1978–79 revolution that overthrew the Pahlavi dynasty
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Andrew Callaghan and Patrick Bet-David go deep on Iran, freedom, authoritarianism, and how personal history shapes political views. From the Islamic Revolution to modern American polarization, this is a generational bridge of experience and ideology you don't want to miss.
Description Returning guest Rachel Armstrong joins Joe to discuss the classic graphic novel Persepolis. Created by Marjane Satrapi, this autobiographical graphic novel tells the story of her life in Iran after the Islamic Revolution. Persepolis is told in two parts, … Continue reading →
For the last 46 years, the Iranian Islamic Republic has been singularly responsible for inspiring and funding a vast network of terror around the world. Tens if not hundreds of thousands have been killed, including in Iran and throughout the Middle East. Nowhere is this more true than in Israel where Iran itself, and multiple Iranian proxies have targeted and attacked Israel for decades. Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis are the main culprits. As Iran still working toward the means to build a nuclear weapon which would threaten Israel, and the Saudis and others. Conventional wisdom is that they could break out in weeks. This would be a game changer throughout the Middle East and the world. Despite its proxies being weakened, can Iran be counted out? · PLEASE DONATE TO THE GENESIS 123 FOUNDATION ISRAEL EMERGENCY FUND AT WWW.GENESIS123.CO
Overflowing with news items, Jim presented another 'Round-Up' broadcast. Listeners added their comments as well. Here are stories presented during the first quarter hour:--Hamas, the Iranian backed terror organization, announced Wednesday that they won't be complying with the next stage of the previously negotiated hostage deal. Israeli violations are said to be the reason for their decision. --A task force devoted to the prosecution of October 7th massacre perpetrators and supporters was established by the U.S. Attorney General's office. That's according to a memorandum issued by Attorney General Pam Bondi.--The Palestinian Authority Chairman, Mahmoud Abbas, issued a decree on Monday, ostensibly ending his embattled government's terrorist payment program known as "pay for slay."--Iranian people marked the 46th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution with cries of, "Death to the Islamic Republic" and "Death to the Dictator" ringing through several cities.--Iran's currency plunged to a new all-time low against the U.S. dollar on February 8th.--President Trump appears to have at least partially won over Jordanian leader King Abdullah II after their Tuesday meeting to discuss plans for the U.S. to take over and rebuild the Gaza strip.--A Hezbollah field commander, Abbas Haidar, was killed last Friday along with several members of his family, in an explosion in southern Lebanon.--The Trump administration is planning to sell more than 7 billion dollars in weapons to Israel, including thousands of missiles and bombs.--2 Jewish men were accosted by a woman spewing anti-semitic slurs in mid-town Manhattan. Jim provided audio.
Overflowing with news items, Jim presented another 'Round-Up' broadcast. Listeners added their comments as well. Here are stories presented during the first quarter hour:--Hamas, the Iranian backed terror organization, announced Wednesday that they won't be complying with the next stage of the previously negotiated hostage deal. Israeli violations are said to be the reason for their decision. --A task force devoted to the prosecution of October 7th massacre perpetrators and supporters was established by the U.S. Attorney General's office. That's according to a memorandum issued by Attorney General Pam Bondi.--The Palestinian Authority Chairman, Mahmoud Abbas, issued a decree on Monday, ostensibly ending his embattled government's terrorist payment program known as "pay for slay."--Iranian people marked the 46th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution with cries of, "Death to the Islamic Republic" and "Death to the Dictator" ringing through several cities.--Iran's currency plunged to a new all-time low against the U.S. dollar on February 8th.--President Trump appears to have at least partially won over Jordanian leader King Abdullah II after their Tuesday meeting to discuss plans for the U.S. to take over and rebuild the Gaza strip.--A Hezbollah field commander, Abbas Haidar, was killed last Friday along with several members of his family, in an explosion in southern Lebanon.--The Trump administration is planning to sell more than 7 billion dollars in weapons to Israel, including thousands of missiles and bombs.--2 Jewish men were accosted by a woman spewing anti-semitic slurs in mid-town Manhattan. Jim provided audio.
