WEBVTT - What’s Happening in Iran?

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<v Speaker 1>Also media.

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<v Speaker 2>Hey everyone, and welcome to the podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>It's meet James today and I'm very lucky to be

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<v Speaker 1>joined again by Gourdain, who's a journalist from East Kerdistan

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<v Speaker 1>working with HENGO, the human rights organization and lots of

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<v Speaker 1>other organizations. And we're going to talk today about what

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<v Speaker 1>has been happening in Iran for the past few weeks.

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<v Speaker 2>So thanks for joining Uscordain. Hello, thank you very much

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<v Speaker 2>for inviting me again to the to the show. And yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>I'm really glad to be here and I am ready

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<v Speaker 2>to talk about all the things that have happening in

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<v Speaker 2>the past few weeks in Kurdistan and Iran. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>I think for a lot of people, what is happening

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<v Speaker 1>in Iran in the last few weeks has not really

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<v Speaker 1>punched into the mainstream US media for the most part, right,

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<v Speaker 1>So I think we should probably begin with a very

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<v Speaker 1>basic overview of what has been happening and a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit of why it's been happening and also where, because

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<v Speaker 1>I think that's worth mentioning, right.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, sure, So, just a few days before the Nearest Eve,

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<v Speaker 2>on December twenty eighth, there was a spontaneous demonstration and

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<v Speaker 2>strike in Tehran's Grand Bazaar, which is basically the center

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<v Speaker 2>of Iran's trade and one of the most important backbones

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<v Speaker 2>of the Islamic regime or revolution. There were strikes inside

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<v Speaker 2>the Bazzar, and so many shopkeepers and business owners just

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<v Speaker 2>closed down their businesses and they took to the streets

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<v Speaker 2>and inside the shopping centers and they started chanting against

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<v Speaker 2>the regime, and they were basically protesting the horrible economic

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<v Speaker 2>situations and the decrease of the Iranian reol or the

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<v Speaker 2>Iranian currency against the US dollar, which was one dollar

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<v Speaker 2>was equal to one million point four hundred thousand Iranian reols.

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<v Speaker 2>And then these protests quickly spread it all over the

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<v Speaker 2>city in Tehran, and as usual this is what happens

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<v Speaker 2>all the time, the Iranian regime forces they started attacking

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<v Speaker 2>people and trying to control the situation, but it somehow

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<v Speaker 2>got out of their control and the next days these protests,

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<v Speaker 2>these strikes spread it to other cities, to other major

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<v Speaker 2>cities from Shira's, Mashat, Isfahan, Tabriz and many other cities

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<v Speaker 2>got involved. But in the early January, around January five

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<v Speaker 2>to six and seven, there were major protests in cities

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<v Speaker 2>like Malikshahi in Ilan Province and other cities in Kermanshah Province,

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<v Speaker 2>which are basically the Kurdish provinces in western Iran. What

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<v Speaker 2>is really unique about this is that usually when protests

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<v Speaker 2>happened across Iran, or when there is something happening, the

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<v Speaker 2>Kurdish regions are the first two react. But this time

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<v Speaker 2>the Kurdish regions, like if I want to say, the

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<v Speaker 2>West Azerbaijan Province and the San and Dutch Province, they

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<v Speaker 2>were not really involved because a lot of people were

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<v Speaker 2>saying that in the previous movements, especially in twenty twenty two,

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<v Speaker 2>we gave too much. There were too many victims here.

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<v Speaker 2>But the center was silent, I mean Tehran and Shiraz

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<v Speaker 2>and these major Iranian cities. So a lot of people

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<v Speaker 2>didn't really come out and there was nothing happening. And

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<v Speaker 2>at the same time, this is my personal opinion, I

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<v Speaker 2>think because there was also a heavy snowfall in Kurdish

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<v Speaker 2>regions and it was really cold, and I think a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of people just didn't want to go out. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>So this was happening in Malikshahi and other cities in

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<v Speaker 2>Elam and Kermansha Province until I think it was January

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<v Speaker 2>fifth that there was a really really big demonstration in Malekshahi,

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<v Speaker 2>and it's a small city, but I can say majority

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<v Speaker 2>of the people were out on the streets and then

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<v Speaker 2>the Iranian regime forces started shooting at people and they

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<v Speaker 2>injured and killed a lot of people. And the hospital

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<v Speaker 2>in that city, that in that small city was full

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<v Speaker 2>and they had no space anymore. So the people took

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<v Speaker 2>the injured protesters to the center or the capital of

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<v Speaker 2>the province in Elam City, to the Imam Romani Hospital.

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<v Speaker 2>What happened in this hospital was that there were so

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<v Speaker 2>many people in front of the hospital, like families and

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<v Speaker 2>relatives of the victims. And then after a few hours,

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<v Speaker 2>the Iranian regime forces started attacking the hospital. There were

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<v Speaker 2>so many videos and footage that came out, and we

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<v Speaker 2>also posted it on hangout and all over the internet

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<v Speaker 2>that the regime forces were basically surrounding the whole building

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<v Speaker 2>and then they started shooting tear gases inside the hospital.

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<v Speaker 2>And then there was a video that came out that

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<v Speaker 2>these regime forces were trying to get inside the hospital

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<v Speaker 2>and arrest or kidnap all the injured people or if

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<v Speaker 2>there was a dead body or something, and then there

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<v Speaker 2>was some sort of resistance from the medical staff, and

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<v Speaker 2>then they started beating the medical staff. And then a

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<v Speaker 2>few days later we also posted about it that some

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<v Speaker 2>of these medical stuff in that hospital were also arrested.

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<v Speaker 2>The same thing was also happening in a few other cities,

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<v Speaker 2>but this was very specific and it got very viral

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<v Speaker 2>on social media and a lot of people talked about it.

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<v Speaker 2>And at the same time, there were massive protests taking

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<v Speaker 2>place in Tehran and other major cities, which like, I

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<v Speaker 2>am twenty eight years old and I think I've never

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<v Speaker 2>seen such thing happening in Iran. It was really extraordinary.

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<v Speaker 2>So while these things were happening, there were also a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of calls from people in Kurtison that they were

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<v Speaker 2>calling on Kurdish parties to do something, to say something.

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<v Speaker 2>So on January seven, Kurdish parties from Iran they had

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<v Speaker 2>a meeting and they announced a call for a general

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<v Speaker 2>strike in Kurdistan for all over Iran. So on Thursday,

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<v Speaker 2>January eighth, over forty cities across Kurdistan they went on

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<v Speaker 2>a strike which was really big, and it wasn't really

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<v Speaker 2>discussed or talked about on major media, and it was

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<v Speaker 2>somehow ignored while it was a really big action that

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<v Speaker 2>took place there, and usually after the strikes in Curtison,

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<v Speaker 2>this is something that's happening for years. People take to

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<v Speaker 2>the streets and protest during the night. It happened in

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<v Speaker 2>a few cities and there were some people injured and

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<v Speaker 2>also killed. And then it's been over one hundred and

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<v Speaker 2>twenty four hours. Right now as we're talking now that

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<v Speaker 2>there is no internet connection in Iran and even the

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<v Speaker 2>normal lines don't work. You cannot call anyone from outside

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<v Speaker 2>of Iran. However, there are some people who have access

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<v Speaker 2>to the Starlink Internet and a few people that have

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<v Speaker 2>access to I don't know, some sort of strong VPNs

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<v Speaker 2>that work for a few minutes and then they disconnect.

