While tension between Israel and Iran continues to rise, we managed to contact a young Iranian to try to understand how people experience this period of (almost) war, despite the regime's propaganda. It goes without saying that the only thing he asked of us is anonymity, even of those who contacted him and wrote this piece. There is too much fear that hackers could trace it back to him who could really risk his life for his opinions and his stories.
The young man's words are a snapshot of the internal conflicts that Iranian society faces on a daily basis and through his testimony, a portrait emerges of a nation divided between the will to resist the existing regime and the desire for radical change.
“If you even slightly support the Islamic regime, don't expect flowers,” Mohammad warns us. “If you make an agreement with them and give them money, they will spend it to block the internet, to buy new drones, invest in nuclear power and repress the population.”
What's your story?
«I was born in Tehran, Iran, and I study engineering and technology. I recently made the difficult decision to leave the country. I moved to the Netherlands to continue my university studies but my family and several of my friends are in Iran and none of them agree to attack Israel. The risk that it could happen terrifies the entire population, which panicked after the raid. Everyone is scared, it was terrible for them to feel the war at home. But they do not have freedom of speech nor easy access to the internet which allowed them to find out about what was happening in those hours because free information is a critical point for the regime. I too had enormous difficulty getting in touch with them after the attacks.”
What was broadcast on Iranian TV about the attacks?
«The images have been passed thousands of times, but in Iran there is nothing online and most likely, as often happens, the images have been retouched to falsely show that the Israeli raid was more violent than in reality. I hope that the world does not judge Iranians based on the actions of their government, which unfortunately have created a distorted and hateful view of my people in the eyes of the world.” What do you think of Iran's attack on Israel?
«The Iranian people are firmly against attacking other countries like Israel. We have historically maintained a positive relationship with them, sharing cultural similarities and having a sincere mutual interest. Let's not forget the Iranian people's support for the Israeli armed forces for the October 7 attack. We recognize Israel and its people, and the vast majority of Iranians look forward to a lasting friendship with Israel! I can understand that Israel is trying not to be weak, which might lead them to consider actions against Iran but it is important that they understand that Iran is not Gaza. They should focus on weakening the Iranian regime rather than targeting people or infrastructure. Our greatest concern is to avoid an all-out war with Israel, which would inevitably cause serious damage and put the lives of innocent civilians at risk.”
What do you think about your country's internal politics?
«Iran and the Islamic regime are two completely separate entities: since the 1979 revolution, Khomeini and later Khamenei have made it clear that this regime is not based on Iran's culture and heritage, nor on the zeitgeist; but it is an Islamic country, with dark ideological objectives. However, the regime has used Iran's name to enhance its credit through propaganda and ideological repression. Interestingly, Khomeini and others were supported and financed by some Western countries such as the United States, France, the United Kingdom, especially the CIA; Carter and his administration aided Khomeini and ensured that the Imperial Iranian Army did not launch a military coup. Since the early days of the revolution, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been dedicated to protecting the regime, not the people nor the country, as their motto states. Over the years, the IRGC has evolved to have enormous political and economic control, in addition to their role in suppressing the people. This allowed them to more easily eliminate any disobedient voices and empowered them in various aspects. They were one of the groups in Iran, known for their inhumane and terrorist actions throughout the world and in Iran. However, we believe that the West does not even want to recognize them as a terrorist organization because they have strong lobbies in the US and Europe (such as the NIAC Council) that widely sponsor mosques and Islamic studies in the West through their channels, as part of the crackdown ideological”.
How do the Iranian people see what is happening?
«The Iranian people have different opinions and objectives than their regime. To truly understand Iranian society we must rely on numbers, which can give a realistic sense of the reality of society's opinion. I am based on the statistical study of the Gamaan organization, which analyzed the behavior of the Iranian people, the study is conducted by a prof. Dr. Amar Maleki and his team at Tilbourg University, the Netherlands, via phone calls and the Internet among thousands of participants, ensuring the credibility of the results. Their studies showed interesting results, the famous slogan “Death To America” is rejected by 73% of Iranians and 17.6% have no opinion while only 9.4% support it. 73% believe that the United States is not the enemy mullahs and that the IRGC is the enemy. Over 70% reject partnerships with Russia and China. (Based on 20,000 votes). Furthermore, the majority does not support Islam! we are not a true Islamic country because 67.7% of people have no religion.”
What do the Iranians want?
«We just want peace and a better economy, like in other normal countries. My generation has modernized through the Internet and pop culture. the vast majority does not support the Islamic ideology, the politics of the Islamic republic, recognizes the evil of the regime and the IRGC and a part of us believes that the West has not acted as it should have to limit what they are doing to the population. In Iran people are killed and raped by the IRGC and Europe with its feminist women who support and support human rights in Iran for not wearing the hijab, in front of Iranian leaders, seem to prostrate themselves at their feet with the excuse of “politically correct”. For us this is a lack of respect for our rights, which makes us understand that we cannot take the West seriously.”
