WEBVTT - 1/18/26: Iran Protester Recounts Crackdown 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:02.279 So there's been a lot of talk about the geopolitical 0:00:02.360 --> 0:00:05.880 implications of the protests in Iran, but there has been 0:00:06.200 --> 0:00:10.960 little heard from protesters themselves. That is not merely a 0:00:10.960 --> 0:00:12.959 failing of the media. Part of the reason is that 0:00:13.480 --> 0:00:17.119 the government there shut has shut down the Internet for 0:00:17.280 --> 0:00:20.000 an extended period of time, which is blocking people from 0:00:20.760 --> 0:00:24.920 reaching loved ones or reaching Western or any other media 0:00:25.000 --> 0:00:28.639 outside of Iran, and it's blocking people from inside journalists 0:00:28.640 --> 0:00:32.040 who are inside Iran from getting images out. There's also 0:00:32.320 --> 0:00:34.959 the phenomenon that we know of transnational repression that even 0:00:35.000 --> 0:00:36.960 if you are able to get in touch with one 0:00:37.000 --> 0:00:40.559 of your family members who is in Iran, if you 0:00:40.640 --> 0:00:42.519 speak publicly and they find out who you are there, 0:00:43.240 --> 0:00:46.440 you know there's a significant risk for the family back 0:00:46.440 --> 0:00:51.000 at home. So joining us today will be a person 0:00:51.040 --> 0:00:56.000 who has been involved in protests for several decades at 0:00:56.000 --> 0:01:00.760 this point inside Iran, and was there at the height 0:01:00.880 --> 0:01:04.400 of the demonstrations, has since left. We're not going to 0:01:04.480 --> 0:01:06.800 talk about where she has left to her where she 0:01:06.840 --> 0:01:11.039 came from for her in order to conceal her identity, 0:01:11.440 --> 0:01:14.520 but we're grateful that she's joined us today. Thank you 0:01:14.560 --> 0:01:16.280 so much for being here. 0:01:18.520 --> 0:01:21.840 Thank you for having me, and so can. 0:01:21.680 --> 0:01:23.920 You can you tell us a little bit about well, 0:01:23.959 --> 0:01:29.240 actually tell us the first protest that or how did 0:01:29.280 --> 0:01:32.280 you realize that this protest movement which started shortly after 0:01:32.360 --> 0:01:36.959 Christmas was something serious and when did you first start 0:01:37.000 --> 0:01:37.880 participating in it. 0:01:39.800 --> 0:01:44.920 I I went home to visit family. I had no 0:01:45.040 --> 0:01:53.840 idea that there was unrest until Thursday night, eight of 0:01:53.960 --> 0:01:57.320 January and we were sitting around. 0:01:57.720 --> 0:01:59.880 You had been there for weeks at that point. 0:02:00.280 --> 0:02:02.600 Yes, yes, but there. 0:02:04.640 --> 0:02:11.440 I didn't notice anything, and we would hear about things 0:02:11.480 --> 0:02:14.919 happening outside of Tehran, but not in Tehran. I didn't 0:02:14.919 --> 0:02:19.440 notice anything, and that's not surprising because I wasn't near 0:02:21.800 --> 0:02:25.600 anywhere near center of town or places that people would gather. 0:02:28.600 --> 0:02:34.239 But on Thursday night, around eight pm, we started. 0:02:34.560 --> 0:02:38.600 We were yes January eighth. 0:02:39.600 --> 0:02:45.239 We were sitting around, just drinking, socializing with a few 0:02:45.280 --> 0:02:49.839 of my friends, and we started hearing chanting outside. So 0:02:49.880 --> 0:02:53.120 we went out to check out what was happening, and 0:02:53.639 --> 0:02:57.120 we realized that people were getting together and the chants 0:02:57.160 --> 0:03:00.760 were getting louder and louder, so we decided to go 0:03:00.880 --> 0:03:05.120 out and check it out. It's cold in Iran at 0:03:05.200 --> 0:03:08.600 night right now, so it took like a few minutes 0:03:08.680 --> 0:03:12.280 to get our codes get ready, and we were in 0:03:12.360 --> 0:03:18.280 the streets on Thursday night a little before eight thirty pm. 0:03:19.600 --> 0:03:22.280 And so what did you see when you were out there? 