{"id":346611,"date":"2026-07-15T15:33:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T14:33:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=346611"},"modified":"2026-07-15T15:33:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T14:33:22","slug":"as-war-returns-and-infrastructure-collapses-irans-desperate-public-knows-who-to-blame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/society\/as-war-returns-and-infrastructure-collapses-irans-desperate-public-knows-who-to-blame\/","title":{"rendered":"As War Returns and Infrastructure Collapses, Iran\u2019s Desperate Public Knows Who to Blame"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Iranian
Ordinary Iranians on a crowded city street, August 2025<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Three-minute read<\/strong><\/p>\n

On July 15, 2026, a fresh wave of U.S. airstrikes battered southern Iran, hitting the port city of Bushehr and a military base in\u00a0Iranshahr. The attacks mark a rapid escalation following the formal resumption of hostilities on July 7, which shattered a fragile maritime cease-fire and\u00a0initiated\u00a0a full naval blockade. For ordinary Iranians, who survived a brutal 40-day conflict just two months ago, this latest escalation is not merely a geopolitical dispute; it is a direct assault on an already exhausted society.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the bombs fell, the regime was occupied with stage-managing a delayed state funeral for Ali Khamenei, assassinated in February. Rather than tending to a panicked populace, officials used the televised ceremonies to\u00a0consolidate\u00a0the absolute rule of his son, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei<\/a>. Against a backdrop of scripted mourning, regime loyalists gathered<\/a> in Tehran’s Mosalla on July 15, 2026, chanting, “the command is only Mojtaba’s command.” The choreographed display served as a calculated muscle-flexing campaign by the regime’s warmongering faction\u2014closely aligning itself with Mojtaba\u2014to send a sharp, warning shot to its rivals in the ongoing internal power struggle.<\/span><\/p>\n

This profound disconnect was evident on July 14, 2026, when the regime’s parliament convened under an emergency “red alert” in Tehran. While lawmakers screamed for “revenge,” behind the bravado lay severe panic. Parliament had been closed for five months under the guise of security, leading hardline MP Hamid Rasaee to accuse<\/a> leadership of dragging the legislative body to “the lowest depths of humiliation”. Deputy Speaker Ali Haji-Babai admitted that gathering 259 lawmakers was “a very big risk” they were taking with their lives. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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"Facing what observers describe as an increasingly volatile and \u201cexplosive\u201d domestic climate, Iran\u2019s clerical establishment has dramatically tightened its grip on society during #IranWar<\/a>," writes @SaforaSM<\/a>.https:\/\/t.co\/BFMl6jDAaU<\/a><\/p>\n

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 10, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n