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<v Speaker 2>And at the same time, I have contact to two

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<v Speaker 2>people who have been using the SIM cards or the

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<v Speaker 2>Internet from Iraq or Turkey. They are living on the

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<v Speaker 2>border regions, but they also have a limited access. So

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<v Speaker 2>this is what's happening right now. And as we were

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<v Speaker 2>talking about this, this blackout in Iran has caused a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of confusion, a lot of horror that the world

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<v Speaker 2>doesn't know what's happening exactly right now. After the blackout,

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<v Speaker 2>there were a few videos and footage that came out

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<v Speaker 2>that were published by major activists or journalists like Ali

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<v Speaker 2>Jo and Marriage and so many others that they receive

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<v Speaker 2>these videos, I don't know, from the Internet, from starlink,

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<v Speaker 2>and you can see in these videos that in a

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<v Speaker 2>place called Carriza, it's near Tehran, It's where the Tehran's

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<v Speaker 2>Forcenic Medical Center is located. You can see in these

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<v Speaker 2>videos that countless of bodies, maybe hundreds or maybe thousands

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<v Speaker 2>of bodies are just on the ground. They're in body

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<v Speaker 2>bags and desperate family members, relatives, all traumatized, they are

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<v Speaker 2>looking for their loved ones and it's just like it's

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<v Speaker 2>so unbelievable. It's like movies. And apparently the regime forces

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<v Speaker 2>have machine guned all these people. Jesus, And right now,

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<v Speaker 2>because of the blackout, we really don't know how many

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<v Speaker 2>people are exactly killed, how many people are injured, how

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<v Speaker 2>many people are arrested, or these things. You know, we

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<v Speaker 2>don't know the exact numbers, and it makes things so hard.

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<v Speaker 2>But today, a few hours ago, there was a report

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<v Speaker 2>from Iran International that stated that over twelve thousand people

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<v Speaker 2>have been killed. But this also is not fully confirmed

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<v Speaker 2>because they just got these things through some sources. And

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<v Speaker 2>then at the same time, CBS News also published a

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<v Speaker 2>report and said that between twelve thousand to twenty thousand

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<v Speaker 2>people have been killed, but again this is not really

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<v Speaker 2>fully confirmed or verified because there is no information coming

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<v Speaker 2>out that much. At the same time, we also got

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<v Speaker 2>reports from Kurdistan that in the city of Kermanshah, these

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<v Speaker 2>regime forces were taking the dead bodies with bosses. We

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<v Speaker 2>don't know how many, but we know that they were

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<v Speaker 2>taking these bodies with bosses like we don't know how

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<v Speaker 2>many hundreds. And from this footage that you can also

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<v Speaker 2>see that the regime is taking all these bodies with

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<v Speaker 2>containers with talks all over the city in Tehran and

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<v Speaker 2>they're bringing it to the center that I mentioned before,

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<v Speaker 2>and all families are looking for their children and their people.

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<v Speaker 2>At the same time, I also got this direct information

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<v Speaker 2>from someone who is from Rush in north of Iran.

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<v Speaker 2>She was traveling from Tehran to Rush and she said

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<v Speaker 2>that the people have burnt down most of the mosques

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<v Speaker 2>and also the banks and other government buildings. Are also

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<v Speaker 2>footage all over the internet that in most of the

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<v Speaker 2>cities that people have burnt down the whole mosques and

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<v Speaker 2>buildings belonging to the government. And at the same time

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<v Speaker 2>she also said that in that city there are so

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<v Speaker 2>many people that are killed. She doesn't know how many

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<v Speaker 2>or who, but families were desperately looking for their loved

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<v Speaker 2>ones on the streets or anywhere. This this is basically

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<v Speaker 2>the same in almost every major city or even small city.

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<v Speaker 2>We don't know exactly, but this is the footage that

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<v Speaker 2>we got from tehronly that it shows what's going on.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, that's horrific.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, there are many many also in our organization, we

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<v Speaker 2>got a few confirmations from these limited access that some

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<v Speaker 2>of these people killed in Tehran are also Kurdish and

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<v Speaker 2>from obviously from other minoritory groups as well. At the

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<v Speaker 2>same time, there is a special case that I want

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<v Speaker 2>to talk about. There is a person like a protester,

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<v Speaker 2>his name is Erfon Sultani, who was arrested a few

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<v Speaker 2>days ago, and he is planned to be executed tomorrow.

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<v Speaker 2>We don't know if they're really going to do that

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<v Speaker 2>or whatever, but this is a really big sign that

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of people are warning about it, like human

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<v Speaker 2>rights organizations, and that the regime might carry out mass

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<v Speaker 2>executions everywhere and just to take control over the situation, right,

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<v Speaker 2>this is also something that might happen.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, so it did execute people after the mini protest,

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<v Speaker 1>but they didn't do a three day trial, right that

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<v Speaker 1>they did here, They had like a show trial first

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<v Speaker 1>that in those instant series.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, they executed dozens of people after Genamini was killed,

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<v Speaker 2>and also previously in the previous years. So this is

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<v Speaker 2>like what what's in general is happening. And at the

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<v Speaker 2>same time, like in diaspora in western countries, there are

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<v Speaker 2>groups that are on the streets, like people that are

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<v Speaker 2>calling for solidarity or whatever that can be done to

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<v Speaker 2>help people out inside Iran. Yeah, this is like a

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<v Speaker 2>general overview of what's happening. And as I said before,

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<v Speaker 2>because there is no internet connection and if there is,

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<v Speaker 2>it's very limited, nobody knows what's happening exactly. Nobody knows

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<v Speaker 2>the exact scale of the the crimes that are taking

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<v Speaker 2>place right now there.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, let's take a little break for advertisements here and

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<v Speaker 1>then we'll come back and talk a little more.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, and we're back.

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<v Speaker 1>So if people have seen anything about this, I don't

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<v Speaker 1>know if there are on like a x. They will

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<v Speaker 1>have seen videos of masks burning and maybe videos of

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<v Speaker 1>the PAK like shooting at buildings. You know, visit the

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<v Speaker 1>videos that were kind of widely circulated before people lost

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<v Speaker 1>access to the internet. And I think there's some idea

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<v Speaker 1>that like this isn't armed uprising, and I think it

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<v Speaker 1>would be good to explain to people that like that

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<v Speaker 1>there are people clearly the present there is presence of

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<v Speaker 1>like armed groups who apposed a regime in Iran, right,

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<v Speaker 1>but they are not necessarily the ones like leading the

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<v Speaker 1>charge here. So maybe we could explain a little bit

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<v Speaker 1>about both the arm groups who are Kaddish. There are

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<v Speaker 1>some arm groups in Balochistan as well, and like where

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<v Speaker 1>they sit in relevance to these protests.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so far I can speak for Kurtisan, Yeah, there

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<v Speaker 2>have I've seen also this footage that PAK or the

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<v Speaker 2>Freedom Party of Curtisan published social media. I cannot personally

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<v Speaker 2>confirm that, but there has always been a call for

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<v Speaker 2>military action against the regime in the previous years, and

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<v Speaker 2>even before Gina Amini in twenty twenty two, there was

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<v Speaker 2>always some sort of call from the people. But right

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<v Speaker 2>now as we are seeing, the Kurdish Party is the

0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:52.120
<v Speaker 2>seven major Kurdish parties from Iran. They are not taking

0:14:52.320 --> 0:14:59.040
<v Speaker 2>really a real military action because there is a big

0:14:59.080 --> 0:15:03.600
<v Speaker 2>fear that if they do this, the regime might bomb

0:15:03.960 --> 0:15:09.640
<v Speaker 2>the cities and kill thousands of civilians with heavy weapons

0:15:09.680 --> 0:15:12.680
<v Speaker 2>and even missiles. So this is also one of the

0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:15.920
<v Speaker 2>main reasons that even the parties have talked about it

0:15:16.240 --> 0:15:20.120
<v Speaker 2>many times before when people called for a military sport.