0:03:23.520 --> 0:03:25.920 There were just like groups of people. We walked for 0:03:25.960 --> 0:03:28.959 a long time. So by the end of the night 0:03:29.040 --> 0:03:34.040 we were miles away from where we started, and it 0:03:34.160 --> 0:03:40.880 was there were people everywhere everywhere in Alley's main streets 0:03:40.960 --> 0:03:41.800 and they were moving. 0:03:42.120 --> 0:03:43.760 There were more. 0:03:43.600 --> 0:03:48.760 And more people joining main streets in Tehran and they 0:03:48.760 --> 0:03:56.360 were chanting, and everybody was really excited and we were 0:03:56.440 --> 0:03:59.480 all surprised. All of us were surprised to see these 0:03:59.520 --> 0:04:03.680 many people all out on the streets. People of Iran 0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:08.520 have been protesting for a long time, and at least 0:04:08.560 --> 0:04:12.360 for myself, I can say that I've always dreamt of 0:04:12.480 --> 0:04:17.360 these many people coming out supporting each other, and it happened. 0:04:17.520 --> 0:04:20.720 Yeah, how did it compare to previous demonstrations over the years. 0:04:20.960 --> 0:04:26.400 So I've never seen anything like this on any It 0:04:26.680 --> 0:04:31.680 never not in Green movement, although there was there was 0:04:31.680 --> 0:04:37.640 a silent protest after the election during the Green Movement 0:04:38.000 --> 0:04:41.360 that I wasn't. I wasn't there, but I heard that 0:04:41.480 --> 0:04:45.599 there were hundreds of thousands of people silently walking. But 0:04:45.800 --> 0:04:51.120 besides that one, I have never never heard about anything 0:04:52.080 --> 0:04:57.280 this massive, and it seemed organic and it seen and 0:04:57.360 --> 0:05:01.200 people were joining as they were hearing chance from the streets. 0:05:01.200 --> 0:05:04.840 People were coming out. I saw an old lady like 0:05:05.240 --> 0:05:10.000 with a cane, really old. I went and talked to her. 0:05:10.240 --> 0:05:12.280 I asked her to go home. I told her that 0:05:12.360 --> 0:05:14.599 I would do what she wants to do. She should 0:05:14.600 --> 0:05:16.839 tell me what I should chant, and I would do 0:05:16.880 --> 0:05:18.560 it for her. She doesn't have to be out. And 0:05:18.680 --> 0:05:22.560 she's like, no, I'll stay, I'll just walk slowly. I'll 0:05:22.600 --> 0:05:31.480 walk behind you. And that was Thursday night. Was just awesome. 0:05:32.120 --> 0:05:35.240 So there were some reports of violence that Thursday evening 0:05:35.360 --> 0:05:37.560 or somewhere around the city. Did you see anything that 0:05:37.680 --> 0:05:41.560 What was the you know, what was the balance between 0:05:41.800 --> 0:05:47.800 kind of just marching and chanting versus clashes with security services. 0:05:47.960 --> 0:05:52.520 I we did not see any clashes between security forces 0:05:52.560 --> 0:05:56.599 and the protesters, and they stayed away from us. The 0:05:56.960 --> 0:06:00.920 two times that we saw any sign of God and 0:06:02.240 --> 0:06:06.839 regime people present was tear gas behind the crowd. If 0:06:06.839 --> 0:06:09.800 they wanted to they wanted us to move, they would 0:06:09.800 --> 0:06:13.240 tear gas that area and we would just walk away 0:06:13.960 --> 0:06:14.840 from that area. 0:06:15.040 --> 0:06:15.599 That was it. 0:06:15.800 --> 0:06:19.440 There was no classes that I saw on Thursday. Thursday 0:06:19.680 --> 0:06:24.360 was pretty much people and the crowds got so big, 0:06:24.520 --> 0:06:30.160 I don't know. Besides what they did on Saturday, there 0:06:30.200 --> 0:06:32.560 was nothing they could have done. There was just so 0:06:32.720 --> 0:06:35.279 many people that the sheer number of people in the 0:06:35.320 --> 0:06:38.720 streets was unprecedented. 