Tehran, Iran – By now, a celebrated Iranian singer was supposed to have performed a mega-concert at Tehran’s iconic Azadi Tower in a state-organised demonstration of national unity after the 12-day war with Israel.

But the much-hyped late Friday public concert by 50-year-old Homayoun Shajarian, a traditional vocalist and son of legendary Mohammad Reza Shajarian, was cancelled by the authorities after days of speculation.

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Two days before the event, Shajarian announced online that instruments and equipment for the 30-member orchestra that was to accompany him on stage were not permitted onto the site. He also said state organisers lacked a plan to manage the crowd, which could number up to a million people.

Videos circulating online showed that Tehran Municipality workers welded shut gates at the square surrounding the tower, preventing the setup of audio equipment. The square is regularly used for state-organised affairs, having been heavily decorated a month earlier to host thousands marking the mourning ceremonies of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar.

Alireza Zakani, the hardline former lawmaker who has been mayor of Tehran since 2021, suggested a lack of coordination between government officials was to blame, and that the event should be held in a stadium instead.

The incident created a firestorm online, with the many interpretations surrounding it showing political and social divides at a tense time when biting United Nations sanctions could soon be reinstated by the West, and there are concerns that Israel and the United States will attack Iran again.

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For some, the free concert in the heart of Tehran was a welcome proposal as it could bring a rare moment of joy to thousands at a time of hardship, which also includes surviving in an ailing economy defined by persistent chronic inflation.

For others, including a number of Iranians abroad who are opposed to the theocratic establishment, the concert was seen as an attempt by the state to further lean into nationalist sentiment to muster any popular support while leaders in Israel and the West openly discuss regime change in Iran.

Some of the foreign-based critics of the Iranian establishment lambasted Shajarian for allegedly backing the state through the concert, especially considering that his late father was known as a “voice of the people”. Other critics had hoped the massive public gathering would lead to antigovernment protests.

Hardline member of parliament Hamid Resaee suggested the government organised the rushed concert in an attempt to “distract the people” from widespread power blackouts, a water crisis, and the devaluing national currency.

The culture ministry apologised for the cancelled event, saying “we all lost” a missed opportunity for unity.

Meanwhile, local media predominantly backed the concert, with some rare support also coming from hardline and conservative outlets that generally oppose major public festivities that are not entirely controlled by the state.

Such is the controversy around the event that even the pro-reforms Shargh newspaper slammed the anti-establishment diaspora for its opposition to the concert, saying they were too extreme and “have taken the people hostage”.

Shajarian told reporters that he originally applied to take the performance to the stage seven years ago and only received government permission this week, without any official explanation as to why the concert was blocked repeatedly before and why it was greenlit this week.

After the event was cancelled, the singer released a lengthy post online to address the criticism. He pleaded for the effort not to be entangled with politics, and insisted it was not aimed at “covering up problems, but providing a moment of good feelings to people who deserve joy”.

Outside pressure grows

Despite the failed concert attempt, the Iranian state continues to emphasise unity and increasingly uses millennia-long Iranian history dating back to before Islam to invoke nationalist sentiment – something it rarely did prior to the recent war with Israel.

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In Tehran and across the country in recent months, authorities have installed sculptures of ancient Iranian figures, erected banners showing Persian kings defeating invading foes, and talked extensively about territorial integrity and unity among Iran’s diverse ethnic groups.

Pressure by the US, Israel and their European allies has only been mounting against Iran with the stated goal of dismantling its nuclear programme.

France, Germany and the United Kingdom, the remaining European signatories to Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal that US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from in 2018, are pushing to reinstate all UN sanctions against Iran that were lifted as part of the landmark accord.

With Western powers trying to internationally blacklist Iran unless a deal is reached on its nuclear programme, the country’s markets are also on edge.

The US dollar changed hands for about 1.02 million rials in Tehran on Saturday – slightly better than the new all-time low of 1.06 million rials, registered earlier in the week.

The main index of the Tehran Stock Exchange slightly grew on Saturday to reach 2.54 million points, but the index has dramatically plunged in reaction to the war with Israel, having stood at about 3.15 million points in April when negotiations with the US started.