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The regime in Iran has often used crises and conflicts to rally the public and strengthen its grip on power. But in the aftermath of Israeli and U.S. airstrikes, the likelihood of such consolidation appears lower, says Nima Salimi, who recently completed a master’s thesis on Iran’s protest movements and ideological shifts.
— On social media, many Iranians express frustration with their own government, which they accuse of dragging the country into an unnecessary war. In Tehran and other cities, reports emerged of panic, evacuations, and a quiet fury directed at what many perceive as a regime more concerned with its own survival than the nation’s security, he explains.
In his thesis, Reimagining the Nation from Below, which won the UiO:Democracy Master’s Award in 2024, Salimi analyzes how Iran’s protest movements have evolved over the past fifteen years.
He argues that the ongoing conflict only highlights the widening gap between state and society, rather than uniting the country against an external enemy.
"While the authorities try to rally people around the concept of 'national sovereignty,' many Iranians are instead thinking about all they have lost - lives, freedoms, and economic futures - at the hands of a regime they no longer see as their own," Salimi says, adding:
"The Islamic Republic has lost its ideological foothold among the people. After 46 years of authoritarian rule, economic mismanagement, and social control, most Iranians have turned away from the regime’s project."
Fighting for a new national identity
According to Salimi, the war with Israel and the United States has exposed a weakened regime, but he emphasizes that this did not happen overnight. His thesis shows how the regime’s legitimacy has eroded gradually over time.
"Repeated waves of protest — from the Green Movement in 2009 to the Mahsa Movement in 2022 and 2023 — were not just spontaneous bursts of anger. They represent a deeper shift in identity. More and more Iranians no longer want to define themselves as part of an Islamic nation. Instead, they demand a secular, democratic Iran," he says.
This raises a central question: What do Iranian opposition movements actually want?
"In the past, opposition often focused on specific reforms or election-related grievances. But in recent years, it’s been about rejecting the regime’s ideological foundations altogether. Slogans from the Mahsa Movement, such as 'We don’t want an Islamic Republic!' and 'Death to the dictator!', signal a clear break with both religious authority and authoritarian rule."
This shift is not just political; it reflects a changing idea of what Iran is, and what it should be. Salimi notes that in 2009, protestors sought to transform the Islamic Republic into a more reform-oriented system that still retained a religious identity. But today’s protest movements go much further. They call for a secular national community rooted in Iran’s cultural heritage and a clear separation between mosque and state.
Cyrus, cultural heritage, and the battle for Iran’s history
Those protesting the Islamic Republic are not only focused on the future, they are also engaged in a battle over how Iran’s history and national identity should be understood. Rather than Islam, many highlight other aspects of Iranian history. One example is the growing reverence for Cyrus the Great, the founder of the ancient Persian Empire in the sixth century BCE.
"A key part of today’s resistance to the regime is the desire to revive Iran’s historical legacy and cultural greatness. Nostalgia for Cyrus and the ancient roots of Persian civilization has grown significantly over the past decade," Salimi explains.
He points to the so-called Cyrus Revolt in 2016, when thousands gathered at Cyrus the Great’s tomb chanting slogans like 'Cyrus is our father; Iran is our homeland.-
"For many, this legacy represents an alternative national identity — one that stands in direct contrast to the Islamic Republic’s ideology and demonstrates that modernity and Iranian identity are not mutually exclusive."
MIGA: Make Iran Great Again
This desire for national renewal is not just about the past. It also shapes how many Iranians relate to current foreign policy dynamics.
Salimi argues that anti-Western sentiment in Iran is largely driven by the authorities, not by the people. He recalls how, in 2020, the regime placed American and Israeli flags on the ground outside university campuses, expecting students to trample them in symbolic defiance.
Instead, most students deliberately walked around the flags, in a quiet rejection of the regime’s manufactured enemy images.
Even direct attacks from Israel and the United States, Salimi notes, did little to change this attitude.
"While Iran was at war with Israel and the U.S., many Iranians refused to rally behind the regime’s rhetoric about external enemies. Even though civilians were affected by the war, the regime itself remained the greatest threat to the safety and future of the people," he says.
He adds that this fear intensified after the ceasefire. Many Iranians expressed concern that the regime would take out its anger and humiliation on the population through a renewed wave of repression.
In a viral post on X (formerly Twitter), one Iranian user wrote: 'Look what the mullahs have done to us – the news of a ceasefire is more frightening than the war itself.'
Their fears were not unfounded. In the days following the ceasefire, hundreds of people were arrested across various cities, and several were executed, according to Reuters.
Distrust in the regime’s priorities has also long been visible in protest slogans like: 'Neither Gaza nor Lebanon; I sacrifice my life for Iran.' Even U.S. airstrikes did little to increase popular support for the regime’s anti-Western narrative.
"After the strikes, Donald Trump declared: 'Make Iran Great Again' — MIGA. Many Iranians echoed the phrase on social media, not necessarily as an endorsement of Trump, but as an expression of their own desire to rebuild the nation, Salimi says.
An Iran for the people – not the regime, and not the West
This same desire was evident a few months earlier during the Persian New Year (Nowruz) celebrations. Iranians gathered at national landmarks like Persepolis and the tomb of the poet Hafez, where they chanted anti-regime slogans such as 'We are a great nation, we will take Iran back' and 'This is the final battle – Pahlavi will return.'"
The latter refers to Reza Pahlavi, the son of the Shah who was deposed in 1979 and who today is one of the most prominent advocates for democracy in Iran.
"These slogans express a longing for national renewal — to reclaim both the state and the story of Iran. Support for Reza Pahlavi is not necessarily about restoring the monarchy, but about returning to an Iran that was united, secular, and internationally respected," says Salimi.
He emphasizes that Iranian protesters are primarily seeking to liberate themselves from the regime, not from their own nation or cultural identity.
"When Iranians say they want to 'take Iran back,' it’s not about turning towards the West. It’s about reclaiming a country that has been alienated from its people through decades of ideological control. The struggle is not just about who governs Iran, but about what Iran is to become."
"Behind these slogans, we see the contours of a new national community taking shape: secular, historically conscious, and democratic. In other words, a new Iran is emerging," Salimi concludes.