0:06:39.400 --> 0:06:42.880 So then Friday, January tenth, what was your experience? 0:06:45.720 --> 0:06:50.880 So Friday was the same, but with more presence from 0:06:51.160 --> 0:06:58.160 police forces, militia. We saw them, they but they wouldn't engage. 0:06:58.480 --> 0:07:02.240 There was still tear gas. But I heard from other 0:07:02.360 --> 0:07:07.719 friends across town that they saw snipers on rooftops and 0:07:08.240 --> 0:07:16.160 they saw people falling. So there was some presence on 0:07:16.320 --> 0:07:23.000 Friday night, but it was still mainly people and the 0:07:23.120 --> 0:07:28.200 only I don't know what I saw the coverage on 0:07:29.480 --> 0:07:33.000 State TV. They saw that people set fire to moss 0:07:33.080 --> 0:07:37.480 and I'm not surprised by that. When you use mosques 0:07:37.520 --> 0:07:41.520 to force people into a way of life, you shouldn't 0:07:41.520 --> 0:07:44.280 be surprised if that's the first thing they said on fire. 0:07:46.560 --> 0:07:50.080 But I heard other violent stories that I did not witness. 0:07:50.280 --> 0:07:53.520 I don't know if normal, regular people are capable of 0:07:53.560 --> 0:07:57.480 that kind of violence, but I don't know, like state 0:07:57.560 --> 0:08:04.000 governments have turned people into violent beings all the time, 0:08:04.240 --> 0:08:08.840 So but I didn't witness any of the protesters doing 0:08:08.880 --> 0:08:13.480 anything violent on Tuesday, Friday or Saturday that night. 0:08:13.600 --> 0:08:15.360 And at that point, what's communication? 0:08:15.520 --> 0:08:15.600 Like? 0:08:15.640 --> 0:08:18.560 You couldn't communicate out of the country, but within the 0:08:18.600 --> 0:08:19.400 country you could. 0:08:20.320 --> 0:08:27.920 So on Thursday night I could even text outside of 0:08:27.920 --> 0:08:31.400 Iran up to I don't know if it was eight 0:08:31.440 --> 0:08:36.440 pm or nine pm, Like between eight and nine pm, 0:08:36.920 --> 0:08:41.920 everything just stopped working. We couldn't even call each other. 0:08:43.040 --> 0:08:47.800 Internet went out. That was Thursday night calls. So the 0:08:47.840 --> 0:08:51.600 only thing that we could do it was landline to landline. 0:08:51.960 --> 0:08:54.240 Land lines could call each other. 0:08:54.400 --> 0:08:55.319 But that was it. 0:08:56.960 --> 0:09:00.640 On Thursday night, so there was really no way to 0:09:00.880 --> 0:09:02.520 organize at all. 0:09:03.400 --> 0:09:05.720 Friday night happened organically. 0:09:06.640 --> 0:09:09.720 So then Saturday people are back in the streets. What 0:09:09.720 --> 0:09:13.280 what time did you go back out on Saturday? Describe 0:09:13.280 --> 0:09:14.320 what Saturday was like. 0:09:18.240 --> 0:09:29.680 Saturday was. I don't think i'll ever forget Saturday. Saturday 0:09:29.800 --> 0:09:40.720 was brief. I think it was around I had to 0:09:40.760 --> 0:09:50.040 do something on Saturday for work, so it's a little later, 0:09:50.240 --> 0:09:55.720 I think around seven or eight. I don't think it 0:09:55.840 --> 0:10:03.720 took even an hour. But as soon as we reached. 0:10:03.320 --> 0:10:04.359 An area. 0:10:07.760 --> 0:10:12.440 That people would gather, we started hearing machine guns like 0:10:13.679 --> 0:10:18.240 not just one shot, two shots, just like shots NonStop. 