Today, we sit down with Lily Meschi, the director of partner relations at Iran Alive Ministries, to hear her testimony of coming to Christ after growing up Muslim and surviving an abusive, arranged marriage. She shares with us her story of how she came to Christ in the midst of that abusive marriage after a family friend shared the gospel with her. She tells us about what it's like to grow up Muslim in Iran in the aftermath of the Islamic Revolution and how women suffer under the oppressive regime. Despite everything standing in its way, Christianity is on the rise in Iran as more and more people grow disillusioned with Islam, and Lily tells us how Iran Alive is spreading the gospel to the people of Iran and giving them hope. Iran Alive Ministries: https://iranalive.org/ Buy Allie's new book, "Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion": https://a.co/d/4COtBxy --- Timecodes: (00:57) Lily Meschi introduction (05:05) Islamic Revolution (10:23) Growing up Muslim (20:06) Lily's arranged marriage (27:08) Lily's testimony (49:08) Iran Alive Ministries --- Today's Sponsors: Seven Weeks - Experience the best coffee while supporting the pro-life movement with Seven Weeks Coffee; use code ALLIE at https://www.sevenweekscoffee.com to save up to 25% and help save lives. Good Ranchers — Go to GoodRanchers.com and use code ALLIE at checkout to claim your free gift and get $25 off your order. CrowdHealth — get your first 3 months for just $99/month. Use promo code 'ALLIE' when you sign up at JoinCrowdHealth.com. Jase Medical — Go to Jase.com and enter code “ALLIE” at checkout for a discount on your order. Carly Jean Los Angeles — Go to https://www.carlyjeanlosangeles.com and use code ALLIEB30 to get 30% off your next CJLA order, site wide (one-time use only) and start filling your closet with timeless staple pieces. --- Links: Iran is responsible for the ‘physical violence' that killed Mahsa Amini in 2022, UN probe finds: https://apnews.com/article/iran-mahsa-amini-protests-un-report-366a199119720e69696a123560ef4018 --- Related Episodes: Ep 717 | From Porn Star to Pastor | Guest: Joshua Broome https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-717-from-porn-star-to-pastor-guest-joshua-broome/id1359249098?i=1000588385066 Ep 886 | Donor-Conceived, Lesbian-Raised, & Born Again | Guest: Ross Johnston https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-886-donor-conceived-lesbian-raised-born-again-guest/id1359249098?i=1000630733945 --- Buy Allie's book, You're Not Enough (& That's Okay): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-Love: https://alliebethstuckey.com/book Relatable merchandise – use promo code 'ALLIE10' for a discount: https://shop.blazemedia.com/collections/allie-stuckey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The bravest person on the planet is Iranian. Her name is Ahoo Daryaei. Ahoo is a student who stripped to her underwear on the streets of Iran after the Iranian morality police accosted her for not wearing a hijab. There is an honorific title for this kind of Iranian woman: shirzan. Ahoo is shirzan: a lioness; a woman who protects herself, her family, friends, community, and country at all costs.Shirzan.Iran has many shirzans, including my guest, Nazee Moinian. Nazee was born in Iran but fled with her family for freedom. She holds a PhD in Iranian studies with a sharp understanding of the nation's rich, rich history, plus its modern-day leaders from the Shah through the Ayatollah Khomeini. Nazee currently serves as a fellow at the Middle East Institute, speaks five languages, and hosts various think tanks on this subject matter. Could a feminist uprising topple Iran's theocracy? Is the Iranian regime on the verge of collapsing? In this episode of Some Future Day, host Marc Beckman sits down with Nazee Moinian, an insightful voice on Iranian culture, history, and geopolitics. Nazee takes us on a journey through the vibrant and transformative years of 1960s and 70s Iran, recounting the country's progress under the Shah's modernization efforts and its dramatic shift following the Islamic Revolution.Delving into her personal experiences growing up in Iran, Nazee reflects on the socio-cultural evolution of the nation, the role of women as fearless change agents, and the historic bond between Iran and Israel. The conversation explores the complexities of Iran's current regime, its foreign policies, and the ongoing resistance led by courageous Iranian women.With historical depth and poignant storytelling, this episode highlights the resilience of a people yearning for freedom and the potential for a brighter future. Tune in for a riveting discussion on leadership, cultural transformation, and the enduring power of hope.Preorder Marc's new book, "Some Future Day: How AI Is Going to Change Everything"Sign up for the Some Future Day Newsletter here: https://marcbeckman.substack.com/Episode Links:Nazee on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nazeemahnazmoinianNazee on Twitter: https://x.com/nazeemoinian?lang=enJpost Article: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-820947To join the conversation, follow Marc Beckman here: YoutubeLinkedInTwitterInstagramTikTok
Naghmeh Aberdini - Part 1 Today, hosts Mark Stafford and SOM International CEO David Witt welcome special guest Naghmeh Aberdini, a passionate advocate for the Persecuted Church in Iran and the Middle East. You'll hear Naghmeh's captivating story of faith and resilience as she shares her journey of finding Jesus amid the chaos of the Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War. Raised in a devout Muslim household, Naghmeh's life took a transformative turn when she encountered Jesus Christ, leading to a lifelong mission to support the Underground Church. Gain insight into her mission work, her first experiences with the Amish Mennonites, and the inspiring power of faith and perseverance. Don't miss this compelling episode highlighting leadership and resilience in the Christian community at risk. Learn more about Naghmeh Aberdini and her book, I Didn't Survive.