0:15:20.160 --> 0:15:23.320
<v Speaker 2>But of course I can also confirm this that all

0:15:23.360 --> 0:15:27.480
<v Speaker 2>of these parties, all of these organizations have some sort

0:15:27.520 --> 0:15:33.080
<v Speaker 2>of networks inside Iran that they are monitoring the situation,

0:15:33.280 --> 0:15:37.240
<v Speaker 2>they are collecting information, and they are like connecting people together,

0:15:37.760 --> 0:15:40.560
<v Speaker 2>and in some cases that I am aware of that

0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:43.480
<v Speaker 2>happened in my hometown in Urmia in twenty twenty two,

0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:48.440
<v Speaker 2>some of these parties also have been able to lead

0:15:48.600 --> 0:15:52.880
<v Speaker 2>the protests, like to organized protests. So this is for

0:15:52.960 --> 0:15:57.640
<v Speaker 2>now the presence of these parties. But for Baluchistan, I

0:15:57.680 --> 0:16:01.000
<v Speaker 2>can also say that I think it was in October

0:16:01.120 --> 0:16:04.680
<v Speaker 2>or November twenty twenty five that all these groups in

0:16:04.720 --> 0:16:07.800
<v Speaker 2>Baluchustan they had a conference and they announced that they

0:16:07.840 --> 0:16:10.840
<v Speaker 2>are all united and they're all working together under one banner.

0:16:11.120 --> 0:16:14.120
<v Speaker 2>So they also carried out a lot of attacks on

0:16:14.160 --> 0:16:18.800
<v Speaker 2>the IRGC bases and vehicles in the regions in the

0:16:18.800 --> 0:16:22.800
<v Speaker 2>past few months, but so far we haven't heard much

0:16:22.960 --> 0:16:26.360
<v Speaker 2>from them in the past few weeks. We don't know

0:16:26.720 --> 0:16:29.880
<v Speaker 2>they're not doing anything, or if they are doing anything,

0:16:29.920 --> 0:16:34.880
<v Speaker 2>it's not on the internet or it's not published yet. Yeah,

0:16:34.880 --> 0:16:38.720
<v Speaker 2>this is the situation right now with these groups. But

0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:43.080
<v Speaker 2>at the same time, groups or parties actually like Pijak,

0:16:43.760 --> 0:16:47.960
<v Speaker 2>they also have warned that this was like, if I

0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:51.360
<v Speaker 2>want to say, quote unquote, don't play with fire, they

0:16:51.400 --> 0:16:56.000
<v Speaker 2>were warning the Dreaming regime that they shouldn't play with fire. Yeah,

0:16:56.000 --> 0:16:58.440
<v Speaker 2>this is a situation right now that's going on with

0:16:58.520 --> 0:16:59.600
<v Speaker 2>the parties as well.

0:17:00.120 --> 0:17:02.960
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and it's very complicated for people who are not

0:17:03.080 --> 0:17:05.760
<v Speaker 1>right familiar. I think like maybe we should take a

0:17:05.760 --> 0:17:09.840
<v Speaker 1>step back even further and just explain I guess the

0:17:09.920 --> 0:17:13.600
<v Speaker 1>concept of Iran as like a contiguous empire might be

0:17:13.640 --> 0:17:16.600
<v Speaker 1>a good way to see it, right, with different ethnic

0:17:16.640 --> 0:17:20.679
<v Speaker 1>groups currently under the control of one state, Can you

0:17:20.720 --> 0:17:22.439
<v Speaker 1>just explain that for people if they if they're not

0:17:22.560 --> 0:17:26.040
<v Speaker 1>familiar it, Because I think in the US, like Persian

0:17:26.080 --> 0:17:28.960
<v Speaker 1>identity and Iranian identity by people who are not familiar

0:17:28.960 --> 0:17:31.920
<v Speaker 1>with it, are conflated, right, But if you could explain

0:17:31.960 --> 0:17:34.720
<v Speaker 1>the different nations that exist within the state, that might

0:17:34.720 --> 0:17:35.280
<v Speaker 1>help people.

0:17:35.760 --> 0:17:40.720
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, like Iran as a geography is a very diverse country.

0:17:41.520 --> 0:17:45.679
<v Speaker 2>So basically, the Persians, or as they call themselves, the Iranians,

0:17:45.720 --> 0:17:49.480
<v Speaker 2>are the dominant group. They are the majority, but we

0:17:49.640 --> 0:17:54.520
<v Speaker 2>also have the Ozari Turkish people who are the second majority,

0:17:54.560 --> 0:17:57.920
<v Speaker 2>and then we have the Kurds, we have the Baluchis.

0:17:58.240 --> 0:18:02.560
<v Speaker 2>Then there are Ahwazi Arabs in the south, and then

0:18:02.600 --> 0:18:06.600
<v Speaker 2>there are Turkmen people, and then there are Thai li Isshis,

0:18:07.000 --> 0:18:09.520
<v Speaker 2>but their numbers are really small. And at the same

0:18:09.560 --> 0:18:14.479
<v Speaker 2>time there is also the Mazandharrani or the Gilak people

0:18:14.800 --> 0:18:19.400
<v Speaker 2>that live in the Caspian Sea coast. There are also

0:18:19.480 --> 0:18:23.160
<v Speaker 2>a different ethnic group. They have a different linguistic background,

0:18:23.240 --> 0:18:27.600
<v Speaker 2>but because of the Iranian state policies of one hundred years,

0:18:27.880 --> 0:18:31.919
<v Speaker 2>majority of them are assimilated and no longer carry that

0:18:32.560 --> 0:18:37.960
<v Speaker 2>cultural heritage or identity. But in Kurdistan, in Baluchistan, in Ahwas,

0:18:38.000 --> 0:18:41.199
<v Speaker 2>in Azerbaijan, it's it's really different, and also in the

0:18:41.240 --> 0:18:45.200
<v Speaker 2>Turkmen regions. Basically this is what Iran looks like. Of course,

0:18:45.200 --> 0:18:49.399
<v Speaker 2>there are other small minorities like Armenians even Georgians that

0:18:49.720 --> 0:18:54.240
<v Speaker 2>migrated to like hundreds of years ago. There are also

0:18:54.280 --> 0:18:59.720
<v Speaker 2>several religious groups like the Shia Muslims are the majority,

0:18:59.800 --> 0:19:04.520
<v Speaker 2>with Persians and ozo Re Turks are basically the followers

0:19:04.520 --> 0:19:09.520
<v Speaker 2>of this religion. And then there are Sunni Sunni Muslims

0:19:09.680 --> 0:19:13.080
<v Speaker 2>who are like majority of them are Baluchis and Kurds

0:19:13.080 --> 0:19:16.560
<v Speaker 2>and Hawazi Arabs or other groups. And then we have

0:19:17.160 --> 0:19:21.440
<v Speaker 2>several other groups from Jews, Christians and also the Yarsanis

0:19:21.480 --> 0:19:26.080
<v Speaker 2>which is a Kurdish religious minority, and they're about one

0:19:26.160 --> 0:19:29.960
<v Speaker 2>million to two million people. Yeah, this is what Iran

0:19:30.040 --> 0:19:30.480
<v Speaker 2>looks like.

