For the people of Iran, the 12th of Farvardin, which corresponds to April 1, is far more than a mere date on the calendar. It represents the culmination of a revolution and the formal birth of a political system that defines the modern identity of the Iranian nation.
In 2026, this significant day arrived amidst extraordinary circumstances: A nation emerging from 31 consecutive days of steadfast resistance against unprecedented military aggression by the US and the Israeli regime, a period now etched in memory as the Battle of Ramadan.
On April 1, 1979, the Iranian people, having overthrown a dictatorship and a Western-backed puppet government, cemented their new political system. In a historic referendum, an astonishing 98.2 per cent of Iran’s proud population voted to establish the Islamic Republic, a unique system combining Islamic principles with republican governance.
That day was the fruit of decades of struggle against tyranny, a manifestation of national unity in which religious faith and popular will converged to chart a path toward independence, freedom, and human dignity.
Yet this year, the commemoration of Islamic Republic Day is inseparable from the events of the past month. A coordinated heinous military aggression by the US and Israel marked one of the most critical chapters in modern history.
This barbaric aggression was designed with a clear objective: To break the will of a nation, create a political vacuum through targeted assassinations and sustained military pressure, and ultimately seize control of the country’s resources.
The enemy’s strategy proved as brutal as it was miscalculated. In a cowardly act that shocked the world, airstrikes and targeted operations led to the martyrdom of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, along with a group of senior military commanders, political figures, scientists, and thousands of innocent civilians, including 165 schoolchildren at their school in the city of Minab.
This aggression violated every principle of international law and the United Nations Charter. Yet, rather than succumbing to despair, the Iranian nation exercised its inherent right of self-defence in accordance with the Charter of the UN in a very determined and decisive manner.
Since the beginning of the aggression from commanders and statesmen to the streets of cities and towns, the people of Iran have not yielded. Millions took to the streets in spontaneous daily demonstrations, transforming cities across the country into bastions of resistance. This was not a state-organised mobilisation, but a grassroots uprising of loyalty.
Faced with the advanced weaponry of the world’s largest military powers, the streets of Tehran, Isfahan, Mashhad, Tabriz, and many other cities became living proof that the spirit of the revolution remained unbroken. Families gathered in public spaces, university students organised their own networks, and the renowned spirit of Basij, the voluntary popular mobilisation, re-emerged in full force, creating a ring of popular support around the nation’s sovereignty.
Crucially, throughout this brutal aggression, the political structure of the Islamic Republic demonstrated a constitutional maturity that surprised both adversaries and observers. Following the martyrdom of the Supreme Leader, the Assembly of Experts convened immediately and, through a constitutional process, elected Ayatollah Sayed Mojtaba Khamenei as the new Supreme Leader. This swift, constitutionally grounded transition shattered the enemy’s simplistic calculations of a power vacuum.
It demonstrated to the world that the Islamic Republic is not dependent on any single individual, but is an institution rooted in constitutional rationality and the continuous tradition of guardianship. Even amid war, the system experienced no interruption.
On the military front, Iran’s defence forces, formidable and devoted, successfully thwarted some of the most sophisticated aggressive military systems. The synergy between generations, old and new, men and women, in defending their country was fully visible and brilliant.
With the dawn of this year’s 12th of Farvardin, the people of Iran are not merely commemorating a historical event; they are reaffirming their covenant with the Islamic Republic through their very blood.
The 31 days of resistance have effectively served as another referendum, an informal yet undeniable vote of confidence in the system. The message to the world, and especially to the US and the terrorist Israeli regime, is unambiguous. So far, the desperate aggressors have failed to achieve any of their malicious/sinister objectives.
The military aggression has only strengthened the nation’s resolve and unified the political spectrum behind the principle of resistance.
The strategic vision from Tehran is clear: the end of this battle will be the expulsion of American forces from the West Asian region and the punishment of the apartheid occupier regime of Israel for its war crimes.
The same aggressors have committed numerous war crimes against the Iranians and others and destabilized the entire region in pursuit of their own expansionist and bullying imperialist policies.
For the great people of Kenya, a nation that cherishes its hard-won independence and has historically championed the cause of non-alignment, Iran’s experience offers a parallel narrative of resistance to domination and colonialism. Just as Kenya understands the importance of self-determination, Iran’s story on this Republic Day is that of a nation that refused to submit to foreign hegemony.
From the ballot boxes of 1979 to the battlefields of 2026, the Islamic Republic of Iran has proven that its path is one of dignity, religious democracy, and independence.
As the Islamic Republic of Iran celebrates this day, it sends a message to the world: tyranny will ultimately be defeated by the will of a free people.