Part III: Religious Minorities in Modern Iran In this episode, I delved into the intricate dynamics of religious minorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran. We explored how the 1979 Islamic Revolution brought ideological shifts that reshaped policies and attitudes toward non-Muslim communities. From the strategic public relations campaigns projecting tolerance to the underlying systemic discrimination entrenched in laws, the discussion unravelled the complexities of the state's dual narrative. I also examined the social realities faced by Iran's religious minorities, including Persian Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians, and how they navigate a society shaped by both solidarity and segregation. The episode further addressed Iran's ideological opposition to Zionism, its domestic policies toward Jewish communities, and the broader global implications of its approach to diversity. This conversation offered a nuanced look at the contradictions between ideology and practice, shedding light on the delicate balance between state policies and societal attitudes. Your thoughts and reflections are welcome—let's keep the dialogue going! Keywords #ReligiousMinorities; #IranianHistory; #IslamicRevolution; #ShiiteIslam; #MinorityRights; #IslamicRepublic; #Zionism; #ReligiousDiscrimination; #HumanRights; #IranianJews; #Zoroastrianism; #ChristianityInIran; #InterfaithRelations; #ClericalInfluence; #PersianSociety; #ToleranceAndContradictions; #IranianConstitution
After Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979, some Christians faced persecution. Between 2002 and 2005, Naghmeh Panahi and her husband, Saeed Abedini, set up a network of secret 'house churches' across the country. But it came at a cost: they were arrested, forced to flee the country, and Saeed was jailed. Naghmeh Panahi speaks to Ben Henderson.Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic' and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy's Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they've had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America's occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.(Photo: Naghmeh Panahi. Credit: Kyle Green/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Iran's Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Part I: Introduction This episode delves into the rich tapestry of Iran's religious, linguistic, and ethnic diversity, tracing its roots from the ancient Persian empires to the transformative events of the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Iran's historical role as a crossroads of civilizations has shaped a multi-ethnic society, with Persian as the national language alongside numerous minority languages and dialects. Religiously, while Shiism dominates, smaller communities of Sunni Muslims, Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, and Bahā'īs contribute to the nation's pluralistic identity. We explore how efforts at centralization during the Pahlavi era—through language policies, land reforms, and modernization—sought to homogenize this diversity, often with limited success. The Islamic Revolution then ushered in a Shiite theocracy, profoundly impacting Iran's sociopolitical fabric. Recognized religious minorities, such as Zoroastrians, Christians, and Jews, face varying degrees of inclusion and restrictions, influenced by constitutional provisions and state strategies. From Reza Shah's modernization policies to Khomeini's establishment of a dual governance system, the episode examines the tension between Iran's vibrant diversity and the state's attempts to impose ideological unity. Keywords #IranDiversity #ReligiousPluralism #IslamicRevolution #PersianHeritage #EthnicMinorities #Jews #Iranianjews #Rezashah #Khomeini #Iran
In this special episode of Lox of Laughs, host Ashley Arpel Steinback interviews Dr. Sheila Nazarian, a well-known plastic surgeon and TV personality. Dr. Nazarian shares her journey from Iran to the U.S., her struggles with antisemitism, and her advocacy for Jewish rights. Their conversation delves into Dr. Nazarian's successful career, parenting philosophies, and thoughts on the political climate in California. She emphasizes the need for freedom of speech and pride in one's identity.Key Takeaways:Passion for Plastic Surgery: Dr. Nazarian was drawn to plastic surgery for its hands-on nature and creativity.Early Life Challenges: Fleeing Iran during the Islamic Revolution was difficult for her family.Education & Dedication: Her path to success was built on education and hard work.Advocacy for Jewish Rights: She actively speaks against antisemitism and encourages being vocal about identity.Role of Television: Her TV presence helps reshape perceptions of plastic surgery.Parenting Values: Dr. Nazarian believes deeply in instilling values in her children.Self-Determined Success: She argues that success is driven by inner conviction, not external validation.Encouragement to Vote: She highlights the importance of voting and democratic participation.Freedom of Speech: Dr. Nazarian emphasizes the value of expressing personal beliefs unapologetically.This episode is an inspiring look into the life of a woman who balances career, advocacy, and family while standing firm in her beliefs.4oFollow Dr. Nazarian here:https://www.instagram.com/drsheilanazarian/Follow the show here:https://www.instagram.com/loxoflaughspodcast/https://www.instagram.com/thatsashleyskitchen/This show is brought to you by The Hopecast Networkhttps://www.instagram.com/hopecastnetwork/
Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode. Early this morning, Israel launched Days of Repentance, its long-awaited retaliatory strike against Iran, almost a month after the Islamic Republic's October 1 massive barrage of some 200 ballistic missiles. Fabian explains the timeline and goals of the Israeli Air Force's targeting of strategic military sites near Teheran and other parts of Iran in several waves of operations. The Iranian Air Force reportedly has only a few dozen working strike aircraft, including Russian jets and aging US models acquired before the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution. We hear about Iran's aerial defense and offense capabilities ahead of a potential escalation between Iran and Israel. For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: IDF launches strikes on military sites throughout Iran, weeks after missile attack What Iran and Israel would wield in any long-range air war Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Illustrative: An Israeli Air Force F-15 Eagle fighter aircraft flies over Haifa on September 24, 2024. (Jack Guez / AFP)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
was founded in 1991, in response to needs expressed by Christian leaders in the Middle East and North Africa. Through a network of ministry partners, Middle East Concern seeks to help Christians facing persecution across the Middle East and North Africa. They work to come up with strategies to improve conditions and protect rights of Christians with a goal of seeing Christians able to live out their faith in Christ freely. Brother Rob, a researcher for MEC, shares with VOM Radio this week about his work and about persecution faced by Christians in the MENA region. One of Rob's areas of interest is Iran, and he will tell us about recent large-scale research that shows how many Iranians are questioning and even rejecting Islam since the Islamic Revolution. Many of those have become followers of Jesus Christ—despite the risk of persecution. Rob also tells how God is bringing good out of Christian persecution in Türkiye (formerly Turkey) as Turkish Christian leaders are stepping up to shepherd the church after the expulsions of numerous foreign Christians. The Turkish government's strategy since 2019 has been to designate Christians from other countries living in turkey as a “threat to national security” and force them to leave, causing upheaval to many families who've lived there for decades. was one of those pushed out of Türkiye after fighting the expulsion order through the court system. Israel is another country where Rob monitors religious freedom and you'll hear about challenges to gospel outreach there. Brother Rob will also share how we can pray for Israel, including Palestinian Christians in the West Bank and Gaza, as there is so much conflict there. “The Christian community in this part of the world,” says Rob, “are the light and salt in these lands.” Prayer is the central part of the ministry at Middle East Concern as they continue to seek God's wisdom in each sensitive situation. Learn how you can pray specifically for Christians in Israel, Iran and Türkiye as Rob shares the needs of the church in these nations.
Middle East Concern was founded in 1991, in response to needs expressed by Christian leaders in the Middle East and North Africa. Through a network of ministry partners, Middle East Concern seeks to help Christians facing persecution across the Middle East and North Africa. They work to come up with strategies to improve conditions and protect rights of Christians with a goal of seeing Christians able to live out their faith in Christ freely. Brother Rob, a researcher for MEC, shares with VOM Radio this week about his work and about persecution faced by Christians in the MENA region. One of Rob's areas of interest is Iran, and he will tell us about recent large-scale research that shows how many Iranians are questioning and even rejecting Islam since the Islamic Revolution. Many of those have become followers of Jesus Christ—despite the risk of persecution. Rob also tells how God is bringing good out of Christian persecution in Türkiye (formerly Turkey) as Turkish Christian leaders are stepping up to shepherd the church after the expulsions of numerous foreign Christians. The Turkish government's strategy since 2019 has been to designate Christians from other countries living in turkey as a “threat to national security” and force them to leave, causing upheaval to many families who've lived there for decades. David Byle was one of those pushed out of Türkiye after fighting the expulsion order through the court system. Israel is another country where Rob monitors religious freedom and you'll hear about challenges to gospel outreach there. Brother Rob will also share how we can pray for Israel, including Palestinian Christians in the West Bank and Gaza, as there is so much conflict there. “The Christian community in this part of the world,” says Rob, “are the light and salt in these lands.” Prayer is the central part of the ministry at Middle East Concern as they continue to seek God's wisdom in each sensitive situation. Learn how you can pray specifically for Christians in Israel, Iran and Türkiye as Rob shares the needs of the church in these nations. Never miss an episode! Subscribe to the VOM Radio podcast.
