To say that Rooftops of Tehran is a political novel would be an understatement. There's a reason the city's name appears in the title—although this novel is technically about specific characters working through private issues, their lives are seen as a reflection of the true gravity of the political issues in Iran.
So, for instance, when Pasha looks out at the world, he tends to see his life in terms of regular teenage life. He really likes the girl who lives next door, but she's with someone else. His best friend and he spend all day talking about their dreams for the future. In other words, he's a kid. But then, his trance of innocence is broken, and he sees what the truth is about his life for the first time: no one can be a happy, healthy person in his community, because no one is free from the tyrannical terrorism of their state. The government is using intimidation tactics to keep the people oppressed, but Pasha doesn't realize it until it happens right in front of him.
When Pasha's sanity slips away, the reader becomes unable to tell where Soraya is secretly Zari, or if Zari was dead, as the reader believes. In the end, it doesn't matter, because in either case, Pasha is extremely unwell, traumatized by what he witnessed, and although the novel teases that maybe he will escape to America, the novel also indicates that Pasha is becoming more outspoken and more reckless in his angry resistance to his government.
