As Tehran tightens control over wartime information, one of Iran’s most influential citizen journalists has come under renewed pressure: Vahid Online, long anonymous, is now stepping into the open.
Nowruz and the turning of the year have always carried, even in the happiest times, a blend of celebration and sorrow. Remembering the departed is part of welcoming the new year.
The assassination of Ali Larijani has opened a rare gap at the center of Iran’s security system, raising immediate questions about who can replace him and whether anyone can perform the same role.
The US counterterrorism chief’s resignation over the Iran war made waves in Washington, but his assertion that Tehran posed no imminent threat was swiftly challenged by officials and analysts.
The Israeli killing of Ali Larijani marks another blow to the Islamic Republic’s capacity for coordination, weakening an already fragmented system and raising the risk of miscalculation under pressure.
Authorities in Tehran have issued sweeping warnings ahead of Iran’s annual fire festival, Chaharshanbeh Suri, framing the centuries-old celebration as a potential flashpoint for unrest during wartime.
In a normal year, Iranian newspapers would now be filled with stories celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year beginning March 20. But with war raging across Iran, front pages are instead dominated by headlines about security and survival.
Iran has imposed new restrictions on internet access, further limiting VPN connections and reportedly targeting Starlink users, leaving even fewer people able to access global networks.
The killings of protesters in January did not end when the shooting stopped. For many Iranians living thousands of kilometers from the streets where the bullets fell, the event did not remain on their screens.
Iranian officials are urging citizens to fill the streets as Israeli strikes hit security sites, while opposition figures warn the calls aim to create civilian “human shields” around security forces under attack.
As Mojtaba Khamenei’s first public message was delivered Thursday following days of absence, Iranian newspapers and semi-independent websites moved to reinforce his image as a wartime leader.
Airstrikes in Iran have damaged several historic landmarks, including UNESCO-listed sites, raising concern among cultural experts and officials about the protection of heritage during the conflict.
Regional reactions to the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s new Supreme Leader have revealed growing anxiety about stability, with Tehran’s allies condemning the killing of his father and adversaries hardening their military posture.
Threatening rhetoric on Iranian state television has intensified fears of renewed repression, as presenters and officials warn critics at home and abroad they could face confiscation of property, prison or even death.
Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei inherits not merely his father’s office but also the constitutional ambiguities and political compromises that accompanied Ali Khamenei’s own controversial elevation nearly four decades earlier.
Iran’s state media has moved quickly to frame the leadership transition not as a rupture but as proof of institutional resilience, shifting its messaging from wartime urgency to carefully managed continuity.
Two days after he was announced as Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei remains absent from public view, raising questions his swift selection was meant to pre-empt.
Within hours of Mojtaba Khamenei being named Iran’s new Supreme Leader, state institutions responded with solemn messages of loyalty while Persian-language social media filled with satire, as many Iranian users reacted with disbelief, political frustration and dark humor.
Mojtaba Khamenei’s rise to power amid a war with Israel and the United States—in which his parents, wife and a daughter were killed—has led many to wonder whether his leadership will be shaped more by vengeance than by strategy or reconciliation.
Iran’s shutdown of international internet access has entered its tenth day, leaving millions cut off from global communication and raising fears the blackout is putting civilians at risk during wartime.
Why would anyone celebrate bombs falling on their own country? The question was widely asked after videos emerged showing some Iranians cheering strikes on regime targets.
By elevating Mojtaba Khamenei—a figure most Iranians have never heard speak—the Islamic Republic has completed a long drift away from popular legitimacy.