{"id":342522,"date":"2026-02-12T22:41:35","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T21:41:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=342522"},"modified":"2026-02-12T22:41:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T21:41:35","slug":"what-did-the-1979-revolution-teach-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-protests\/what-did-the-1979-revolution-teach-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"What Did the 1979 Revolution Teach the World?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Iran’s 1979 revolution and 2022 protests side by side, capturing moments of mass demonstrations<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Four-minute read<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On February 11, Iran\u2019s clerical regime once again turned the anniversary of the 1979 Revolution into a stage\u2014part morale-boosting spectacle for its demoralized base, part defiant performance aimed at its growing roster of enemies. For a system that once boasted of dominating the entire Middle East, the smallness of the celebration was\u00a0irony\u00a0enough.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But the parade\u2019s symbolism carried other messages, too\u2014each revealing more than it intended. The familiar props were back: puppets, mock coffins, the ritual burning of other nations\u2019 flags. Year after year, these theatrics are meant to reassure the regime\u2019s enforcers and paid loyalists that the state can still sneer at the world.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

More telling, though, was the regime\u2019s media choreography. This year, even more conspicuously than last, state television sought out interviews with women without hijab<\/a> and placed them prominently on screen. The aim was obvious: to broadcast to the outside world that even cultural dissenters have, in effect, made their peace with the religious dictatorship. Yet for a government that claims legitimacy through \u201cspiritual capital\u201d\u2014ideological devotion\u2014there is something deeply revealing in the way it must now seek credibility by\u00a0showcasing\u00a0<\/span>disobedience<\/span><\/i>. A state that insists compulsory veiling<\/a> is nonnegotiable\u00a0law, yet\u00a0tries to\u00a0validate\u00a0itself by displaying \u201clawbreaking\u201d as evidence of social support, is advertising the depletion of both its ideological force and its social base. It could hardly offer a clearer image of exhaustion.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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If an #Iranian<\/a> group or individual is truly opting for regime change, wouldn\u2019t it be in their own interest to stop obstructing \u2013 even if not supporting \u2013 the most organized and serious force that has been struggling with the regime since the outset?https:\/\/t.co\/B6fXrDk46D<\/a><\/p>\n

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 28, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n