Iran’s State Media Embraces New Nationalist Narrative, Featuring Unveiled Women

Dressed in a pink top and acid-washed jeans, the young woman in the video looks nothing like the traditional, pious supporter of Iran’s clerical regime, standing in stark contrast to the crowd of women draped in black. This visual shift is intentional.

With her curls flowing freely, the woman provides a testimonial on camera.

“I was not a supporter of the Islamic Republic or the Supreme Leader,” she tells pro-government filmmaker Hossein Shamaghdari, who shared the footage online. She explains that following the attacks by the United States and Israel in February, she began to admire Iran’s hard-line forces as they defended the nation against two global powers.

“If the Revolutionary Guards and Basijis were not fighting, we would not still be here,” she says, visibly emotional while praising the same forces that previously suppressed protesters and unveiled women. “I am reflecting on the beginning of the war and rethinking my stance on the Islamic Republic.”

The woman’s identity remains unknown, making it difficult to verify if her political shift is genuine. However, the video signals a significant shift in strategy: the Iranian government and its supporters are crafting a new form of nationalism designed to co-opt those who once stood in opposition to the state.

Bolstered by its survival of the conflict and its position in ongoing peace negotiations, the Iranian government appears emboldened. Yet, a massive national reckoning looms as the country faces a deepening economic crisis and a population still fractured by the anti-government protests that preceded the war.

To mitigate these tensions, the regime is leveraging public indignation regarding foreign aggression. State media and its allies are projecting a sense of national unity intended to reach beyond their core ideological base.

The core message suggests that even dissenters and loyalists can unite against external threats. The regime is attempting to present a more inclusive facade, even as human rights activists report continued crackdowns on critics, property seizures, and a surge in executions.

For several weeks, pro-government social media accounts have circulated videos claiming that former protesters now believe there is “no alternative” to the Islamic Republic following the war. Other clips feature individuals with piercings—previously condemned by the theocracy—expressing support for the new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.

While the authenticity of these sentiments is unconfirmed, the videos do not overtly show signs of coercion, and many liberal Iranians have expressed opposition to the military actions taken by the U.S. and Israel against Iran.

Perhaps the most striking element of this new media trend is the inclusion of unveiled women, who have traditionally been viewed as symbols of defiance against the regime.

The hijab remains legally mandatory in Iran, with violations punishable by arrest or corporal punishment. Recently, human rights groups reported that singer Parastoo Ahmadi was sentenced to 74 lashes for performing without a veil in 2024.

Despite these laws, many women now openly flout them, making unveiled appearances common in both Tehran and rural areas. However, such images have rarely appeared in state-sanctioned media until now.

“For decades, mandatory hijab has been one of the deepest fault lines between supporters of the Islamic Republic and its opponents,” noted Omid Memarian, an Iran analyst at the Washington-based think tank DAWN.

He noted that while views on the hijab typically reflected broader stances on social liberty, loyalists are now willing to overlook these differences in favor of a united front against the war.

“Following the war, the country’s primary political and social divide has shifted,” Memarian added.

This new imagery differs sharply from the 1980s Iran-Iraq War era, Memarian observed, when state media utilized veiled women to symbolize piety and revolutionary devotion.

In the current conflict, state television has even broadcast military parades featuring women with pink-colored weaponry and vehicles.

The presence of unveiled women at pro-government rallies has become increasingly frequent. Some supporters frame this as a move toward national reconciliation following the violent crackdowns on protests in January.

“We have been unfair to these very people,” pro-government commentator Amir Taha Hussein Khan wrote on social media alongside photos of unveiled women at rallies. “Today, these same people stand selflessly against the enemy.”

Some observers remain skeptical, suggesting that rally attendance may sometimes be incentivized by food or financial compensation, though these claims remain unverified.

Critics, however, view this shift as blatant hypocrisy.

“They are attempting to weaponize the lack of hijab for their own ends,” said Maryam, a Tehran resident who requested anonymity for her safety. “Suddenly, in the midst of war, the regime claims we are all one.”

Some critics have countered these images by posting photos of unveiled women at rallies alongside images of the late Mahsa Amini, whose death in 2022 ignited the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement.

Shima Tadris, a researcher at the Gerda Henkel Foundation, noted that the government has occasionally used images of unveiled women during periods of post-dissent rallies, but the practice became widespread during the war to project an image of broad-based legitimacy.

Tadris suggested the strategy also serves to demoralize protesters by signaling that the movement is increasingly isolated: “The Islamic Republic wants to tell protesters, ‘You are the ones who are alone; more and more people are joining us.’”

These efforts to manufacture unity occur as Iranian society faces unprecedented fragmentation.

Naghmeh Sohrabi, a Middle East historian at Brandeis University, noted that before the war, the population was largely divided into pro- and anti-government camps. Since the conflict began, the opposition has split between those supporting U.S.-led intervention and those fearing its consequences, while government loyalists are divided over whether to pursue peace or continue the fight.

“Society is fracturing on a very deep level,” Sohrabi said. “The challenge is how to reintegrate a broken society.”

Roya Khoshnevis, a Tehran-based cultural analyst, suggested that while nationalistic fervor may not heal these rifts, there is a sense of collective pride in the nation’s resilience during the war.

“People may not feel more united,” she said, “but despite the regime’s historical actions, many Iranians feel a sense of pride in the country’s apparent strength.”

Tadris warned that the state’s current leniency may vanish once the immediate threat of war subsides.

Recently, the Iranian judiciary summoned the editor of the state news agency, IRNA, following a photo essay featuring an unveiled woman in her home. However, President Masoud Pezeshkian defended the editor.

“The same women who might one day be arrested are being shown holding photos of the Supreme Leader,” Pezeshkian stated during an interview with state media. “We must accept these differences and stop viewing them as inherently hostile.”

Shirin Hakim contributed reporting.

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