Suzi Ehtesham-Zadeh was born in Washington, D.C. to an Iranian father and an American mother. She moved to Iran at age 5 and grew up in Tehran under the Shah. She returned to the U.S. to attend Stanford University, and when the Islamic Revolution started brewing shortly after she graduated, she moved back to Iran and plopped herself down in it. She later received an MFA in Creative Writing from Boston University. A lifelong English teacher, she has taught in schools and universities on three continents, and she now lives in the United States. Her fiction has been published in numerous publications, including The Georgia Review, Gertrude Press, and Fiction International, and she received an honorable mention for The Best American Short Stories 2018. Her latest book, Zan, a collection of short stories, is published in 2024 by Dzanc Books and was the Winner of the 2022 Dzanc Short Collection Prize.https://www.dzancbooks.org/all-titles/p/zan
“I never thought there's antisemitism. It's something from the past, for my grandparents, for my mom a little, but it's not something in my generation, or my kids' generation. It's done . . . apparently, not.” Einat Admony is a chef, cookbook author, comedian, and social media star who grew up in Bnei Brak, Israel. With parents from Iran and Yemen, Einat spent her childhood in the kitchens of Mizrahi, Sephardi, and Ashkenazi neighbors. Learn about her family's deep-rooted Jewish heritage in Iran and the broader Middle East. Along with her mother Ziona's journey from Iran to Israel in 1948, Einat discusses the antisemitism she's dealt with online and on the streets in the past year. Hear her stories of Jewish-Muslim coexistence in Iran and memories of spices and perfumes that inspire Einat's dishes. Her cookbooks Balaboosta and Shuk, along with her Manhattan restaurant Balaboosta, reflect a blend of tradition and innovation. “You could not have Judaism today, if it were not for the Jews of Iran,” says Houman Sarshar, an independent scholar and director of publications at the Center for Iranian Jewish Oral History in Los Angeles. Sarshar highlights the historical relationship between Iran and Israel, noting that Iran was the second Muslim-majority country to recognize Israel post-1948. The conversation also touches on the challenges faced by Jews in Iran, their cultural integration, and the impact of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. —- Show notes: How much do you know about Jewish history in the Middle East? Take our quiz. Sign up to receive podcast updates. Learn more about the series. Song credits: Pond5: “Desert Caravans”: Publisher: Pond5 Publishing Beta (BMI), Composer: Tiemur Zarobov (BMI), IPI#1098108837 “Suspense Middle East” Publisher: Victor Romanov, Composer: Victor Romanov; Item ID: 196056047 ___ Episode Transcript: EINAT ADMONY: I've been in Israel a few months ago. It's like you always feel loved, you always feel supported. It's still home. It's always going to be my home. MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: The world has overlooked an important episode in modern history: the 800,000 Jews who left or were driven from their homes in the Middle East and North Africa in the mid-20th century. Welcome to the second season of The Forgotten Exodus, brought to you by American Jewish Committee. This series explores that pivotal moment in history and the little-known Jewish heritage of Iran and Arab nations. As Jews around the world confront violent antisemitism and Israelis face daily attacks by terrorists on multiple fronts, our second season explores how Jews have lived throughout the region for generations despite hardship, hostility, and hatred, then sought safety and new possibilities in their ancestral homeland. I'm your host, Manya Brachear Pashman. Join us as we explore untold family histories and personal stories of courage, perseverance, and resilience from this transformative and tumultuous period of history for the Jewish people and the Middle East. The world has ignored these voices. We will not. This is The Forgotten Exodus. Today's episode: Leaving Iran. MANYA: Whether she's deviling eggs soaked in beet juice, simmering Oxtail in shawarma spices, or sprinkling za'atar on pastry dough, chef Einat Admony is honoring her family's Middle Eastern heritage. Both the places where they have lived for generations, as well as the place they have and will always call home: Israel. EINAT/Clip: Start with brushing the puff pastry with olive oil and za'atar. Have some feta all around and shredded mozzarella. Take the other sheet and just cut it to one inch strips. Now we're going to twist. Need to be careful. Now we're just gonna brush the top with the mix of oil and za'atar. Get it some shiny and glazy. This is ready for the oven. Bake at 400 until it's golden. That's it super easy, just sprinkle some za'atar and eat. MANYA: For the chef, author, reality TV star, and comedian, food reflects the Zionist roots that have been a constant for Einat, the self-made balaboosta, who is largely credited with introducing Israeli cuisine to the U.S. That love for Israel goes back generations, long before the modern state existed, when her maternal ancestors lived in the land, that until 1935 was known as Persia, but is now known as Iran. Her own mother Ziona, the third of seven siblings, was even named for the destination where Einat's grandparents aspired to one day raise their family. Returning home to the land of Zion from which Jews had been exiled centuries earlier was always the goal. When you ask her why, Einat laughs in disbelief. EINAT: Why? Why? That's homeland. I think a lot of Jewish people for hundreds of years was, that's in every prayer, it's in every Shabbat dinner evening. MANYA: The hatred directed toward Israel by Iran's regime in the form of the deadly attacks on Israel by Iran-backed terrorist groups and the Islamic Republic of Iran itself make it hard to believe that Iran was once a place where Jews and the Zionist movement thrived. But in fact, Iran's history includes periods when the wide-open roads between Iran and Israel ran two ways and the countries not only lived in harmony but worked in