0:19:31.280 --> 0:19:33.240
<v Speaker 1>Yes, yeah, and I think people can can be easy

0:19:33.240 --> 0:19:35.119
<v Speaker 1>for them to just see it as like Shia Muslim

0:19:35.160 --> 0:19:37.840
<v Speaker 1>Persian modelith right, Yeah.

0:19:37.640 --> 0:19:39.520
<v Speaker 2>But I also want to add a little bit more

0:19:39.520 --> 0:19:44.919
<v Speaker 2>of how this works. So, because the Iranians or the

0:19:44.960 --> 0:19:48.760
<v Speaker 2>Persians are the majority, they own the state. The entire

0:19:48.960 --> 0:19:53.800
<v Speaker 2>identity is evolving around them. And because of this, during

0:19:53.840 --> 0:19:56.960
<v Speaker 2>the past one hundred and fifty one hundred years, there

0:19:56.960 --> 0:20:01.520
<v Speaker 2>has been a policy of assimilation in every region in

0:20:01.960 --> 0:20:05.040
<v Speaker 2>what's called Iran. Right now, for example, if I want

0:20:05.080 --> 0:20:08.320
<v Speaker 2>to talk about the language right now, the only official

0:20:08.359 --> 0:20:12.119
<v Speaker 2>language is Persian, and in the past one hundred years

0:20:12.400 --> 0:20:16.480
<v Speaker 2>this language has not just been a language of communication,

0:20:16.600 --> 0:20:20.120
<v Speaker 2>it has been a language of oppression and similation. And

0:20:20.600 --> 0:20:24.000
<v Speaker 2>there are many regions in Iran that were For example,

0:20:24.119 --> 0:20:26.680
<v Speaker 2>if I want to talk about Kurtism, there are many

0:20:26.720 --> 0:20:30.639
<v Speaker 2>regions in Kermanshah and Elam provinces and other regions that

0:20:31.119 --> 0:20:34.119
<v Speaker 2>used to be fully Kurdish and they used to speak

0:20:34.200 --> 0:20:36.879
<v Speaker 2>Kurdish just a few decades ago, but now they are

0:20:36.920 --> 0:20:42.119
<v Speaker 2>completely assimilated. The same policy was also followed strictly but

0:20:42.320 --> 0:20:46.680
<v Speaker 2>heavily in Turkey and also in Iraq and also in Syria.

0:20:46.880 --> 0:20:50.119
<v Speaker 2>So this is how this has been working in the

0:20:50.160 --> 0:20:55.000
<v Speaker 2>past century, and how all these ethnic groups with different

0:20:55.080 --> 0:21:00.159
<v Speaker 2>languages and cultural backgrounds and identities have been forced to

0:21:00.280 --> 0:21:06.560
<v Speaker 2>accept an Iranian identity that evolves that turns around the

0:21:06.600 --> 0:21:11.080
<v Speaker 2>Persian identity and Persian language and history. Yeah, so this

0:21:11.240 --> 0:21:15.639
<v Speaker 2>is also like a general overview of the oppression if

0:21:15.680 --> 0:21:16.320
<v Speaker 2>I want.

0:21:16.359 --> 0:21:18.600
<v Speaker 1>To Yeah, no, I think that's pretty the right way

0:21:18.680 --> 0:21:20.840
<v Speaker 1>to think. People who have listened to our coverage of

0:21:20.920 --> 0:21:23.960
<v Speaker 1>ME and MA will be familiar or like I mean,

0:21:24.040 --> 0:21:26.040
<v Speaker 1>this has happening in countersplaces, right, This is this is

0:21:26.640 --> 0:21:29.199
<v Speaker 1>why British people will speak English now, yeah, right, like

0:21:29.320 --> 0:21:31.879
<v Speaker 1>this is this is how sort of internal empire works.

0:21:32.880 --> 0:21:36.040
<v Speaker 1>I wonder like we should talk about the possibilities and

0:21:36.119 --> 0:21:39.560
<v Speaker 1>to an extent, the demands here, right, because in the

0:21:39.800 --> 0:21:44.280
<v Speaker 1>US it seems to be that there is a binary choice,

0:21:44.720 --> 0:21:48.000
<v Speaker 1>or that it's presented as a binary choice between the

0:21:48.000 --> 0:21:51.480
<v Speaker 1>current state in Iran and a monarchy, and it doesn't

0:21:51.480 --> 0:21:53.720
<v Speaker 1>seem to be an option for self governance, right, for

0:21:53.840 --> 0:21:56.960
<v Speaker 1>Iranian people to have democracy, to have liberty, and that's

0:21:57.119 --> 0:21:59.240
<v Speaker 1>evidently not the case, right, Like, when you have this

0:21:59.320 --> 0:22:03.800
<v Speaker 1>many people in this that's how democracy works. But let's

0:22:03.840 --> 0:22:06.919
<v Speaker 1>talk about the sort of the demands and then the

0:22:06.960 --> 0:22:10.959
<v Speaker 1>possibilities that it being co opted and turned into another

0:22:11.040 --> 0:22:11.639
<v Speaker 1>type of state.

0:22:12.560 --> 0:22:18.480
<v Speaker 2>So here in these days or basically in the past decades,

0:22:18.840 --> 0:22:23.639
<v Speaker 2>the main demand of people, all different ethnic groups in

0:22:24.640 --> 0:22:28.480
<v Speaker 2>the geography of Iran has always been a regime change.

0:22:28.920 --> 0:22:32.320
<v Speaker 2>They want this regime gone. Yeah, this is the first

0:22:32.320 --> 0:22:35.680
<v Speaker 2>thing that everybody wants. At the same time, there are

0:22:36.080 --> 0:22:39.600
<v Speaker 2>other possibilities that could be there. One of the things

0:22:39.640 --> 0:22:43.800
<v Speaker 2>that when you look at these ethnic groups and their

0:22:43.920 --> 0:22:47.760
<v Speaker 2>organizations and the people, you can see that also most

0:22:47.800 --> 0:22:54.000
<v Speaker 2>of them want some sort of federalism or autonomy or

0:22:54.119 --> 0:22:58.840
<v Speaker 2>self governance. At the same time, this idea of federalism

0:22:59.040 --> 0:23:04.960
<v Speaker 2>and self governance or self determination is nothing that, let's

0:23:04.960 --> 0:23:09.080
<v Speaker 2>say that the dominant group would accept because they don't

0:23:09.119 --> 0:23:13.520
<v Speaker 2>understand it. Because for them, I wouldn't say all of them,

0:23:13.560 --> 0:23:16.560
<v Speaker 2>because I cannot. We cannot generalize everyone. But when you

0:23:16.600 --> 0:23:21.800
<v Speaker 2>look at it, the dominant group sees Iran as an entity.

