– This is not unusual, says Kjetil Selvik, Middle East researcher at the Norwegian Foreign Policy Institute (Nupi).

A black flag and black banners appeared this week at Iran’s most important mosque, the Imam Reza Shrine. It shows photos shared by mosques on X/Twitter Wednesday.

The flag raising has been carried out interpreted as part of The Gaza conflict, because it occurred outside the usual religious rituals.

Nupi researchers believe it was a clear political sign.

– Iran is literally raising its flag and signaling that Iran is leading a resistance front against Israel, Selvik said Daily newspaper.

– Become stronger

It is feared that Iran will play an increasingly large role in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. The Iranian regime has held a meeting with Hamas and asked Israel to stop the attacks. The US feared their involvement.

The Iranian regime has many critics. Now they are trying to capture the public’s mood and make themselves popular, researchers say.

– Opinion in the Arab world and the Middle East has been strongly marked by sympathy for Palestine. Therefore, it is high time for Iran to raise this flag and remind all Shiite Muslims that they are the ones leading this struggle, Selvik said.

– It suits him!

– Good time

The black flag is usually used during the Shiite month of mourning. Imam Hussain, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, who was killed in the battle of Karbala in Iraq in 680, was later marked.

– When the flag is raised, the faithful are reminded that the struggle against injustice and oppression, waged in the 6th century, continues today. And it has been conveyed that Iran is leading the fighting, Selvik said.

– The promised savior

The red flag is also a famous symbol in Iran and was last flown at the Jamkaran Mosque in Qom. This was a response to the killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani by the US in 2020.

Gaza: – Indescribable hell

The color black has a very different meaning to the red flag, Selvik stressed.

– The red flag symbolizes war and revenge and is used when attacking. But the black flag is associated with mourning, not war, and is not a declaration of war.

Millions of believers flock to Imam Reza’s shrine in the city of Mashhad every year.

“Banners longing for Imam Mahdi, the promised savior of humanity, were hung around the holy site this morning,” the mosque wrote under the photo in X/Twitter.

– For the Iranian regime, it must now use this crisis to strengthen its support, both in religious circles at home and in the region, said researcher Selvik.