The Regime’s Half-Hearted Attempt at Appeasing the Public

Unable to shield Iran from anticipated Israeli attacks and struggling to provide basic services, such as electricity and even drinking water, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and some of his senior advisors appear to be signaling a loosening of control and willingness to permit greater personal freedoms to ease tensions. Yousef Pezeshkian, the president’s son, has taken this self-criticism and public appeasement a step further by contrasting China, the dragon “silently swallowing the world,” with Iran, which thinks out loud, frightens the world, and isolates itself in the process. Those same authorities, however, do not appear willing to allow something as simple as concerts, likely fearing that freedom of assembly could be used to chant slogans against the regime.

• August 24: On X, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wrote:
  • “Those who post, speak publicly, or write must be mindful of their actions. The #sacred_unity, a steely shield forged from the people’s hearts and will, must not be damaged. Today, the nation stands united. Differences of opinion may exist, but in defending the regime, country, and cause of resistance, the people are one. This unity is what deters enemy aggression.”
• September 3: Authorities canceled a planned open-air concert by Homayoun Shajarian. Mohammad-Ali Abtahi, who served as vice president under former President Mohammad Khatami, commented on the cancellation on X:
  • “A wide spectrum, from the extremist opposition abroad to hard-line groups within the regime, stands against the happiness of the Iranian people. They act in concert.”
• September 4: Ali Akbar Velayati, the longest-serving foreign minister and current foreign policy advisor to Khamenei, referencing Khamenei’s post, wrote on X:
  • “My suggestion to the responsible institutions is that, in line with the supreme leader’s emphasis on preserving the #sacred_unity, as well as his repeated attention to the importance of #cyberspace, and in order to increase public satisfaction, effective changes and the prevention of costly mismanagements can be more helpful than ever.”
• September 4: Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi said, according to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-affiliated Tasnim News Agency:
  • “Over the past year, significant measures have been taken in the areas of electricity generation and consumption management, which have, to some extent, reduced the existing imbalance … With the onset of autumn and the relative drop in temperature, the imbalance and power outages will be reduced to a minimum.”
• September 4: Following a recent trip by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to China, Yousef Pezeshkian, the president’s son, wrote a short article, which was republished by centrist Fararu:
  • “Although the dragon is a symbol of China, it is a misleading way to describe the country. We associate dragons with loud roars and fire spewing from their mouths, whereas China is quietly and silently swallowing the world. No sound, no fire, just going about its work without waking the rest of the world … We did the opposite: We shouted out even about things we had not done. We thought out loud.”

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