0:23:21.960 --> 0:23:27.200
<v Speaker 2>That's that's not the verse. It's just Iran and everybody's Iranian,

0:23:27.480 --> 0:23:32.040
<v Speaker 2>just like the way Turkey or the Turkish government sees

0:23:32.080 --> 0:23:36.560
<v Speaker 2>everything everybody's Turkish. But in Iran, they also say everybody's Iranian.

0:23:36.960 --> 0:23:40.240
<v Speaker 2>We will have an election, we will choose a president,

0:23:40.680 --> 0:23:43.560
<v Speaker 2>we will have a parliament, and that's it. That's what

0:23:44.280 --> 0:23:48.800
<v Speaker 2>is also being let's say offered. But at the same time,

0:23:48.840 --> 0:23:52.879
<v Speaker 2>there is also a call for monarchy. But this is

0:23:52.920 --> 0:23:57.320
<v Speaker 2>also something that not majority of people, even Persians, majority

0:23:57.400 --> 0:24:00.040
<v Speaker 2>of them don't want monarchy back because there is a

0:24:00.119 --> 0:24:04.840
<v Speaker 2>huge discussion between people that here we are fighting against

0:24:04.880 --> 0:24:09.560
<v Speaker 2>a dictatorship, why would we bring back another dictatorship. Overall,

0:24:09.640 --> 0:24:14.760
<v Speaker 2>I can say that the minority groups majority of them

0:24:15.240 --> 0:24:18.560
<v Speaker 2>for now, I would say like if the regime is

0:24:18.600 --> 0:24:23.840
<v Speaker 2>going to be changed, they want self governance, but maybe

0:24:23.840 --> 0:24:26.399
<v Speaker 2>in the future also independence. We don't know that this

0:24:26.560 --> 0:24:29.800
<v Speaker 2>is something complicated to talk about, but for now, this

0:24:29.880 --> 0:24:32.840
<v Speaker 2>is what minority groups want. But in the Persian community,

0:24:33.400 --> 0:24:37.720
<v Speaker 2>some of them want to have like a republican system

0:24:38.119 --> 0:24:41.040
<v Speaker 2>or whatever, but some of them also want to have

0:24:41.160 --> 0:24:44.920
<v Speaker 2>monarchy back. And there are also other groups who reject

0:24:45.000 --> 0:24:49.080
<v Speaker 2>both republicans and also like monarchists, and they want to

0:24:49.119 --> 0:24:54.200
<v Speaker 2>have more diverse and more open system for the future.

0:24:54.560 --> 0:24:57.800
<v Speaker 2>But again this is something that we cannot say how

0:24:57.840 --> 0:25:01.120
<v Speaker 2>it's going to be preceded because we don't know how

0:25:01.160 --> 0:25:04.000
<v Speaker 2>the situation is going to be and how these opposition

0:25:04.119 --> 0:25:07.600
<v Speaker 2>groups are going to work together in the future. Are

0:25:07.640 --> 0:25:10.639
<v Speaker 2>they gonna start a civil war or are they gonna

0:25:10.640 --> 0:25:13.920
<v Speaker 2>sit down together and find a solution. This is all

0:25:13.960 --> 0:25:17.879
<v Speaker 2>depends on how the regime falls and when, and the

0:25:17.960 --> 0:25:22.720
<v Speaker 2>destruction of this regime is the biggest priority right now.

0:25:23.040 --> 0:25:25.159
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, yeah, I mean, we could see a situation very

0:25:25.240 --> 0:25:28.200
<v Speaker 1>much like the one that's happening and folding right now

0:25:28.200 --> 0:25:30.639
<v Speaker 1>in western Kurdishtewan and folding later in Iran if the

0:25:30.840 --> 0:25:33.960
<v Speaker 1>regime falls right which unfortunately is just something else we

0:25:34.040 --> 0:25:36.439
<v Speaker 1>have to talk about at the time, but very terrible

0:25:36.480 --> 0:25:49.800
<v Speaker 1>things happening there too. Because you know, most of our

0:25:49.800 --> 0:25:52.600
<v Speaker 1>listeners are in America. The way that people may have

0:25:52.640 --> 0:25:56.080
<v Speaker 1>engaged with this is through Donald Trump's posting on truth

0:25:56.200 --> 0:26:01.359
<v Speaker 1>social where he has said that help is coming recently, Like,

0:26:02.080 --> 0:26:06.600
<v Speaker 1>let's talk about what US intervention means, like, especially in

0:26:06.720 --> 0:26:09.920
<v Speaker 1>the in the context of a like the US having

0:26:09.960 --> 0:26:11.760
<v Speaker 1>intervened all over the Middle East, and what that has

0:26:11.840 --> 0:26:17.679
<v Speaker 1>meant and be Like the US's recent national security strategy,

0:26:17.720 --> 0:26:20.679
<v Speaker 1>which suggests that basically they don't care about the region

0:26:20.720 --> 0:26:23.320
<v Speaker 1>and they don't want to be involved in the region.

0:26:23.680 --> 0:26:26.000
<v Speaker 1>Let's talk about what that means and what it might

0:26:26.040 --> 0:26:27.679
<v Speaker 1>not be the panas here people think it is.

0:26:28.320 --> 0:26:32.040
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, So in the past few weeks, Trump hass said

0:26:32.080 --> 0:26:34.480
<v Speaker 2>a lot of things. In the first few days, he

0:26:34.600 --> 0:26:37.080
<v Speaker 2>came out and said that if the regime is going

0:26:37.119 --> 0:26:39.840
<v Speaker 2>to kill civilians, we're going to do this, and that

0:26:39.920 --> 0:26:42.840
<v Speaker 2>we're going to punish the regime. And then I think

0:26:42.840 --> 0:26:45.159
<v Speaker 2>it was an interview or he was on TV, I

0:26:45.160 --> 0:26:48.760
<v Speaker 2>don't exactly remember, but he said something that all the

0:26:48.800 --> 0:26:51.840
<v Speaker 2>people that were killed, we don't know if the regime

0:26:51.960 --> 0:26:54.639
<v Speaker 2>killed them. Maybe they just were killed in the crowd,

0:26:54.800 --> 0:26:57.400
<v Speaker 2>like there were like thousands of people in the regional. Yeah,

0:26:57.480 --> 0:27:01.320
<v Speaker 2>like a crash. They were crushed. And this is so unbelievable.

0:27:01.680 --> 0:27:04.639
<v Speaker 2>He's making these comments and then he's just threatening the

0:27:04.720 --> 0:27:08.760
<v Speaker 2>regime all over it again. And just a few hours ago,

0:27:09.240 --> 0:27:12.040
<v Speaker 2>as you mentioned, he said that the help is coming

0:27:12.200 --> 0:27:16.360
<v Speaker 2>and he's asking people to keep fighting and keep protesting

0:27:16.400 --> 0:27:20.800
<v Speaker 2>and things like that. However, we should also, like regarding this,

0:27:20.920 --> 0:27:24.600
<v Speaker 2>we should talk about what people also want from Trump.

