“Mah nishtana ha-Nowruz hazeh?” This playful question borrows from the Passover Seder’s famous refrain, “Why is this night different from all other nights?”
As Iranians prepare to welcome the Persian New Year this Friday, the line does not feel entirely tongue-in-cheek.
Nowruz, marking the spring equinox, has always been about renewal. Families across Iran and the Iranian diaspora will set their Haft-Seen tables, light candles, and mark the ancient Persian tradition that predates Islam and the Islamic Republic by centuries.
But this year, Nowruz arrives under circumstances unlike those of most recent years.
The Islamic Republic’s leadership has been shaken by war, as two weeks of Israeli and American airstrikes have hit regime targets across Iran, decimating military installations and killing former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In the days leading up to Nowruz, exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has been telling Iranians that the country may be approaching a decisive moment.
“Dear compatriots, we are now at the decisive stage of our final struggle,” he wrote in a message posted on March 11. “Continue to strike and do not show up for work. Continue your nightly chants to show your unity.”
The message also targeted Iran’s security forces.
'This is your last chance'
“To the military and law enforcement forces: This is your last chance to break from the oppressive forces and join your people,” he wrote. “Await my final call.”
A day later, Pahlavi returned with another message, warning that “important and decisive days lie ahead.”
He urged Iranians to avoid approaching government, military, or police facilities, saying the regime was using schools, mosques, and public buildings as cover for its security forces.
“Do not sacrifice your lives and safety for the survival of the Islamic Republic,” he wrote in an appeal to state employees. “Do not allow yourselves to be used as human shields.”
On Saturday, Pahlavi addressed what he called the “Immortal Guard” – small opposition cells operating inside Iran.
“I told you that help was on the way,” he wrote. “Now that help has arrived.”
Pahlavi urged Iranians to continue weakening the regime’s security apparatus, which he said was now under “heavy blows from the sky.”
“This is not a call for street demonstrations,” he wrote. “It is a call to you… to deliver intelligent and effective blows against the exhausted and worn-down oppressors, so that the path for the millions of the Iranian nation to flood the streets is further cleared.
“I eagerly await the day when I will stand beside you in the first liberated city of Iran.”
At the same time, Israeli messaging for the Iranian public also took on a direct tone, appearing to suggest that something substantial was imminent.
In a series of statements posted by the Prime Minister’s Office last week, Israel framed the ongoing military campaign against the regime as an opportunity for Iranians themselves.
“People of Iran, we are waging a historic war for liberty,” one message said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you to remove the ayatollah regime and gain your freedom.”
Another was: “We are focused on regime targets and are doing our best not to harm the people of Iran. We are your ally. Your best ally.”
Seizing the moment
But the most notable lines were about timing.
“In the coming days, we will create the conditions for you to grasp your destiny,” the statement said. “When the time is right, and that time is fast approaching, we will pass the torch to you. Be ready to seize the moment.”
Last year, during the fire festival of Chaharshanbe Suri on the eve of Nowruz, young Iranians turned a traditional celebration into a political statement. Fires burned across the country as young men and women jumped over the flames, chanting, “Reza Shah, rohat shad!” in praise of the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty, who sidelined the clerical class that now dominates Iran.
Many of the participants were unveiled women, openly defying the regime’s strict hijab laws.
For Iran’s ruling mullahs, festivals such as Chaharshanbe Suri and Nowruz have always been complicated, as their ancient Persian roots stand in conflict with the Islamic Republic’s stance to define the country’s religion primarily through revolutionary Shi’ite ideology.
The traditions, however, have endured and have become personal expressions of ancient Iranian identity that allow the population a small token of rebellion.
For most Iranians this week, Nowruz will remain a time for family gatherings and the rituals marking the start of a new year.
Yet the holiday arrives amid open talk of decisive days ahead.
Perhaps nothing dramatic will happen. Perhaps it is all speculation and attempts by the Prime Minister’s Office and Pahlavi to continue ramping up pressure on the Islamic Republic. But talk of the “decisive stage of our final struggle,” and sentences such as, “In the coming days, we will create the conditions for you to grasp your destiny. Be ready to seize the moment,” leave one with bated breath.
As Iranian families gather around their Haft-Seen tables to mark the New Year, perhaps they will also welcome freedom – just as Jews will when Passover arrives in a few weeks.
Mah nishtana ha-Nowruz hazeh?
This Nowruz could be different from every other.