Why is Iran’s top brass sitting for questions?

Ali Salemizadeh, the prosecutor of Kish, said the boats were stopped under a judicial order as part of operations by a naval task force formed to combat fuel smuggling. He said the alleged smugglers had modified the structure of the boats and installed extra tanks on deck to move the fuel out of the country.

No details were given about the ownership, registration, or crew of the vessels, or about where they were headed.

Salemi­zadeh said authorities would continue to act firmly against fuel trafficking networks, which officials in Tehran say cause heavy losses to the state due to large price gaps with neighboring countries. Fuel smuggling is common in southern Iran, where heavily subsidized prices make it profitable to resell fuel abroad.

The announcement came amid a series of maritime enforcement operations by Iran in recent months. Earlier this month, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had seized a Marshall Islands–flagged tanker off the coast of Makran, confirming reports from maritime security firms that the ship had been diverted toward Iranian waters after being approached by small boats in the Gulf of Oman.

Iran says such seizures are carried out under judicial orders to prevent illegal fuel or cargo transfers. But Western officials and shipping sources say the country has often used maritime enforcement as leverage in regional and sanctions-related disputes.

Iran’s coast and the Strait of Hormuz are key routes for global oil shipments, and Tehran has increased patrols there as part of what it calls efforts to safeguard national interests and counter smuggling.

Sahand, a Moudge-class frigate built in Iran, joined the navy in 2018 and is equipped with cruise missiles and stealth technology designed to evade radar detection, state media said. It sank last year during repairs at the southern port of Bandar Abbas after water entered its ballast tanks, causing it to lose balance and partially submerge. The navy said it later refloated and repaired the ship.

The Sahand had been readied for an anti-piracy mission in the Indian Ocean after leading an Iranian flotilla to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden amid attacks on commercial vessels in the region, according to state media. In 2021, it drew international attention when a US diplomatic campaign stopped it from docking in the Western Hemisphere. Washington believed it was carrying weapons and heading toward Venezuela, but the vessel eventually changed course toward the west coast of Africa, US officials said at the time.

The Kordestan floating base is designed to act as a mobile port city capable of supporting naval and non-naval combat units far from Iranian shores. Mehr news agency said the base “is essentially a port city that can play an important role in supporting naval and non-naval combat units at sea.”

The army also unveiled new missile-equipped speedboats, unmanned aerial and underwater systems, and electronic and coastal defense equipment during the ceremony.

Major General Amir Hatami, commander of the Iranian army, and Rear Admiral Shahram Irani, head of the navy, attended the event along with provincial governors, lawmakers, clerics and families of fallen navy personnel.

For years, ceremonies known as the “burial of anonymous martyrs” have served as a tool for mobilizing Islamic Republic loyalists and projecting an image of grassroots support.

The latest round came on Monday, when Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Iran’s armed forces chief of staff, praised what he called the “unparalleled and indescribable presence” of devout citizens at the receptions and funeral processions, framing their attendance as an act of obedience to the Supreme Leader.

In the Islamic Republic’s terminology, an "anonymous martyr” is a body buried without a confirmed identity — often never identified even decades later.

More than 36 years after the Iraq war’s end, the true nature of what lies in many of these coffins remains unclear. Images and past reports suggest some contain only fragments of bone.

Mahmoud Tavallaie, the former head of Iran's Institute for Advanced Biotechnology Research, acknowledged in 2022 that many remains had deteriorated in harsh conditions, making scientific identification impossible in numerous cases.

Psychology of glorifying death

Speaking to Iran International, social psychoanalyst Saba Alaleh said the state has long elevated death into a sacred, heroic ideal in order to maintain psychological control over society.

“Iran’s rulers try to turn death into a total value — one tied to loyalty, sacrifice, and obedience,” she said, noting that this glorification feeds a narrative in which dissent is framed as disrespect for the dead. “Authoritarian systems like the Islamic Republic constantly rely on such displays of blood-earned legitimacy.”

Alaleh argued the Islamic Republic seeks to instill a persistent sense of indebtedness and guilt, reinforcing the message that “people died for this system, so you must follow their path and have no right to oppose it.”

