Neo-Nationalism in Iran: A Strategic Response to Defeat and a Double-Edged Sword
- Mickey Segall
- 2 days ago
- 8 min read
July 15, 2025 12:49
In short,
In the aftermath of the "Twelve-Day War" with Israel, the Islamic Republic of Iran has launched a coordinated ideological campaign aimed at reclaiming stability, legitimacy, and national unity. This effort blends patriotic themes with deep Shiite religious symbolism, forming a hybrid narrative of “neo-nationalism” that seeks to fuse homeland, faith, and martyrdom. The regime’s messaging, seen in official Ashura ceremonies, state media, and public murals, portrays Iran not only as the epicenter of resistance but also as a sacred nation tied to divine history and mission.
This top-down narrative is complemented by a genuine bottom-up resurgence of country-wide Iranian national pride, as expressed in lamentations, protest slogans, and cultural symbols that emphasize Iran’s heritage sometimes over its revolutionary or pan-Islamic commitments. While this convergence has helped the regime temporarily rally mass support and deflect internal dissent, it may, in the short to medium term, also accelerate the emergence of a civic-national identity that is no longer dependent on clerical authority or revolutionary doctrine.
Public disillusionment with the regime’s regional fallen proxy network-Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and the Assad regime-has intensified, especially after their perceived failure to respond effectively during the recent war. The severing of these external “tentacles” has reinforced the popular demand to redirect national resources inward. With a wealth of natural assets, a historically educated society, and deep civilizational roots, many Iranians are increasingly questioning the logic of foreign interventionism that has brought poverty and isolation rather than pride and prosperity.
In the medium to long term, this ideological shift may pose a serious challenge to the regime’s legitimacy. A diaspora-supported civic nationalism, rooted in history and culture rather than religious dogma, could reframe the nation’s identity and mobilize public pressure for political fundamental transformation.
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In the wake of the devastating “Twelve-Day War” with Israel, during which Iranian territory, nuclear facilities, and strategic infrastructure were severely damaged, the Islamic Republic has launched a coordinated ideological campaign that fuses nationalistic symbols with Shiite religious narratives. (*) This fusion, powerfully expressed during the Ashura period, appears to be a deliberate, top-down attempt to reforge public unity and deflect attention from what many quietly admit as a strategic and psychological defeat.
Khamenei’s Symbolic Stagecraft: From Karbala to Homeland
A turning point occurred on Tasua (July 5), when Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared for the first time after the "12 Days War" and unannounced before crowds at his personal Husseiniyya—not only to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Husayn, but also to transform the moment into a declaration of national-religious solidarity.
Departing from purely spiritual themes, Khamenei requested that renowned eulogist Mahmoud Karimi perform a revised version of “Ey Iran”, the nation’s iconic patriotic anthem. In this version, Iran was portrayed as “the land of Karbala” and “the nation of Ashura”, blending love of homeland with theological sacrifice.
This moment was no anomaly. Across Iran, Ashura ceremonies incorporated nationalist poetry and imagery, drawing from pre-revolutionary resistance songs, Persian mythology, and symbols of military strength. From the murals of heroic archers launching missiles toward Israel to chants equating unveiled women with patriotic daughters, the state’s messaging has pivoted: Iran is no longer merely the vanguard of the Islamic Revolution, but the sacred homeland of an ancient people under siege.
An official poster, published on the Leader's official website and widely circulated by state media during Ashura 2025, perfectly captures the essence of Iran’s current ideological maneuver. Titled “Sing, Ey Iran”, it fuses patriotic zeal with religious devotion by invoking the nation’s eternal glory alongside Imam Husayn’s martyrdom. The image of a mass procession under Ashura banners, marching at sunset, reflects not just grief but resolve.
The two official posters released by the Office of Iran’s Supreme Leader during Ashura 2025 visually and ideologically reinforce the regime’s campaign to fuse nationalism with Shiite sacred memory. The first poster, featuring massive Ashura banners moving in a sea of mourners beneath the slogan “Sing, Ey Iran”, emphasizes collective devotion and spiritual sacrifice, framing the nation as the “land of Karbala” and its people as modern-day inheritors of Imam Husayn’s cause.
In contrast, the second poster presents a more civil-religious synthesis: the Iranian revolution national flag rises beside a black flag bearing “Ya Husayn”, set against a serene blue sky. Here, national identity and Shiite martyrdom coexist and are made to harmonize. Through visual and textual symbolism, both posters promote the narrative that Iran’s strength lies not only in material power or revolutionary ideology, but in a timeless unity of Islam, history, and homeland, where spiritual faith and national identity are deeply interwoven.
This is part of a broader top-down effort to redefine legitimacy following recent battlefield losses, while anchoring the regime in a mythic-nationalist framework that may, paradoxically, empower future civic dissent.
1st Poster's Text :
The Iranian nation stands with dignity, and its dignity will endure—growing ever more triumphant and radiant. By God's will, a day will come when Iran reaches the summit of both material success and spiritual greatness.Empowered by the martyrdom of Imam Husayn and the pure-hearted devotion of its youth, this nation will rise to new heights.The determination, sacrifice, and presence of the people - together with divine support-will overcome the schemes of its enemies. -
Ali Khamenei (Ashura, 1446 AH / July 2025 CE)
2nd Poster's Text :
“Sing, Ey Iran”
Courage flows through the veins of this nation; resistance is etched into its soul. In the face of every storm, it stands with passion, faith, and unshakable resolve—for these are not traits learned, but born of its essence. Iran is not merely a country—it is a legacy of greatness, a tapestry woven from glory. With the memory of Ashura in its breath and the name of Husayn in its heart, this land rises tall, striking fear in the hearts of its foes and kindling pride in those who truly know her.
