An Iranian man left this comment on my YouTube channel. This is without a doubt the single best explanation of the reality facing Iranian people today👇
"As an Iranian, I can tell you the situation is no longer just political—it's existential. We are trapped between two collapsing structures: one internal, one external. On one hand, we face a deeply dysfunctional government, led by the Supreme Leader and the Islamic Republic’s unelected institutions.
Decades of economic mismanagement, suppression of dissent, and brutal ideological control have alienated multiple generations. No one believes in reform anymore—because every attempt has either been co-opted or crushed. But here's the paradox: We are also terrified of regime collapse—because we've watched the aftermath of Western intervention in countries like Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Afghanistan. Each was promised freedom; each descended into chaos, civil war, or foreign occupation.
So no, we don't trust the U.S. or Israel. Not because we support our regime—but because we know how imperial powers treat ‘liberated’ nations in the Middle East.
Freedom, in their language, often means vacuum, fire, and permanent instability. Right now, many Iranians live with three truths at once: The Islamic Republic is morally and politically bankrupt. The alternatives offered by foreign actors are not liberation—they’re collapse.
A bad government is survivable. No government is not. We are not silent because we agree. We are cautious because we’ve learned—too well—what happens when superpowers decide to "help." In a sentence: Iran is a nation held hostage by its own regime, but haunted by the fate of its neighbors. We are stuck in a house we hate, surrounded by fires we fear more."
@Charles_Lister@BenteScheller Charles Lister have also been inaccurate so many times, i totally disagree with the sonate post but I don’t agree with Charles either, there was a massacre of Alouite people and this should be said out loud!
إذا استثارك خبر مقتل شباب الأمن العام الأمس وطالبت بملاحقة المسؤولين وتطبيق أقصى العقوبات وردعهم بالكامل حتى لا تتكرر الجريمة بالمستقبل، بينما لم تفعل المثل أمام أخبار تصفية عائلات مدنية بأكملها اليوم (بعد ملاحظتك السريعة لمكان مقتلهم وكنيتهم العلوية)، فأنت تساهم بالتأسيس لدولة بمواطنين درجة أولى ومواطنين درجة ثانية وربما بلا درجة بالكامل. هذه خيانة موصوفة لكل من ضحى على مدى ١٤ عاما لتكون سورية دولة عدل وحرية وكرامة.
ربما يجب علينا جميعا أن نذكر انفسنا مرة أخرى.
الصراع مع النظام كان من أجل الحقوق والحريات والكرامة ولرفع الظلم و وقف الانتهاكات وليس من أجل تغيير من يقوم بالانتهاكات
نحن لا نطلب العدالة من أجل الانتقام :
- العدالة من أجل تحقيق السلام المستدام في سوريا وامكانية العيش المشترك بين السوريين جميعا وضمان عدم تكرار الجرائم الفظيعة التي حصلت ولاتزال تحصل حتى الآن . بدون العدالة سنفتح الباب واسعا امام الانتقام و العنف المستدام
- العدالة من أجل وقف فرار السوريين من سوريا وتحقيق عودة طوعية للنازحين واللاجئين . نحن الضحايا الذين هربنا من الاعتقال التعسفي والاحتفاء القسري والتعذيب والموت كيف يمكن ان نعود اليه مرة أخرى ؟. يجب ان يكون هناك ضمانات قانونية و سياسية خقيقية كي نعود
- العدالة من أجل القضاء على التطرف والارهاب فلطالما الافلات من العقاب موجود وحقوق الضحايا مهدورة ستستفيد التنظيمات الارهابية من شعور الضحايا بالخيبة وعدم الانصاف وعدم جدوى القانون لدفعهم باتجاه الكراهية والعنف
Join us tomorrow in New York for a parallel event on March 12, 2024, during CSW 68 to discuss gender-responsive mechanisms for women in war.
I will represent @WomenNowForDev at the event in New York.@UN_CSW
The only oxygen plant in the region is out of service after a #Turkish bombing. #Ankara cuts off oxygen to patients and try to cutting off livelihoods in NE #Syria.
My family is still under the rubble, my father worked for the @ICRC_ilot for 20 years and still this was not enough to answer our calls for help - my mother, father, Two sisters, and four nephews and one niece are still under the rubble and the ceasefire ends tom.
Today at the @CWCforSyria demanding the prohibition of use of chemical weapons & calling for all those who committed such horrible crimes to be held accountable.
La liste des prisonniers palestiniens qui doivent être libérés dans le cadre de l’accord sur les otages entre Israël et le Hamas comprend 123 mineurs de moins de 18 ans, dont cinq ont seulement 14 ans.
Given the discussion around UN Secretary General @antonioguterres remarks on the 'unparalleled and unprecedented' level of killing, I'm re-upping Washington Post's excellent visualization of what is happening. #Gaza#Syria#Yemen#Afghanistan#Iraq https://t.co/bR1pvrtqRA
“We opened our windows to get some air but instead we inhaled Sarin. https://t.co/HDdT11ueH4
On minute 30,my input to BBC on French arrest warrants against Assad #BBC#France
ليس أسخف من الممانعين المصفّقين والمهلّلين لكلام نصر الله سوى بعض خصومهم اللبنانيين والسوريين ممّن يسخرون من خطابه، وكأنهم كانوا يريدونه بالفعل أن يُطلق الصواريخ ويُعلن الحرب الشاملة.
« Au milieu du deuil, la victoire de l'entreprise de colonisation israélienne : sous le choc du pogrom du Hamas, les milices de colons accélèrent leurs attaques contre les communautés de bergers et d'agriculteurs palestiniens en Cisjordanie » @Hass_Haaretz
https://t.co/Ce4q6tMP70
We signed the manifesto which our partners @PAXforpeace developed calling for 10 critical actions to advance peace and security within Feminist Foreign Policy https://t.co/wUDYP6Zqxl... Please read and sign
A warning of sorts to Israel from the ICC prosecutor about its collective punishment strategy on Gaza.
We’ll see tomorrow if they take it seriously - but I’m sure we all know the answer.
Four civilians, including a child and two women, were injured in a missile attack by regime forces that targeted residential neighborhoods in Ariha city in southern #Idlib this evening, Sunday, October 22nd. Our teams provided medical assistance to the wounded and inspected the area.
Similar shelling targeted the outskirts of Ihsem town, and artillery shelling hit the village of Shanan in the same countryside. No injuries were reported.
#Syria #WhiteHelmets