Some have fun in Iran after supreme chief’s demise, however deep concern and uncertainty stay | EUROtoday

Some of the jubilation was open and even raucous — folks dancing in Iranian streets, honking automobile horns in celebration, screaming joyfully from home windows and rooftops over the killing of the nation’s supreme chief. But as bombardment by the United States and Israel fell from the air for a second day Sunday, many expressed concern and uncertainty over what path Iran will take.

The demise of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who stood on the pinnacle of Iran’s Islamic Republic for practically 4 a long time, together with quite a lot of high army leaders within the first day of the U.S.-Israeli marketing campaign, surprised Iranians and stirred a mixture of advanced feelings in a divided nation.

“Inside, we are in party mode,” stated one man in northern Tehran who expressed pleasure over Khamenei’s demise. He was reached through messaging apps. “But unless we are safe from them, people are not celebrating publicly because they are ruthless and even more vengeful.”

Authorities moved to indicate public assist, rallying large crowds in a number of cities to mourn a frontrunner that state media declared a martyr. Video run on state media — verified by the AP — confirmed tens of 1000’s filling the sprawling most important squares of the southern and central cities of Isfahan and Yazd, waving Iranian flags and chanting, “Death to America.”

Several of those that joined previous anti-government protests, reached by The Associated Press on Sunday, stated the state’s safety grip remained too robust to exit for a brand new spherical of mass demonstrations, regardless of calls by U.S. President Donald Trump for Iranians to “seize their government.” With communications into Iran unstable, AP contacted eight Iranians, a few of whom spoke on situation of anonymity for safety causes.

Golshan Fathi, a girl residing in Tehran, stated the Basij paramilitary, which performed a key position within the bloody crushing of mass protests final month, was exhibiting a heavy presence within the streets of the capital. A physician within the northern metropolis of Rasht stated Basijis pulled one man out of his automobile after he honked his horn in celebration.

Iranian society in the intervening time, Fathi stated, resides “between hope and concern.”

Some cheered, some honked

Iranian society is deeply divided. Hundreds of thousands marched in the streets across Iran last month, chanting “Death to Khamenei” in what were likely the biggest protests ever against the clerics’ rule in place since 1979. A bloody crackdown crushed the street movement, but not the bitterness against the government. At the same time, large numbers of loyalists remain tied to the system for religious, social or patronage reasons.

Iran’s leadership quickly moved to show it was still in control even after the deaths of Khamenei, the defense minister, army chief of staff and a top security adviser. President Masoud Pezeshkian said a new leadership council had begun its work, and the foreign minister said a new supreme leader would be chosen in “one or two days.”

Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf delivered an address on state TV on Sunday, saying the government and military did not depend on individuals.

“We prepared ourselves for these moments and set plans for all scenarios,” he said, “even for after the martyrdom of our dear Imam Khamenei.”

State media announced Khamenei’s death just after dawn on Sunday. Celebrations erupted in some areas. Videos circulating online and verified by the AP showed dozens cheering and dancing and cars honking their horns in the streets of Karaj, a city near Tehran. Fathi in Tehran and the doctor in Rasht said cheers and celebratory chants were heard from windows and rooftops around their neighborhoods.

“It was one of the best nights, if not the best night, of our lives,” the doctor said in a voice message. “It was actually my first time ever smoking a cigarette. … We didn’t sleep at all. And we don’t even feel tired.”

During the day, Iranians faced the reality of living under bombardment, with no idea when it will end. Blasts in Tehran sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky in an area where there are government buildings. Iranian authorities say more than 200 people have been killed in the strikes, including at least 165 killed in a strike at an all-girls school in the country’s south.

Residents of Tehran rushed to supermarkets on Sunday, emptying shelves of bottled water, bread, eggs and milk. Long lines at gas stations across the capital suggested fears of possible fuel shortages or plans by many to leave the city. State television footage showed heavy traffic on major highways, with cars packed bumper-to-bumper as families attempted to reach northern provinces. Others said they were staying home, deciding that was safer.

Iran fired missiles at an ever-widening list of targets in Israel and Gulf Arab states in retaliation while Israel pledged “non-stop” strikes against Iran’s leaders and military.

Some talk about a possible ‘new page’ for Iran

Fathi said she fears the Islamic Republic will hold onto power, “leading to chaos or even causing the splitting of the nation.

“But maybe, maybe from this morning, that new page for Iran where everything changes has begun. People are hopeful,” she said. As she spoke, she heard the sound of explosions in the capital. “Right now, you see, Israel is hitting us. Fighters have violated our country’s airspace and are freely bombing us and we are just sitting here.”

Iranians are still reeling from last month’s crackdown, when security forces killed thousands. That and the ensuing wave of arrests have made many fearful of taking the streets again. Others are wary of U.S. and Israeli intentions or fear that Iran will be thrown into chaos and division.

“I don’t think that the people have their determination in their own hands yet,” the doctor in Rasht said. “This is a foreign war at the end of the day. But if the regime is so weakened and then another call for protests is made, this is another story.”

Reza Mehrabi, 67, said celebrations of the deaths of Iranian senior leaders seem premature. He recalled similar celebrations after the 1979 revolution when the Shah was deposed, and the Islamic Republic’s reign began.

“I saw some people were happy about the losses, but when I remember 1979 revolution and its aftermath, I need more consideration to understand if the nation and the country is on the right path.”

But there’s uncertainty about how much the strikes will embolden Iranians

One 27-year-old Tehran resident said a strike fell a few hundred yards (meters) away from her house, terrifying her with the explosion. “I have no idea which direction we are heading,” she said. “I wish all these things were just a bad dream that vanishes when I wake up.”

Despite Trump’s calls for Iranians to rise up, experts say launching a new wave of mass demonstrations may not be so simple.

“The reality is, the Iranian people don’t have the means to displace the Islamic Republic on their own,” said Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies-Europe.

The strikes will embolden some people, he predicted, but many will be wary of taking to the streets again “because the regime retains its repressive capacity … and there should be no doubts it would be willing to use violence again against protesters.”

“Even inside households and inside neighborhoods there could also be very disparate views” about Khamenei’s killing, particularly as a result of it was by the hands of overseas powers, he stated.

Both in final summer season’s 12-day warfare with Israel and to this point on this spherical of bombardment, “the political and military apparatus has been hit hard, but they have replaced people and maintained their cohesion,” stated Arang Keshavarzian, professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at New York University.

During the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iranians from throughout society held large protests lasting for months, ultimately resulting in the shah fleeing the nation. “But we are far from the 1979 model in which Iranians organized strikes and nationwide organizations of merchants, students, and clerics,” Keshavarzian stated.

“Just because Iranians have many grievances and make claims on the state on a daily basis, it does not necessarily mean that this will scale up to a social revolution,” he said. “And bombing Iran does not change this.”

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El Deeb and Chehayeb reported from Beirut.