0:27:26.000 --> 0:27:28.600
<v Speaker 2>This has been like something that a lot of people,

0:27:28.680 --> 0:27:31.199
<v Speaker 2>again this is not the majority, but a lot of

0:27:31.240 --> 0:27:35.440
<v Speaker 2>people have been calling on him or basically on America

0:27:35.560 --> 0:27:37.960
<v Speaker 2>or something to do an action against the regime, to

0:27:38.040 --> 0:27:41.280
<v Speaker 2>do something against the regime or damage the regime so

0:27:41.320 --> 0:27:44.359
<v Speaker 2>that people can get rid of it. And right now

0:27:44.680 --> 0:27:48.439
<v Speaker 2>I saw some screenshots from people who were able to

0:27:49.440 --> 0:27:52.199
<v Speaker 2>get access to the internet for a few moments. I

0:27:52.240 --> 0:27:55.840
<v Speaker 2>saw one there was shared on the internet that a

0:27:55.920 --> 0:28:00.640
<v Speaker 2>woman from Tehran was saying that they were killing everyone.

0:28:00.800 --> 0:28:02.840
<v Speaker 2>I don't know where my children are. One of them

0:28:02.920 --> 0:28:05.359
<v Speaker 2>is nineteen and the other one is twenty three. She

0:28:05.600 --> 0:28:08.679
<v Speaker 2>was just saying, please, please be our voice and just

0:28:08.760 --> 0:28:11.760
<v Speaker 2>tell them to attack tell Trump to help. So this

0:28:11.880 --> 0:28:16.280
<v Speaker 2>is also something that there is a call for attacking

0:28:16.280 --> 0:28:21.320
<v Speaker 2>Iran and destroying the regime, but again we don't know

0:28:21.520 --> 0:28:24.720
<v Speaker 2>if Trump is really gonna do this or not. There

0:28:24.760 --> 0:28:28.720
<v Speaker 2>is also like threats coming from Europe as well in UK,

0:28:29.760 --> 0:28:34.159
<v Speaker 2>but again, as you mentioned, if these attacks happen, we

0:28:34.240 --> 0:28:37.680
<v Speaker 2>don't is it gonna be something like Iraq or Afghanistan

0:28:37.800 --> 0:28:41.360
<v Speaker 2>or other places, or is it gonna really help the

0:28:41.400 --> 0:28:43.840
<v Speaker 2>people of Iran, the people inside iron to get rid

0:28:43.880 --> 0:28:47.320
<v Speaker 2>of the regime, which is also really hard to understand

0:28:47.360 --> 0:28:51.440
<v Speaker 2>because Trump hasn't been really clear about all these things.

0:28:51.760 --> 0:28:54.920
<v Speaker 2>On one side, he was also asked if he has

0:28:55.120 --> 0:28:58.920
<v Speaker 2>any talks or connections with the so called Prince Razaphalavi,

0:28:59.440 --> 0:29:03.000
<v Speaker 2>and he said no, he's a good guy, but I

0:29:03.080 --> 0:29:06.280
<v Speaker 2>don't want to talk to him. But then now you

0:29:06.320 --> 0:29:09.680
<v Speaker 2>can see that on Fox News, like all the Trump

0:29:10.040 --> 0:29:13.520
<v Speaker 2>affiliated or pro Trump media, they are promoting this guy

0:29:14.080 --> 0:29:17.920
<v Speaker 2>all the time. And at the same time, Rizzopelae was

0:29:17.960 --> 0:29:20.560
<v Speaker 2>also on TV and he was on CBS and he

0:29:20.800 --> 0:29:25.560
<v Speaker 2>said that he's directly in touch with Trump administration. So

0:29:26.040 --> 0:29:30.080
<v Speaker 2>we don't know like what exactly. I mean, it's so

0:29:30.160 --> 0:29:33.960
<v Speaker 2>hard to understand what exactly the US is going to do. Yeah,

0:29:34.680 --> 0:29:37.840
<v Speaker 2>they also announced that we're going to put more like

0:29:38.480 --> 0:29:42.200
<v Speaker 2>twenty five percent tariff on countries who work with her

0:29:42.280 --> 0:29:44.880
<v Speaker 2>on or trade with her on. And then the European

0:29:45.000 --> 0:29:47.640
<v Speaker 2>Parliament also announced that we're going to ban all Iranian

0:29:47.680 --> 0:29:53.240
<v Speaker 2>diplomats from entering the European Parliament. Not made to begin with,

0:29:53.320 --> 0:29:56.480
<v Speaker 2>all these comments that are coming out, they are so vague,

0:29:56.520 --> 0:29:59.440
<v Speaker 2>and at the same time, there are calls from Germany,

0:29:59.480 --> 0:30:02.360
<v Speaker 2>France and I think Australia too that they were calling

0:30:02.640 --> 0:30:05.680
<v Speaker 2>on the citizens that are in Iran, like tourists or whatever,

0:30:05.960 --> 0:30:10.160
<v Speaker 2>to immediately leave Iran. Yeah, this is also something that

0:30:10.560 --> 0:30:13.560
<v Speaker 2>we don't know, like Trump is not somebody that you

0:30:13.600 --> 0:30:17.400
<v Speaker 2>could trust. Yeah, ask people and Jia. And at the

0:30:17.440 --> 0:30:20.520
<v Speaker 2>same time, sorry, this is also important. There was also

0:30:20.640 --> 0:30:25.520
<v Speaker 2>some news that the Iranian authorities in the Foreign ministry

0:30:25.560 --> 0:30:30.120
<v Speaker 2>were trying or they contacted some people from Trump administration

0:30:30.440 --> 0:30:35.400
<v Speaker 2>for negotiations, but then Trump said that we will not

0:30:35.640 --> 0:30:40.800
<v Speaker 2>negotiate anything. So this is all like all these contradictions

0:30:40.800 --> 0:30:44.200
<v Speaker 2>that Trump is just talking about, and he's denying that

0:30:44.240 --> 0:30:46.960
<v Speaker 2>the regime is killing people and people are just being

0:30:47.040 --> 0:30:49.200
<v Speaker 2>killed because it's too crowded.

0:30:49.800 --> 0:30:53.680
<v Speaker 1>And then you see mainly like tweeting that everyone out

0:30:53.680 --> 0:30:55.920
<v Speaker 1>in the street is a Trump supporter, right, which is like,

0:30:56.520 --> 0:30:59.520
<v Speaker 1>that's useful to him, that narrative is useful to him,

0:30:59.520 --> 0:31:02.920
<v Speaker 1>that these are American imperialist or American whatever puppets.

0:31:03.320 --> 0:31:08.760
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, of course that has been the regime's behavior forever. Yeah,

0:31:08.880 --> 0:31:14.080
<v Speaker 2>whenever something happens, they immediately blame it on America, Israel.

0:31:14.400 --> 0:31:18.240
<v Speaker 2>I don't know UK budget. It's good that you mentioned

0:31:18.400 --> 0:31:21.520
<v Speaker 2>what company was saying. In the first few days. He

0:31:21.680 --> 0:31:25.200
<v Speaker 2>said that, yeah, we hear you the people in bazaar,

0:31:25.400 --> 0:31:29.000
<v Speaker 2>and yeah, we hear you, sorry that this is going on,

0:31:29.200 --> 0:31:32.680
<v Speaker 2>and things like that. But then he immediately said that

0:31:32.880 --> 0:31:36.080
<v Speaker 2>the people who are protesting, they are destroying everything and

0:31:36.480 --> 0:31:40.040
<v Speaker 2>we will deal with them in the harshest way. And

0:31:40.040 --> 0:31:45.680
<v Speaker 2>then the president of Iran, Pishkiki, and he also came

0:31:45.720 --> 0:31:48.280
<v Speaker 2>out and he said almost the same thing, and then

0:31:48.320 --> 0:31:51.280
<v Speaker 2>he started threatening people. And a few days after that,

0:31:52.040 --> 0:31:55.280
<v Speaker 2>the head of the judiciary, the Iranian judiciary came out

0:31:55.360 --> 0:31:59.320
<v Speaker 2>and said that like in a very very aggressive language,

0:31:59.360 --> 0:32:02.280
<v Speaker 2>he said that we will deal with you in the

0:32:02.320 --> 0:32:06.480
<v Speaker 2>worst ways possible, we will destroy you, and things like that.

