Angel Jaramillo Torres
In 2025, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to María Corina Machado for her “tireless work” in defending the democratic values of the Venezuelan people. But many forget that in 2023, the same prize was awarded to Narges Mohammadi for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and for promoting human rights and freedom.
Mohammadi is now in Evin prison, held by the theocratic regime of the Shiite clergy. Her name, however, continues to be chanted by those protesting in the streets of Tehran and other cities across the country.
There are immediate and underlying causes for these new justified acts of rebellion. What ignited the streets was the response to the economic crisis characterized by rampant inflation that exceeded 42 percent last December. Undoubtedly, the reactivation of UN sanctions has contributed to Iran’s isolation from global trade. What makes the situation different this time—unlike similar uprisings in 2009 and 2022—is the rebellion of the bazaaris: the merchants of the Grand Bazaar in Tehran, who were vital to the clerical rebellion in 1979 against the Shah of Iran’s regime. Losing their support undoubtedly represents a tremendous blow to the Ayatollahs’ quest for credibility.
Added to the economic crisis is the loss of strength of the security and intelligence services, which were significantly weakened by the combined attacks of Israel and the United States last year. The fragility of the theocratic government has not gone unnoticed by rebel groups, who are no longer talking about a simple reform of the system but its decapitation. What is now in question is the legitimacy of the “Islamic Republic” born in 1979.
The situation is such that even within the government itself, there has been talk of accepting the leadership of Prince Reza Palhavi in exile, who recently openly called for the Trump administration to intervene on behalf of the rebel cause. We will see if the US leader grants them this.
We must understand what is at stake. Not only the dreams of freedom of the Iranian people, prominently represented by its women, but also the cessation of an apocalyptic danger to the planet: the likely use of nuclear weapons by a regime that wants to hasten the advent of the twelfth Mahdi—the last imam, whom Shiites hope will return from hiding at the end of time—and, with it, the end of the world. The success of this rebellion—whose central cry is “Death to the Dictator,” in reference to Ali Hoseini Khamenei—puts much more than the income of Tehran’s merchants on the line.
The illegitimacy of the regime is obvious to anyone who cares to see it. It is only fair that this time we witness the last breath of the Bi-sharaf.*
بی شرف، بی شرف، بیشرف
*Without honor / Shameless (Bi-sharaf): This is one of the most serious and recurring insults in Iranian culture. It is used extensively against the security forces (Revolutionary Guard and Basij) when they repress civilians or attempt to break strikes.
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