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Beyond the Tragic Nature of Contemporary Uprisings in Iran


12. Jan. 2026


1. The Islamic Republuc's Doctrine of Self-Preservation

For the people of a misery-stricken country, nothing is more dangerous than being ruled by a state whose highest goal is its own survival, by any means and at any cost. The horrific slaughter of street protesters in recent days is the latest proof of this reality regarding the people of Iran and the Islamic Republic. This trait is not an accidental characteristic of the regime, but a significant part of its nature and its drive for reproduction.

The ideological foundation of this trait was laid by Ruhollah Khomeini, the first supreme leader of the Islamic Republic. In the aftermath of the 1979 Revolution, he claimed that "preserving the Islamic state is the most obligatory of obligations," thereby issuing a religious license for the killings and massacres of political opponents in those years and the decades to follow. Since then, this procedure, utilizing the same religious pretext, has been a constant component of the Islamic Republic’s governance.

Over time, the necessity of "preserving the Islamic State" gradually shifted from its initial ideological content toward protecting the exclusive economic interests of the ruling class. Today, while this still remains the "most obligatory of obligations" of the regime, it serves only the interests of the rulers and the regime elites rather than any divine purpose. Nevertheless, this religious language is maintained to grease the machinery of repression.


2. Absolute Governance Intensified by Geopolitical Hostility

The absolute governance of Ali Khamenei from 1989 to 2026 has been a clear manifestation of total loyalty to this doctrine. In every period of mass protest, he has ordered severe crackdowns without hesitation. During the recent 2026 uprisings, by emphasizing the need to "put the vandalists in their place" (and later labeling them "terrorists"), he has once again officially sanctioned mass slaughter.

A long-standing misfortune for Iranians is that their decadent state stands in permanent hostility toward the United States and Israel, despite an essential kinship in their natures. Because of these rhetorical and geopolitical conflicts, the oppressed people of Iran are often reduced to "cannon fodder", both in their daily struggles and - especially - during their mass uprisings. While one side hypocritically expresses sympathy for the protesters under promises supports, the other side seizes the opportunity to label the protesters as the "enemy’s infantry," smoothing the path for brutal suppression.

In the current uprising, this ominous scenario is repeating. However, because the regime is at its most fragile and aggressive point, the consequences are even more severe. While Khamenei would likely have ordered a crackdown regardless, Donald Trump’s threats of military support for the protesters facilitated the implementation and expansion of this repression. Given the regime's legitimacy crisis, convincing the rank-and-file of the security apparatus to carry out mass slaughter required extra justification. Trump provided this for Khamenei, proving that "Despotism and Imperialism are complementary to one another."

Currently, the ongoing internet shutdown, intended to facilitate "slaughter in the dark," is framed as a defensive security measure against foreign influence. Simultaneously, there is a danger that Trump may initiate military aggression against Iranian territory. In such a case, defenseless civilians will be the first victims (as seen during the "12-day war" by Israel's invasion of Iran), and the weak prospects of the current uprising will fall into obscurity, buried under a wartime atmosphere (as "state of emergency") or the agency of external forces and their mercenaries (suppressing the agencies of the people).

3. Excursus: The Role of the 'Reformist' Current in Upholding the Doctrine of State Preservation

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