The far-right and extremist government of Benjamin Netanyahu has found itself in an unprecedented state of international isolation. The reasons for this are both clear and ongoing:
۱. The continued genocide and war crimes in Gaza;
۲. Illegal attacks on Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, etc.;
۳. Support for the daily crimes committed by illegal settlers in the occupied territories and the aggressive promotion of racial segregation policies within Israel;
۴. The shameless and imperialistic defense of the “Greater Israel” doctrine;
۵. The assault on and total destruction of Gaza City;
۶. Attacks on Qatar—U.S. main ally in the Persian Gulf and a key peace mediator in several conflicts, particularly Gaza—and the targeted killing of negotiators involved in ceasefire talks proposed by the U.S.;
۷. Fanatical, baseless, and futile opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state—an initiative that just recently gained overwhelming support both in the European Parliament and in the United Nations General Assembly.
But what holds particular importance for us Iranians is this: at a time when Israel—by trampling all international laws and norms, and relying heavily on blackmail and lobbying tactics in the U.S. and Europe—has simultaneously dragged the entire Middle East into a dangerous and one-sided war across seven fronts, and has turned nearly all major and minor world governments (with the possible exception of the United States and the United Kingdom) against itself, it has, as prominent American analyst Jeffrey Sachs puts it, become the world’s “largest rogue and criminal state”. According to leading Jewish intellectuals and some of Israel’s own most respected historians, it is Benjamin Netanyahu who must be seen as the primary instigator of this new wave of widespread antisemitism.
In such a context, a discredited and faded segment of the Iranian opposition—reduced to glorifying an imaginary past and whitewashing decades of authoritarianism and submission—takes pride in meeting with the intelligence minister of this rogue government in London, flaunting smiling photos of themselves on social media platforms. These media figures, largely associated with the monarchist opposition who constantly speak of “patriotism,” appear to have no issue aligning themselves with a regime so deeply disgraced and isolated on the global stage—a regime that has attacked their own homeland, killed over a thousand of its people, and inflicted billions of dollars in damage to its infrastructure. In the twisted imagination of this regime, there is no goal other than the fragmentation, destruction, and weakening of Iran—not merely its current ruling power.
Yet, these individuals treat such forces as “partners” and “saviors” of Iran’s future, as though golden chairs might emerge for them amid the rubble and corpses of their fellow citizens. But is it truly plausible—or even remotely consistent with common sense and a professional understanding of political dynamics—to justify such a scale and depth of foolishness and political misjudgment under the banner of any ideology, belief system, or vision for future governance? In our view, the issue may not lie as much in ideological or doctrinal conviction as it is often claimed. It is unlikely that these seasoned journalists and commentators are so naïve—or so fanatical or, worse, servile—that they do not realize how damaging such images are for them, even in relation to their stated goals. Nor can they genuinely believe that the public is so gullible as to see in these staged spectacles a promising vision for their future.
Therefore, the fundamental and thought-provoking question lies in identifying the underlying motives or clues that could help unravel the mystery behind this exaggerated form of political servitude and sycophancy. Some interpret such spectacles through the lens of conspiracy theories, seeing in them calculated political performances—either orchestrated by one side or manipulated by another—designed to discredit a specific movement or the opposition as a whole. Others perceive the hidden hand of “infiltrators” pursuing aims far different from what is publicly claimed. Yet without subscribing to such theories, and acknowledging that only future history can provide a more definitive and realistic answer, one thing remains beyond doubt: these acts of sharing the table and smiling together are less a “political suicide” of a dying movement or the erasure of a minor opposition group from the equation of Iran’s future, and more a repetitive burial ceremony—a ritual reminder of individuals and currents long since politically dead and buried. These events, rather than signaling a fall, seem more like commemorations of long-forgotten funerals.
The issue seems to lie in the possibility that such spectacles aim to emphasize—perhaps for those few who still harbor doubts—that the political corpse in question is not only dead, but has died many times over. It is as if Netanyahu and his extremist religious fundamentalists, in their delusional quest to reclaim a mythical, ancient “Greater Israel,” seek to parade this grotesque, decaying, and stinking corpse as a means of extinguishing any hope the Iranian people might still hold for a better future—one rooted in choice, reality, and the preservation of their millennia-old heritage. The point, it seems, is that these orchestrated events aim to underscore—perhaps for those who still harbor doubts—that the corpse in question is not only dead, but has died repeatedly and definitively. Netanyahu and his ultra-religious fundamentalist allies, in their delusional megalomania and obsession with “restoring” an imagined ancient and promised Greater Israel, appear to be parading this grotesque, decayed, and foul-smelling corpse as a way to extinguish any remaining hope among our people. Hope for a better, self-determined future; hope for building a real future grounded in reality; and, above all, hope for preserving a heritage rooted in thousands of years of civilization. Let us, then, treat this as yet another hypothesis—without strong evidence to support it (as with all such hypotheses)—a hypothesis that may partly explain this pathetic, repetitive, and painful burial ceremony for the long-dead Iranian monarchy. A ritual less about reviving a past than about symbolically annihilating the potential of a nation still struggling to imagine and preserve its future.
This is an AI-generated translation of a note by Nasser Fakouhi, dated September 12, 2025. The original text is available at the following source:
عکس فوری (۳۰۴): خودکشی سیاسی یا مُردن دوباره یک جنازه پوسیده
