Iran Insights

The Islamic Republic may have suffered a punishing blow in the recent 12-day war but has not backed down and may resort to assassinations, former White House official Michael Doran told Eye for Iran.

An explosion at a residential tower in western Tehran this week lit up Iranian social media with jokes faster than it triggered panic, with the official gas leak explanation convincing few, if any.

A senior Tehran official has alleged Israel deployed the occult and supernatural spirits in its war with Iran, prompting widespread mockery and a renewed debate over the role of jinn in Iranian political discourse.

Since Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s return to public view after a few weeks of silence, speculation has been swirling on Persian social media that he and his inner circle may punish those seen as prematurely positioning themselves for his succession.

Masoud Pezeshkian’s attempt to reach American audiences via Tucker Carlson sparked fierce backlash from Iranian hardliners, who accused him of flattering Donald Trump and downplaying religious fatwas calling for the US president’s execution.

Tehran’s patriotic messaging in the wake of the war with Israel reached new heights when Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, in his first public appearance since the ceasefire, requested that a patriotic song be sung at the year’s flagship religious ceremony.

A religious decree or fatwa issued by two senior Iranian clerics calling for the killing of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly gained support from about 10 other clerics and attracted alleged fundraising online.

A nationwide internet outage likely imposed by the Tehran beginning just after midnight on July 6 has deepened concerns among a weary public over the already parlous state of the economy and access to information.

With the fighting paused, many in Tehran are taking stock of what the Iran-Israel conflict revealed, and Russia’s muted response is coming under growing scrutiny, especially in light of Moscow’s expanding defense ties with countries like India.

The war has paused, but the collapse has not. Shaken by defeat in the streets, across the region, and from the skies, the Islamic Republic now stands weakened and exposed. The pillars that once held it up, ideology, reach, and fear, are cracking.

Throughout Israel's 12-day war on Iran, it launched strikes on key state organs tasked with domestic surveillance, protest suppression, detention and propaganda, targeting what it called “repression infrastructure.”

In the aftermath of a 12-day war with Israel, Iranian leaders and media are celebrating an unusual show of nationwide solidarity, but some warn that this calm—marked not by rallies but by silence—may soon give way to a deeper reckoning.

Israel’s twelve days of air attacks on Iran killed hundreds of civilians—among them an eight-year-old gymnast in a red dress whose last joyful dance has become a symbol of the war’s human cost.

Iranians speaking via Iran International's submission line doubted Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s declaration of victory over the United States and Israel in a televised speech on Thursday.

The ceasefire between Iran and Israel brought relief to millions—but also sharpened fractures within the Islamic Republic and among its opponents.

I’ve spent time in Evin, Iran’s most notorious prison, the one Israel bombed on Monday. Half a dozen of my closest friends have been there too. Do we want it flattened, turned into a park? Yes. Are we pleased it was bombed? No.

The question of succession has taken on new urgency in Tehran since Israeli missile strikes began and the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei reportedly moved to a secure location as he was threatened by Israeli leaders and President Trump.

Iran’s political factions are in open conflict after the US strike on the Fordo nuclear site—hardliners are demanding military retaliation, while moderates and reformists warn of catastrophic consequences.