Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s March 20 New Year address was far from jubilant, conveying a tone of somber resilience rather than triumphalism. He acknowledged that Iranians had endured significant economic hardship over the past year, with further adversities likely in the year ahead. Regarding recent communications from President Donald J. Trump and other U.S. officials, Khamenei adopted a posture of defiance, though his rhetoric was not categorically intransigent: Iran has no proxies in the Middle East region, he asserted, which may indicate Khamenei willingness to accommodate Trump's demands with regard to Iran's regional activities.
Separately, amid escalating geopolitical tensions between Washington and Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) aired video footage purportedly recorded within an underground Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) missile complex. The broadcast was likely intended as a demonstrative display of Iran’s strategic deterrence posture, but also sent a subtle message to Washington: The facility’s access tunnel floor was emblazoned with an Israeli flag, but as opposed to previous footage of similar installations, the American flag as not positioned adjacent to the Israeli flag.
Both illustrated old problems Iran will be wrestling with in the new year: attempting to reach a negotiatied solution to the crisis over Iran's nuclear program, negotiating from a position of strength, potentially sacrificing proxies for the sake of retaining the strategic core of the nuclear program.
