The precision strikes carried out by Israel and the United States two weeks ago dealt a devastating blow to the core of Iran’s nuclear program. Uranium enrichment sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan were destroyed. Command chains, underground facilities, and control centers were neutralized. Infrastructure that the Islamic Republic had built over two decades, aimed at the destruction of Israel, was wiped out in a single night.
But beyond the physical devastation lies an even deeper battle – a struggle over identity. At this vulnerable moment, when the regime is battered, exposed, and afraid, the mullahs’ greatest fear is being revealed: the Iranian people no longer believe in them – and perhaps no longer want them.
One of the regime’s first moves after the 1979 Islamic Revolution was to rename the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, the state-run radio and television service, “Seda va Sima,” meaning “The voice and image of the Islamic Republic.”
Since the revolution, Iran has tried to portray itself as a “moral state,” opposing “Zionist occupation” and “Western imperialism.” However, after the recent bombings and symbolic blows to the regime, the hollow slogans of a government that represses its citizens have lost their footing.
Only a small segment of the Iranian public demonstrated against Israel as commanded by the regime. On Persian-language social media, a very different mood emerged. One user wrote: “Perhaps only bombs from the outside will free us from within.” Another commented: “Whoever struck Fordow may have saved Tehran.”
Iran’s state media attempted to portray the attack as minor, but leaks and footage sent to exile-run outlets such as Iran International told a different story: Nuclear facilities were destroyed; most missile launchers were incinerated; the few planes they had were obliterated; senior nuclear engineers and their commanders were killed. Tehran’s response was limited to empty declarations.
BEFORE IT was conquered by Islam in the 7th century, Persia was a cosmopolitan empire that cultivated one of the most glorious cultures in human history. Its religion was Zoroastrianism, a monotheistic faith centered on truth, freedom of thought, and peace among nations.
In the words of historian Richard Frye:
“Ancient Iran was a legacy and symbol of moral rule that influenced Greece, Rome, and India – long before Islam was born.”
Spirit of ancient Persia continues to burn quietly
Though Iran’s secular identity was gradually blurred following the Muslim conquest, it never disappeared. Even under the Islamic Republic, the spirit of ancient secular Persia continued to burn quietly beneath the surface.
Today’s young Iranians have grown tired of the regime’s hypocritical morality and murderous clerics. The regime is beginning to realize it is losing its grip – not just because of recently assassinated scientists and obliterated nuclear facilities, but because it is losing the battle for hearts and minds.
In response, the mullahs have tried to reinvent their image. One step: the rebranding of Press TV – Tehran’s international propaganda arm – which has now been renamed “Voice of Justice.” The goal: to project morality and a fresh start. However, for Iranian citizens, it is too little, too late.
An opposition broadcaster put it bluntly:
“Renaming the station isn’t a strategic move. It’s a sign of panic. The regime knows it has lost the street and is trying to sell the world an illusion of justice, while beneath the surface, unrest brews, and people know the balance has shifted.”
On social media and in university halls, the more secular Persian identity is reawakening. Young people are reclaiming Persian names, celebrating ancient holidays such as Nowruz – the Persian New Year, symbolizing renewal and growth – wearing shirts bearing the images of Cyrus the Great and Zoroaster, and expressing open contempt for the Islamic regime.
Shirin Ebadi, Iranian lawyer, writer, teacher, and 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, recently said:
“The Iranian people are seeking freedom – not nuclear weapons, not hijabs, not revenge. Just the right to be what they were before religious rule was forced upon them.”
The Israeli and US bombings may have marked the collapse of the nuclear project – but the renaming of a TV station may signal the collapse of something deeper: the public’s faith in the extreme religious identity the regime has tried to impose.
The real struggle is now unfolding within the souls of millions of Iranians – young people, students, women, and intellectuals – who long to return to their roots, to an era when culture, science, and openness were the pride of Persia. They are beginning to understand that true power lies not in uranium centrifuges, but in the human spirit.
The moment the Iranian people choose to cross the line of fear will be a defining one – not just for Iran, but for the entire Middle East. Such change won’t come from a bomb. It will come from awakening, from memory, from identity.
It’s a rare chance for a new chapter – one in which Iran is no longer a threat.
WILL IRAN remain imprisoned by an isolated religious regime, or return to its origins as an ancient cultural power? The answer may lie in remembering who Iran was before Islam turned it into a fortress of hatred and terror.
Roughly two weeks ago, Iran’s official news agency IRNA ceased its reports, only to resume recently with renewed threats: “The Zionist regime will soon pay for its war crimes.”
However, today’s Iranian youth are far more exposed to Western content and to radio broadcasts that reveal the truth the regime is so desperate to hide.
Persian identity is being reborn in today’s Iran, and real change will come when the Iranian people, weary of the ayatollah’s oppressive rule, rise up and overthrow that murderous tyranny that has repressed and humiliated them for so long.
The writer is CEO of Radios 100FM, an honorary consul, deputy dean of the Consular Diplomatic Corps, president of the Israeli Radio Communications Association, and former NBC News correspondent.