“The desire and aspiration of the overwhelming majority of the people is the overthrow of this regime,” said “B,” an ordinary Iranian who spoke to The Jerusalem Post from inside the Islamic Republic. “There is no doubt about that.”
B (whose name is redacted to protect their identity) is one of many voices growing louder within Iran, a nation where defiance, once whispered in corners, is now spoken aloud. Amid protests, economic collapse, and cultural rebellion, the Tehran-based Iranian offered a candid, unfiltered portrait of a society that is no longer afraid, no longer invested, and increasingly detached from the ideology imposed on it.
“In private gatherings and even in public, this dissatisfaction is visible. On the streets, in markets, in taxis, and with anyone you talk to, you will notice that people have moved past the regime,” B said.
This generational shift in loyalty, to nation over ideology, has deep roots in the history of the revolution itself.
“The return of the Iranian people to their historical identity, and the distancing from Islamic Sharia, which they see as an imposition on their nation, is a very obvious trend,” B said. “The fervor and emotions the Iranian people once had toward Islam, as seen in 1979, have drastically faded in recent years.”
B’s testimony is not a lone voice. In recent years, protests, often spearheaded by women against the discriminatory and dangerous laws against them, have challenged the Islamic Republic’s legitimacy on a scale not seen since 2009. But unlike those earlier demonstrations, today’s discontent runs deeper: It is cultural, economic, and existential.
B pointed to what they called the seizure of power by “the lowest social class... namely, the clerics,” referring to the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Four and a half decades on, the ideological glue that once held the regime and its people together is now dissolving.
“It was entirely natural that over time, due to the difference in worldview between the people and the regime, we would witness a widening gap between them – and this has been happening for years,” B told the Post.
This reflects a broader societal shift. Through his glorification of the umma (the global Islamic community) and Iranian support for groups across the Middle East – such as Hamas and Hezbollah – Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continues to envision Iran not as a nation-state, but as the vanguard of a global Islamic awakening, an identity that often comes at the expense of Iran’s own Persian cultural roots.
“The regime has no concern for Iran itself,” B stressed. “Its only concern is ideology and Islam – this is a crucial fact.”
The hijab frontline
Perhaps no single symbol encapsulates this cultural divide more than the mandatory hijab (women’s hair covering). What began as a legal requirement under former leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini has evolved into a daily flashpoint between regime enforcement and citizen resistance.
Perhaps the most famous resistance to hit the Islamic Republic since the fall of the Shah was in 2022-23 when protests erupted in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman who died in police custody after being arrested by the Guidance Patrol for allegedly violating the country’s strict hijab law.
The protests, initially sparked by Amini’s death, soon became a broader movement against the government’s oppressive policies, particularly its control over women’s rights and freedoms. In response, the Iranian government implemented harsh measures, including internet blackouts, social media restrictions, and the use of tear gas and live ammunition to suppress demonstrations. Hundreds were killed and over a thousand people were arrested. Since then, the government has tried to reinforce the mandatory hijab, but without much success.
“Women and girls, even in very small towns and villages, can now be seen without the hijab,” B said. “Even in remote areas, the regime has long ceased to react publicly.”
In recent months, Iranian authorities have attempted to double down on enforcement – deploying facial recognition technology, expanding the morality police’s jurisdiction, and even installing surveillance cameras in public transport to track non-compliant women.
The Majles (Iranian parliament) also passed new laws imposing harsher penalties for hijab violations, including prison time, loss of employment, and the seizure of vehicles. In one case, a woman was publicly flogged for non-compliance, sparking widespread condemnation. The authorities’ attempts, however, do not seem to be working.
“They try, through messaging, to gently imply that they are still in control,” B noted. “However, I believe the regime has lost the game in this area.”
Crushed by the economy
The economic situation within Iran is, for many, the most immediate source of despair. With inflation soaring, the rial plunging, and international sanctions biting harder each year, survival is now the defining concern of daily life, not ideology.
“The economic situation, especially for ordinary people, has worsened even compared to last year,” B stated. “All goods, whether essential or non-essential, have become significantly more expensive.”
Electricity outages are now common across the country. Food remains generally available, but for most households, the cost of basic necessities has outpaced income.
