On November 1, 2025, Omid Sarlak was a 27-year-old member of the small Iranian Lur community, and a monarchist who posted an Instagram story of himself burning a picture of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. It went viral. A day later, his body was found in his car, killed by a gunshot. Ahmad Khatami, a hardline cleric close to Khamenei, stated that insulting the supreme leader is moharebeh, or war on God, which merits the death penalty in Iran. Various state-connected outlets warned that foreign conspirators sought to recreate the Woman, Life, Freedom movement protests that erupted after Jina Mahsa Amini’s 2022 death.
Among the opposition, Sarlak’s death drew condemnation from prominent figures inside and outside Iran.
Authorities say Sarlak committed suicide, but his family says the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps murdered him. Outrage and protests show the Iranians clearly believe the latter. Among the opposition, Sarlak’s death drew condemnation from prominent figures inside and outside Iran, as well as the Department of State. But the most important reaction came from a former actor, now living in Canada. Hamid Farrokh-Nezhad took to Instagram to challenge Iranians to post videos of themselves burning Khamenei’s pictures.
Many Iranians rose to meet the challenge. While some cover their faces to protect themselves from regime retaliation, many do not. They are even taking an extra step by sending these videos to opposition television networks to receive international coverage.
Sarlak’s murder and the reactions are significant in three ways.
First, this is not the first time that young Iranians have gotten in trouble for burning Khamenei’s picture. But in the past, they received hefty prison sentences. After the 2022 protests and the Twelve-Day War, Khamenei appears to believe that his position is shakier than ever—within the system, among the people, and against foreign enemies. The news outlets’ caution against foreign conspiracies and lies about suicide suggest fear of another uprising. Since the 2017 protests, the security forces are increasingly reluctant to open fire on their compatriots. The leadership does not fear the protesters but future insubordination.
During Sarlak’s funeral, attendees chanted “Death to Khamenei,” despite the heavy security presence.
Second, Iranians are much less intimidated by the regime’s terror and more defiant. During Sarlak’s funeral, attendees chanted “Death to Khamenei,” despite the heavy security presence. Fear of the regime is evaporating. A friend recently visited a sculptor’s store. He asked the owner if he had any statues of the two Pahlavi kings. “He scanned me for a few seconds,” my friend told me. The owner responded, “Come in the back,” showing the collection of his non-Islamic statues, including the Pahlavis. Ten years ago, no customer would have had the courage to ask the question, and no salesman would have had the guts to sell them to a stranger. Iranians are trusting each other and defying the regime more and more.
Last, the aftermath of Sarlak’s death highlights the opportunities and challenges that the diaspora provides. Farrokh-Nezhad’s Instagram post was key to creating the online fad. But it also exposes the diaspora’s distance from the homeland and the lack of organizational savvy, which has yet to take the protest movement beyond street chants and online fads.
Iranians are a revolutionary people, but they still lack a revolutionary leader and structure.
