In the aftermath of Iran’s December 2017 uprising, when rebellious youth took to the streets and shattered the illusion of so-called “reformism,” the political landscape of the country changed irreversibly. With the chant “Reformist, Hardliner — the game is over!” echoing across Iran, the people drew a definitive line between themselves and the ruling establishment. This shift reached a climax during the November 2019 nationwide uprising, where Iranians, driven to desperation by decades of oppression, staged massive protests across the country.

What set this period apart was not just the scale and intensity of the protests, but their clear political direction. The strategy of organized resistance—long advocated by the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) and carried out by its Resistance Units—was brought into action on the streets. This evolution posed a serious, strategic threat to the survival of the clerical regime.

Faced with this existential challenge and the erosion of old political diversions, the regime deployed more sophisticated security and psychological operations. Among the most calculated of these was the revival of a long-buried narrative: monarchism. The aim was not to restore the monarchy per se, but to........

© Eurasia Review