General Soleimani storms into Iranian national consciousness | Middle East Eye
▻http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/general-soleimani-storms-iranian-national-consciousness-927310364
Soleimani’s popularity is independent from his institutional standing in the Revolutionary Guards and speaks to a wider resonance across the establishment and public opinion. Iran’s spectacularly successful regional policy, and a concomitant increase of national prestige, is converging with the sleeping giant of Iranian nationalism.
Officially nationalism is taboo in Iran as the establishment sources its identity and foundational values to the Islamic Revolution. For more than three decades, Iranian leaders and officials have tried to suppress deep-seated feelings and manifestations of nationalism on political and ideological grounds, but there are growing signs that they may eventually have to submit to the inevitable.
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