Once again, the charge of \u201cseparatism\u201d is being used to threaten political forces that demand an end to national discrimination in Iran. But who benefits from turning this into a taboo? And what kind of \u201corder\u201d is being prepared in the name of territorial integrity?<\/p>\n
In this article, Hamid Taqvaei takes apart the narrative being pushed from above and argues that the real issue is not separatism, but the attempt to preserve domination and suppress revolutionary forces after the fall of the Islamic Republic.<\/p>\n
By <\/strong>Hamid Taqvaee – 25 February 2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0Recently, Reza Pahlavi, under the pretext of an alliance among several Kurdish parties and organisations, has once again begun issuing threats against so-called \u201cseparatists.\u201d In his view, any political force or organisation that calls for the abolition of national discrimination is \u201cseparatist\u201d and must be suppressed by the force of a \u201cnational-patriotic army.\u201d He has not reached any position of power, yet he is already brandishing his non-existent army against alleged \u201cseparatist\u201d forces. Apparently, invoking separatism is meant to justify any crime. This taboo must be broken. There is no separatist party or organisation in Iran \u2014 but even if such a party did exist, it would not be committing a crime. In Western democracies, separatist parties operate openly and in some cases even hold seats in parliaments and governments. Separatism is only a taboo for chauvinist dictators obsessed with grandeur; this taboo must be shattered over their heads.<\/p>\n Attacking non-Persian forces under the banner of \u201cterritorial integrity\u201d has been a hallmark of Persian chauvinism and of all the dictators who have ruled Iran over the past century. Mr Reza Pahlavi appears intent on following the same path. Resorting to force against people and political forces who, after the overthrow of the Islamic Republic, demand the abolition of national discrimination is part of the monarchists\u2019 horizon for dominating a revolutionary society after the fall of the regime. Preserving \u201corder and security\u201d after the collapse of the Islamic Republic; imposing martial law in \u201cunrest-prone\u201d cities; using the IRGC and Basij and integrating them into the army \u201cto maintain security\u201d; and alongside this, suppressing forces demanding an end to national discrimination under the pretext of separatism and violation of territorial integrity \u2014 all of these are components of establishing a new form of dominating power in the post\u2013Islamic Republic period. This is not a scenario for \u201cmanaging the transition,\u201d but an attempt to salvage as much as possible of the existing dictatorship and its repressive apparatus in the face of the revolutionary advance that overthrew the Islamic Republic. What matters to the monarchists is action against the revolutionary popular forces who brought the regime down \u2014 an attempt to sideline the people, suppress them and send them back home.<\/p>\n Reza Pahlavi appears to dream of a scenario similar to Khomeini\u2019s confrontation with the aftershocks of the February uprising up to 20 June 1981. But if Khomeini\u2019s scenario was a tragedy, Pahlavi\u2019s would be nothing more than a pitiful farce. Iranian society today \u2014 not least thanks to the Jin, Jiyan, Azadi<\/em> (Woman, Life, Freedom) movement \u2014 is far more conscious, organised and united than to allow the revolution to be crushed once again in the name of revolution. Threats and intimidation directed at left-wing and republican opposition parties and forces in Kurdistan, in border regions and across Iran \u2014 in a society that has risen with the slogan \u201cKurd, Baluch, Azari \u2014 freedom and equality\u201d \u2014 will yield nothing but the disgrace and isolation of those who issue them.<\/p>\n Hamid Taqvaee <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\n25 February 2026<\/p>\n