Symbolism and political agenda

Asked what the state aims to achieve through these ceremonies, Alaleh said their primary purpose is to stage symbolic power.

“These funerals help the Islamic Republic reassert the revolutionary moral codes of 1979,” she said. Anyone objecting to them is quickly portrayed as insulting the sacrifices of others, creating social pressure against dissent.

Official data from the war years show 116 unidentified soldiers were buried during the conflict itself, though authorities now say there were roughly 50,000 unidentified dead in total, with over 30,000 later identified and returned to their families.

Citing updated figures, Iranian officials say more than 13,000 bodies have been interred across roughly 1,300 memorial sites and 3,000 locations nationwide — from city squares and universities to mosques, seminaries, and military zones. Tehran’s Behesht-e Zahra cemetery alone houses over 4,000 such graves.

Why public spaces?

The Islamic Republic says burials in public or academic spaces reflect local demand, but critics argue the practice serves to symbolically “occupy” civic environments.

Student activists in the 2000s repeatedly protested the installation of tombs on campuses, viewing them as a pretext for increased presence of security forces.

Clashes erupted at several universities — including Shahid Rajaee, Iran University of Science and Technology, Sharif University, and Amirkabir — as students demanded referendums on the burials. Despite opposition, the burials proceeded, often backed by the municipality, the Revolutionary Guards, and hardline political bodies.

Institutional machinery

Until 2018, the armed forces’ Missing in Action Search Committee oversaw excavation, transfer, and burial operations. A multi-agency structure now coordinates locations, logistics, and ceremonies, with representatives from the Cultural Heritage Organization, the Martyrs Foundation, the Interior Ministry, and the armed forces.

These funerals are typically held during major religious periods such as Fatimiyya — the days when Shiites mourn the death anniversary of Prophet Muhammad's daughter Fatima — though the coffins also appear during other state and religious commemorations, maintaining a continuous symbolic presence in public life.

The IAEA Board of Governors’ late-November resolution delivered one of the clearest signals yet that global patience with Iran’s nuclear posture has reached its limit.

Passed by a wide majority, the measure criticized Tehran’s “lack of serious cooperation,” echoing Director General Rafael Grossi’s warning that inspectors still lack access to critical facilities damaged in the June 2025 Iran–Israel conflict.

Equally significant was the political alignment behind the vote. European governments that once urged restraint joined the United States in backing public censure, arguing that Iran’s growing stockpile of 60% enriched uranium and continued restrictions on inspectors have rendered partial transparency untenable.

Only Russia and China opposed the resolution; most others abstained rather than defend Tehran.

Iran responded with open defiance, calling the resolution “political” and voiding a September agreement with Grossi that both sides had said would open the door to renewed inspections.

Shortly after the Vienna vote, atomic energy chief Mohammad Eslami ordered the expansion of enrichment.

State media framed the move as “a clear message” to the West—pressure rather than engagement. Increasingly mistrustful of the IAEA, Tehran now portrays the Agency as an extension of hostile powers.

The view from Israel, US

The dispute has shifted from a technical compliance issue to a broader strategic challenge the international community is no longer willing to overlook.

For Israel, the resolution reinforces long-standing fears that Iran is concealing elements of its program. The vote adds urgency by validating the view that transparency is deteriorating.

Israeli planners argue that without swift diplomatic progress, preemptive action may become unavoidable. The June 2025 conflict—sparked soon after an IAEA report found Iran in non-compliance—remains a fresh precedent.

Washington and European capitals are recalibrating as well. U.S. rhetoric has sharpened, with officials stressing that “all options are on the table.”

According to diplomatic intermediaries, Washington recently conveyed a pointed message urging Tehran to re-engage—possibly through a Saudi-facilitated track.

Siege mentality, asymmetric escalation

Tehran interprets these developments as part of a coordinated pressure strategy aimed at weakening the Islamic Republic.

