It’s not easy being a senior leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran these days. That little Sparta, the Zionist entity that has no right to exist, keeps on knocking off one Iranian leader after another, both military men and civilian officials, including clerics. There was Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, who was the first to be hit on February 28. And there have been so many more disposed of in the last month. Here are just a few of the fifty senior military leaders that Israeli airstrikes have already removed: Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Iranian Defense Council; Major-General Mohammad Pakpour, Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps; Major-General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Chief of the General Staff, Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh, Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics; Brigadier General Hossein Javal Amelian, Chairman of the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research; and four dozen more.
Now the two most senior leaders in the government — President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi — instead of hiding underground, as Ali Khamenei did to no avail, have chosen to do a walkabout in the middle of Tehran, intended to show their own people, and the world, that they are not afraid of American or Israeli airstrikes. But those walkabouts, with the leaders careful to walk in the middle of crowds, also demonstrate that they are prepared to risk the lives of the ordinary Iranians who surround them on their walks.
🚨‼️ BREAKING 💥
Iran’s President Pezeshkian makes unannounced visits to grocery stores in the Iranian capital, Tehran, to ensure all is in order 🇮🇷🛒. pic.twitter.com/PqBG1N2PIe— GBX (@GBX_Press) March 27, 2026
More on this latest scheme by Iran’s leaders to stay alive can be found here: “Iran leaders join crowds on Tehran’s streets in show of defiance,” Times of Israel, April 3, 2026:
After more than a month of being stalked by targeted assassinations, Iran’s leadership has adopted a new tactic to show it is still in control, with senior officials walking openly in the streets among small crowds who have gathered in support of the Islamic Republic.
In recent days, Iran’s president and foreign minister have separately mixed with groups of several hundred people in central Tehran. On Tuesday, state television aired footage of the two posing for selfies, talking to members of the public and shaking hands with supporters who had gathered in public areas.
According to insiders and analysts, the appearances are part of a calculated effort by Iran’s theocratic leadership to project resilience and authority — not only over the vital Strait of Hormuz but also over the population — despite a sustained US-Israeli campaign aimed at “obliterating” the regime.
One insider close to the hardline establishment said such public outings are intended to show that the Islamic Republic is “unshaken by strikes and that it remains in control and vigilant” as the conflict grinds on….
Despite widespread destruction, Tehran appears emboldened by surviving weeks of intense US-Israeli attacks, firing on Israel and Gulf countries hosting US troops, and demonstrating its ability to effectively block the Strait of Hormuz.
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump vowed more aggressive strikes on Iran, without offering a timeline for ending hostilities. Tehran responded by warning the United States and Israel that “more crushing, broader and more destructive” attacks were in store.
In a leafy Tehran park on Thursday, Iranians gathered for picnics on the final day of the Persian new year holidays, shrugging off Trump’s threats to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages” as powerful blasts shook the capital.
Still, hundreds of families sat out under mild, cloudy skies, picnicking amid sweeping views of the snow-capped Alborz mountains — a postcard scene at odds with a city under regular attack….
The walkabout is a display of the Iranian rulers’ essential indifference to the wellbeing of ordinary Iranians. The hundreds among whom those rulers have appeared in public are being put in harms’ way by those same leaders, who are using them as human shields to protect them from an enemy — American or Israeli — strike. How many of those Iranians in those crowds will come to realize that they are being used as human shields, and whether they will feel betrayed, and if so, will they have a change of heart and join the opposition?
Walter Sieruk says
The Iranian people to have every righteous and just right to rise up to overthrow that horrendously brutal cruel viciously oppressive malicious and murderous tyrannical Islamic regime of Iran , After that they may have the chance to establish a legitimate , genuine , government which ensures and respects the basic natural human rights of its citizens.
Carol Hult, BSW says
Are you saying that the State of Israel has no right to exist? Or was the statement in jest?
gravenimage says
No, Hugh Fitzgerald is *not* saying this.
Westman says
Is defeating Iran worth the cost of boots(lives spent) on the ground.or the good Iranians who will die as collateral damage.because their evil government and crazy evil religious leaders don’t care about the suffering of citizens?
For $2 Trillion, 50 million $40,000 government-owned electric cars can be put into ride sharing in the US. We could, with the exception of diesel vehicles, ships, and heavy equipment, essentially get off oil in a shorter time.
The purchase of ME oil could be restricted to only producers friendly to the US, creating an oil glut which could be sent by priority to Europe while it works toward oil independence.
The Iranian problem creates a dilemma, military unlimited or economic defeat? Which to choose?