Source: Persuasion
by Roohola Ramezani
“For decades, the world has viewed Iran through a series of familiar, if increasingly obsolete, lenses. From the ‘clash of civilizations’ to the ‘struggle for reform’ and the poignant aesthetics of ‘Women, Life, Freedom,’ Western observers have sought a narrative that fits their own political taxonomy. But today, as the Islamic Republic plunges the country into total digital darkness … a new reality is hardening in the silence. The information that trickles out via Starlink and clandestine dispatches reveals a fundamental shift that many in the West find difficult to reconcile with their existing frameworks: Iranians are no longer asking for a seat at the table. They are demanding a different table entirely. The movement that has gripped Iran since December 28 is not a plea for human rights within a theological framework, nor is it a subset of global identity politics. It is a profound, pragmatic, and increasingly radical return to secular nationalism.” (01/14/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/iranians-just-want-a-normal-country