messages practically don’t open, and mentions disappear quickly if I try to answer them,” one user said. “Videos and voice messages are basically inaccessible because they consume too much data.”

Another described the experience in stark terms: “The internet feels more like a dying breath than a means of communication these days,” adding that data-limited connections have become extremely slow and prices have sharply increased.

The internet monitoring group NetBlocks said Monday that disruptions to telecommunications infrastructure were further reducing VPN availability and sending some whitelisted users and services offline, it said.

The restrictions appear to be affecting domestic networks as well. Some users say even Iranian websites are difficult to access, while customers of certain banks have temporarily lost access to their accounts.

Reports of disruptions have also surfaced in mobile banking apps, payment cards and Iranian messaging platforms such as Bale, suggesting that parts of Iran’s internal network are also experiencing instability.

Experts say the cause of the broader disruptions remains unclear.

Starlink crackdown

At the same time, warnings have spread widely online urging owners of Starlink satellite internet devices to turn them off.

According to posts circulating on social media, Iranian security forces may be actively searching for Starlink kits and detaining users, with some claims of arrests in cities including Tehran and Kermanshah.

The warnings say patrol vehicles equipped with signal scanners are being used to detect radio emissions from Starlink equipment and pinpoint their location.

A Starlink user told Iran International he has taken multiple precautions to avoid detection but said the risk remains constant.

“I’m afraid all the time that a neighbor might report it,” he said. “They might accuse Starlink users of espionage and sentence them to heavy punishment as a warning to others.”

He added that the restrictions have forced ordinary users to learn complex technical workarounds simply to stay connected.

Not everyone believes the warnings about Starlink detection are accurate.

Some users say the reports may be part of a psychological campaign to frighten people into turning off their devices, noting that locating satellite terminals at scale would require capabilities authorities may not widely possess.

But amid the uncertainty, many say they are preparing for the possibility that their last remaining connection to the outside world could disappear entirely.

The rights group said the February 28 attack on a girls’ elementary school in Minab killed scores of civilians, including many children, and raised concerns that US forces failed to take adequate precautions to avoid civilian harm.

“This harrowing attack on a school… is a sickening illustration of the catastrophic… price civilians are paying,” a senior Amnesty official said, adding that the strike appeared to be “strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law.”

The attack took place on the first day of the US-Israeli campaign against Iran, when a missile struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in the southern city of Minab. The blast destroyed much of the building and killed scores inside, in what has become the deadliest single civilian incident of the war.

Amnesty called for an independent and transparent investigation into the strike.

Analyses by multiple media organizations, including the The New York Times, have pointed to evidence suggesting the strike was likely carried out by US forces, though a final determination has not been publicly confirmed.

US officials have said they are investigating the incident. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the military was reviewing the strike and insisted that “we… never target civilian targets.”

President Donald Trump has denied that the United States was responsible, suggesting instead that Iran may have been behind the attack.

A report by Reuters cited officials as saying the United States was examining the circumstances of the strike as part of a broader review of civilian harm during the campaign, amid growing international pressure for accountability.

Human rights groups and United Nations officials have warned that the attack underscores the widening civilian toll of the conflict and have called for a prompt, impartial investigation into whether the laws of war were violated.