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Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from News Talks be follow

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Speaker 1: this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.

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Speaker 2: Over the weekend, Israel and the US launched an all

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Speaker 2: out missile attack on Iran, in an operation that has

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Speaker 2: been dubbed Epic Fury. US President Donald Trumpe cit He

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Speaker 2: expeaks the war with Iran to the last four weeks.

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Speaker 2: What we do know is that the Supreme Leader, Ayatola

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Speaker 2: Ali how many, has been killed, along with forty eight

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Speaker 2: other senior Iranian regime figures. To discuss further, we are

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Speaker 2: joined by doctor Ferou Amm, founder of Iranian Women in

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Speaker 2: New Zealand. Doctor Amin, very good afternoon to you.

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Speaker 3: Good after What are you hearing about the situation on

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Speaker 3: the ground in Iran.

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Speaker 4: So, the situation, as we all know, is evolving so rapidly,

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Speaker 4: so it's really hard to even you know, keep record

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Speaker 4: of what's happening. But as you said, so far, the

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Speaker 4: biggest news has been the death of the Supreme Leader

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Speaker 4: and many of the top officials, military and police figures.

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Speaker 4: So I think so far the situation is going on

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Speaker 4: the way that Iranians have expected that maximum pressure and

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Speaker 4: removing of the military and actually the killing machine of

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Speaker 4: the regime and keeping civilians safe.

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Speaker 3: When we last talked to you, you were talking about

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Speaker 3: how Trump said he would act to help the people

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Speaker 3: of Iran, and then he didn't seem to be. It

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Speaker 3: seemed like he'd abandon you. So now he's acted. Are

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Speaker 3: you happy with what the Americans are doing?

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Speaker 4: Yes, I think you know, it was late kind of

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Speaker 4: but it's better than ever. So Iranians expected this to

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Speaker 4: happen before we lose forty thousand of our people, but

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Speaker 4: it's still, you know, happening now. We know that it's

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Speaker 4: going to prevent the regime from killing more people, and

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Speaker 4: Iranians have been celebrating and it has been actually very

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Speaker 4: very funny to us that while we are celebrating the

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Speaker 4: death of this big dictator, some people around the world

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Speaker 4: have been crime for us and have been protesting in

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Speaker 4: support of Iranians. So strange stuff are going on in

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Speaker 4: the world, but for us, it's been a really good news.

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Speaker 3: So, you know, as we're saying, before, around forty eight

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Speaker 3: top Iranian leaders have been killed, but the regime is

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Speaker 3: pretty strong and you know, has contingency plans. Is cutting

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Speaker 3: the heat of the regime enough for the people to

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Speaker 3: take charge of the country.

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Speaker 4: No, definitely. We know that Iran is a vast country

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Speaker 4: with ninety million population, and I think one of the

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Speaker 4: reasons why this astroike takes so longer to happen was

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Speaker 4: just getting prepared for this. So, you know, removal of

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Speaker 4: the Supreme Leader has been the biggest step, I think,

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Speaker 4: because you know, the whole regime was evolving around one,

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Speaker 4: you know, central figure, the ideological figure there. But now

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Speaker 4: there are many other parts of this military system that

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Speaker 4: needs to be eradicated, So I think it's going to

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Speaker 4: take more than that. And but what we prefer is

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Speaker 4: not a prolonged kind of war. We want accelerated regime collapse.

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Speaker 4: And I think the plans for that is ready on

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Speaker 4: our part with the opposition leader, the Crown Prince, and

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Speaker 4: the plan that he and his team has with the

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Speaker 4: Iranian people who are ready to take over their institutions.

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Speaker 4: But first we need to equalize the ground for them.

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Speaker 4: They cannot go and face this brutal regime and forces

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Speaker 4: with bare hands, so that's why it might take a

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Speaker 4: few weeks.

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Speaker 2: Well, come back to the Crown Prince in a moment, Doctor,

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Speaker 2: I mean, but is the fear there may be retaliation

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Speaker 2: from this regime. It has been heavily crippled. But as

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Speaker 2: they were, a worry that they will use the people

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Speaker 2: of around who have been against them as some sort

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Speaker 2: of message.

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Speaker 4: So I think so. So they have always been using,

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Speaker 4: you know, Iranian people a shield for themselves, and I

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Speaker 4: think the kind of attack that they have done, attacking

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Speaker 4: all the neighboring countries, it shows that they are reckless.

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Speaker 4: They the only thing they care about is their own survival.

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Speaker 4: Just the things that happened, you know during the uprising

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Speaker 4: around a month ago, that they were using hospitals, masks

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Speaker 4: and ambulances for their security forces to kill the people.

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Speaker 4: And at the moment we have heard news from Iran

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Speaker 4: that they are relocating prisoners from air in prison to

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Speaker 4: some of the military bases. And we don't know what

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Speaker 4: their plans is, but we know they are they are,

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Speaker 4: you know, capable of doing whatever it takes to stay

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Speaker 4: in power.