close partnership. Iran was the second Muslim-majority country after Turkey to recognize the modern state of Israel after its formation in 1948, and the two established diplomatic ties. Regular flights ran between Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport and Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport. SARSHAR: We cannot overlook the fact that since October 29, 539 BCE the Jewish community of Iran remains to this day the largest community of Jews anywhere in the Middle East outside the state of Israel. To this day. You could not have Judaism today, if it were not for the Jews of Iran. MANYA: Houman Sarshar is an independent scholar and director of publications at the Center for Iranian Jewish Oral History in Los Angeles. He has edited a number of books, including Esther's Children: A Portrait of Iranian Jews. SARSHAR: The history of the Jews in Iran begins about 2,700 years ago, when the first community of known Jews was taken to Iran. They are commonly believed to be one of the 10 Lost Tribes. And then when we fast forward to when Nebuchadnezzar came and destroyed the temple in Jerusalem and took Jews into captivity. Some years after that at 539 BCE on October 29, 539 BCE, to be exact, Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid dynasty, liberated Babylon and gave Jews the permission to go back to Israel and rebuild the Second Temple. MANYA: Cyrus the Great – a Persian emperor particularly renowned among contemporary scholars for the respect he showed toward peoples' customs and religions in the lands that he conquered. According to the Book of Ezra in the Hebrew Bible, Cyrus even paid for the restoration of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. SARSHAR: This is known as the Second Temple period in Jewish history, and under the Achaemenid dynasty, Jews participated in every level of society. And a few centuries forward, around the 5th Century, we know the Jews continue to live with many freedoms, because that is the era when the Babylonian Talmud was originally produced in Iran by Rav Ashi. So, you know, there was a thriving rabbanut (rabbanite) in Iran who had the freedom and the luxury and the time to be able to produce such an important document as the Talmud, which has become the cornerstone of all jurisprudence that we know, Western law, and everything. MANYA: The advent and arrival of Islam in Iran in the 7th Century CE changed circumstances somewhat. As was the case across the Middle East, all non-Muslims became dhimmis – residents who paid a special tax and lived under certain restrictions. The situation for Jews worsened in the 16th Century when the Safavid dynasty made the Shiite creed the dominant form of Islam in Iran. Fatwas made life for all non-Shiites quite difficult. SARSHAR: And for reasons that are still open to discussion, all of these restrictions were most vehemently imposed on the Jews of Iran. And because of these restrictions, all non-Shiites were considered religiously impure. And this religious impurity, kind of like the concept of the untouchable sect in India, they were considered pollutive. MANYA: Jews could not look Muslims in the eye. They were placed in ghettos called mahaleh where they could not leave on rainy days for fear the water that splattered on them could contaminate the water supply. They wore yellow stars and special shoes to distinguish them from the rest of the population. They were not allowed to purchase property from Muslims or build homes with walls that were higher than those of their Muslim neighbors. SARSHAR: They could not, for example, participate in the trade of edible goods because, you know, fruits and vegetables and meats carried this pollution. So Muslims could no longer consume the foods that were touched by Jews. And as a result, this created a certain path forward in history for the Jews of Iran. They went into antique trades. They went into carpet trades. They went into work of textiles. They became musicians. And for the following 500 years, these restrictions kind of guided the way the Jews of Iran lived in that country, even though they had been there for thousands of years previously. MANYA: Houman said the 1895 arrival of the Alliance Israélite Universelle, a Paris-based network of schools for Jewish children throughout the Middle East and North Africa, including within the mahalehs in Persia, was the first step in a series of improvements for Jews there. SARSHAR: Previous to that, Jews were not allowed to get any kind of an education whatsoever. The only teachers were the Muslim clergy, and they refused to teach anything to Jewish students. So this allowed for the Jewish community to finally start to get a Western-style education, which was very important at that time, given all of the dynamics that were going on in society with modernity. MANYA: As educational opportunities increased in the middle of the 19th Century, so did opportunities for the courtiers and elite to travel and see the Western world as it industrialized and modernized, expanding international trade and sharing wealth more widely. SARSHAR: Often they would be sent by their families to go and try to see if they can, you know, find a way to expand the family's businesses and lives as merchants, and they would come back shocked. I mean, Iran was a place where you know of mostly mud brick homes and dirt roads and people riding around on donkeys. And imagine this is all you've known. You never see women walking around the street. The only women you have ever seen with your own eyes in your life are your mom, your sister, your daughter or your wife, and occasionally, sex workers. And that's it. So all of a sudden, you know, you travel a couple of months by boat and train, and you get to Paris, and it's impossible to try to even conceive of the experience. It must have been something like the Hegelian experience of the sublime. What can the world look like? And where is it that I live in, and why isn't my country the same as this? MANYA: By the early 20th Century, the Persian people concluded the answer to that question was in the rule of law. The reason the European nations provided such opportunity