Thank you for this Elise. I recently read two books by Marjan Kamali where she takes you through the time period of the 1950s to the early 2020s in Iran. I can't recommend The Lion Women of Tehran enough, both because it is a beautiful book, and because it sheds some light on what everyday people experienced during those time periods.
Thank you for talking about this, but the scale of the massacre is much more horrific. The massacre took place mainly on Jan 8 and 9, when (what most news outlets ignore) thousands of Iranians took to the street because of the call of Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi (more on him below). With the large numbers of defenseless people out on the street, the IRGC, Basiji plainclothes agents, and significant numbers of foreign mercenaries (because they don’t have the manpower to withstand the people without this type of foreign intervention) opened fire with machine guns, including those mounted on trucks like you saw with ISIS (likely some overlap there). The number of dead is easily over 20,000. HRANA is investigating over 17,000 deaths in addition to the 5,000 that have been confirmed, but the number keeps growing. Bodies are being moved by refrigerated semis. Many are missing, because they are holding them back in case of a foreign strike, to say that the US/Israel killed them, even though our strikes were much more targeted. When family members are able to claim the bodies of their loved ones, they have to pay the government the equivalent of about $5,000 for the “bullet tax” or sign a document saying that their loved one was killed by the “rioters” not the government. It’s sick. These are stories we need to amplify because the voice of the actual people needs to get out to the outside world.
I mentioned Reza Pahlavi because that is who they are and were chanting for to be their transitional leader. He is not his father (though the Shah’s reign was vastly preferable to the current regime), and he has a plan for a transition to democracy. The US, the EU, and the UN should be platforming him and no longer dealing with the current IR officials who have so much blood on their hands and have proven themselves to do nothing but lie and cover up their atrocities so they can keep their money and power.
We can do much more to pressure our governments to stop dealing with the corrupt officials, kick their nepobaby relatives out of our country (especially when so many of the poorer Iranian people can’t manage to get legitimate asylum here), and stop pretending that “reform” of this regime is going to do anything. Thousands upon thousands of people have given their lives for regime change and we ought to take the responsibility to protect more seriously.
Finally, there was the mention of getting more Farsi-language programming into Iran. It exists. Iran International and Manoto are great online news outlets, though Manoto is now underfunded and a shadow of what they once were. Iran International English has an Instagram account, if you want more accurate information. The people distrust the BBC because they happily propagate IR lies, and maybe VOA now as well, because of a recent change in leadership. But social media exists and it’s more of a problem of getting information out than in.
Thank you to anyone who bothered reading this. I just want to do what I can to get the voice of the Iranian people out to the world. 🕊️💚🤍❤️
Hey Emily. Thank you and thanks for your reply to my comment. I had one question that I wonder if you have some insight about. My friend is often discussing the IR folks that the US government has continued to listen to and support and you mention them above and how there is no way to create actual regime reform. Why does the US government continue to work with these folks if it is commonly known that they are mouthpieces for the oppressive regime? That is one thing I just don't understand.
Thank you for sharing this. I have a close friend who is Iranian and this has helped me understand a little more the complexity of this particular moment in time. She very much wants the US to intervene and place the Crown Prince in power but I am confused at this choice and wonder how realistic it is to expect such great things from this move. Thanks for the book suggestion from another commentor. I also really enjoyed Reading Lolita in Tehran. It helped me to understand how complex the revolution was.
Most Iranians will tell you the same thing. I definitely don’t think we should be idealistic about the Crown Prince and what he’ll be able to accomplish, but largely because of what the US might try to leverage if they “help out.” There was talk of Trump thinking about installing a “reformist” former IR official—this would not allow for real regime change. Any officials in this government are complicit with the murder of thousands for their made-up capital crime of “enmity with God,” because they say a protestor is going against them as the representatives of God himself. They use this sentence to even condemn *doctors* when the injured protestors came to their hospitals. One of these is Dr, Alireza Golchini, a surgeon who is sentenced to be executed, simply for trying to treat injured people. Patients are also being dragged from the hospital and executed by a bullet to the forehead. The Iranian people say that *anything* is better than these 50 years of tyranny, even if great things cannot be accomplished. The more nations involved in ostracizing the IR regime and supporting a transition to democracy, the better. I just wish it was anyone but Trump who would champion this case. 😢
Thank you for this Elise. I recently read two books by Marjan Kamali where she takes you through the time period of the 1950s to the early 2020s in Iran. I can't recommend The Lion Women of Tehran enough, both because it is a beautiful book, and because it sheds some light on what everyday people experienced during those time periods.