0:10:19.280 --> 0:10:29.440 And then as we they we ran and uh, we 0:10:29.559 --> 0:10:42.440 heard people falling. And then I saw like two blocks 0:10:42.480 --> 0:10:48.400 away from like further away from where we were, a 0:10:48.480 --> 0:10:54.920 neighborhood just got lit up silently, just so bright that 0:10:55.240 --> 0:10:58.640 it was like it was day for like ten seconds. 0:10:58.960 --> 0:11:01.640 I don't know what they use, but it just lit 0:11:01.760 --> 0:11:11.680 up and then went quiet. There were big groups of 0:11:13.040 --> 0:11:22.720 bikers with like machine guns and machetes, just patrolling and 0:11:21.960 --> 0:11:26.640 they have uniforms. No, they were like dressed in black 0:11:26.800 --> 0:11:31.160 with face masks. And my friends asked me if they 0:11:31.240 --> 0:11:34.640 were Iranian or not, and there's no way we could have. 0:11:35.160 --> 0:11:37.880 We could have, we could have tell. It's just impossible 0:11:37.920 --> 0:11:38.880 to tell they were. 0:11:38.920 --> 0:11:41.360 They were in a large group together, like can you 0:11:41.440 --> 0:11:43.840 just describe these motorcyclists. 0:11:44.480 --> 0:11:45.080 Yeah, there was. 0:11:45.200 --> 0:11:49.280 They were always in large groups together, dressed in black, 0:11:49.679 --> 0:11:55.000 like like commandos or like movies, and. 0:11:56.960 --> 0:11:59.120 Really scary like staring. 0:11:59.679 --> 0:12:07.000 Even the day Sunday, after Saturday, I was in a 0:12:07.080 --> 0:12:12.119 car and they they were patrolling the streets after Saturday, 0:12:12.840 --> 0:12:16.240 and they came from behind. I could group of fifty 0:12:16.280 --> 0:12:19.160 of them at least, and I was so scared that 0:12:19.200 --> 0:12:21.320 I couldn't look away. And one of them was staring 0:12:21.320 --> 0:12:23.920 at me. And one of my friends held my hand 0:12:24.120 --> 0:12:26.160 and was like, look at me, don't look at them, 0:12:26.400 --> 0:12:31.400 like try to get my attention away from them. 0:12:31.440 --> 0:12:34.640 Just freakishly terrifying. 0:12:35.840 --> 0:12:38.120 And you were telling me that as you were running 0:12:38.160 --> 0:12:40.720 you you could hear the bullets and you could see 0:12:40.720 --> 0:12:44.760 people fall. How close to how close to you were 0:12:44.800 --> 0:12:47.480 the people who were going down? Like what kind of. 0:12:49.600 --> 0:12:51.400 I have no idea, right. 0:12:52.040 --> 0:12:56.000 Like I I could tell you, but I don't know 0:12:56.000 --> 0:12:57.120 how accurate it would be. 0:13:03.000 --> 0:13:04.920 It was shocking. 0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:10.439 How did you finally get away? 0:13:10.480 --> 0:13:10.800 Like? What? 0:13:10.960 --> 0:13:13.000 What was what got you to? 0:13:13.520 --> 0:13:17.360 We ran? We ran that far away, like we got 0:13:17.640 --> 0:13:22.520 lucky because we got out late and we just ran 0:13:22.679 --> 0:13:28.079 back into the alley and people open doors. But it 0:13:28.200 --> 0:13:31.480 was just like we were close enough to get. 0:13:31.320 --> 0:13:33.800 Away to the place where you were staying. 0:13:34.720 --> 0:13:39.120 Yes, I wasn't. 0:13:39.679 --> 0:13:43.800 We didn't even got that far on Saturday, and then 0:13:43.840 --> 0:13:51.920 it was quiet like silence Thursday and Friday, Like at 0:13:51.960 --> 0:13:54.920 one two am, people would still be in the streets 0:13:54.960 --> 0:13:59.640 and they were chanting from rooftops and windows, and people 0:13:59.640 --> 0:14:03.600 would bard even if they didn't leave the house. Saturday 0:14:03.679 --> 0:14:08.840 night after so like for an hour there was a 0:14:08.920 --> 0:14:13.680 lot of noise, a lot of light, a lot of commotion, 0:14:14.559 --> 0:14:21.360 and then silence just just absolute, like even I don't 0:14:21.440 --> 0:14:25.280 think Tehran has ever been this silent, and I know. 0:14:25.560 --> 0:14:29.400 We weren't even sirens or nothing, just definitely. 