At a time when Iranian society had only just emerged from the dark, narrow corridor of a 40-day war, severe currency fluctuations, and a deadly crackdown on domestic protests, Ali Rabiei, serving as social advisor to President Masoud Pezeshkian, compiled a comprehensive report. Distributed among institutions within the power structure and obtained by IranWire, the confidential document is titled “What Iran Wants” and reached officials in June. It is based on a May survey conducted by the “Ara” Opinion Research Center.
Act I: Cracks in the Traditional Bipolar Divide
Conventional media analyses typically divide Iranian society into two distinct camps: absolute defenders of the status quo on one side and those who view the system as finished and demand its collapse on the other.
However, public opinion data reveal that radical factions at either extreme have failed to expand their social base beyond 10 to 20 per cent of the population. The mainstream core of society exhibits a distinct combination of traits: people are deeply dissatisfied with “livelihoods, internet filtering, inefficiency, and corruption” and loudly demand fundamental changes and reforms. Yet, at the same time, they prioritize “stability, national security, territorial integrity, and step-by-step changes” over chaos and political radicalism.
