Скачать или смотреть Isfahan Stadium Erupts in Pro-Pahlavi Chants as Nationwide Protests Enter Day six

On Thursday, January 1, 2026, chants praising Reza Shah Pahlavi echoed through Naqsh-e Jahan Stadium in Isfahan, one of Iran’s largest cities, after a high-profile soccer match between Esteghlal Tehran—formerly known as Taj—and Sepahan Isfahan.

As the game ended, spectators chanted, “Reza Shah, may your soul rest in peace,”along with “This is the final battle—Pahlavi will return,” and “This year is the year of bloodshed; Seyed Ali will be overthrown,” a direct reference to Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader.

The chant invoking Reza Shah Pahlavi—the founder of Iran’s pre-revolutionary monarchy—has become a recurring slogan in recent protest movements. In recent years it has been widely used by demonstrators who identify with the legacy of the Pahlavi era and who express opposition to clerical rule. Many of those chanting the slogan are supporters of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled crown prince and son of the former shah, whom they view as a unifying national figure and a potential alternative to Iran’s current system. Supporters often cite Mr. Pahlavi’s calls for secular governance, a national referendum and a democratic transition away from the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The match took place on the fifth day of nationwide demonstrations that have spread across multiple provinces, with protesters voicing anger over political repression, economic hardship and restrictions on social freedoms. Stadiums—long among the few venues where large crowds gather—have increasingly become flashpoints for political expression.

Similar chants were reported the same day in Marvdasht, a city in southern Iran near the ruins of Persepolis. According to videos circulating on social media, residents marched toward the local governor’s office chanting “Reza Shah, may your soul rest in peace,” signaling that pro-monarchy slogans had spread beyond sports arenas into the streets.

Public expressions of support for the Pahlavi dynasty remain taboo under Iran’s clerical establishment, but the growing frequency of such chants—particularly in public, state-regulated spaces—underscores the depth of dissatisfaction and the increasingly diverse currents shaping Iran’s protest movement.
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