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Speaker 3: We took to doctor Ferraman, founder of the Iranian Woman

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Speaker 3: in New Zealand. Now, so I mean, this is this

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Speaker 3: is fether to what you were just saying. But what

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Speaker 3: does the Iran armed forces and police and all this

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Speaker 3: do they need to change sides for for the Iranian

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Speaker 3: people to have succeeds.

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Speaker 4: They need and I think some part of them have

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Speaker 4: done that. So the Crown Prince and his team around

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Speaker 4: a month few months ago before the uprising, they prepare

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Speaker 4: they build this database for the people who want to

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Speaker 4: defect from the regime to go and register. There are

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Speaker 4: so many people from within the IRGC forces and other

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Speaker 4: security forces has done so, and also so many people

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Speaker 4: from other parts of the state. So we definitely need

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Speaker 4: either these people to put down their weapons or to

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Speaker 4: join the people, and that's the only way. And we

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Speaker 4: think that finally is going to happen because if you

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Speaker 4: consider a country of ninety million people, the number of

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Speaker 4: people who are on the side of the regime is

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Speaker 4: less than fifteen ten percent.

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Speaker 3: Is there a way out for the regime because they've

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Speaker 3: committed horrible crimes against the people for a very long

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Speaker 3: time and most recently with the crackdowns. So is there

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Speaker 3: an exit? Because if they're backed against the wall and

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Speaker 3: they have shown that the you know as you see

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Speaker 3: it with the seemingly random firing of missiles and all directions,

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Speaker 3: I mean, backed against the wall, are they just going

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Speaker 3: to fight to the very end because they fear for

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Speaker 3: their own personal safety.

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Speaker 4: You know, in politics, nothing is impossible. But you know,

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Speaker 4: from the perspective of Iranian people, we know that our

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Speaker 4: people won't compromise anything with this regime. So any form

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Speaker 4: of this regime is not accepted by Iranian people. So

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Speaker 4: the only thing, the only outcome that we want and

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Speaker 4: we will continue to fight for, is the total collapse

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Speaker 4: up this regime. But we already heard some news that

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Speaker 4: they have formed the council and they are trying to

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Speaker 4: type to the US. But honestly, we think that it's

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Speaker 4: too late, and these are just the last attempts by

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Speaker 4: regime that they see that you know, it is their

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Speaker 4: final days.

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Speaker 1: Now.

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Speaker 3: There's lots of different factions and around as I understand it,

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Speaker 3: So can the people organize as one? You know, you

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Speaker 3: say that this very small percentage of the population that

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Speaker 3: support the regime, there's a lot of people that don't.

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Speaker 3: But can they come together as one to organize and

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Speaker 3: take control?

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Speaker 4: Actually, I think what is interesting and important about Iran

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Speaker 4: is that we don't have so many factions. We have Iranians.

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Speaker 4: I was talking about this to another journalist that when

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Speaker 4: it comes to Iran. The mistake that many people make

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Speaker 4: is that they compare it to Iraq, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan,

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Speaker 4: and they don't consider the fact that all these countries

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Speaker 4: have just come to existence, these states in less than

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Speaker 4: a century, and Iran has been there for thousands of years.

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Speaker 4: And we have so many ethnic communities, around fifteen to

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Speaker 4: twenty different ethnic communities in Iran, but they have been

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Speaker 4: living together for thousands of years. So for all of us,

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Speaker 4: national identity is the first one. If we are lord,

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Speaker 4: we say Iranian, low Iranian courts, Iranian Arabs. Iranian is

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Speaker 4: the main factor that you know, bring all of us together.

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Speaker 4: And in terms of supporter of the regime they are,

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Speaker 4: they are the minority, and you know they had to

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Speaker 4: submit to the people's will. At the end of the day.

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Speaker 3: What would you like to say the New Zealand as

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Speaker 3: a whole on the New Zealand government do to support

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Speaker 3: the people of around going forward?

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Speaker 4: I think New Zealand government the only thing they can

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Speaker 4: do now is to do something to protect their own citizens,

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Speaker 4: us New Zealand citizens, because it's you know, they could

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Speaker 4: they could designate IERGCY as a Torovist organization, as so

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Speaker 4: many other countries their allies did, but they refused to that.

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Speaker 4: They try to keep the doors of diplomacy open, so

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Speaker 4: I don't. I'm not sure if there's much that they

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Speaker 4: can do to help Iranians, but I think it's necessary

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Speaker 4: for them to designate IERGCY as soon as possible, because

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Speaker 4: when this regime collapsed, the members of IERGCY, those who

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Speaker 4: have money and connection, would flee the country they cannot

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Speaker 4: go to because they are a tourist organization, not to

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Speaker 4: the US or UK or Australia, So New Zealand might

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Speaker 4: end it up a good place for them.

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Speaker 2: Doctor Amin, thank you so much as always for your

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Speaker 2: time and your expertise. I'm sure we'll speak again soon,

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Speaker 2: but really appreciate your time.

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Speaker 4: Sure my pleasure.

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Speaker 2: That is doctor Farah a Mean, founder of The Iranian

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Speaker 2: Woman in New Zealand.

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Speaker 1: For more from News Talks b listen live on air

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Speaker 1: or online and keep our shows with you wherever you

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