Journal of Iran and Regional Studies

Journal of Iran and Regional Studies

Resistance, Social Capital, and International Reactions in Iran’s 12 Day War in June, 2025: Reframing the Idea of Resistance in a Hybrid Conflict

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 Department of English Language and Literature, University of Isfahan, Iran
2 Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literature, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
10.22059/jices.2026.417543.1115
Abstract
This study uses a qualitative research design to examine how resistance, social capital, and international reactions were constructed, mobilized, and contested during Iran’s 12-Day War begun on the 13th of June, 2025. Because hybrid conflicts operate across military, informational, cultural, and diplomatic arenas at once, the article combines discourse analysis, thematic content analysis, process tracing, and triangulation across multiple data sources. This approach makes it possible to interpret the war as a complex socio-political event rather than a purely military confrontation. This research investigates how resistance was discursively constructed and redefined during the 12-Day War, how social capital manifested and functioned as a mechanism of wartime resilience, and how regional and international actors framed and responded to the conflict. Findings suggest that resistance was shaped not only by battlefield developments but also by identity, legitimacy, and narrative struggle. Social capital played a central role in sustaining cohesion and adaptation throughout the conflict.  Bridging social capital enabled cross-community coordination, information sharing, and digital counter-misinformation efforts through online verification networks and diaspora-based advocacy. International reactions were similarly shaped by more than military outcomes. Global media framing, humanitarian narratives, and diplomatic signaling influenced how the war was interpreted abroad, aligning with theories of soft power and narrative influence. The article shows how Iran sustained internal cohesion and external messaging amid external pressure and internal fragmentation.
Keywords


Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 26 July 2026