Iran International
Viral videos of women dancing unveiled in Iranian concerts have reignited debate over whether the apparent social opening is genuine or contrived by a ruling system facing external military pressure and domestic discontent.
For musician Arash Sobhani—a solo artist in exile in the United States and frontman of the acclaimed Iranian band Kiosk—the answer is complicated but clear: there is no real reform afoot, only a choreographed spectacle.
“Reform happens if we see a woman singer, if you see a female singer on stage, that would have been a reform,” said Sobhani, who left Iran in 2005 after performing underground in Tehran for two years.
A recent Sirvan Khosravi concert on the grounds of the former Shah’s palace in Tehran has become a touchstone for the debate.
Videos flooding social media show women in the audience discarding the compulsory hijab and dancing openly—acts that were harshly punished until recently.
The imagery from a site tied to Iran’s ousted monarchy struck some observers as a sign Tehran may have relaxed old taboos.
Sobhani urged caution. “We want people to be happy. Everybody should be happy all the time,” he told the Eye for Iran podcast. “But let’s not just close our eyes and ignore the elephant in the room. Female singers, your colleagues are not allowed to sing, yet, still, and nothing has changed.”
He argues that venue choice and access matter. Staging concerts in controlled, ticketed spaces—often priced beyond the reach of many—differs fundamentally from allowing free, mass gatherings in iconic public squares.
“They (the Islamic Republic) want (events) in closed spaces, not more than 2,000 to 3,000 people … because they can control that,” he said, contrasting it with a hypothetical crowd of “100,000 people” in a central square.
The push and pull were visible beyond Tehran. In Shiraz, the popular band Bomrani performed to jubilant scenes that some hailed as a cultural opening—only for authorities to ban the group from playing in the city and the wider Fars province days later, accusing it of “norm-breaking behavior.”
The reversal underscored how precarious such moments remain.
Joy is not structural change
Sobhani acknowledges that public joy can itself be opposition—but warns against mistaking it for structural change.
“Joy in the way we live is an opposition, is a form of rebellion, is a form of protest ... but ... as long as these guys are in power, no change is permanent. It’s just going to be temporary, makeshift, just cosmetic ... that’s going to be gone in two days.”
The concerts arrive amid the enduring legacy of Mahsa Jina Amini, whose September 2022 death in morality police custody sparked the Woman, Life, Freedom protest movement.
While the demonstrations were crushed, visible social shifts—like widespread noncompliance with hijab rules at public events—have persisted.
A proposed new hijab and chastity law was put on hold earlier this year amid concerns it could inflame tensions, even as authorities continue arrests and executions.
For Sobhani, the real test isn’t a few exuberant nights but who gets to stand on stage and who gets to attend without fear. Until women can sing freely and artists can speak without reprisal, he says, viral concerts are—at best—nuanced snapshots of resilience, not proof of reform.
You can watch the full episode of Eye for Iran with Arash Sobhani on YouTube, or listen on Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Castbox, or any podcast platform of your choosing.
The resolution, tabled by South Korea in its role as Security Council president, was a procedural part of a process launched last month after Britain, France, and Germany triggered the so-called snapback mechanism, declaring Iran in “significant non-performance” of the 2015 nuclear deal.
The decision not to lift Iran sanctions means all pre-2015 UN sanctions on Iran will automatically return once the 30-day snapback period ends on September 28, unless the Security Council takes further action.
Iran along with permanent Security Council members Russia and China lambasted the vote on Friday as a blow to diplomacy.
Algeria, China, Pakistan, and Russia voted to lift Iran sanctions. Denmark, France, Greece, Panama, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Somalia, Britain, and the United States voted against the resolution while Guyana and South Korea abstained.
Acting US Representative to the United Nations Dorothy Shea said the European troika was right to pursue sanctions given what she called Iran's clear violations.
“In July, the E3 offered to extend the snapback mechanism if Iran were to take steps to address concerns regarding its highly enriched uranium stockpile, comply with its IAEA obligations, and resume direct diplomacy with the United States," Shea said. "Despite suggestions to the contrary from Iran and others, Tehran has not yet fulfilled those conditions."
The resolution outcome does "not impede the possibility of real diplomacy,” Shea added, without elaborating.
'Unlawful'
Iran blasted the move, calling it “hasty, unnecessary, and unlawful”.
“Iran's safeguarded nuclear facilities have been attacked not in secret, but openly by Israel, the rogue regime, and by the United States,” Iran's ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, said.
He was referring to a 12-day surprise military campaign by Israel which was capped off by US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. “This reckless step undermines dialogue without aggression and sets a dangerous precedent,” Iravani added.
The Iranian envoy said Tehran never rejected diplomacy, presenting the recent agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to advance resumed international inspections of nuclear sites as evidence.
In a phone call with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi criticized what he called a politicized move that ignored Tehran's good faith approach.
“Araghchi stressed that Iran, as a responsible country, has always pursued the path of diplomacy and technical cooperation to resolve issues related to its nuclear program and rejects any political measures or unfair pressure that could escalate tensions,” his ministry added in a statement.
Britain's permanent representative to the United Nations, Barbara Woodward, questioned Iran's nuclear motives but said it was open to talks.
“The United Kingdom is committed to pursuing a diplomatic solution to ensure that Iran shall never seek, acquire or develop a nuclear weapon,” Woodward said.
“That is why, on August 28, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany notified this Council of Iran's clear and deliberate non-compliance,” she added.
Russia and China opposed
Moscow and Beijing have grown closer to Tehran as their relations with Washington have frayed in recent years. Their envoys castigated the Western position.
Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the UN, raised doubts about the move by the three European countries, warning it might inflame the long standoff
“China maintains that under such circumstances, hastily pushing for a vote on the draft resolution might exacerbate confrontation further and is not conducive to the resolution of the issue,” Fu Cong said.
Despite defense and economic agreements with Iran, Russia and China offered little substantive support to Iran as it confronted Israel and the United States over the summer.
More willing to exert pressure on Iran at the time of the 2015 nuclear deal, the two superpowers have broken with Western countries by mending fences with another international atomic pariah, North Korea.
Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Security Council, Vasily Nebenzya, said the sanctions bid violated a 2015 nuclear deal.
“Britain, France, and Germany grossly violated the procedure for the consideration of disputed situations we have under the JCPOA in particular,” Nebenzya said. “Here you have a very good illustration of the fact that our European colleagues do, in essence, reject diplomacy. They prefer the language of blackmail and intimidation.”
Long an advocate of more international pressure on Iran at the United Nations, Israel celebrated a diplomatic win.
Israel's Ambassador to the UN hailed the Security Council's decision, calling it “another step forward towards imposing sanctions on the Iranian regime.”
“It is good that the world has woken up and joined the fight against Tehran’s violence and terrorism toward the Western world. The State of Israel will not allow a nuclear threat from Iran,” Danny Danon said.
