Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has held a meeting to address growing concerns among security agencies over a possible resurgence of protests, sources familiar with the discussions told Iran International.
The meeting, chaired by Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, was convened following internal assessments and intelligence reports warning of potential unrest in the coming days, the sources said.
According to information presented at the meeting, officials believe mounting economic hardship—driven by rising prices, unemployment, and damage to key industries such as petrochemicals and steel—could become the main trigger for renewed protests.
Security agencies reportedly presented a highly critical picture of Iran’s economy, highlighting widespread job losses linked to the shutdown of industrial units in the oil, petrochemical, and steel sectors, as well as the impact of prolonged internet disruptions.
Estimates shared during the meeting suggested that Iran’s economy may not be able to withstand more than six to eight weeks of a naval blockade. The blockade began on April 13, and around two weeks have now passed.
Another major concern raised was the near-total shutdown of production centers in key sectors, including oil, petrochemicals, and steel. According to the assessments, rebuilding these industries could take years.
Security officials also said internet shutdowns have left around 20% of the workforce dependent on online activity unemployed. They warned that, based on economic forecasts, an additional two million people could lose their jobs in the private sector by the end of spring.
In the financial sector, the closure of markets—including banks, the stock exchange, gold markets, and currency exchanges—has effectively halted economic activity, leaving real prices for goods unclear.
During the meeting, representatives of security bodies expressed particular concern over a possible call for protests by exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi and the likelihood of his supporters taking to the streets.
Renewed protests inevitable
According to sources familiar with the meeting, security agencies concluded that public protests are inevitable, with the only uncertainty being the timing of their outbreak.
Calls for protests around International Workers’ Day have further heightened concerns among officials and were discussed during the council meeting.
Workers, retirees, teachers, and other wage-earning groups have repeatedly staged protests or issued statements over living conditions, delayed payments, job insecurity, and the suppression of independent labor organizations.
Ahead of International Workers’ Day, labor groups inside and outside Iran have again emphasized demands including wage increases, the release of detained labor activists, the repeal of repressive rulings, and the right to form independent unions.
Sources said members of the Supreme National Security Council believe that protests occurring during ongoing talks with the United States or following an extension of the ceasefire could pose a real risk to the survival of the Islamic Republic.
Iran has experienced several waves of protests, strikes, and civil disobedience in recent years, often driven by economic hardship, inflation, and widespread dissatisfaction with living conditions.
Authorities have responded with widespread internet disruptions, communication restrictions, deployment of security forces, and, in some cases, violent crackdowns.
The most brutal crackdown came on January 8 and 9, when at least 36,500 people were killed after millions of protesters held rallies across the country following a call by Pahlavi.
Tehran’s unveiling of a towering statue depicting the Roman Emperor Valerian kneeling before pre-Islamic Persian King Shapur I has renewed criticism of the Islamic Republic’s appeal to nationalist sentiment following the June war with Israel.
For over forty years, the theocracy purged ancient Persian history from schoolbooks, replacing it with post-Islamic narratives. But after the 12-day conflict with Israel, officials have turned to the distant pre-Islamic past to rally a divided society.
From murals of ancient kings and soldiers to patriotic songs added to Shi’ite mourning ceremonies performed before Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Tehran now embraces imagery once deemed heretical by its own revolutionary ethos.
'Kneel before Iran' campaign
Tehran’s Revolution (Enghelab) Square was the scene of an unusual spectacle on Friday as officials unveiled a massive bronze statue depicting Roman Emperor Valerian kneeling in submission before Sassanid King Shapur I, commemorating Iran’s victory at the Battle of Edessa (260 AD).
The event was held under the slogan “Kneel before Iran,” part of what authorities describe as a campaign to project “national unity and historical pride” following the June war with Israel.
Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani, a staunch ultraconservative, said on X: “Enmity with Great Iran can only end in kneeling before this historic nation.”
Municipal official Davood Goodarzi said the installation would be accompanied by visual displays depicting “other victories of Iranians over foreign aggressors,” including the defeat of British forces by local commander Rais-Ali Delvari, Mirza Kuchak Khan’s resistance against Russian troops, and Surena’s triumph over Rome at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BCE.
The goal, Goodarzi said, is “strengthening concepts such as national dignity, social unity, and Iranian identity.”
The statue, he said, would remain temporarily at Revolution Square before being moved to a city gateway “where it will stand as the first emblem of Iran before diplomats and foreign visitors.”
Unveiled women were allowed to attend the unveiling ceremony—an uncommon scene at events organized by Tehran’s ultra-hardline municipality.
The turn to the pre-Islamic past
The sharp reversal also recalls remarks once made by Khamenei. In a 2011 speech, he asserted that “all the great military victories of this nation came after Islam,” dismissing pre-Islamic accounts as “things that are not documented.”
In 1987, he had said that prophets triumphed over kings such as Cyrus and that “nothing remains of these monarchs in history but names remembered with derision.”
Nevertheless, pro-government social media accounts have now gone so far as to circulate posters equating Khamenei himself with Shapur, showing him standing with a staff as Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump kneel before him. The caption reads: “You will kneel before Iran.”
'Hypocrisy'
Pro-government figures have hailed the move as a patriotic success. Conservative political reporter Hossein Saremi posted: “Today’s grand Iranian gathering showed that people and the state share one essence: Iran itself. Nothing can take our homeland away.”
Others, however, called the spectacle “hypocrisy.” Journalist Gholamhossein Pashaei wrote on X: “Every year you close Pasargadae to stop people from celebrating Cyrus Day, yet you unveil Shapur’s statue in Enghelab Square with drums and fireworks during Fatimiyya (mourning period)!”
Dissident commentator Hamid Asafi called the ceremony “a perfect snapshot of the Islamic Republic’s contradictions.”
On Telegram he wrote: “A week ago they closed Cyrus’s tomb out of fear of the crowds, and now they glorify Shapur in the same breath. The Islamic Republic fears living history but poses for selfies with its corpse.”
He added: “They know people no longer respond to rosaries and sermons. That’s why they’ve brought history back to the stage—in a controlled costume. If they can’t erase the past, they’ll try to own it.”
The irony deepened as UNESCO formally recognized Cyrus’s Charter as one of the earliest human-rights documents.
President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on X: “Iran, the cradle of dialogue, justice, and coexistence, can still inspire peace today.”
Users swiftly replied, questioning how such pride could coexist with a government that blocks access to Cyrus’s tomb each year to those wishing to visit it on his birthday.