Flames lit up the night across Iran into the early hours of Wednesday as young people defied both the Islamic Republic and its religious decrees, turning this year’s Chaharshanbe Suri festival into a fiery act of rebellion.
Traditionally a joyous festival of renewal celebrated on the Tuesday before Nowruz, the Persian New Year, Chaharshanbe Suri has long been a thorn in the side of Iran’s ruling clerics.
However, this year, against the backdrop of Ramadan and rising discontent, the celebrations took on an unmistakably political tone.
In cities across Iran, the crackling of fires and the explosions of fireworks were accompanied by something far more threatening to the regime – chants of resistance. Young men and women, many of them unveiled, defying the regime’s harsh hijab laws, danced around and over rising flames, shouting “Reza Shah, rohat shad!” (Reza Shah, bless your spirit!) in a nod to the Pahlavi monarch who modernized Iran and suppressed the clerical class of ayatollahs that now dominates the country.
For the Islamic Republic, Chaharshanbe Suri has always been slightly problematic.
As an ancient Persian festival with Zoroastrian roots, it stands in stark contrast to the fundamentalist version of Islam enforced by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his allies. Over the years, state authorities have branded the celebrations as “un-Islamic,” repeatedly attempting to suppress them. But in 2025, with Iran’s domestic issues more in the limelight than ever, the timing was even more fraught.
This year, Chaharshanbe Suri coincided with the 18th day of Ramadan, a time of intense religious observance in Shia Iran. The next day, the 19th of Ramadan, marked the assassination of Imam Ali, the first imam of Shia Islam, ushering in a period of mourning for Shi’ites.
Iranian state media ramped up religious messaging, urging citizens to attend mosques for Quran recitations and reflections on Ali’s martyrdom. The police issued stern warnings against celebrating Chaharshanbe Suri festivities.
The regime’s attempts to drown out the celebrations with religious solemnity failed spectacularly. Instead, the festival became a flashpoint for resistance. In a powerful display of cultural and political defiance, young people chose to embrace their Iranian heritage over state Islamic ideology.
Persian Identity vs. Islamic Rule
What was once a cultural tradition celebrated by all Iranians has evolved into an act of political defiance. The Islamic Republic has spent decades trying to reshape Iran’s identity, tying it to a broader Islamic ummah (global Muslim community) rather than its rich Persian heritage, but younger people – many of whom were born after the 1979 Iranian Revolution – are pushing back.
The increasing popularity of slogans praising Reza Shah, the very ruler who sidelined the clerics and promoted the idea of secular modernization in Iran, shows that many Iranians long for a return to a national identity untethered from religious dogma.
His grandson, the crown prince of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, posted on X/Twitter a call to “Iranians to defy the Islamic Republic and celebrate the holiday publicly and proudly by singing the pre-revolutionary ‘Ey Iran’ [song].”
He then posted videos from throughout the country of people doing just that, along with a video of himself and his mother, former empress of Iran, Farah Pahlavi, jumping through flames themselves.
Although not directly tied to the festival, the patriotic song “Ey Iran” has become an anthem of defiance and national pride in modern Iran and is tied to the Pahlavi dynasty. In recent years, as Iranians gather to celebrate, some have sung or played it as a symbol of unity and defiance against the regime.
The generational shift between older supporters of the Islamic Revolution and its hold on Iran and the youth of today is particularly evident among Iranian women, who were highly visible during the celebrations this year. Unveiled and unafraid, they danced in the streets in defiance of the hijab laws that have sparked protests over the past few years.
Their act of rebellion was a direct challenge to the state’s authority in a country where women are often at the forefront of the fight for freedom.
The authorities responded with predictable force. Riot police were deployed, and in several cities, security forces clashed with revelers, using batons, tear gas, and even live ammunition in an attempt to disperse the crowds.
Videos circulated on social media showed plainclothes officers beating young people, yet the defiant chants continued.Despite the threats and the brutal crackdown, the government’s reliance on repression has not quelled the anger bubbling beneath the surface; if anything, it has only fueled the flames of dissent.
This year’s Chaharshanbe Suri was the most political in recent memory, with dissent growing among Iranians at domestic policies and high inflation, which have left many impoverished. It was a moment when ordinary Iranians used tradition as a tool of resistance.
As Nowruz arrives, bringing with it the promise of a new start, the Islamic Republic faces a sobering reality: the younger generation is not afraid.
The fires have been lit and they won’t easily be extinguished.