{"id":331924,"date":"2025-05-24T16:39:21","date_gmt":"2025-05-24T15:39:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=331924"},"modified":"2025-05-24T16:44:37","modified_gmt":"2025-05-24T15:44:37","slug":"tehrans-friday-sermons-reveal-nuclear-defiance-rooted-in-regime-survival-fears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/tehrans-friday-sermons-reveal-nuclear-defiance-rooted-in-regime-survival-fears\/","title":{"rendered":"Friday Sermons in Iran Reveal Nuclear Defiance Rooted in Regime Survival Fears"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_330665\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-330665\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-330665 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/iran-ahmad-khatami-warning.jpg\" alt=\"Ahmad Khatami delivers a fiery Friday prayer sermon in Tehran\" width=\"1000\" height=\"562\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/iran-ahmad-khatami-warning.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/iran-ahmad-khatami-warning-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/iran-ahmad-khatami-warning-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/iran-ahmad-khatami-warning-747x420.jpg 747w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/iran-ahmad-khatami-warning-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/iran-ahmad-khatami-warning-696x391.jpg 696w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-330665\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ahmad Khatami delivers a fiery Friday prayer sermon in Tehran<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"118\"><strong data-start=\"97\" data-end=\"118\"><em data-start=\"99\" data-end=\"116\">Three-minute read<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"120\" data-end=\"347\">As nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States continue in Rome, coordinated Friday sermons across Iran on May 23 exposed the Iranian regime\u2019s defiance as a defensive reflex\u2014less about strength, more about survival.\u00a0From Isfahan to Tehran, the regime&#8217;s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei\u2019s representatives reiterated that the regime will not give up uranium enrichment under any circumstances. But beneath the bravado lies a regime acutely aware of its own fragility.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"584\" data-end=\"955\">In Isfahan, Mojtaba <a href=\"https:\/\/www.didbaniran.ir\/%D8%A8%D8%AE%D8%B4-%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%B3%DB%8C-3\/222991-%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%AC%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%87-%D8%A7%D8%B5%D9%81%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%87-%D8%BA%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%B2%DB%8C-%D9%85%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%B8%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B2%D9%87-%D8%AF%D8%B4%D9%85%D9%86-%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%B3%D8%AA%DB%8C%D9%85\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mirdamadi addressed<\/a> U.S. President Donald Trump with hostile rhetoric: \u201cStop your nonsense\u2026 You\u2019ve embarrassed yourself and your nation.\u201d He declared, \u201cIran\u2019s nuclear program is not negotiable\u2014not by permission, not for dismantlement.\u201d Citing Khamenei, he added, \u201cI\u2019m not optimistic about negotiations. Talks must not mean humiliation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"957\" data-end=\"1404\">In Karaj, Mohammad-Mehdi Hosseini <a href=\"https:\/\/www.didbaniran.ir\/%D8%A8%D8%AE%D8%B4-%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%B3%DB%8C-3\/222999-%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%AC%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%87-%DA%A9%D8%B1%D8%AC-%D9%87%D8%B2%DB%8C%D9%86%D9%87-%D9%85%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%85%D8%AA-%D8%A8%D8%B1-%D9%87%D8%B2%DB%8C%D9%86%D9%87-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%B2%D8%B4-%D8%B1%D8%AC%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hamedani warned<\/a> against internal voices calling for compromise, saying they \u201cfoolishly believe surrender to the U.S. will solve our economic problems.\u201d Drawing a direct lesson from the downfall of Libya\u2019s Muammar Gaddafi\u2014who gave up his nuclear program before being overthrown\u2014Hamedani underlined why the regime views nuclear capacity as existential: \u201cLook what happened to Libya. They completely surrendered.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"lyte-wrapper\" title=\"Riots continue! Iranian state officials warn\" style=\"width:853px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_027IbhAaYnQ\" itemprop=\"video\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/VideoObject\"><div><meta itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F027IbhAaYnQ%2Fhqdefault.jpg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"embedURL\" content=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/027IbhAaYnQ\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT1M\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2023-01-05T16:38:16Z\" \/><\/div><div id=\"lyte_027IbhAaYnQ\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F027IbhAaYnQ%2Fhqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\" itemprop=\"name\">Riots continue! Iranian state officials warn<\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/027IbhAaYnQ\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F027IbhAaYnQ%2F0.jpg\" alt=\"Riots continue! Iranian state officials warn\" width=\"853\" height=\"460\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"Read More: https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IranNCR\/ https:\/\/twitter.com\/iran_policy Subscribe to NCRI weekly newsletter: https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/4jtprrtp\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:853px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1406\" data-end=\"1913\">This comparison is telling. For Iran\u2019s rulers, nuclear capability isn\u2019t just a bargaining chip\u2014it\u2019s the ultimate insurance policy. The memory of Gaddafi&#8217;s fall looms large. Without the threat of nuclear retaliation, Tehran believes it would be militarily vulnerable and politically brittle. A climbdown under Western pressure would signal weakness, risk defections among the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and proxy groups, and potentially embolden a volatile society already seething with unrest.