Iran International
The arrest of two men waving the pre-1979 Iranian flag at a Tehran subway station on Wednesday led to discussion among Iranians about the prospects of renewed protests and fundamental change in Iran.
Iran’s security forces arrested two men in army fatigues on Wednesday after they unfurled the pre-1979 Iranian flag—the Lion and Sun emblem—inside a major Tehran subway station.
Videos circulating online showed the men holding the banned flag on a crowded platform as commuters looked on. A speaker placed on the ground broadcast a speech by Prince Reza Pahlavi before security forces whisked them away.
Based outside Washington DC, his father was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution but the exiled prince is a prominent opposition figure and seen by his supporters as a potential monarch.
The pre-revolution flag is a symbol of the ousted Pahlavi monarchy and frequently seen in anti-government protests.
'Something big'
Diaspora journalist Amir-Farshad Ebrahimi said on X that the men belonged to the Army’s 99th Air Defence in Parandak near Tehran, identifying them as Second Lieutenant Mohammad-Reza Mohammadzadeh and Colonel Aghaei.
“Yesterday, they bid farewell to their friends and said they intended to do something big, sought forgiveness from everyone, and asked them to remain loyal to Prince Reza Pahlavi,” he wrote.
The incident coincided with another video posted by a man identifying himself as Colonel Ebrahim Aghaei-Kamazani, who urged Iranians to “rise up on the morning of November 15.” He declared: “Long live the Shah; long live Iran.”
“Finally, the military has entered the arena. Now, if the people don't make a move, it must be said that they don't deserve prosperity and freedom,” posted a user, Mandana Etesami, on X.
Aminoacid, a popular monarchist account, added: “The fact that people’s fear—and even that of the military and government forces—of the Islamic Republic has dissipated is a huge victory, whether the two protesters belonged to the military or not.”
It was not clear if the incidents circulated on social media represented a broader movement.
“Most people in the subway station thought it was either a regime trap or hidden camera set up. That's why they stayed silent … This is the prelude to the regime's downfall,” another user wrote.
An apparent member of the public attempted to yank their flag away twice and both times was shoved away by one of the men holding it.
Israeli endorsement
Iran's state media alleged on Thursday that the two-man protest was a “joint project of pro-monarchy terrorists and the Zionist regime” intended to incite unrest, denying any military affiliation.
“It appears that the aim of yesterday’s ridiculous show in the metro was to lend credibility to the monarchists’ nucleus-forming agenda and to provoke uninformed members of society,” the statement read.
The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) and Israel’s intelligence minister, Gila Gamiliel, reposted the video. Gamiliel wrote in Hebrew and Persian: “It starts like this.”
Reza Pahlavi Communications, the Prince’s official account, reposted the video with a message to Iran's armed forces: “Do not stand against the Iranian nation to preserve a regime whose collapse has begun and is inevitable.
"Play a historical role in the transition from the Islamic Republic, and share in building the future of Iran.”
The exiled prince has appealed to Iran’s military and security personnel to defect from clerical rule. He asserts he is in contact with officers and has proposed a network of loyal “Immortal Guards” to prepare for potential uprisings.
It is not clear how many among Iran's armed forces have heeded the prince's call or secretly back his campaign.
Tehran’s unveiling of a towering statue depicting the Roman Emperor Valerian kneeling before pre-Islamic Persian King Shapur I has renewed criticism of the Islamic Republic’s appeal to nationalist sentiment following the June war with Israel.
For over forty years, the theocracy purged ancient Persian history from schoolbooks, replacing it with post-Islamic narratives. But after the 12-day conflict with Israel, officials have turned to the distant pre-Islamic past to rally a divided society.
From murals of ancient kings and soldiers to patriotic songs added to Shi’ite mourning ceremonies performed before Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Tehran now embraces imagery once deemed heretical by its own revolutionary ethos.
'Kneel before Iran' campaign
Tehran’s Revolution (Enghelab) Square was the scene of an unusual spectacle on Friday as officials unveiled a massive bronze statue depicting Roman Emperor Valerian kneeling in submission before Sassanid King Shapur I, commemorating Iran’s victory at the Battle of Edessa (260 AD).
The event was held under the slogan “Kneel before Iran,” part of what authorities describe as a campaign to project “national unity and historical pride” following the June war with Israel.
Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani, a staunch ultraconservative, said on X: “Enmity with Great Iran can only end in kneeling before this historic nation.”
Municipal official Davood Goodarzi said the installation would be accompanied by visual displays depicting “other victories of Iranians over foreign aggressors,” including the defeat of British forces by local commander Rais-Ali Delvari, Mirza Kuchak Khan’s resistance against Russian troops, and Surena’s triumph over Rome at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BCE.
The goal, Goodarzi said, is “strengthening concepts such as national dignity, social unity, and Iranian identity.”
The statue, he said, would remain temporarily at Revolution Square before being moved to a city gateway “where it will stand as the first emblem of Iran before diplomats and foreign visitors.”
Unveiled women were allowed to attend the unveiling ceremony—an uncommon scene at events organized by Tehran’s ultra-hardline municipality.
The turn to the pre-Islamic past
The sharp reversal also recalls remarks once made by Khamenei. In a 2011 speech, he asserted that “all the great military victories of this nation came after Islam,” dismissing pre-Islamic accounts as “things that are not documented.”
In 1987, he had said that prophets triumphed over kings such as Cyrus and that “nothing remains of these monarchs in history but names remembered with derision.”
Nevertheless, pro-government social media accounts have now gone so far as to circulate posters equating Khamenei himself with Shapur, showing him standing with a staff as Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump kneel before him. The caption reads: “You will kneel before Iran.”
'Hypocrisy'
Pro-government figures have hailed the move as a patriotic success. Conservative political reporter Hossein Saremi posted: “Today’s grand Iranian gathering showed that people and the state share one essence: Iran itself. Nothing can take our homeland away.”
Others, however, called the spectacle “hypocrisy.” Journalist Gholamhossein Pashaei wrote on X: “Every year you close Pasargadae to stop people from celebrating Cyrus Day, yet you unveil Shapur’s statue in Enghelab Square with drums and fireworks during Fatimiyya (mourning period)!”
Dissident commentator Hamid Asafi called the ceremony “a perfect snapshot of the Islamic Republic’s contradictions.”
On Telegram he wrote: “A week ago they closed Cyrus’s tomb out of fear of the crowds, and now they glorify Shapur in the same breath. The Islamic Republic fears living history but poses for selfies with its corpse.”
He added: “They know people no longer respond to rosaries and sermons. That’s why they’ve brought history back to the stage—in a controlled costume. If they can’t erase the past, they’ll try to own it.”
The irony deepened as UNESCO formally recognized Cyrus’s Charter as one of the earliest human-rights documents.
President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on X: “Iran, the cradle of dialogue, justice, and coexistence, can still inspire peace today.”
Users swiftly replied, questioning how such pride could coexist with a government that blocks access to Cyrus’s tomb each year to those wishing to visit it on his birthday.