The Silenced Third Voice: How Two Hegemonies Rewrite Iran

This article examines the two dominant narratives surrounding Iran in international media, both of which simplify the complex society into a binary framework and marginalize the Iranian people's voice. The Islamic Republic's narrative frames external threats as the primary issue, deflecting accountability for repression and delegitimizing protest. It also instrumentalizes human rights issues to maintain moral legitimacy without addressing the regime's crimes. The Pahlavi narrative presents external powers as saviors, reducing Iran to a project of salvation. Both narratives erase the Iranian people's right to resist and their role as political authors of their own future.