Ali Khamenei, Ashura, 10th Muharram 1446 / July 2025
Kayhan and the Theology of Defiance
This top-down campaign was reinforced ideologically by Khamenei's mouthpiece, Kayhan, , which on Ashura’s eve declared that the Battle of Karbala is not a historical episode but a living blueprint—one that justifies defiance, martyrdom, and geopolitical confrontation. In this worldview, Iran’s strategic losses are not failures but divinely sanctified suffering, akin to Imam Husayn’s sacrifice.
The martyrdom of IRGC-Quds Force commander Mohammad Saeed Izadi was cast in precisely these terms: Gaza became the new Karbala; Izadi the new Abbas ibn Ali. “His blood,” read the official eulogy, “quenched the thirst of the children of resistance.” This theological framing obscures military setbacks by rebranding them as cosmic victories, where death and destruction are not signs of weakness but proofs of divine election.
In this ideological schema, Iran’s nuclear program remains untouched. As Kayhan made clear, Tehran will persist in nuclear development despite enormous costs because martyrdom is a strategy, not merely a memory. Resistance, in all its forms—from the right to uranium enrichment to proxy warfare—is the sacred path.
In this regard, Ali Akbar Velayati, senior advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader, firmly reiterated (July 15) that uranium enrichment remains a non-negotiable red line for the Islamic Republic. He stated, “Enrichment is one of our red lines, and if negotiations are conditioned on halting enrichment, such negotiations will definitely not take place.”
Bottom-Up Nationalism: Authentic or Co-Opted?
While the regime seeks to instrumentalize nationalism, much of this energy is also genuinely emerging from below (Bottom-up). Local lamentation ceremonies, grassroots he’yat associations, and even youth culture are embracing Iranian historical and national identity—sometimes independently of, or even in tension with, the Islamic Republic’s revolutionary values.
For example:
In Yazd, a local eulogist revived WWII-era poetry: “What value has our life, if not given in your path? Long live the soil of our Iran.”Prominent clerics and their eulogists have made gestures toward national reconciliation, stating, “That unveiled girl is also our daughter.” The martyr narrative, once monopolized by the state, is now being interpreted in civilizational terms, resonating beyond ideological or sectarian divides. These expressions reflect a national memory older than the 1979 revolution—one that draws on the Qajar and Pahlavi-era notion of Iran as an ancient, embattled civilization.
Strategic Implications: Support Now, Threat Later
In the short term, this hybrid neo-nationalist discourse appears to be working. The blending of Ashura with nationalism has:
Rallied large crowds, even amid disillusionment,
Allowed the regime to reframe the war’s heavy losses as part of spiritual victories,
Momentarily defused secular and generational divides by appealing to shared cultural identity.
However, the strategy contains a paradox: by unleashing a broad-based national sentiment, the regime may be sowing the seeds of a long-term ideological challenge to its own authority.
Once the national-historical genie is out of the bottle, it may not be easily contained:
Nationalism not tethered to clerical legitimacy could evolve into demands for freedom, democracy, sovereignty, accountability, and pluralism.
The glorification of Iran as a homeland may eventually clash with the regime’s regional expansionism - the export of the revolution, particularly if Iranians tire of sacrifice on behalf of Gaza, Lebanon, or Yemen. This blend of patriotic and religious language (“What value has our life, if not given in your path? Long live the soil of our Iran”)-stands in stark contrast to the popular slogans chanted during anti-regime protests in recent years. Demonstrators famously rejected the regime’s foreign interventions with chants such as:
“Not Gaza, not Lebanon—my life for Iran!” “No to Palestine, no to Syria—my heart belongs to Iran!”
These slogans reflected a grassroots, bottom-up nationalism, focused inward on Iran itself, as opposed to the regime’s top-down ideology of exporting revolution and resistance abroad. The new eulogies, although state-approved, seem to echo the same emotional loyalty to the homeland, revealing a subtle convergence between state messaging and popular sentiment, albeit rooted in very different political aims. The celebration of non-religious or semi-secular symbols may empower future protest movements that resist both foreign aggression and internal repression. In this sense, what now mobilizes support may later mobilize dissent.
Between Karbala and Persepolis
The Islamic Republic is attempting to convert its recent military and psychological defeat into an ideological renewal and victory through a top-down campaign that fuses patriotism with the theology of martyrdom, while also capitalizing on bottom-up cultural currents of historical national pride. This hybrid “neo-nationalism” allows the regime to maintain mass appeal, justify continued sacrifice, and resist foreign pressure.
Yet in doing so, the regime may be unintentionally cultivating a civic identity rooted in Iranian culture, history, and homeland that is no longer dependent on religious orthodoxy or revolutionary dogma. If this identity takes root, the very tools used to prop up the regime today may, in time, become instruments of its undoing.
This risk is compounded by the increasing public disillusionment with Iran’s costly regional entanglements. As slogans like “No to Gaza, no to Lebanon-my life for Iran” make clear, many Iranians are turning inward. The regime’s long-time costly proxies: Hezbollah in Lebanon, Assad in Syria, Hamas and PIJ in Gaza, and the Houthis in Yemen, are now seen by many as failed investments that drained national wealth but collapsed when put to the test and may on the short-medium term, accelerate this nationalist shift.
Iranians are left wondering how, with vast oil and gas reserves, a rich civilizational history, and a highly educated population, they remain impoverished and repressed, while the regime invested in foreign wars that yielded only ruin.
Perhaps, in severing the regime’s tentacles, Israel has repaid an ancient debt once owed when Cyrus sent the Jews back to Jerusalem.
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(*) This analysis was inspired by and builds upon reporting from Amwaj.media, specifically the article:
“Deep Dive: In shadow of Israeli assault, ‘neo-nationalism’ surges in Iran”
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