Seized Iranian container ship likely carrying dual-use items — Reuters

At the peak of the Reform Movement in the late 1990s, when Iranian president Mohammad Khatami promoted political openness and civil society, hardliners labeled him Iran’s Gorbachev.

Hardliners like Hossein Shariatmadari and Hassan Abbasi used the title to demonize him, while opposition groups clung to the hope that he might accelerate the regime's collapse—a feat they themselves had been unable to achieve.

In reality, neither Khatami nor his inner circle accepted such a role. They repeatedly stressed that their reforms were intended to strengthen the system, not dismantle it. The structure of power at the time also made a true "Gorbachev moment" nearly impossible.

Now-slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei controlled the pace of reform, restraining both reformists and hardliners and preventing the political system from tipping into crisis.

Iranian society in the late 1990s was also not prepared for a total rupture with the state. A significant portion of the population still believed reform was possible. The generation shaped by the 1979 revolution remained politically active and hopeful.

Three decades later, the situation appears markedly different. A new generation, deeply disillusioned with the system, appears to settle for nothing less than regime change.

Over the past three years the Islamic Republic has endured repeated foreign military strikes. Ali Khamenei, referred to by many officials as the “system,” has been removed from the scene. Mojtaba, his son, lacks the authority that allowed his father to hold competing factions together during moments of crisis.

It is in this environment that an individual—or individuals—may unintentionally become "Iran’s Gorbachev." One possible candidate is Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf.

During the 40-day memorial of Ali Khamenei, Ghalibaf traveled to Islamabad to meet with the Vice President of the country that helped kill the Supreme Leader.

Signs suggest that the remnants of the regime, in a desperate attempt to remain in power, may be prepared to make concessions that strike at the ideological foundations of the Islamic Republic.

US President Donald Trump’s demands—surrendering enriched uranium, permanently ending enrichment, and disarming Hezbollah—strike at core elements of the Islamic Republic’s identity. Accepting them could alienate the ideological base that has long defended the system.

Even without an official agreement, hints of retreat have already triggered anger among loyalist forces. Aggressive reactions from accounts linked to ultrahardline figures, accusing officials of "sedition" and a "coup," suggest tremors within the regime’s core supporters.

When a Jalili-aligned account writes, “If these are the Leader's orders, release a video of him saying so,” it signals how deeply trust in the central authority has eroded.

Another example of frustration within the regime’s ideological base appeared in a tweet warning: “Alas for the public’s rage and disillusionment when they learn what has been agreed upon and what is yet to come.”

During the final years of the USSR, the policies of Glasnost (Openness) and Perestroika (Restructuring) distanced the Soviet system from its founding ideals. When transparency exposed the privileges of party elites, the ideological base lost faith. Many refused to defend the system when it needed them most. The "Evil Empire" collapsed with startling speed.

If those in power in Tehran abandon uranium enrichment and withdraw support from Hezbollah, there is no guarantee that their ideological base will mobilize in their defense—or shoot protesters as they did in January.

Without Ali Khamenei to frame such a retreat as "Heroic Flexibility," Ghalibaf and his allies, in their struggle to preserve the system, could inadvertently become the Gorbachevs of Iran.

President Donald Trump said clearing debris from Iranian nuclear facilities struck by the United States would be “a long and difficult process,” insisting the sites had been completely destroyed.

“Operation Midnight Hammer was a complete and total obliteration of the Nuclear Dust sites in Iran,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial. “Therefore, digging it out will be a long and difficult process.”

Trump also criticized CNN and other media outlets, accusing them of undermining the military operation.

Reza Dindar, also known as Renda Dindar, faces charges including conspiracy, two counts of exporting goods to an embargoed country, two counts of smuggling goods from the United States, two counts of money laundering and two counts of filing false export records.

The charges in the indictment are allegations, and Dindar is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.