I was thinking the same thing— historical fiction is an excellent primer!
Excellent explanation of the complexities of US involvement in Iran.
Thank you for talking about this, but the scale of the massacre is much more horrific. The massacre took place mainly on Jan 8 and 9, when (what most news outlets ignore) thousands of Iranians took to the street because of the call of Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi (more on him below). With the large numbers of defenseless people out on the street, the IRGC, Basiji plainclothes agents, and significant numbers of foreign mercenaries (because they don’t have the manpower to withstand the people without this type of foreign intervention) opened fire with machine guns, including those mounted on trucks like you saw with ISIS (likely some overlap there). The number of dead is easily over 20,000. HRANA is investigating over 17,000 deaths in addition to the 5,000 that have been confirmed, but the number keeps growing. Bodies are being moved by refrigerated semis. Many are missing, because they are holding them back in case of a foreign strike, to say that the US/Israel killed them, even though our strikes were much more targeted. When family members are able to claim the bodies of their loved ones, they have to pay the government the equivalent of about $5,000 for the “bullet tax” or sign a document saying that their loved one was killed by the “rioters” not the government. It’s sick. These are stories we need to amplify because the voice of the actual people needs to get out to the outside world.
I mentioned Reza Pahlavi because that is who they are and were chanting for to be their transitional leader. He is not his father (though the Shah’s reign was vastly preferable to the current regime), and he has a plan for a transition to democracy. The US, the EU, and the UN should be platforming him and no longer dealing with the current IR officials who have so much blood on their hands and have proven themselves to do nothing but lie and cover up their atrocities so they can keep their money and power.
We can do much more to pressure our governments to stop dealing with the corrupt officials, kick their nepobaby relatives out of our country (especially when so many of the poorer Iranian people can’t manage to get legitimate asylum here), and stop pretending that “reform” of this regime is going to do anything. Thousands upon thousands of people have given their lives for regime change and we ought to take the responsibility to protect more seriously.
Finally, there was the mention of getting more Farsi-language programming into Iran. It exists. Iran International and Manoto are great online news outlets, though Manoto is now underfunded and a shadow of what they once were. Iran International English has an Instagram account, if you want more accurate information. The people distrust the BBC because they happily propagate IR lies, and maybe VOA now as well, because of a recent change in leadership. But social media exists and it’s more of a problem of getting information out than in.
Thank you to anyone who bothered reading this. I just want to do what I can to get the voice of the Iranian people out to the world. 🕊️💚🤍❤️
Hey Emily. Thank you and thanks for your reply to my comment. I had one question that I wonder if you have some insight about. My friend is often discussing the IR folks that the US government has continued to listen to and support and you mention them above and how there is no way to create actual regime reform. Why does the US government continue to work with these folks if it is commonly known that they are mouthpieces for the oppressive regime? That is one thing I just don't understand.
Thank you for sharing this. I have a close friend who is Iranian and this has helped me understand a little more the complexity of this particular moment in time. She very much wants the US to intervene and place the Crown Prince in power but I am confused at this choice and wonder how realistic it is to expect such great things from this move. Thanks for the book suggestion from another commentor. I also really enjoyed Reading Lolita in Tehran. It helped me to understand how complex the revolution was.
Most Iranians will tell you the same thing. I definitely don’t think we should be idealistic about the Crown Prince and what he’ll be able to accomplish, but largely because of what the US might try to leverage if they “help out.” There was talk of Trump thinking about installing a “reformist” former IR official—this would not allow for real regime change. Any officials in this government are complicit with the murder of thousands for their made-up capital crime of “enmity with God,” because they say a protestor is going against them as the representatives of God himself. They use this sentence to even condemn *doctors* when the injured protestors came to their hospitals. One of these is Dr, Alireza Golchini, a surgeon who is sentenced to be executed, simply for trying to treat injured people. Patients are also being dragged from the hospital and executed by a bullet to the forehead. The Iranian people say that *anything* is better than these 50 years of tyranny, even if great things cannot be accomplished. The more nations involved in ostracizing the IR regime and supporting a transition to democracy, the better. I just wish it was anyone but Trump who would champion this case. 😢
This is a fantastic review of Iran / US relations - thank you!