0:14:29.000 --> 0:14:34.000 Nothing, just silence. And I know that I try not 0:14:34.080 --> 0:14:39.920 to watch the videos still because like I don't Yeah, 0:14:39.960 --> 0:14:44.080 I can't take them right now, but I know that 0:14:44.680 --> 0:14:48.200 videos are coming out now, but most of these videos 0:14:48.200 --> 0:14:55.040 are from Thursday night, Friday, and maybe Saturday if it's 0:14:55.080 --> 0:15:00.240 super violent. There was nothing after in Tehran. 0:15:02.920 --> 0:15:08.040 So Sunday Monday, so the rest, So that was completely 0:15:08.080 --> 0:15:10.239 from your perspective, that was complete suppression. 0:15:11.520 --> 0:15:16.880 Yes, Saturday night Tehran was massacred and then it went quiet. 0:15:18.760 --> 0:15:22.120 Is is there any is there any sense or is 0:15:22.120 --> 0:15:26.320 any talk of renewing them once people have regrouped, or 0:15:26.680 --> 0:15:30.200 is your sense that this is the level of violence 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:36.280 was significant enough that it's just completely knocked that, Like 0:15:37.280 --> 0:15:38.400 I don't totally suppressed. 0:15:39.520 --> 0:15:43.880 I don't know if I can predict that, but every 0:15:43.920 --> 0:15:48.320 time that the people. Everyone have protested, they have responded 0:15:48.480 --> 0:15:52.960 with violence, and every time the next time it's been 0:15:53.000 --> 0:15:57.880 worse for them. And I think something changed on Saturday 0:15:58.000 --> 0:16:05.360 night because they killed indiscriminately, They fired into crowds of people, 0:16:07.000 --> 0:16:08.760 and they said that they were going to do that, 0:16:08.840 --> 0:16:10.120 but I don't think people. 0:16:10.320 --> 0:16:10.920 They sent. 0:16:12.400 --> 0:16:17.400 Text messages from intelligence services to all of the people 0:16:17.440 --> 0:16:20.520 of Tehran. That was the only text that we could 0:16:20.600 --> 0:16:26.040 receive to numbers in Iran, and they warned the people 0:16:26.360 --> 0:16:31.360 don't come out, because we are going to use force 0:16:31.520 --> 0:16:31.960 if you do. 0:16:32.800 --> 0:16:38.720 And they did something changed. 0:16:41.280 --> 0:16:47.040 I know that there's a lot of discussion of who 0:16:47.120 --> 0:16:50.760 can hijack this movement, the freedom movement of the people 0:16:50.800 --> 0:16:56.040 of Iran, and it's very possible, but I can tell 0:16:56.080 --> 0:16:58.440 you this, the way that the government of Iran has 0:16:58.480 --> 0:17:02.440 responded to the protest is every single person in Iran 0:17:02.480 --> 0:17:07.240 would happily join any intelligence service to end this regime. 0:17:08.440 --> 0:17:11.640 There's that we are not unified in what we want, 0:17:12.480 --> 0:17:15.800 but we are unified and not wanting this to amic republic. 0:17:17.000 --> 0:17:22.320 What was the talk among demonstrators about what the end 0:17:22.359 --> 0:17:25.760 goal was like? What what was the step from you know, 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:28.440 hundreds of thousands of people in the streets on Thursday 0:17:29.359 --> 0:17:31.160 to the regime being toppled. 0:17:35.040 --> 0:17:38.439 There wasn't a lot of talk. We were just like 0:17:40.440 --> 0:17:40.960 chat thing. 0:17:42.600 --> 0:17:51.400 But my sense is that nobody knows, and that's very scary. 