It could be a TED Talk anywhere in the world. In a modern building in north Tehran, young men and women — many of the latter without the obligatory hijab — gathered for an evening of inspiration.
TEDxTehran, Iran’s version of the global phenomenon, is no anomaly. Across the country similar events in art, fashion and business thrive, despite a rigid political system with little appetite for reform.
These gatherings reflect the resilience of Iranian youth living under a regime that tolerates just enough openness to relieve pressure but never enough to enable real change.
Everyone understands the unspoken rule: these separate islands of progress cannot be allowed to connect. Yet they persist, forming a quiet and consistent resistance against the state’s grip on all aspects of Iranian life.
TEDx ideas conferences have been running in the country for over a decade. This month the event centred on authenticity — how to endure in a country that faces numerous challenges at various levels from the difficulties of being recognised as a senior female manager to being squeezed by US sanctions. What does it mean to be Iranian today? Or a Shia Muslim in a rapidly shifting world? These are the questions preoccupying a generation struggling to define its identity.
In conversations among friends, business leaders and intellectuals, the same thought lingers: What will Iran’s tomorrow look like? Many find it hard to imagine the Islamic republic, at least in its current shape, can rule the country for decades to come.
Some foresee a breaking point, even as all paths to change seem blocked. Reform-minded pundits lash out at the country’s leadership, convinced that the system is in decline. They warn that the main challenge is not the US but the widening gulf between the political system and the people.
Yet for Iran’s ruling class, economic hardship, political unrest and tensions with the US and Israel do not signal existential crisis. In their world, the state remains solid. Warnings of reformists are taken as an old political tactic used to scare top leaders to force them to open the country up.
This month, the Islamic republic marked its 46th anniversary with celebratory rallies. But for many young Iranians, the theocratic establishment’s ideology is irrelevant. Religion, once central to Iranians’ identity, has receded into the background.
To the embarrassment of Iran’s clerical establishment, the country, once deeply spiritual, has arguably become one of the most secular societies in the Middle East. It is a paradoxical outcome for a revolution that sought to establish radical Shia theocracy in the name of justice — something many Iranians believe is absent today.
Iran has never had an aristocracy in the western sense, yet privilege has always shaped its modern history.
Under the Pahlavi dynasty, the so-called “thousand families” were in top positions and controlled much of the nation’s wealth. After the 1979 revolution, many were executed, imprisoned or their fortunes seized.
But a new elite, loyal to the regime and shielded from accountability, has taken their place. Corruption scandals have exposed the scale of this privilege, reinforcing the belief that the system serves the few at the expense of the many.
Iran’s highly educated youth feel trapped. They believe in democracy and transparency but face stark choices: leave, submit or risk suppression.
At TEDx, the speakers struggled to be upbeat and returned to a familiar theme: Iranians have always embraced new ideas in industry, art and architecture. Yet they admitted creative expression is stifled in moments like these.
“Creativity needs freedom,” said musician Hossein Alizadeh. A sociologist on stage said “Iran has come close to death many times . . . but its rich cultural heritage has always carried it through”.
One attendee told me he enjoyed the ecosystem of inspirational talks in the country but ultimately the youths’ demand was very simple: “Young people in today’s Iran are not looking for utopia,” he said. “They just want to live a normal life.”
najmeh.bozorgmehr@ft.com
