After weeks of targeted assassinations of senior figures, Iran's leadership has shifted tactics to make overt public displays of authority. In central Tehran in recent days, the president and the foreign minister have each been filmed moving through groups of several hundred people who had gathered in public spaces in apparent support of the Islamic Republic.
State-run television on Tuesday broadcast footage showing the two officials posing for selfies, conversing with members of the public and shaking hands with supporters. Those images follow more than a month of sustained strikes and high-profile killings that have unsettled Iran's ruling circles.
People familiar with the thinking inside Iran's hardline establishment and outside analysts describe the public appearances as a calculated tactic by the theocratic leadership to convey resilience and command. The objective, according to these sources, is twofold: to project authority over strategic maritime chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz and to reassure - or at least demonstrate control over - the domestic population while the conflict continues.
One insider close to the hardline establishment said the outings are meant to show that the Islamic Republic is "unshaken by strikes and that it remains in control and vigilant" even as the war grinds on.
The U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran began on February 28 with the killing of veteran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several senior military commanders in waves of strikes. Those strikes have continued in subsequent weeks and have targeted top officials. Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father on March 8, has not been seen in public since taking over.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi was removed from Israel's hit list amid mediation efforts last month - efforts that included Pakistan - to bring Tehran and Washington together for talks aimed at ending the war. Those discussions, however, have since appeared to lose momentum as Tehran described U.S. peace proposals as "unrealistic."
Against this backdrop, recent public engagements by President Masoud Pezeshkian and Araqchi read as deliberate signals of defiance, if not definitive evidence of broad popular support. A senior Iranian source told reporters that officials' public presence demonstrates the regime's belief that "the establishment is not intimidated by Israel's targeted killing of top Iranian figures."
When asked whether Iran's foreign minister or president were on any sort of kill list, an Israeli military spokesperson, Nadav Shoshani, said on Friday he would not "speak about specific personnel."
Nightly rallies and military responses
Despite widespread destruction from the attacks, Tehran appears to have been emboldened by its ability to withstand weeks of intense strikes. The Iranian response has included firing on Gulf countries that host U.S. troops and demonstrating an ability to effectively block the Strait of Hormuz - actions that officials and supporters present as evidence of operational resilience.
On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump vowed more aggressive strikes on Iran, without offering a timeline for ending hostilities. Tehran answered by warning the United States and Israel that "more crushing, broader and more destructive" attacks were in store.
Encouraged by clerical rulers, supporters of the Islamic Republic have taken to the streets each night, filling public squares to register loyalty even as bombs strike across the country. Analysts say this mobilization has a strategic purpose beyond public display: to raise the political and reputational cost for those conducting the strikes at a time when civilian casualties are deeply troubling for many Iranians.
Omid Memarian, a senior Iran analyst at DAWN in Washington, described the decision to send officials into public gatherings as part of a layered strategy that includes sustaining the morale of the regime's core supporters at a moment of intense pressure. "The system relies heavily on this base; if its supporters withdraw from public space, its ability to project control and authority weakens significantly," Memarian said.
Accounts aired on state television show a mixture of views in the crowds. Some attendees voiced unwavering loyalty to Iran's leadership; others opposed the bombing of their country regardless of political affiliation; still others appeared motivated by practical ties to the system - government employees, students and others whose livelihoods are connected to state institutions.
Human rights and civil society figures warn that the regime's strategy also uses loyal crowds as physical shields. Hadi Ghaemi, head of the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, said the establishment is placing officials amid large gatherings to raise the stakes for any assassination attempts. "By being in the middle of large crowds they have protections that would make Israeli-American attacks against them very bloody and generate sympathy worldwide," he said.
Domestic repression and the night-time environment
The Islamic Republic traces its roots to a mass-backed revolution in 1979. Decades of governance that critics say included corruption, repression and mismanagement have eroded popular support and alienated many ordinary Iranians. While the anti-government protests that erupted in January showed signs of mobilization, they largely abated after a deadly crackdown.
Faced with the risk of renewed dissent, the establishment has moved to prevent the re-emergence of street protests by employing harsh measures - including arrests, executions and the large-scale deployment of security forces.
Rights groups have warned about "rushed executions" during wartime, noting that Iran hanged at least seven political prisoners during the conflict. Such actions contribute to a climate of fear that keeps many potential protesters off the streets.
Ghaemi said many who might otherwise protest are deterred by the continuing presence of armed individuals and violent crowds in public areas and therefore "largely stay at home once darkness falls."
As Iran's leadership stages visible interactions with supporters in Tehran's public spaces, analysts and insiders see these moves as part of an effort to maintain vital pillars of authority while under intense external pressure. Whether these appearances will bolster the regime's standing domestically or alter the strategic calculations of its adversaries remains uncertain in the current environment of ongoing strikes and diplomatic breakdown.