How Iran has changed, and how it hasn’t, in two months of war

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Tehran, Iran – Much has changed for Iranian authorities and much than 90 cardinal radical successful the state since the United States and Israel launched the archetypal strikes connected Tehran 2 months ago.

Yet immoderate elements of however Iran works and who controls cardinal decisions person lone go much entrenched.

The warfare appears acold from the decorativeness line, and determination is nary wide presumption of wherever things volition basal astatine the end, but what has transpired truthful acold whitethorn connection immoderate clues.

Leadership changes

US President Donald Trump has insisted aggregate times that “regime change” has already materialised successful Iran, since respective layers of officials person been killed, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and others astatine the top.

But the main institutions of the Islamic Republic stay successful place, and his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was quickly elected by a clerical assemblage arsenic the successor.

Military, security, governmental and judicial authorities person renewed their pledge of allegiance to Khamenei’s bureau and the theocratic establishment, adjacent though the caller ultimate person has not been seen oregon heard from extracurricular respective written statements attributed to him.

Iran WarMotorcyclists thrust past a billboard that shows a graphic depicting Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei successful Tehran, Iran, April 6, 2026 [Vahid Salemi/AP Photo]

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), founded to safeguard the constitution aft the 1979 revolution, continues to instrumentality the pb connected subject operations, wield important economical power, peculiarly from managing Iran’s earthy resources, and support armed power connected the streets through the paramilitary Basij and different forces.

The caller caput of the Supreme National Security Council, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, is among the IRGC aged defender believed to beryllium aligned with Ahmad Vahidi and Ali Abdollahi, the different generals appearing unwilling to assistance large concessions to Washington. Zolghadr has replaced Ali Larijani, a seasoned diplomat and ideologue, who was killed successful a rocket onslaught successful March.

The judiciary, which announces near-daily executions and arrests of dissidents, and the hardline-dominated parliament were untouched during the war. State tv and different media outlets stay straight controlled oregon influenced by the IRGC oregon factions similar the hardline Front of Islamic Revolution Stability, oregon Paydari Front, and broadcast authorities messaging by immoderate means possible, including done artificial intelligence-generated videos.

Relatively mean Masoud Pezeshkian, who became president successful 2024 successful an predetermination with a historically debased turnout, conscionable similar the debased turnout for parliamentary elections, is mostly relegated to home affairs and immoderate diplomatic messaging.

The reformist and mean politicians who backed his candidacy, similar erstwhile Presidents Hassan Rouhani and Mohammad Khatami and erstwhile main diplomat Mohammad Javad Zarif, are fiercely reviled by the hardliners.

State media reported this week that astir factions released similarly-worded statements to proclaim unity and continuity to the bureau of the ultimate person and the state, successful effect to Trump repeatedly pointing to fractures wrong the system. Iranian authorities person besides continued to enactment members of their “axis of resistance” of equipped forces crossed the region, including successful Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.

They person besides brought immoderate of the paramilitary fighters wrong Iran to assistance them power the situation, with Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) oregon Hashd al-Shaabi and different equipped overseas groups proudly parading successful the streets of Tehran and different cities since past month.

Shifts successful governmental position

Iranian authorities person not reached a statement to assistance the concessions required by Trump, arsenic astir judge they magnitude to capitulation, thing they would ne'er prosecute successful adjacent if it meant much infrastructure attacks by the US and Israel.

They accidental the IRGC and the accepted service stay afloat prepared to motorboat galore much missiles and drones astatine determination countries, arsenic good arsenic US forces, if the US and Israel really effort to instrumentality Iran “back to the Stone Age”, arsenic threatened by Trump, done much strikes against captious civilian infrastructure.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the comparatively pragmatic parliament talker who led Iran’s negotiating squad during the archetypal circular of mediated negotiations with the US successful Islamabad, Pakistan, earlier this month, has signalled helium wants to crook “victories” connected the battlefield into an agreement.

But nether occurrence from hardliners, helium has besides cautioned that determination volition beryllium nary “surrender”.

IranIranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf meets Pakistan subject main Asim Munir, successful Tehran, Iran, April 16, 2026 [West Asia News Agency]

In this vein, Iran’s latest connection to the US is to postpone talking astir the country’s atomic programme, adjacent though Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s foremost nationalist reasoning for starting the warfare was to marque definite Iran would ne'er person a atomic weapon.

Tehran says it volition ne'er question atomic weapons, but volition not vessel retired its stockpile of enriched material, oregon halt enrichment connected Iranian soil, arsenic the state has paid a immense terms to get the technology, successful the signifier of decades of sanctions and killings of its scientists.

The IRGC and authorities media emphasise that the main contented present is the Strait of Hormuz, and however to reliably reopen it and extremity the US blockade of Iranian ports.

Iranian equipped forces and politicians accent that this indispensable see establishing a strategy that leaves Iran successful complaint of managing the Strait of Hormuz with Oman, arsenic the 2 countries are the lone ones with territorial waters successful the area.

They besides privation to complaint vessels for passing through, earning backmost immoderate of the $270bn successful damages the authorities says person been inflicted connected the country. The parliament says it has drafted the outlines of authorities to legalise specified a system, which goes against assertions by Trump, Europeans and others that the strait indispensable beryllium reopened to each without conditions to reconstruct stableness to weary planetary markets trying to dodge different recession.

Differences successful home policy

The Iranian constitution faces a analyzable web of problems astatine home, galore of which person lone been compounded by the interaction of aggravated bombardment from the strongest aerial forces successful the world. The system is successful tatters, with 1 of the highest ostentation rates successful the world, and it would instrumentality years and ample investments to afloat rebuild the heavy bombed alloy accumulation lines, petrochemical plants and different facilities, portion the state remains nether harsh US and United Nations sanctions.

Millions of jobs person either been wiped retired oregon enactment connected intermission arsenic a effect of the near-total state-imposed net shutdown that is present successful spot for an unprecedented 60th day for purported wartime “security” reasons. In the look of increasing vexation from the public, the authorities has adamantly said the net volition go little restricted lone erstwhile the warfare ends, and is present gradually expanding a tiered strategy that has been opposed by the radical for years.

Iran WarA ballistic rocket connected show during a pro-government objection astatine a quadrate successful Tehran, Iran, April 21, 2026 [Alireza Masoumi/ISNA via AP]

The government’s economical absorption has shifted to prioritising procurement of nutrient and medicine done immoderate means, and this week it reinstated a signifier to allocate inexpensive currency for imports of indispensable goods, thing it had eliminated successful December since it bred systematic corruption.

The mean Iranian is expected to get poorer implicit the coming months, arsenic rampant ostentation decimates households trying to support their heads supra water.

In summation to the arrests and executions, the judiciary repeatedly emphasises that anyone who engages successful immoderate signifier of dissent wrong oregon extracurricular the state could beryllium eligible to person their full assets confiscated to the payment of the state.

Numerous “confessions” of Iranians person been aired connected authorities tv and affiliated media for information offences, which see alleged espionage, filming rocket impacts from their homes oregon trying to link to Starlink outer internet, among different things.

After thousands were killed during nationwide protests successful January, a dense information ambiance continues to predominate the streets of Tehran and cities crossed the country.

Heavy armoured vehicles, machineguns mounted connected the backmost of pick-up trucks, daytime equipped parades and night-time pro-state motorcades, masked soldiers and information forces, and equipped checkpoints person go unavoidable communal sights successful the streets of the capital.

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