for the community at-large had to do with the fact that the law of the land was not arbitrary or enforced by religion or royalty. It was embedded in a constitution – a set of laws that define the structure of a government and the rights of its citizens – a Western tenet that reduced the power of the clergy and created a parliament called the Majles. SARSHAR: They were starting to read travel journals. They were starting to understand the perspective that Westerners had on Iranians, and those perspectives were often awful. You know, the Western world believed, for example –the country was corrupt to the bone in every respect. So all of these things gradually led to a call for a constitution, the major pivot of which was the establishment of a legislature of law that would start to create a community where everyone can feel like they're equal in the eyes of the law and have something to gain by trying to improve the country as a whole. Iran became the first constitutional monarchy in the Middle East in 1906 when that revolution happened, it was a momentous event. And really, things really, really did, in fact, start to change. MANYA: In 1925, Reza Shah Pahlavi – an arch nationalist who wanted to propel Iran forward into the industrial age – took over the crown of Iran. He welcomed any Iranian citizen to participate in that agenda. SARSHAR: By now, we had a good two generations of Jews who had been French-educated by the Allianz Society. They had all gone to France at some point in their lives, so they were able to participate in this industrialization of the country, given the language skills that they had and some of the connections they had built in the Western world. MANYA: Both World Wars in Europe took a massive toll on Iran. Despite declaring neutrality, Iran was occupied by European nations that took over the nation's agriculture, treating Iran as a pantry to feed the armies. Droughts and disease worsened the toll. SARSHAR: One of the lesser-known factoids about history is that during World War I, the nation that lost the most individuals as a result of the war was Iran. Above and beyond all European nations who were at war, because of a famine that had started in Iran. The same dynamic started to happen in World War II. MANYA: With nationalist fever sweeping Europe and Iran, the Allies feared the arch-nationalist Shah would go the way of Franco in Spain, Mussolini in Italy, and Hitler in Germany. They also feared the Shah would collaborate with Hitler's Germany to provide oil for the German oil machine and cease being the pantry the Allies needed it to be. In 1941, the Western powers convinced him to abdicate the throne to his son Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. And when the war ended, Iran was able to enjoy the same economic benefits as the rest of the world at peace time. Most importantly, it was able to profit from its own oil reserves, significantly boosting Iran's national income. SARSHAR: In 1941, it was really the beginning of what is commonly referred to by the scholars of Jewish Iranian history as the Golden Age of Iranian Jewry. From 1941 until the revolution in 1978, the Jewish community of Iran saw a meteoric rise to power and social wealth. Industries such as pharmaceuticals, banking, insurance, real estate development, and other major industries, the aluminum plastics industries in Iran, all were either directly owned by the Jews of Iran or managed under their management. And during this period, really, we can say that for the first time, after 2,500 years, the Jews of Iran really started to experience the kinds of freedoms that they had not seen since the Achaemenid dynasty. And it is during this time that, you know, we see, really, that life started to change for the Jews of Iran, even though some of the age-old social dynamics were still there. The institutionalized antisemitism had not been completely wiped out. But for the most part, things had changed because Iranian society in general was also being Westernized, light speed. And many educated people had realized that antisemitism was really looked down upon, you know, that kind of prejudice was really no longer acceptable in the world at large. So many, many sections of the community really had shifted, genuinely shifted. And some, even though maybe their feelings had not changed, knew that their antisemitism was something that they needed to keep private. MANYA: At that time, Iran also became a refuge for Jews fleeing Europe and other parts of the Middle East. On June 1, 1941, a brutal pogrom in Iraq known as the Farhud, incited by Nazi propaganda, targeted Jews celebrating the holiday of Shavuot. Nearly 200 Jews were murdered in the streets. The violence became a turning point for Iraqi Jews. Thousands fled, many stopping in Iran, which became a way station for those headed to Palestine. In 1942, thousands of Jewish refugees from Poland who had fled across the border into the Soviet Union during the German invasion traveled on trains and ships to Iran. Among the refugees – 1,000 orphaned children. As Zionist leaders worked to negotiate the young Jews' immigration to Palestine, the Jewish Agency established the “Tehran Home for Jewish Children” – a complex of tents on the grounds of a former Iranian Air Force barracks outside Tehran. More than 800 orphans, escorted by adults, most of them also refugees, moved from Tehran to kibbutzim in Palestine the following year. Later, in 1948, when most Arab League states forbade the emigration of their Jews after the creation of Israel, the Zionist underground continued to smuggle Jews to Iran at about a rate of 1,000 a month, before they were flown to Israel. SARSHAR: The Zionist movement was fairly strong in Iran. It was a very lively movement. The Balfour Declaration was celebrated in all of the Allianz schools in Iran, and very soon thereafter, the first Zionist organization of Iran was established. And truly many of its founding fathers were some of the leading industrialists and intellectuals in Iranian society, in the Jewish Iranian community for the years to come. It was not unlike the kind of Zionism we see today in the United States, for