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1915\" data-end=\"2293\">In Mashhad, Ahmad Alamolhoda, Khamenei\u2019s representative and father-in-law to the slain president Ebrahim Raisi, did more than lash out at the United States\u2014he issued ideological marching orders. He declared that a president in &#8220;line with the ideals of the Islamic Revolution&#8221; must view America as <em data-start=\"324\" data-end=\"344\">\u201ca predatory wolf\u201d<\/em> and approach any negotiation\u2014direct or indirect\u2014with that hostility in mind. \u201cIf he wants to sit at the table, he must sit as a helpless lamb facing a ferocious wolf,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.khabaronline.ir\/news\/2068080\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alamolhoda insisted<\/a>. This, he said, is what qualifies one to be \u201ca president worthy of the Islamic Revolution.\u201d His remarks sent a clear warning to Pezeshkian.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2295\" data-end=\"2630\">In Tehran, Kazem Sedighi, interim Friday prayer leader, focused his sermon on the regime\u2019s strategic need to indoctrinate Iran\u2019s youth through education. He criticized the current education system as a \u201cworn-out legacy of the West\u201d and called for a complete overhaul aligned with revolutionary values. \u201cBooks must be rewritten to reflect the ideals of the Islamic Revolution. We need to raise a generation prepared to bring forth the Imam of the Age,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jahannews.com\/news\/931788\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sedighi said<\/a>. He emphasized that teachers must be ideological role models\u2014 \u201cpure in speech, action, and belief\u201d\u2014 tasked not just with instruction, but with shaping loyal soldiers of the regime. His remarks highlighted the regime\u2019s acute fear of cultural dissent and its reliance on ideological conditioning to maintain control over a restive society.<\/p>\n<div class=\"lyte-wrapper\" title=\"Iran&rsquo;s State Media Warn Officials of a Revolution\" style=\"width:853px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_aIoA8fUsocM\" itemprop=\"video\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/VideoObject\"><div><meta itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FaIoA8fUsocM%2Fhqdefault.jpg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"embedURL\" content=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aIoA8fUsocM\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT49S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2021-12-21T16:53:26Z\" \/><\/div><div id=\"lyte_aIoA8fUsocM\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FaIoA8fUsocM%2Fhqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\" itemprop=\"name\">Iran\u2019s State Media Warn Officials of a Revolution<\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/aIoA8fUsocM\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FaIoA8fUsocM%2F0.jpg\" alt=\"Iran&rsquo;s State Media Warn Officials of a Revolution\" width=\"853\" height=\"460\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"On Sunday, Iran\u2019s state-run Jomhurie-Eslami daily warned regime officials of a \u201crevolution\u201d due to increasing social and economic crises. \u201cOur society might look calm, but there is something under the society\u2019s skin that is very dangerous.\u201d \u201cIf people lose their patience, there will be a disaster. As Ruhollah Khomeini said, \u2018there would be an explosion that leaves nothing behind.\u2019\u201d \u201cIn other words, if there will be a revolution, it would be the revolution of poor people against the [ruling] oligarchy. If the current situation continues, this revolution inadvertently emerges.\u201d Read More: https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IranNCR\/ https:\/\/twitter.com\/iran_policy Subscribe to NCRI weekly newsletter t.ly\/MybJ\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:853px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2295\" data-end=\"2630\">In Sari, Mohammad-Bagher <a href=\"https:\/\/defapress.ir\/fa\/news\/748653\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mohammadi Laeeni voiced alarm<\/a> over growing international support for the Iranian Resistance, specifically condemning the recent declaration by 560 UK parliamentarians backing regime change and the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization. \u201cThe British say Iran must dismantle even 1% uranium enrichment and erase its nuclear infrastructure,\u201d\u00a0he said with indignation.\u00a0\u201cAt the same time, 550 members of their parliament openly support our enemies.\u201d\u00a0His reference was to the February 2025 cross-party <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-resistance\/uk-parliament-560-lawmakers-urge-robust-action-on-iran-back-ncri\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UK statement endorsing<\/a> the NCRI and Maryam Rajavi\u2019s democratic platform. Laeeni\u2019s anger reflected the regime\u2019s acute sensitivity to rising international legitimacy for its most organized opposition force\u2014a threat Tehran views as existential.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2632\" data-end=\"2947\">These hardline sermons were backed by state media. A<a href=\"https:\/\/www.javanonline.ir\/005RwW\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <em data-start=\"2686\" data-end=\"2693\">Javan Daily<\/em>\u00a0editorial<\/a> argued that enrichment is &#8220;central to Iran\u2019s nuclear sovereignty&#8221; and a key lever against sanctions. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.siasatrooz.ir\/fa\/editorial\/133223\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em data-start=\"2803\" data-end=\"2816\">Siasat Rooz<\/em> went further<\/a>, accusing the U.S. of sabotaging talks and warning that giving up enrichment would be tantamount to national suicide.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2949\" data-end=\"3264\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Together, these voices reveal a regime gripped by existential fear\u2014cornered by escalating foreign pressure, an emboldened Iranian Resistance, and the looming threat of another nationwide uprising. Its defiant insistence on uranium enrichment goes far beyond asserting national rights; it is a calculated strategy of survival. For Tehran\u2019s ruling elite, maintaining nuclear capability serves as a deterrent not only against external threats, but also against internal collapse\u2014shielding a fragile regime from defections within its ranks and from a restless population poised for revolt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three-minute read As nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States continue in Rome, coordinated Friday sermons across Iran on May 23 exposed the Iranian regime&rsquo;s defiance as a defensive [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":330665,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-331924","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - 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