0:32:06.520 --> 0:32:09.760
<v Speaker 2>It's he posted a lot of texts on his Twitter account.

0:32:10.560 --> 0:32:14.080
<v Speaker 2>His name is Moscid. So yeah, there is also like

0:32:14.120 --> 0:32:20.360
<v Speaker 2>a huge online fightings between these politicians and so called

0:32:20.440 --> 0:32:25.080
<v Speaker 2>leaders that makes the situation even more complicated and hard

0:32:25.120 --> 0:32:25.800
<v Speaker 2>to understand.

0:32:26.160 --> 0:32:29.440
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I think from a US perspective, like when America

0:32:29.480 --> 0:32:32.760
<v Speaker 1>invaded a Rock, right, they had a partner force in Kurdistan.

0:32:33.320 --> 0:32:35.880
<v Speaker 1>When America worked in Syria, they had a partner force

0:32:35.920 --> 0:32:40.680
<v Speaker 1>again in Western Kurdistan. Like, they don't really have that here,

0:32:41.120 --> 0:32:44.400
<v Speaker 1>Like this is not really a I mean, the payarch

0:32:44.440 --> 0:32:48.000
<v Speaker 1>is still on the American Foreign Terrorist Organization list. It's

0:32:48.080 --> 0:32:51.680
<v Speaker 1>not like that like American sort of partner force boots

0:32:51.680 --> 0:32:54.920
<v Speaker 1>on the ground like that that they had these other places.

0:32:55.640 --> 0:32:57.920
<v Speaker 1>Likely what they would do is just bomb stuff. That's

0:32:58.320 --> 0:33:00.480
<v Speaker 1>kind of the approach it most likely here in it.

0:33:01.200 --> 0:33:05.400
<v Speaker 1>Bombing alone is unlikely to remove the regime.

0:33:06.280 --> 0:33:10.760
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I think bombing with is definitely not enough because

0:33:11.360 --> 0:33:15.120
<v Speaker 2>they bombed They tried the regime hardly last year, but

0:33:15.520 --> 0:33:18.200
<v Speaker 2>it is still there. Of course, it was the regime

0:33:18.320 --> 0:33:23.440
<v Speaker 2>got weaker, like it weakened really bad. But at the

0:33:23.480 --> 0:33:27.400
<v Speaker 2>same time, like I think, if there's gonna be something,

0:33:27.640 --> 0:33:30.200
<v Speaker 2>and if there's gonna be something like Syria or Iraq.

0:33:30.480 --> 0:33:34.160
<v Speaker 2>I think the Americans or the American government would possibly

0:33:34.240 --> 0:33:36.520
<v Speaker 2>work with the Kurdish groups even though they are on

0:33:36.600 --> 0:33:40.280
<v Speaker 2>the so called terror list, like you know, it happened

0:33:40.280 --> 0:33:44.560
<v Speaker 2>in Rojova, in in in Syria. That's how they they've

0:33:44.560 --> 0:33:47.920
<v Speaker 2>been working with the Kurdish groups even though they're related

0:33:47.920 --> 0:33:50.160
<v Speaker 2>to PKK and PKK is on the terror.

0:33:51.280 --> 0:33:53.480
<v Speaker 1>Or they removed them that they did with HTS, right,

0:33:53.520 --> 0:33:56.160
<v Speaker 1>and then suddenly these guys they've transformed.

0:33:56.200 --> 0:34:00.840
<v Speaker 2>Now, yeah, so this could also happen, but we don't

0:34:00.920 --> 0:34:05.120
<v Speaker 2>know because it's been years. It's been decades that the

0:34:05.600 --> 0:34:09.719
<v Speaker 2>US is always threatening Iran and then something happens, then

0:34:09.840 --> 0:34:13.680
<v Speaker 2>they do nothing and it's just there. Yeah.

0:34:13.880 --> 0:34:17.319
<v Speaker 1>It reinforces the legitimacy of both states to threaten each other,

0:34:17.440 --> 0:34:20.120
<v Speaker 1>right and see each other's adversaries, and to a degree

0:34:20.239 --> 0:34:22.839
<v Speaker 1>use that for domestic violence against their own citizens, right,

0:34:23.280 --> 0:34:27.120
<v Speaker 1>or you know, terrorism stuff. I guess finally we should

0:34:27.120 --> 0:34:29.719
<v Speaker 1>just talk about one other thing that mainly said, which

0:34:29.840 --> 0:34:34.520
<v Speaker 1>is like that American and Israeli shipping would become legitimate

0:34:34.600 --> 0:34:38.239
<v Speaker 1>targets if you thought the Americans were involved, right, Just

0:34:38.280 --> 0:34:41.440
<v Speaker 1>to explain, this is the possibilities of people if they're

0:34:41.440 --> 0:34:42.040
<v Speaker 1>not familiar.

0:34:42.560 --> 0:34:45.520
<v Speaker 2>Well, this is not a new thing, to be honest.

0:34:45.600 --> 0:34:49.520
<v Speaker 2>They've won this before and in the previous years many times,

0:34:49.600 --> 0:34:53.320
<v Speaker 2>and there were times that they attacked some US bases,

0:34:53.400 --> 0:34:57.440
<v Speaker 2>like the one in Iraq, it's called Al Assad or

0:34:57.480 --> 0:35:01.520
<v Speaker 2>something like that. They fortunately they attacked it a few

0:35:01.560 --> 0:35:05.319
<v Speaker 2>times I guess in the past few years. Yeah, this

0:35:05.440 --> 0:35:12.040
<v Speaker 2>is also really complicated because how can I explain the

0:35:12.040 --> 0:35:17.080
<v Speaker 2>regime always does these threats and it might not do

0:35:17.200 --> 0:35:20.799
<v Speaker 2>it at all. But at the same time, this is

0:35:20.880 --> 0:35:24.560
<v Speaker 2>also something that I think that if the regime falls,

0:35:25.040 --> 0:35:29.360
<v Speaker 2>and if it's the last moments, they would probably try

0:35:29.400 --> 0:35:33.240
<v Speaker 2>to do something to damage the region or to damage

0:35:33.280 --> 0:35:36.279
<v Speaker 2>the people as much as they can, and then they

0:35:36.320 --> 0:35:40.200
<v Speaker 2>would just give up on everything and just disappear. So

0:35:40.920 --> 0:35:44.399
<v Speaker 2>they could do that. But if I want to go

0:35:44.480 --> 0:35:47.400
<v Speaker 2>back to to last year, we also need to understand

0:35:47.440 --> 0:35:53.600
<v Speaker 2>that after the Twelve Day War, Israel also destroyed a

0:35:53.719 --> 0:35:59.920
<v Speaker 2>massive amount of Iranian military basis and all these buildings

0:36:00.239 --> 0:36:04.279
<v Speaker 2>and structures. But still nobody don't truly understand how much

0:36:04.360 --> 0:36:08.080
<v Speaker 2>has been destroyed. But the Iranian air force is really

0:36:08.120 --> 0:36:13.040
<v Speaker 2>really weak right now. I'm apparently completely destroyed, so Iran

0:36:13.239 --> 0:36:17.040
<v Speaker 2>is not as strong as before. So there could be

0:36:17.080 --> 0:36:20.840
<v Speaker 2>a possibility that Iran actually doesn't have the capability to

0:36:21.000 --> 0:36:25.840
<v Speaker 2>attack US BASS across the region anymore. Yeah, So this

0:36:25.960 --> 0:36:29.120
<v Speaker 2>could be also a possibility that they are just threatening there.