0:17:52.400 --> 0:17:56.760 And I think the people that we all know that 0:17:57.480 --> 0:18:01.520 in chaos there's risk. They know that their livelihood is 0:18:01.560 --> 0:18:07.720 going to be affected. Dollar has, like the Iranian currency 0:18:07.800 --> 0:18:10.919 has dropped in value so much that a regular person 0:18:10.960 --> 0:18:14.360 in Tehran now makes a little less than three hundred dollars. 0:18:14.400 --> 0:18:20.280 Probably millions of families have dropped from middle class to poor. 0:18:21.920 --> 0:18:25.520 So I think they know it's going to be rough. 0:18:26.840 --> 0:18:29.720 I think they're scared of what's going to happen next. 0:18:30.600 --> 0:18:33.680 I think this government could have stopped this many many 0:18:33.720 --> 0:18:37.520 times during this forty seven years. They could have made 0:18:37.640 --> 0:18:43.240 change easier and smoother. But every time they chose to 0:18:43.480 --> 0:18:47.760 oppress their own people, to kill their own people, hang 0:18:47.840 --> 0:18:52.280 their own people, torture their own people, disappear their own people. 0:18:53.520 --> 0:18:59.879 And there was the saying after Massamini was murdered that 0:19:02.400 --> 0:19:06.440 the rage of a grieving mother will never go quiet. 0:19:06.640 --> 0:19:07.240 And there are. 0:19:08.840 --> 0:19:12.280 Thousands of grieving mothers in you're on right now, and 0:19:12.400 --> 0:19:14.040 I don't know what they're going to do with that. 0:19:14.760 --> 0:19:20.520 They might succeed this time, but something changed. 0:19:21.960 --> 0:19:22.160 Now. 0:19:22.200 --> 0:19:25.159 The videos and the photos that you shared with me 0:19:25.359 --> 0:19:28.080 that you and your friends took were those mostly from 0:19:28.080 --> 0:19:30.880 Thursday and Friday, Like, I, did you catch anything from 0:19:30.880 --> 0:19:32.840 Saturday or were you in and out so fast? 0:19:33.200 --> 0:19:33.720 No? 0:19:33.720 --> 0:19:37.080 No, they were yes, No, I had nothing on Saturday, 0:19:37.160 --> 0:19:40.600 and I meant to take a video of the bikers, 0:19:41.119 --> 0:19:44.320 but I was so scared I couldn't move. I can 0:19:44.600 --> 0:19:48.919 tell you this. They were like freakishly terrifying. 0:19:49.240 --> 0:19:52.480 They're moving around collectively, yes. 0:19:52.440 --> 0:19:56.040 And patrolling even after Saturday night they would patrol and 0:19:56.160 --> 0:20:01.440 scream and you know, just make sure that their presence 0:20:01.520 --> 0:20:04.080 is known and that they are causing terror so that 0:20:04.119 --> 0:20:05.840 people won't come out anymore. 0:20:07.400 --> 0:20:10.080 I also wanted to get your reaction to the government's 0:20:10.160 --> 0:20:15.199 response here as you saw they they they brought in 0:20:15.240 --> 0:20:19.760 a bunch of ministers from around the world and showed 0:20:19.760 --> 0:20:30.639 them footage of lost armed and masked. And people have 0:20:30.680 --> 0:20:33.040 probably seen a lot of this footage as it has 0:20:33.800 --> 0:20:38.080 d of circulated over the internet. On the internet. Here 0:20:38.160 --> 0:20:43.159 you have people, you know, the firing a shotgun and 0:20:43.280 --> 0:20:50.399 there's more of this. You know, how does this how 0:20:50.680 --> 0:20:54.120 do how do you relate that to these the dynamic 0:20:54.160 --> 0:20:54.840 that unfolded. 