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Iranian Nationalism or Shia Internationalism?

The September 6 edition of the Iran Media Review explores commentary regarding the imposition of harsh policies to cut down on foreign nationals in Iran.

Ali Alfoneh

Iran is increasingly torn between its pan-Shia ideology, which depicts Iran as the homeland of the Shia of the world, and Iranian nationalism. For the time being, the pendulum appears to be swinging toward increased nationalism and harsher measures against foreign nationals in Iran.

  • September 1: Centrist Ettelaat reported on Iran’s housing shortage due to the influx of Iraqi and Afghan nationals.
  • September 3: The Iranian Parliament passed five amendments to Article 16 of the Law on Foreign Nationals in Iran, centrist Iranian Students’ News Agency reported. The law requires the Cabinet to:
    • “Begin deporting illegal foreign nationals from Iran a month after the passing of the amendments … The number of foreign nationals, their wives, and children, who legally reside in Iran, must not exceed 3% of the total population of the village, city, or province of their residence … permits issued to foreign nationals to reside in Iran must be reduced by 10% per year … Three months after the passing of the amendments, the Cabinet is required to assess access of foreign nationals to indirect subsidies, for fuel, education, general services, and the like … All government agencies are required to calculate the cost of providing services to foreign nationals … Realtors are required to ascertain if foreign nationals engaging in real estate deals are legal aliens … Any individuals who employ illegal aliens … will be fined.”
  • September 5: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps mouthpiece Fars News Agency reported that Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni, while visiting Shiraz, promised:
    • “Foreign nationals will be attended to very soon. The people should trust that this scheme will be fully executed and will take into consideration regional and neighborly factors … The first step of this scheme is to deport illegal foreign nationals.”
  • September 5: In an interview with Tasnim News Agency, mouthpiece of former IRGC Chief Commander Mohsen Rezaei, security analyst Mohammad-Reza Tourani said:
    •  “Now that stability has returned to Afghanistan, Afghan nationals should return to their country … their continued presence in Iran constitutes security risks.”
Ali Alfoneh

is a senior fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. He is the author of Political Succession in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Demise of the Clergy and the Rise of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (2020).

The views represented herein are the author’s or speaker’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of AGSIW, its staff, or its board of directors.

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