The June strikes, snapback-style sanctions, and the latest IAEA censure are portrayed domestically as evidence that diplomacy is futile. That narrative deepens the sense of encirclement and pushes Tehran toward deterrence calculations rooted in worst-case assumptions.

Iran’s strategy increasingly reflects the belief that it cannot win a conventional confrontation.

After the June war, which damaged key radar and air-defense nodes, Tehran has struggled to restore parts of its network and appears to be prioritizing asymmetric survivability: mobile missile units, underground facilities, and electronic-warfare assets.

Rebuilding a much-depleted Hezbollah appears to be another priority, with Israeli officials warning repeatedly of new money and arms transfers.

Shrinking paths

That trajectory is unsurprising given the belief in Tehran—expressed almost daily by officials and pundits—that another military conflict with Israel is a distinct possibility. The standoff with the IAEA only hardens that outlook.

By refusing meaningful cooperation, Tehran closes off opportunities to rebuild trust or stabilize the situation. Its growing reliance on asymmetric deterrence could rais the risk of miscalculation.

Israel and the West, seeing a regime that appears cornered and increasingly unpredictable, may conclude that delay only increases future costs.

Pressured militarily and strained economically, the Islamic Republic now faces a shrinking set of choices that increasingly converge on a binary: compromise or confrontation. What is clear after this week’s IAEA resolution is that Iran has rarely been more isolated—or more on edge.

The restrictive measures extend beyond censorship and judicial action to include barriers to income, careers, and public influence. Social media accounts may be deactivated, and work removed from distribution.

The latest example is Reza Rashidpour, a well-known former Iranian television presenter and talk-show host whose programs were taken off the air without explanation, allegedly due to his contributions to former President Hassan Rouhani’s 2017 campaign.

In a post on X addressed to President Masoud Pezeshkian, he claimed he has now been barred from using any platform to publish his work.

“They told me that I am banned from (any artistic) activity,” he wrote. “Five years have passed. The remaining will pass too. In a corner of my home, my homeland, I will sit and watch.”

Rashidpour is by no means an outsider. Securing a major show on the state broadcaster requires extensive vetting, loyalty checks, and alignment with institutional red lines. But falling out of favor can be just as swift.

‘Failed policy’

Yet few rush to defend figures like him—or many others who once thrived within the establishment but later became expendable. The public often sees them as insiders who benefited from the system until the system abruptly turned against them.

This pattern has long applied to artists, athletes, and even politicians; former President Mohammad Khatami’s years of deplatforming and enforced invisibility is a good example.

“Why does a policy that has been applied for decades in culture, media, and politics—and has repeatedly failed—continue to be used as a tool of control?” a commentary on moderate daily Rouydad 24 asked this week.

“Few actions draw more attention to a voice than the attempt to silence it,” the piece added.

Such bans are often unofficial but powerful. Over the years, many artists and athletes who supported popular protests or criticized the state have faced similar restrictions.

Actor, vocalist, footballer

Renowned actress Fatemeh Motamed-Aria was banned from working in the film industry after criticizing government policies and appearing without a headscarf at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, leading to previously completed films being blocked from release.

Classical music maestro Mohammad-Reza Shajarian was similarly sidelined after expressing sympathy with demonstrators in 2009—releasing the song Put Down Your Rifle, an apparent address to Iran’s security forces.

Legendary footballer Ali Daei faced restrictions after expressing support for popular protests in 2022. Authorities confiscated the passports of Daei and his family, and his jewelry shop and restaurant in Tehran were sealed.

Such restrictions could last for weeks or years, and are often lifted as opaquely as they were imposed, with no official charge of explanation.

Quiet crackdowns

Recent months have seen individuals abruptly cut off from their mobile phone numbers and pressured to shut down widely followed social-media accounts.

In August, media reports said authorities blocked the SIM card of journalist Saeedeh Shafiei, forcing her to deactivate her social-media accounts and sign a pledge to publish pro-government content in exchange for restoring service.

Battered by the June war and mounting economic and environmental crises, Tehran appears to be pulling back from some of its bluntest tools—only to replace them with quieter, more insidious methods of repression.