0:20:56.880 --> 0:21:00.119 I didn't see anybody armed in the crowd, and I 0:21:00.160 --> 0:21:04.399 didn't see any violence. I'm not surprised. It's been forty 0:21:04.440 --> 0:21:10.960 seven years. I'm not even surprised if it turns out 0:21:11.040 --> 0:21:14.760 that there are foreign agents among the crowds. Of course, 0:21:15.000 --> 0:21:19.560 I know Israel benefits from time wild in Iran. I'm 0:21:19.560 --> 0:21:22.639 not surprised if they tried to capitalize on this, if 0:21:22.680 --> 0:21:27.400 they were to hijack it. But and I'm not surprised 0:21:27.440 --> 0:21:32.919 that the government of Iran does these kind of performative 0:21:33.720 --> 0:21:36.880 sittings with ambassadors. They have done this, It's not new. 0:21:38.560 --> 0:21:41.879 And they have a certain narrative that everybody that opposes 0:21:42.000 --> 0:21:49.080 US is imperialist agent in the agents of Mossad or Cia. 0:21:49.880 --> 0:21:56.119 And I'm not denying that Mussad or Cia are not 0:21:57.040 --> 0:22:01.920 benevolent agents in the world. But I can tell you 0:22:02.040 --> 0:22:04.280 that most of the people in the streets are the 0:22:04.320 --> 0:22:09.040 people of Iran. And I'm not saying that they are 0:22:09.119 --> 0:22:16.560 beyond being manipulated. Of course they are. But any I 0:22:16.600 --> 0:22:20.320 think anyone in the situation that the people of Iran 0:22:20.400 --> 0:22:28.919 are right now economically, culturally, sanction wise, relationships with the 0:22:28.960 --> 0:22:33.359 outside world. You look at the situation in Uran from 0:22:33.560 --> 0:22:39.520 any aspect that you like, you will understand why the 0:22:39.520 --> 0:22:43.600 people of Iran would come to the street. It doesn't 0:22:43.600 --> 0:22:51.160 matter who asks them to. They want change. And I 0:22:51.200 --> 0:22:55.600 don't think these kind of having ambassadors watch videos would 0:22:55.680 --> 0:23:00.960 work anymore. Even if there are armed agents that hijack 0:23:01.080 --> 0:23:05.880 these movements, that doesn't matter. That's not the movement, because 0:23:05.920 --> 0:23:10.119 this is not This hasn't been the only uprising. We 0:23:10.280 --> 0:23:17.679 have been protesting for forty seven years. The Molaws are 0:23:18.040 --> 0:23:23.119 corrupt and cruel, and that's the truth. And I think, 0:23:24.280 --> 0:23:28.600 as somebody who's been a leftist and a progressive, I'm 0:23:28.640 --> 0:23:36.679 actually a little heartbroken that we can't say that with 0:23:36.800 --> 0:23:45.720 our full chest. Because Iran has been a presence in 0:23:45.760 --> 0:23:49.800 the Middle East, that's at least a kind of obstacle 0:23:49.920 --> 0:23:54.680 for United States and Israel. But that shouldn't mean that 0:23:54.720 --> 0:23:58.720 we deny the people of Iran what they deserve, which 0:23:58.760 --> 0:24:02.680 is freedom and a dignified life. And if Iran has 0:24:02.680 --> 0:24:05.199 been an obstacle for Israel, and Israel has been an 0:24:05.240 --> 0:24:08.600 obstacle for the Islamic Republic, all of that can be 0:24:08.720 --> 0:24:13.440 analyzed without being silent when people are being oppressed. 0:24:14.880 --> 0:24:17.240 Now when it when it comes to the American response, 0:24:17.760 --> 0:24:20.520 the Trump administration, as far as my sources are telling me, 0:24:21.880 --> 0:24:25.960 are still leaning towards air strikes despite the fact that 0:24:27.920 --> 0:24:32.680 we are where we are. Where do the demonstrator? Obviously 0:24:33.160 --> 0:24:35.240 there are a lot of different viewpoints, but like, how 0:24:35.240 --> 0:24:39.199 do you see American intervention and how to how what 0:24:39.320 --> 0:24:42.240 is your general sense of how people in the street 0:24:42.680 --> 0:24:46.320 since it, And it goes to that same question earlier, 0:24:47.280 --> 0:24:53.320 what's the step from American air strikes to the regime topling? 