Iran has entered a critical moment in its postrevolutionary history. Many analyses since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war have focused on the growing dominance of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). This is correct, but it misses another important transformation, which is happening in Iran’s public spaces.

Since the beginning of the war, the Islamic Republic has actively mobilized its supporters, including the Basij and networks close to the Guards, into the streets of Tehran and other major cities. They gather in groups, even small ones, and move across neighborhoods, chanting Islamic and anti-American slogans, reciting the Quran, and organizing mobile rallies. Using loudspeakers mounted on cars, they often shout, “Heydar, Heydar,” referring to the first Shiite Imam, Imam Ali.

Iran has entered a critical moment in its postrevolutionary history. Many analyses since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war have focused on the growing dominance of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). This is correct, but it misses another important transformation, which is happening in Iran’s public spaces.

Since the beginning of the war, the Islamic Republic has actively mobilized its supporters, including the Basij and networks close to the Guards, into the streets of Tehran and other major cities. They gather in groups, even small ones, and move across neighborhoods, chanting Islamic and anti-American slogans, reciting the Quran, and organizing mobile rallies. Using loudspeakers mounted on cars, they often shout, “Heydar, Heydar,” referring to the first Shiite Imam, Imam Ali.

These activities are not limited to one area. They are spreading across public squares, main roads, and residential districts in large cities. Nor are they merely public displays. In these rallies, more akin to festivals, the IRGC showcases missiles described as ready for launch while large crowds gather around waving flags and, in some cases, even performing collective prayers near the missiles.

The events are a symbolic show of strength and defiance, but they also connect directly to a broader shift on the ground. Alongside these rallies, the........

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