What is Nowruz festival and why Israel wants Iranians to celebrate it now

Israel is urging Iranians to celebrate Nowruz and Chaharshanbeh Suri but Tehran sees risk as festivals can turn into spaces for dissent amid war, causing internal unrest

After three weeks into the widening conflict involving Israel, the United States (US) and Iran, Israeli airstrikes have hit targets deep inside Tehran, senior Iranian figures have been killed, and Iran has responded with missile and drone attacks across the region. Amid all the killings and destruction, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video with an unusual appeal recently. He urged Iranians to celebrate Nowruz and, more pointedly, the fire festival of Chaharshanbeh Suri, framing them as symbols of “light over darkness” and a “new beginning”.

 

In the same messaging, Netanyahu linked the ongoing military operations to the possibility of change inside Iran, telling Iranians to celebrate while Israeli aircraft were “hitting” regime targets. The outreach to the Iranians affirmed the broader Israeli line that its conflict is with the Iranian state, not its people, a distinction it has repeatedly tried to emphasise during the current war.

 

 

What is Nowruz and why does it matter 

Nowruz is observed on the spring equinox, marking the Persian New Year and the arrival of spring. Its roots can be traced back more than 3,000 years to pre-Islamic, Zoroastrian traditions. It is built around ideas of renewal, purification and the triumph of light over darkness.

 

The celebrations are not a single day, they unfold over nearly two weeks. Chaharshanbeh Suri (fire festival) is held on the eve of the last Wednesday before Nowruz, where people jump over bonfires as a ritual of cleansing and renewal. Nowruz day is marked with family gatherings, symbolic objects (Haft-Seen), and rituals of rebirth. On Sizdah Bedar, which is 13 days later, families go outdoors, closing the festive cycle.

 

These are not religious ceremonies in the strict Islamic sense but more of civilisational markers of Iranian identity.

 

Why Israel wants Iranians to celebrate it now 

Netanyahu explicitly linked the fire festival to ideas of freedom and urged people to celebrate despite risks. Israeli officials have also been encouraging public mobilisation, even while privately acknowledging that protests could face violent suppression.

 

The logic is twofold, one to encourage public gatherings, and second, to amplify dissent signals as cultural gatherings can blur into political expression, especially in volatile conditions.

 

Why is the Iranian regime wary of these festivals 

For Iran’s leadership, the concern is less about the festival itself and more about what it enables. Nowruz is officially recognised as a national holiday, and the state does not prohibit it outright. But the rituals surrounding it, particularly Chaharshanbeh Suri, have long been a point of friction. Clerical authorities have, at various points, criticised fire-jumping and related practices as un-Islamic or rooted in pre-Islamic belief systems that sit uneasily with the ideological framework of the Islamic Republic.

 

More immediately, the state views these gatherings through a security lens. Large, decentralised crowds present a recurring challenge, especially after the protest cycles of recent years. This year, however, authorities have issued warnings, imposed restrictions on fireworks and public celebrations, and in some cases, detentions related to festival gatherings. The fear is that what begins as a cultural event may easily take the form of a protest.

 

Where else is Nowruz celebrated and how 

The celebration of Nowruz is not limited to Iran. In Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, parts of India and Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Kurdish areas, and Afghanistan, Nowruz is celebrated. The practices that are part of the Nowruz celebrations differ. In Central Asia, the celebration is marked with public feasts and folk performances. In Afghanistan, sports and visiting shrines are part of the celebration. However, the idea is the same everywhere: renewal, community, and spring.

 

That contrast is central to the current moment. Outside Iran, Nowruz remains largely a seasonal and cultural celebration. Inside the country, it sits at the intersection of identity, religion and politics.

 

Iranian war and Nowruz in 2026 

So, what appears to be a cultural festival has, in Iran’s current climate, acquired geopolitical weight. Israel’s call to celebrate Nowruz is not incidental, it intersects with ongoing unrest and attempts to shape public sentiment. For the Iranian state, the same celebrations represent a recurring challenge: a space where culture, identity and dissent converge in the open.