0:24:53.320 --> 0:24:55.840 Because from my own analysis, and I don't know. I've 0:24:55.880 --> 0:24:58.520 never been to Iran, I don't know it as well 0:24:58.560 --> 0:25:02.040 as people who live there. But I don't see how 0:25:02.040 --> 0:25:07.920 American air strikes bring about regime change. I fail to 0:25:07.960 --> 0:25:10.520 see what the connect how that connects from one to 0:25:10.560 --> 0:25:13.119 the other. So give me your take on that. 0:25:15.200 --> 0:25:21.800 I okay, I'm hesitant to just give you my own opinion. 0:25:21.840 --> 0:25:23.800 I'll tell you what I think and what I think 0:25:23.880 --> 0:25:26.600 people of your own think most of them. 0:25:27.200 --> 0:25:29.280 I am anti war. 0:25:29.800 --> 0:25:32.600 I do not like air strikes and I do not 0:25:32.800 --> 0:25:34.119 like barn interventions. 0:25:34.240 --> 0:25:35.960 They're always shortsighted in. 0:25:38.400 --> 0:25:43.080 Not motivated by what I think is needed on the ground, 0:25:45.560 --> 0:25:49.240 so I and I don't respect Donald Trump in any 0:25:49.280 --> 0:25:53.160 shape or form. So my personal opinion is I don't 0:25:53.160 --> 0:25:55.280 trust what he says. I don't trust what he does, 0:25:55.720 --> 0:25:59.159 and I don't I wouldn't if it was me, I 0:25:59.160 --> 0:26:03.320 wouldn't ask him or help. And I don't know how 0:26:03.440 --> 0:26:06.320 air strikes can lead to regime change. I have no 0:26:06.400 --> 0:26:11.240 idea either. I'm just a normal person. I've never worked 0:26:11.240 --> 0:26:18.879 in politics, but inside on the streets, I think people 0:26:18.960 --> 0:26:22.960 were as divided as the Iranian diaspora. Outside of Iran, 0:26:23.680 --> 0:26:25.240 I think there are a lot of people that are 0:26:25.320 --> 0:26:29.119 so done, they're so it's been so bad that they're 0:26:29.160 --> 0:26:33.240 like anything. If they can change, if they can attack 0:26:33.520 --> 0:26:38.119 and kill Harmony, for example, without us having to pay 0:26:38.720 --> 0:26:42.439 a lot, sure why not. And there are people that 0:26:42.440 --> 0:26:45.399 are like, absolutely not. We do not want anybody to 0:26:45.440 --> 0:26:49.080 attack us, and I don't. I'm not saying that we 0:26:49.119 --> 0:26:54.520 should take everybody's opinion and take an average. I don't 0:26:54.560 --> 0:26:56.399 believe in that kind of attitude when it comes to 0:26:56.440 --> 0:27:00.240 making these decisions. And I don't presume that I know 0:27:00.280 --> 0:27:04.160 what's best. So I'm just talking for myself. I'm just 0:27:04.440 --> 0:27:08.160 telling you what I think and I think the best 0:27:08.440 --> 0:27:13.119 thing for Iran is for we have elites in prison, 0:27:13.359 --> 0:27:15.040 we have elites outside of Iran. 0:27:16.119 --> 0:27:17.120 We can have. 0:27:18.880 --> 0:27:24.240 A group of people that would help the people, help referendums, 0:27:24.280 --> 0:27:30.199 and help pulling to move from this regime to a 0:27:30.240 --> 0:27:34.959 more democratic one if possible. Throughout forty seven years, they 0:27:35.000 --> 0:27:38.320 have tried to kill and silence everybody inside of Iran, 0:27:39.440 --> 0:27:43.440 and they have done some assassination outside of Iran as well. 0:27:44.040 --> 0:27:48.280 But I still think Iranians themselves have people that are 0:27:48.320 --> 0:27:52.960 capable of steering this country at least towards a better path. 0:27:54.200 --> 0:27:59.000 I don't think we need anyone, particularly those who are 0:27:59.080 --> 0:28:01.479 responsible for geniciding other people. 0:28:04.040 --> 0:28:08.200 Well, thank you so much for sharing your your experience. 0:28:09.160 --> 0:28:12.719 Very much appreciate you. Uh, I'm sure that was I'm 0:28:12.760 --> 0:28:14.399 sure that was. That was difficult, and it's going to 0:28:14.400 --> 0:28:16.480 live with you for forever. 0:28:18.520 --> 0:28:18.919 Thank you.