Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned in mid-October of an unstoppable mobilization of Muslims if Israeli bombing raids on Gaza continued. There have undoubtedly been numerous expressions of solidarity with the Palestinians in Muslim-majority countries, but significantly, a large proportion of Iranians have distanced themselves from the conflict and sided with Israel. The Islamic Republic’s leaders’ complicity with Hamas and other militias of the so-called Resistance Axis is widening the gap between the regime and society.
The crimes of the Zionist regime have crossed the red lines, which could force anyone to act. Washington asks us not to do anything, but they continue to fully support Israel. The US sent messages to the Axis of Resistance, but received a clear response on the battlefield.
— سید ابراهیم رئیسی (@raisi_com) October 29, 2023
The distance between official policy and public opinion immediately became clear. The day after Hamas’s brutal attack on Israel, the Persepolis football club welcomed Gol Gohar from Sirjan (Kerman province) at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran. Those responsible for the event wanted to raise the Palestinian flag as a sign of their support for the attack. The reaction from the stands was immediate. Almost unanimously, those present (women are still not allowed into the stadiums) shouted, “Raise the Palestinian flag at your table…”
The anecdote is relevant because football stadiums, along with mosques, are one of the few public places where Iranians are allowed to gather. The rudeness (which sounds even worse in Persian than in Spanish) rejected the use of football for political purposes while denouncing the Iranian regime’s involvement in regional conflicts at the expense of the needs of its people. I wasn’t surprised.
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During my travels in Iran as a correspondent for EL PAÍS, I often heard complaints about aid to Palestine and the Lebanese group Hezbollah, particularly from ethnic and religious minorities who perceived this as a comparable grievance. With the country now reeling from a severe economic crisis caused by both international sanctions and mismanagement, the diversion of funds to wartime adventures abroad is unsustainable.
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Since the day of the game, the hashtag #IraniansStandWithIsrael has become popular on social media. Under this motto, users denounce the Islamist regimes in both Iran (Shiites) and Hamas (Sunnis) and equate their brutality. This is not an automatic rejection of the Palestinian cause. In fact, some are adding the hashtag #FreePalestineNow. But more often they express support for Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last Shah, without whose (unlikely) return to Iran they believe peace in the Middle East is impossible. From the images they spread, it can be concluded that most of the accounts belong to Iranian exiles. Nevertheless, his criticism has alarmed the rulers of the Islamic Republic.
The Attorney General declared on October 31 that any pro-Israel demonstration on social media was a crime. The notice came after the committee responsible for investigating cases of criminal content updated a 2020 law to “counter the Zionist regime’s hostile actions against peace and security.” The review also states that any relationship with Israeli citizens, including friendship, is prohibited. Iranian athletes were already banned from competing with rivals of Israeli nationality, and filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf (in exile since 2005) was punished for taking part in a competition in Jerusalem, with his awards from the film museum being revoked.
It is not another step in the anti-Israel policies pursued by Shiite Islamists when they came to power after the 1979 revolution. In contrast to the good relations that monarchical Iran maintained with Israel, the Islamic Republic rejects its existence as a state and its leaders often bombastic calls for its destruction. But on this occasion, the eagerness to silence the slightest expression of compassion towards the victims of the Hamas attack goes beyond official anti-Zionism and the self-serving use of the Palestinian cause.
The tone conveys concern about the internal impact of this policy, especially at a time when the regime is facing growing social protests. Those in power want to prevent the opponents’ campaign abroad from penetrating inside. “So much fear because they know that the majority hates them,” is how one exile interprets such a drastic measure.
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