From Below: Iranian Civil Society Against War and Tyranny
by Siyavash Shahabi
In the shadow of sirens and smoke, where Tehran’s skyline is once again marked by fire and fear, a different kind of voice is emerging from within Iran—one that rejects both the bombs falling from foreign skies and the violence of the regime that claims to defend the homeland. While Israel’s attack on Iranian cities have intensified regional chaos and the Islamic Republic responds to the attack, an unprecedented wave of domestic dissent is rising from below. It is not the state, nor its generals or clerics, but workers, teachers, feminists, and writers—many of them imprisoned—who are speaking the clearest truths about war, justice, and survival.
In the past two days, six distinct but politically aligned statements have been issued by various sectors of Iranian civil society. These statements come from labor unions, educational syndicates, imprisoned women’s rights activists, and the Iranian Writers’ Association. They do not echo the calls for vengeance or nationalist pride. Instead, they condemn all sides of the conflict—from Israeli occupation and imperial violence to the Islamic Republic’s repressive and militarized rule. Together, these voices form a unified rejection of militarism and authoritarianism, and they call for peace, democracy, and dignity—not as slogans, but as survival strategies in a collapsing region.