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As Iranian regime forces opened fired on citizens celebrating the dictator’s death, London-based artist Naz used music on social media to make the voices of a jubilant, yet battered, nation heard.<\/p>\n
Just days after the killing of Iran\u2019s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei<\/a>, Naz – a London-based artist and TikToker of Iranian descent – appeared in a music video celebrating the dictator\u2019s death. The song quickly became an early cultural response to what was widely seen as a pivotal moment in Iran and the broader region, drawing hundreds of thousands of views on Instagram within its first 24 hours.<\/p>\n The track, produced for social media by Hamed Fard, is titled “Hey Arr Arr” – the sound of a donkey\u2019s bray – and uses mockery to parody the chant Heydar Heydar. In Shi’ite tradition, \u201cHeydar\u201d is a name for Imam Ali, meaning \u201clion,\u201d and the chant serves as an invocation of his strength, courage, and authority. In the Islamic Republic, it has also taken on a political and paramilitary edge, used by regime loyalists and security forces as a morale-boosting cry during crackdowns and confrontations, including against unarmed protesters. Fard, a supporter of Crown PrinceReza Pahlavi<\/a>, drew wide attention with the song. Some feminists, though, criticized parts of it, arguing that beyond its propagandistic tone, it also carried gendered undertones and elements of embedded patriarchy.<\/p>\n Naz – who is also a singer and dancer – told The Media Line<\/em> that her appearance in the video aimed to amplify the voices of Iranians rejoicing over the dictator\u2019s demise. When news of Khamenei\u2019s death broke, citizens immediately flooded the streets to dance. The jubilation was met with brutal force in Tehran and several other cities as Basij and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps troops opened fire on the crowds, resulting in multiple deaths, injuries, and arrests.<\/p>\n Born in London and part of the second generation of the Iranian diaspora, Naz said she has traveled to Iran multiple times and considers it one of the best destinations for holidays. She identifies as a supporter of Pahlavi, emphasizing that he is not necessarily destined to become a monarch and that the Iranian people will determine the country\u2019s future system of governance through a referendum after the fall of the Islamic Republic.<\/p>\n Critics of monarchy argue that second- and third-generation Iranians abroad have a limited understanding of the country and are often unfamiliar with the shortcomings of the prerevolutionary monarchical system, instead holding a nostalgic view of what they see as a glorious past.<\/p>\n