The Renaming of Bistoon Street in Tehran to Yahya Sinwar is 'Cancelled'

The spokesperson for the Tehran City Council has announced that the renaming of Bistoon Street to Yahya Sinwar has been 'cancelled', but other locations for this naming will be considered. Alireza Nadali stated on Thursday, December 6, 1403, that both 'historical concepts and Iranian figures' and 'figures of resistance' are important to the council members. He added that the previous resolution to rename the street will be sent back to the naming committee for further review to propose another location for the naming to the council. This decision faced significant opposition and criticism on social media, and Mr. Nadali cited 'greater attention to the opinions of fellow citizens' as the reason for the cancellation. Following the council's decision regarding the renaming of Bistoon Street to Yahya Sinwar, users on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) assessed this action as part of the government's efforts to 'erase Iranian names'. However, according to what members of the Tehran City Council have stated, the naming of a location after Yahya Sinwar is not completely off the table; only the renaming of Bistoon Street has been cancelled, and another street will be chosen for this naming. Mohammad Akhoundi, another member of the Tehran City Council, mentioned that the reconsideration of this naming was conducted after 'consultation' with Mehdi Chamran, the head of the Tehran City Council, stating, 'It was not interesting for part of a street to be named after Sinwar.' In the last session of the Tehran City Council, a proposal to rename 'part of Lashgari Highway' and 'Mahdavi Kani Highway' after Hassan Nasrallah, the former Secretary-General of Hezbollah, was also presented but was not approved. Yahya Sinwar is considered the mastermind behind the October 7 attack last year by the extremist group Hamas on Israel, which led to the outbreak of the Gaza war and a cycle of violence between Hezbollah and Israel. After the death of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, he was elected to head the political office of the extremist group Hamas and was ultimately killed by Israeli forces on October 18. Hamas is designated as a 'terrorist' organization by the US and Europe. The renaming of streets and replacing names of individuals recognized as terrorists by some international bodies has been repeated many times in Iran. In Tehran, the name Khalid Islambouli, a member of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad who assassinated President Anwar Sadat, was used to rename a street previously known as Vazara Street. However, most residents of Tehran still use the old name in their daily lives. Another example is Soleiman Khater Street, named after an Egyptian soldier who killed seven Israeli tourists in a shooting. The council's resolution to change the name of Bistoon Street has been cancelled, while several other controversial decisions by the Tehran city management have also been annulled following citizen protests in recent months. Last year, the municipality's efforts to build a mosque in Qeytarieh Park led to a protest gathering by local residents and the launch of a petition campaign with 165,000 signatures. Eventually, Nasser Amani, a member of the Tehran City Council, announced on Tuesday, December 4, that this decision was cancelled due to the 'withdrawal of financial support'. Previously, after the establishment of a container around the perimeter of Laleh Park in Tehran, several witnesses and local residents reported that construction was likely to take place in this area, and trees would be cut down. Following this, protests against the municipality's plan to cut down trees in the park for the construction of a prayer house and cultural center emerged, and ultimately this project was also cancelled.