Hossein Marashi, secretary-general of the Executives of Construction Party, acknowledges parts of the social divide between the Iranian people and the Iranian regime. While officials have, over the past years, sought to attribute widespread public protests to foreign actors or opposition political movements, Marashi’s recent remarks have once again drawn attention to the domestic roots of Iran’s political and social crises. His comments, made in an interview with the state-run Etemad newspaper and subsequently reflected in various media outlets, sparked extensive debate about the depth of the social divide between the government and society.
In the interview, Marashi spoke openly about the inefficiency of the economic, social, and judicial structures and emphasized that if the Iranian regime had been able to create a system viewed by the majority of the population as efficient and free of corruption, society’s view of religious rule would also have been different. He stated that administrative corruption, economic problems, and distrust of official institutions have caused a large portion of society to distance itself from the government.
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The Social Divide and the Government’s Distance from the Majority of the People
A significant portion of Marashi’s remarks focused on the social divide between the government and the people. He stressed that a government cannot remain in conflict with the majority of its society and still expect stability.
In notable remarks, Marashi said that the music preferred by the people differs from the government’s official views. He noted that the general culture of society follows a different path and that the aspirations of a large segment of the population are not the same as those of the ruling establishment. He even spoke of the need for the system of Velayat-e Faqih (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist) to adapt to the wishes of about 70% of society and warned that maintaining this gap could have serious consequences.
Many observers interpreted these remarks as a rare acknowledgment of the existence of a deep social divide in Iran. This divide has repeatedly manifested itself in nationwide protests and widespread public dissatisfaction over recent years.
Acknowledgment of the Consequences of the January 2026 Massacre
One of the most controversial parts of the interview concerning the social divide related to the events of January. Referring to the events of January 8 and 9, 2026, Marashi stated that if the situation had been managed differently and those events had not occurred, the country’s current circumstances would also be different.
These remarks were viewed as an implicit acknowledgment of the role of government decisions in creating the crisis and its consequences. For the first time, a figure close to the ruling establishment, instead of completely denying the events, spoke about mismanagement and its impact on the current situation.
Marashi also traced the roots of the protests to years of accumulated dissatisfaction. He referred to the protests of 1999, 2009, 2017, 2019, and 2022, saying that many grievances and frustrations remained unaddressed and accumulated within society like embers beneath the ashes.
Concern Over a Repeat of the Crisis
In another part of the interview, Marashi warned about the future. He believes that social anger still exists within society and may re-emerge under new circumstances. Political agreements or regional developments alone cannot eliminate this accumulated dissatisfaction.
He emphasized that economic problems, youth unemployment, corruption, and inefficiency remain among the main causes of public dissatisfaction. Ignoring these issues could pave the way for new crises.
Marashi’s remarks are significant because, contrary to the government’s official narrative, they seek the main source of the crisis within the regime’s own structures. The acknowledgment of a widespread social divide, the dissatisfaction of the majority of the population, and the consequences of security-force responses to protests and the killing of thousands of young Iranians present a different picture of the current state of Iranian society.
References to the dissatisfaction of the majority of society, the inefficiency of government structures, and the consequences of the bloody January events indicate that even some political figures within the ruling establishment are warning about the widening gap between the people and the regime.
