© 2026 FdR / RESY CANONICA
The absence of demonstrations—or, more modestly, even statements of solidarity—with the protests in Iran is hardly surprising. If anything, it is a tragic litmus test: it exposes the pro-Palestinian “activism” of recent months for what it is—an ideological pantomime.
Not a fly stirs. Iranians who have taken to the streets are being cut down by gunfire, and the self-appointed champions of human rights, self-determination and freedom remain silent. It is an awkward spectacle. Asked about Iran, even specialists, commentators and analysts of undeniable professional standing—who have fiercely condemned Israel’s military campaign against Gaza’s civilian population—perform extraordinary feats of contortion. The unrest is portrayed as tainted, even orchestrated, by Israeli and American interference, with the aim of toppling the theocratic regime.
That such interference exists is beyond doubt. It does not, however, come close to explaining what is happening—unless one is content to view it through the lens of a wilful and dramatic ignorance.
Iran is cast as the sole bulwark capable of confronting Israel and the United States in the region—and, not least, as a valiant ally of the Palestinian “resistance”.
In that calculus, young people killed in the streets become a negligible quantity—acceptable, even, not to say necessary.
From this standpoint—corroded by an a priori ideological position—it is equally negligible that Iran’s political leadership has pushed the Palestinian resistance (Hamas foremost among them) to embrace consciously self-destructive courses of action, the price of which is paid by civilians.
To acknowledge this would cause a cherished set of convictions—ones that shrink from any encounter with reality—to crumble. That is why not a fly stirs.
(gianluca grossi)