“The depreciation of the rial has certainly affected people’s lives, even among the middle class,” B said. “This is clearly visible in society.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s hardline parliament has prioritized morality laws over economic recovery, passing draconian hijab penalties while inflation hit 45% and youth unemployment surpassed 27%.
There is also the knowledge among ordinary Iranians that while they suffer under the actions of the regime, along with any sanctions placed on it, the ayatollahs are more than happy to siphon billions of dollars of oil wealth to proxy groups around the region, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis of Yemen. Before his fall last December, it was estimated that $30 billion of Iranian money had propped up the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
Adding fuel to public anger is the widespread belief that the country’s rulers have enriched themselves from Iran’s oil at the expense of the people. Top ayatollahs and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) elites, who dominate the nation’s oil trade, are said to possess personal fortunes worth hundreds of millions.
For B, those two groups are one and the same: “For the people, there is no difference between the various political factions within the regime, the IRGC, or the Supreme Leader. The people are very aware that the Islamic Republic in any form is just another deception meant to prolong its life. It is a historical fact that now is the best time to overthrow the regime.”
If fear once kept the Islamic Republic in place, that foundation, too, is beginning to crack.
Fading fear
Despite the ever-present threat of repression, fear of the regime is dissipating.
“Compared to 10 years ago, people are less afraid of the regime and speak openly against its policies in private circles,” B said.
This is not just anecdotal. The security apparatus remains brutal, but videos of public resistance, from women tearing off hijabs to pensioners confronting Basij forces, suggest a crumbling monopoly on fear.
Still, B warned of a regime more media-savvy than ever. “You’d have to spend a lot of time on Iranian streets to find someone who actually supports this regime,” he contends, yet much of the international media coverage fails to reflect this truth.
“The regime’s presence on social media under the guise of opposition, and in mainstream Persian-language media, is quite clear.”
B accused the Islamic Republic of building a “fake opposition” abroad – figures who criticize the regime just enough to maintain credibility while subtly pushing narratives of disunity, chaos, and ethnic fragmentation.
“Ordinary people don’t realize that the majority of so-called journalists and analysts on these channels are, in fact, regime appointees. Some may not even sympathize with the regime consciously, but in practice, they serve its interests. These networks give people hope when needed, and plant seeds of despair when the regime requires it,” B explained.
A message to Israel and the West
Perhaps the most surprising rejection of the regime comes not in protests or economic complaints, but in who Iranians say they trust. In a sharp departure from regime rhetoric, B painted a picture of an Iranian public far more aligned with Israel than its rulers would like to admit.
“Iranians truly like Israel. With even a surface-level look at the region, it’s clear that a free Iran and Israel would be close friends and allies,” B told the Post.
“For nearly half a century, the word ‘Israel’ has been associated with insecurity and war. Is this truly befitting of the dignity and heritage of the Jewish people?”
This admiration is strategic, not just sentimental. “The core question is: Why is Israel hesitating in the face of such a weakened regime? What regime has been more willing than the Islamic Republic to sacrifice everything just to keep Israel unsafe?”
That frustration extends to Washington, with B warning that the ongoing controversy regarding President Donald Trump’s attempt to rename the Persian Gulf may lead to discontent.
“Years of American efforts to keep the Iranian people on their side against the regime could collapse overnight,” B warned regarding this. “Naturally, this benefits no one but the Arabs.”
It is clear that the US and Israel would have domestic support in a lot of areas should they decide that the era of the ayatollahs is at an end, and B is adamant that the regime cannot be toppled by internal pressure alone.
“I don’t believe the people can take down this regime alone, without help or intervention from the West and Israel,” the Iranian dissident said.
“What more do they need to act, when the vast majority of Iranians stand with Israel and the US against the mullahs? This is a major reality that the West either doesn’t know, or chooses not to believe.”
What is needed, B advocated for, is not just pressure, but recognition: that the real Iranian opposition exists not in the studios of foreign-funded networks, but in the whispers on Tehran’s sidewalks, in the defiant women of Isfahan, and in the quiet fury of ordinary Iranians such as B.
“Even though the dream of the Iranian people is regime change, I believe Western and Israeli political and strategic elites still don’t realize how fragile this regime is,” B said. “If they truly acted, this regime’s foundations would prove weaker than a spider’s web.”