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The Sword and the Shield: Why Iran Still Chooses Death Over Defense

The Iranian flag is seen flying over a street in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 3, 2023. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
When Iran became the Islamic Republic in 1979, one of its first acts was to redesign the national flag. Gone was the Lion and Sun, an emblem with centuries of history. In its place appeared a stylized “Allah,” where one of the letters forms a sword.
Overnight, the regime declared to its people — and the world — that it was a state built not on protection, but on the threat of force.
That sword has defined the Islamic Republic ever since.
What does it represent? A warning to enemies? A tribute to the Prophet’s conquests? A nod to Imam Ali’s legendary double-edged blade, a symbol of both faith and ferocity? Whatever the interpretation, the message is unmistakable — power through offense, not defense.
And 46 years later, Iran still clings to the sword — while leaving its people without a shield.
We saw this contrast play out during the recent war, when Iran unleashed waves of ballistic missiles on Israel. The attacks were indiscriminate, designed to hit densely populated areas and rack up civilian casualties. If not for Israel’s layered missile defense — the Iron Dome, Arrow, David’s Sling, bomb shelters in the vast majority of civilian buildings — those strikes would have killed tens of thousands, or even more.
That’s the difference between a state that invests in defense and one that idolizes martyrdom. Israel’s national emblem is the Shield of David — a fitting symbol for a country that prioritizes civilian protection. Iran, by contrast, boasts a sword on its flag, and acts accordingly.
Iran’s rulers pour billions into missiles, drones, and proxy militias from Yemen, to Gaza, to Lebanon. They brag about offensive power. But what about defense? Where are the shelters, the warning systems, the plans to protect 85 million people from the wars their leaders keep inviting?
Iran insists that its nuclear ambitions are peaceful. But before the recent war, the regime already had all the materials and uranium it could need for peaceful purposes. It also refused (and refuses) to accept civilian nuclear fuel from other nations. Combined with the regime’s obsession with “resistance,” martyrdom, and slogans like “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” the truth is clear: the atomic bomb is the ultimate sword.
Meanwhile, the shield is nowhere to be found. A country that regards nuclear enrichment as a national imperative is currently reeling from unprecedented water and electricity shortages, primarily caused by the government’s own mismanagement.
I grew up in Iran during the war with Iraq feeling unsafe and vulnerable. Back then, we told ourselves that the absence of bomb shelters was because the country was caught off guard. Saddam Hussein’s invasion came early in the regime’s life; maybe Iran wasn’t ready.
That excuse doesn’t work anymore. After four decades in power, Iran still has no civil defense strategy. It has built underground bunkers — but they are for its leadership, not for its people.
During the recent war, civilians relied on WhatsApp messages and satellite TV to figure out where missiles might land. The government issued vague instructions: go to mosques, schools, subway tunnels. But when civilians sought shelter, some were locked out. Some people in the shelters demanded bureaucratic permission slips — during an air raid. And when Iran cut its Internet access, people couldn’t get basic information about how to stay safe (despite warnings from Israel).
The regime not only failed to protect civilians from the Israeli strikes — but is going even further and entrenching that policy with new legislation that will interrupt Internet access during wartime to prevent the spread of “false information” that could benefit the enemy during military conflict. But that’s not the real story.
The legislation has been widely criticized because it will prevent civilians from accessing vital information regarding warnings and communications with their loved ones. Iran is putting its people in direct danger — because it values victory over their lives.
Evidently Iran’s leaders have a clear message: You’re on your own.
This isn’t incompetence. It’s a choice.
The Islamic Republic thrives on victimhood. It wants to be seen as besieged, heroic, and sacrificial. High civilian casualties aren’t a bug — they’re a feature. A bloodied population strengthens the regime’s narrative of resistance, and invites international sympathy.
So instead of building shelters, the regime builds slogans. Instead of enhancing their warning systems, it invests in propaganda.
When Iran changed its flag in 1979, it wasn’t just art — it was policy. The sword in the center declared that this state would not be a fortress, but a weapon. Four decades later, that choice still dictates strategy.
Iran could learn something from the country it calls its enemy. Israel’s greatest innovation isn’t its missiles — it’s its shields. Technology can save lives, but so can the decision to value life over death.
Until Iran makes that choice, its people will remain exposed — sacrificed on the altar of a regime that prizes the sword and martyrdom.
Born and raised in Iran, Marjan Keypour Greenblatt is a human rights advocate and an Iran analyst.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.