December 1, 2023
by Warren L. Nelson
In most countries of the world especially Muslim-majority nations the public is strongly opposed to Israel’s military operations in Gaza. But Iran seems to be different.
The government of the Islamic Republic is by far the most staunchly pro-Hamas and anti-Israeli in the world. And probably in part for that very reason, the Iranian public is less pro-Hamas and anti-Israeli than other publics around the world.
This is difficult to ascertain with certainty, given that the regime actively promotes support for Hamas and actively seeks to crush opposition to its policies. But there are several indicators of Iranian public opinion being at odds with the regime’s.
For one thing, unlike elsewhere in the world, the Iran Times has seen no reports of spontaneous demonstrations in Iran in favor of Gazans. There are many pro-Arab marches in Iran. But they are all sponsored by the regime and generally held after Friday prayers.
For another thing, social media are packed with comments opposed to Hamas and defending Israel. It must be said that many of these comments are less anti-Hamas/pro-Israel than they are anti-Islamic Republic. In other words, many slam the regime for spending Iran’s money on anti-Israeli groups like Hamas and Hezbollah when Iran is in a deep financial hole. And many say the regime’s rhetoric could drag Iran into a war with Israel, with the writers saying they are willing to die for Iran but not for Palestine. So, the tenor of commentary is less support for Israel than it is opposition to the Islamic Republic a very different attitude from that seen elsewhere in the world.
Another indicator came when the government announced that it had collected 730 billion rials ($1.4 million) in charitable contributions from the Iranian public for the plight of Gazans in the first month of the Gaza crisis. But that is a paltry sum from a population of more than 85 million people and suggests surprisingly little sympathy for the Gazans (and perhaps disbelief that the government will actually send those contributions to Gaza citizens).
Yet further indicators came at two soccer matches in Tehran.
On October 20, thousands of soccer fans booed and blew air horns during a minute of silence for the people of Gaza before a game at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium, the largest sports stadium in the country. In recordings from the stadium, no counter chants could be heard supporting the regime’s policy.
Similarly, during an October 8 soccer game at Azadi Stadium, the fans of the Persepolis team protested the presence of Palestinian flags in the stadium and chanted, “Stick your Palestinian flag up your a**!”
Meanwhile, prominent Iranian activists and intellectuals have spoken out against the high toll of Tehran’s confrontation with Israel.
Sadeq Zibakalam a Tehran-based university professor said on X that Iranian officials and lawmakers have demonstrated “clear and public support for Hamas’s attacks” in Israel. “How do these attacks serve the interests of the Iranian people?” he asked.
It needs to be noted that a large proportion of Iranians have always disdained Arabs, so a lack of sympathy for them is nothing new and cannot be attributed solely to lack of popularity for the regime.
But the bottom line is that the Islamic Republic is by far the biggest supporter and financier of Hamas in the world. And despite that or, more likely, because of that Iranians are opposing the cause of Gaza because the regime has come out so strongly in favor of the cause of Gaza.
Nasser Imani, a conservative journalist and staunch supporter of the regime, said in an interview November 5 that ordinary Iranians “stand against whatever the Islamic Republic favors and support whatever the Islamic Republic opposes.” Then, he added, “Of course, when you have the overseas TV channels in your home all day, spouting news that is biased toward the US and Israel, you can’t expect anything but this.”
Further evidence for the we-oppose-what-you-support attitude comes from Iranians living in exile, who have joined many marches abroad in favor of Israel and advertised that fact on social media.
“At the popular level, there is little connection between Iranians and the Palestinian cause,” Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House in London, told Radio Free Europe (RFE). “This is not because people don’t feel for Palestinians, but because ordinary people are more broadly opposed to the government’s regional policy.”
In the wake of Hamas’s raids into Israel October 7, Iranian officials have been in a celebratory mood. In Tehran, the authorities erected billboards that heralded the beginning of “the great liberation” of the Palestinian territories and the demise of Israel. State broadcasting has been filled ever since that day with propaganda barrages saying Hamas has already defeated Israel and that the Israeli Army was demolished October 7.
For the last several years, the constant propaganda refrain from the regime has been that Israel and American Jews run the United States, which cannot do anything but support whatever Israel wants. Since October 7, however, the official line is that Israel is a spent force and the United States runs it and tells Israeli officials what to do. When the Israel Defense Force (IDF) invaded Gaza October 27, the state media said Washington had organized and commanded the invasion. It even said that 5,000 American troops where among the invading force.
Many Iranian citizens complain that the authorities should not be giving public funds to Hamas and Hezbollah but instead address the deepening economic crisis in Iran.
“Iranians largely detest the regime’s foreign policy for the simple reason that it has brought them nothing but misery, international isolation, and economic difficulty,” Arash Azizi, author of “The Shadow Commander: Soleimani, The U.S., And Iran’s Global Ambitions,” told Radio Free Europe.
“They are also aware that the regime is not supporting the ‘Palestinian cause’ per se but Islamist terror groups, which makes this even less popular among most Iranians,” said Azizi, who is a senior lecturer at Clemson University in South Carolina.
During antiestablishment protests in recent years, demonstrators have chanted, “Leave Palestine. Think about us instead,” and, “No to Gaza, no to Lebanon, may my life be sacrificed for Iran.”
“Many Iranians show solidarity with Israel because they want to show that they don’t share the regime’s anti-Israel and anti-Semitic line,” said Azizi. “They also see the anti-Israel direction of the regime as dangerously isolating the country.”
There are certainly exceptions to this perspective. The most prominent of all is undoubtedly Narges Mohammadi, the recent Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who issued a statement from prison urging a ceasefire, while also critiquing the Hamas seizure of more than 240 hostages. She said, “Attacks on innocent people, hostage taking, killing of women, children and non-combatants, targeting of hospitals, missile strikes on residential areas have left the world in astonishment, horror and despair.” Hers was really a balanced condemnation of both sides. But many on social media criticized her for supporting the position of the regime—though the regime has never criticized Hamas for taking hostages
Meanwhile, former President Hassan Rohani cautioned the regime against getting too close to Hamas, warning that “a mistake, a wrong decision, or an imprecise action could drag the flames of war toward us.” And his foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said getting dragged into the war “would not affect officials in power, but would impact the Iranian people.” Neither man opposed support for Hamas, just over-zealous support for Hamas.