0:36:29.320 --> 0:36:32.640
<v Speaker 2>They really don't have anything left anymore, or their military

0:36:32.680 --> 0:36:34.960
<v Speaker 2>capabilities are completely down.

0:36:35.280 --> 0:36:38.080
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, or they'll do that sort of symbolic send a

0:36:38.080 --> 0:36:41.120
<v Speaker 1>half dozen shah He drones and let the Americans shoot

0:36:41.160 --> 0:36:43.200
<v Speaker 1>them down and they say, oh, wow, we tried, or

0:36:43.239 --> 0:36:46.920
<v Speaker 1>you know, we we attack them, even though you know,

0:36:47.360 --> 0:36:49.000
<v Speaker 1>most of the time they have hurt a couple of

0:36:49.080 --> 0:36:53.880
<v Speaker 1>American people with them, but relatively unsuccessful. I wonder like

0:36:54.360 --> 0:36:57.440
<v Speaker 1>this is obvious a situation that people will want to follow.

0:36:57.480 --> 0:37:01.600
<v Speaker 1>Things are developing very quickly, and good news, good reporting

0:37:01.600 --> 0:37:04.080
<v Speaker 1>on Iran is very hard to find in America. So

0:37:04.360 --> 0:37:07.080
<v Speaker 1>where would you suggest people look Either you know, your

0:37:07.080 --> 0:37:10.560
<v Speaker 1>own stuff, or at the sources you suggest people should

0:37:10.600 --> 0:37:10.960
<v Speaker 1>look to.

0:37:11.280 --> 0:37:14.640
<v Speaker 2>If I want to mention for obviously, I work with

0:37:14.800 --> 0:37:19.359
<v Speaker 2>a hangout organization. It's a trusted organization. People can follow them.

0:37:19.480 --> 0:37:24.080
<v Speaker 2>And there is also a journalist called Ali Jawan Mardi.

0:37:24.239 --> 0:37:28.120
<v Speaker 2>He is a supervisor at Voice of America. Kurdish, Persian

0:37:28.160 --> 0:37:32.880
<v Speaker 2>and Afghanistan, and these are like the sources that I

0:37:32.920 --> 0:37:36.719
<v Speaker 2>personally trust. There are other organizations such as Curtis and

0:37:36.840 --> 0:37:42.320
<v Speaker 2>Human Rights Network. There is also Iran Rights or Abdu

0:37:42.440 --> 0:37:45.799
<v Speaker 2>Rahan Buruman Center for Human Rights in Iran. There are

0:37:45.840 --> 0:37:51.120
<v Speaker 2>several organizations, human rights organizations that are constantly reporting and

0:37:51.160 --> 0:37:55.920
<v Speaker 2>they are trying to reflect what's happening, and there I

0:37:56.000 --> 0:37:59.880
<v Speaker 2>could say majority of them are honest and there are

0:38:00.120 --> 0:38:06.000
<v Speaker 2>not trying to push for a specific narrative, especially the Palabis,

0:38:06.120 --> 0:38:09.960
<v Speaker 2>because right now, if you check the media, the international media,

0:38:10.160 --> 0:38:14.400
<v Speaker 2>the Iranian media such as Iran International or BBC Persian

0:38:14.440 --> 0:38:17.960
<v Speaker 2>and all of these major medias even in the US,

0:38:18.000 --> 0:38:22.240
<v Speaker 2>they are pushing for the monarchist and they are completely

0:38:22.320 --> 0:38:26.800
<v Speaker 2>ignoring the other groups like, for example, the Kourdish people.

0:38:26.840 --> 0:38:30.680
<v Speaker 2>I said, I mentioned that there was this great and

0:38:30.920 --> 0:38:35.160
<v Speaker 2>big strike that happened in forty cities. It's a very

0:38:35.200 --> 0:38:39.280
<v Speaker 2>big social act, but barely anyone talked about it, Barely

0:38:39.280 --> 0:38:43.080
<v Speaker 2>anyone mentioned it. So I think it's for people, it's

0:38:43.080 --> 0:38:47.680
<v Speaker 2>better to follow human rights organizations and do not really

0:38:47.719 --> 0:38:50.920
<v Speaker 2>fall for the things that some media that are just

0:38:51.480 --> 0:38:56.640
<v Speaker 2>promoting a specific person because they're just taking away the truth. Yeah.

0:38:57.000 --> 0:38:59.759
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I think that's a fantastic place to finish up.

0:38:59.800 --> 0:39:01.480
<v Speaker 2>Thank you so much for joining us.

0:39:01.520 --> 0:39:03.160
<v Speaker 1>If people want to follow you, do you have any

0:39:03.200 --> 0:39:05.960
<v Speaker 1>social media or pace people can find your work.

0:39:06.040 --> 0:39:10.200
<v Speaker 2>I have my personal page, but it's not really big.

0:39:10.239 --> 0:39:12.880
<v Speaker 2>I just post some slides recently, and my other page

0:39:12.920 --> 0:39:16.719
<v Speaker 2>curtis signing people. It got disabled unfortunately, but then I

0:39:16.840 --> 0:39:21.040
<v Speaker 2>started again. Uh, I'm just posting like some updates and

0:39:21.440 --> 0:39:24.920
<v Speaker 2>like slides about the important things that I find. I

0:39:24.960 --> 0:39:27.239
<v Speaker 2>can also put the links there.

0:39:27.600 --> 0:39:30.040
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, we'll include them believe the podcast so people can

0:39:30.040 --> 0:39:30.480
<v Speaker 1>click on it.

0:39:30.920 --> 0:39:31.200
<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

0:39:31.320 --> 0:39:33.879
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, fantastic. Well, thank you so much for joining us

0:39:33.920 --> 0:39:35.600
<v Speaker 1>this evening. We really appreciate it.

0:39:35.880 --> 0:39:41.840
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, thank you very much for having me again. Yeah,

0:39:41.920 --> 0:39:44.400
<v Speaker 2>it could Happen Here is a production of cool Zone Media.

0:39:44.600 --> 0:39:47.680
<v Speaker 2>For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, visit our website

0:39:47.719 --> 0:39:50.279
<v Speaker 2>cool Zonemedia dot com, or check us out on the

0:39:50.320 --> 0:39:54.279
<v Speaker 2>iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

0:39:54.680 --> 0:39:56.640
<v Speaker 2>You can now find sources for It Could Happen here,

0:39:56.640 --> 0:39:59.640
<v Speaker 2>listed directly in episode descriptions. Thanks for listening.