Every Day is Ashura: How Iran Transforms Religious Memory into Geopolitical Action

How the Martyrdom of Husayn Still Guides Iran’s War Doctrine

The Kayhan editorial marking the eve of the 10th of Muharram (July 6 this year), Ashura, lays bare the ideological engine behind Iran’s enduring posture of resistance—and its strategic intransigence even after the devastating costs of the recent Iran-Israel war. In Iran’s religious and political worldview, the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE was not a historical event, but a paradigmatic struggle that replays in every generation. Today, it provides theological justification for Iran’s defiance, militarization, and expansionist policies across the region.

During the annual Ashura commemorations, this worldview is made visceral. Across Iran and in Shiite communities globally, mourners reenact the Battle of Karbala in theatrical processions and ritual performances (ta'ziyeh). At the same time, some participants engage in acts of self-flagellation or even draw blood—symbolically sharing in Imam Husayn’s suffering and affirming their allegiance to his cause. These rituals are not only commemorative; they train the body and psyche for endurance, sacrifice, and martyrdom. They embody the same ethos Iran projects geopolitically.

"...the immortal epic of Ashura that continues to inspire us to wage Jihad and achieve martyrdom in order to defeat the forces of evil"

"Where tears of devotion unite with sacred meaning, and history transforms into divine testimony.. And the theater becomes the holy observance of Ashura", a dramatization of 'The Tragedy of Karbala' in the southern Lebanese town of Tulin."

Despite War Losses, Iran Will Not Abandon Its Nuclear Program

The recent "12 Days War" with Israel, which saw Iranian territory and nuclear facilities, and critical infrastructure directly targeted and unprecedented levels of destruction, has not shifted Tehran’s core objectives. On the contrary, as the Kayhan editorial implies, Iranian leadership interprets such conflict through a martyrdom-based logic: just as Imam Husayn chose death over surrender to injustice, so too must Iran accept sacrifice in pursuit of its divine mission.

Thus, Iran is unlikely to abandon its nuclear program despite the high cost of the war. The clerical regime sees nuclear capability not merely as strategic deterrence, but as a form of empowerment for the ummah against what it calls “Yazidi” tyrants—modern-day oppressors represented by Israel, the United States, and their regional Sunni allies. As in the past, Iran is likely to continue nuclear development in secret, willing to risk renewed confrontation with the West.

Proxies as Modern Karbala Warriors: Hezbollah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad

Iran’s support for its regional network of heavily armed proxies—including Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, Shiite militias in Iraq and Syria, and Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)—is cast as a sacred modern extension of the Karbala struggle. These groups are not merely “strategic depth,” but religiously sanctioned instruments of resistance (muqawama) against the enemies of the Prophet’s family.

The "Martyrdom" of j Mohammad Saeed Izadi: Karbala Reenacted in Gaza

One of the most powerful manifestations of this ideology is found in the official eulogy for Major General Hajj Mohammad Saeed Izzi, also known as "Hajj Ramadan", who served as the commander of the head of the IRGC-Quds Force’s Palestine Department. Izadi was a key architect of Tehran’s coordination with Palestinian factions and was killed in an Israeli strike in Qom during the "Twelve-Day War".

His death was not framed as a tactical loss, but as a sacred reenactment of Karbala:

"Today everyone realizes that Gaza is the Karbala of our era...And in the Karbala of our time, there was a great leader, a standard-bearer,Who offered his pure blood to extinguish the fire of the burning tentsAnd quench the thirst of children whose cries still echo in the heavens.Peace be upon you, O leader... O standard-bearer.

The martyr Major General Hajj Mohammad Saeed Iazdi'

Hajj Ramadan

This eulogy casts Izzi as a modern-day Abbas ibn Ali, the standard-bearer of Husayn’s caravan. Gaza becomes not only a battlefield, but a site of sacred sacrifice—its bloodshed transfigured into divine history. Izadi’s role as commander of the IRGC’s Palestine Corps is thus mythologized, elevating his military actions into a cosmic struggle between justice and tyranny.

Gaza is the Karbala

The Kayhan article explicitly identifies “Zionists,” “Yankees,” and “Takfiris” (i.e., Wahhabi-inspired Sunni extremists) as the spiritual heirs of the Umayyads who killed Husayn. In this framework, Hamas and PIJ are rehabilitated as allies in the broader Shiite-led jihad against the modern equivalents of Yazid. Their armed struggle against Israel is not just political—it is spiritual, framed as part of the same cosmic battle Husayn fought at Karbala.

The Sunni World: A Divided Enemy in Shiite Eyes

While Tehran has recently engaged in diplomatic rapprochement with Sunni powers, such as Saudi Arabia, the Kayhan editorial suggests that this is a tactical maneuver, rather than a genuine reconciliation. The Islamic Republic’s ideological core still sees the Sunni Arab monarchies as descendants of those who betrayed and killed Imam Husayn. The rapprochement with Saudi Arabia is for appearances only—a hedge against regional isolation, not an abandonment of sectarian animus.

Iran-Saudi Arabia diplomatic rapprochement: a tactical maneuver

This view is especially pronounced in how Iran continues to treat Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi clergy and its historical ties to Western powers as spiritually corrupt and politically illegitimate. The same Meccan tribal elites who sought to kill the Prophet—and succeeded in killing his grandson, Husayn—are seen as reborn in Riyadh’s palaces and American boardrooms.

Martyrdom as Strategy, Not Just Memory

The Kayhan editorial is not merely an expression of mourning—it serves as an ideological compass, charting Iran’s continued path of martyrdom, resistance, and confrontation through the lens of the Karbala narrative. The Islamic Republic views itself as the inheritor of Husayn’s mantle, surrounded by enemies, yet unwavering. Israel may have landed severe blows during the recent war, but the regime in Tehran is neither chastened nor deterred. On the contrary, its leaders interpret the costs of war as sacred suffering—proof of their righteous path.

As long as Iran’s identity is bound to the Karbala narrative, its policies will continue to be driven by a theology of confrontation, martyrdom, and asymmetrical resistance. Nuclear defiance, proxy warfare, and rejection of Western pressure are not deviations—they are the fulfillment of Iran’s self-image as the vanguard of Islamic justice, in a world still ruled by Yazids in a new disguise.