According to prosecutors, Dindar and his co-conspirators fraudulently claimed that the goods they were purchasing in the United States were destined for China, while allegedly planning to ship them onward to Iran in violation of export controls.

The indictment alleges that in 2011 and 2012 Dindar and his associates used deception to purchase parts for three military sonar systems from a business in the Western District of Washington.

Dindar was indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2014. He was arrested in Panama in July 2025 at the request of US authorities and extradited last week.

“The members of this conspiracy thought they could evade export restrictions by shipping goods through a third country—in this case China,” said First Assistant US Attorney Charles Neil Floyd.

Prosecutors say Dindar managed a company called New Port Sourcing Solutions in Xi’an, China between 2010 and 2014. The firm allegedly concealed that it was procuring items in the United States on behalf of Iranian companies.

US Senator Tammy Baldwin said she will force a vote in the Senate aimed at ending the war with Iran.

“Tomorrow, I am forcing a vote to end the war in Iran,” Baldwin wrote on X.

This will be the Democrats fifth attempt at a War Powers vote. The previous four failed to pass.

In Section 20 of Bagh Rezvan cemetery in Rasht, thick layers of cement had been poured over part of the graves of slain protestors, creating a uniform surface higher than the surrounding gravestones.

In some areas of the cemetery, the cemented section was so large that it was unclear how many graves lay side by side, the sources added.

Some graves showed no names or dates of birth or death, only a grey surface that appeared intended to erase all trace of them. Several others had small headstones roughly the size of an A4 sheet of paper, with only the deceased’s first and last names engraved in small script.

Witnesses said the graves were defaced and damaged in the presence of government agents and plainclothed security forces.

Graves levelled in Tehran

At Tehran’s main cemetery, Behesht Zahra, some graves of those killed were levelled with the ground and covered with cement after third-day mourning ceremonies, a memorial traditionally held three days after burial.

Sources said the graves were covered in a way that made it impossible to determine from a distance how many had been newly dug.

In Section 329 of the cemetery, families also said some gravestones were destroyed or broken in the days following Feb. 11, the anniversary of Iran's 1979 revolution.

Only a small number of families of slain protestors have so far managed to install gravestones, sources told Iran International.

Families said they were pressured to alter inscriptions on the stones.

In some cases, the use of the Persian term Javidnam—meaning eternally remembered and widely used for slain protestors—or the phrase Farzand-e Iran (“Child of Iran”) drew objections from state bodies and threats that the stones would be destroyed.

‘Too costly’

Families also reported threats to destroy the gravestones of Mojtaba Karabi and Azra Bahaderi-Nejad in the northeastern city of Sabzevar. They said paint had been sprayed on the gravestone of Arman Gorjian and a metal plaque at the grave of Maryam Ebrahimzadeh had been defaced.

Some families temporarily removed gravestones to prevent further damage and said they would not reinstall them until restrictions were lifted.

Gravestone sellers advised families to install stones only for the 40th-day memorial ceremony and remove them afterwards to avoid destruction, sources said, adding that many could not afford the cost of reinstalling headstones and its psychological impact.

Iran International previously received an image showing the broken gravestone of slain protestor Behnam Darvishi.

Darvishi was killed on Jan. 8 after being struck by live ammunition on Persian Gulf Boulevard in Tehran and was buried in Nahavand in western Iran.

Precedents

Damage to graves of people killed in the 2022 protests has also been reported in previous years, including those of Majidreza Rahnavard, Siavash Mahmoudi, Kian Pirfalak, Zakaria Khial and Aylar Haghi.

The broader protest movement followed the September 2022 death in custody of Mahsa Jina Amini, which triggered nationwide anti-government demonstrations.

In earlier cases, gravestones were broken while inscriptions were altered or removed.

In August 2023, Amnesty International said it had documented the destruction of graves belonging to more than 20 victims across 17 cities.

The group said graves had been damaged with tar, paint and arson, headstones had been broken, and phrases describing victims as martyrs or stating they died for freedom had been forcibly erased.