TEHRAN — In January, when the United States and Israel hijacked peaceful economic protests by Iranian shopkeepers, injected armed terrorists into the demonstrations, began spreading ridiculous claims that Iran’s security forces had killed over 30,000 people in two days, and used their media outlets to present the deposed shah’s son as an alternative to the Islamic Republic, they were already preparing for war against Iran.

According to reports in U.S. media, the nuclear negotiations that followed the January unrest were used as a smokescreen—much like those that preceded the 12-day war in June. The idea was that through heavy propaganda surrounding the January events, mounting economic pressure on the Iranian people, and U.S. President Donald Trump’s promises of “help on the way,” the Iranian population would take to the streets and topple the Islamic Republic once the opening strikes on February 28 assassinated the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. That day came, and Ayatollah Khamenei was assassinated in U.S.-Israeli strikes on his office—a location that was public knowledge. The U.S. and Israel did hear some cheers in certain areas of Tehran after news of the martyrdom broke. But that was all the two regimes achieved.

Relentless messages from Israeli and American officials, the deposed shah’s odd-looking son, and Western-based Persian-language TV channels called on the Iranian people to take to the streets and “take their destiny into their own hands.” One notorious London-based channel, listed as a terrorist organization inside Iran, told people they should take to the streets “armed” and aim to kill as many security forces as they could. They must kill their fellow Iranians for a few days, they said, and then “freedom” and “prosperity” would be theirs.

But Iranians have been taking to the streets every day since the war began over 24 days ago—for reasons entirely different from what the two regimes had hoped.

Across Iran, men and women of all ages and backgrounds have been holding nightly demonstrations, waving the Iranian national flag and calling on their Armed Forces to teach Iran’s enemies a lesson. Sustained bombardment, especially in the capital Tehran, has not deterred them. Every time a bomb is dropped nearby, they throw their fists toward the sky and chant slogans louder. “Allahu Akbar” (God is greater) is their primary slogan in the face of U.S.-Israeli bombs. They tell reporters they do not care if they are killed by the U.S. and Israel—like the more than 1,500 individuals who have been so far—because their death will serve a cause: the protection and perseverance of their beloved country.

This is perhaps the most significant phenomenon to have emerged since the war began on February 28. The enemy must have had some clue that it could not stop Iranian drones and missiles from being fired at U.S.-Israeli positions in the region, and that it would run out of interceptors long before Iran exhausts it vast arsenal of projectiles. What it had mainly hoped for, analysts believe, was that there would be no one—or no will—to use these weapons. What the Iranian people have been doing every night is ensuring that the barrages of fire aimed at U.S. bases and Israel remain consistent.

“This war has two sides,” said Mohammad, a 25-year-old mechanic who said he had been attending the rallies every night except one, when he came down with a bad case of food poisoning. “The military men maintain the skies with missiles and drones, and we maintain the field with our chants. The enemy cannot defeat Iran as long as we remain on the streets,” he explained.