example. You know, the wealthy families of the Jewish communities in New York and Los Angeles, all are very passionate about Israel, but you don't see very many of them selling their homes and packing up and moving to Israel because they just don't want to do it. They feel like they're very comfortable here. And what matters is that a state of Israel should exist, and they are political advocates of that state and of that policy and of its continued existence, but not necessarily diehard participants in the experiment itself. Iranians, after the establishment of the State of Israel, were being encouraged to move to Israel, and the Israeli government was having a lot of difficulty with that, because a lot of Iranians were seeing that life had become better for them, and they weren't as willing to leave, despite the fact that the Kourosh Project provided airplanes to get Jews out of Iran. My own great-grandmother was one of those passengers. She is buried in Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. She was one of the early citizens of Israel who went to live out the Zionist dream. MANYA: Both sides of Einat's family – her mother and father's ancestors – were among those early Israeli citizens. Einat's father was born in Tel Aviv. His parents and grandparents had come from Yemen in the late 19th Century. Einat's mother Ziona was 10 years old when in 1948, the family left Kerman, a city in southeastern Iran known for its carpet weaving and woolen shawls. They arrived in Israel with their suitcases ready to fulfill their dream. But living the dream in the new Jewish nation was not easy. After all, the day after Israel declared its independence, Arab nations attacked the Jewish state, launching the first of a series of Arab-Israeli Wars. EINAT: The story of my mom, it's a very interesting story. The family didn't have much money. There wasn't like, rich family that left, very different story. No, both of my parents come from very, I would say, very poor family. My grandpa was, like, dealing with textile. He was like, traveling from town to town with fabric. And that's what they did. They put them in what's called ma'aborot, which was like a very kind of small villages, tin houses. My mom always said there were seven kids, so all of them in one room. In the winter it's freezing; in the summer, it's super hot. But it was also close to the border, so the one window they have, they always had to cover it so at night, the enemy cannot see the light inside that room and shoot there. Also in the ma'aabarot, nobody speaks the same language. So, it was Moroccan and Iraqi and nobody speak the same dialect or the same language. So, they cannot even communicate quite yet. MANYA: Most of Ziona's six siblings did not go to school. To make it possible for Ziona, her parents placed her in a foster home with an Iraqi family in Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv. EINAT: My mom's family decided that for her, she should get education, because most of the siblings didn't went to school or anything, So they put her in a foster home. In an Iraqi home, and she didn't speak a word there. So my mom, as a 10 years old, became a kid for foster parents that live in a center in Ramat Gan, where I basically grew up. And she got education, which was great. She learned also Iraqi, which is Arabic. So she speaks fluent Arabic, but she had not an easy life in coming to Israel from a different country. MANYA: Ziona has shared many of these stories with her daughter in the kitchen and dining room as they prepare and enjoy dishes that remind them of home. When she visited her daughter at her home in upstate New York at the end of the summer, Einat collected as many stories as she could over cutting boards, steaming pots, and sizzling pans. EINAT: There's a lot of story coming up, some old story that I know, some new stories. And it's really nice, because my mom is 84, 85. So, it's really nice to capture all of it, all of it. There is a lot of interesting stuff that happened during the first 10 years when she came to Israel. That's the main, I think, I always talk about, like, how I grew up and how much food was a very substantial part of our life, if not the biggest part. You know, it's like, family can fight and this, but when it's come to the dinner, it's just change everything, the dynamic. For us, it was a big, significant part of everything. So obviously, most of these stories and memories come in while we're cooking or eating. A lot of time she used to talk about, and still talking about the smells, the smells of the flowers, the smells of the zafar (perfume). She still have the nostalgia from that time and talking very highly about what Iran used to be, and how great, and the relationship between the Muslims and the Jews back then. My grandpa's best friend was crying when he left, and he said: ‘Please don't go. Stay with us.' And he said: ‘I want to go to homeland.' So, they have a really great relationship. She's always talking, actually, about how they come for Shabbat dinner, the friends if they put the cigarettes outside of the door in Shabbat because they were observant. So cigarettes, lighter, everything, they keep it outside, in the garden, not coming inside the house. So a lot of mutual respect for the religion to each other. And I love that stories. It just showed what's happened when people take it extreme. MANYA: Einat's cookbooks and restaurant menus are filled with recipes from her own childhood and her parents' upbringing. To satisfy the appetite of her father, a former Israeli athlete, her house always had hummus and every weekend, the family made a hilbeh sauce -- a traditional Yemenite fenugreek dip made with cardamom, caraway seeds and chili flakes. Other recipes reflect her mother's Persian roots. And then there are recipes that, at first blush, seem to come out of left field, but are inspired by the Iraqi Jewish foster family that raised her mother, and the Mizrahi, Sephardi, and Ashkenazi neighbors that passed through the dining room and kitchen where Einat was raised in Bnei Brak. Now a Haredi town east of Tel Aviv, it was then a diverse population of Jews from, well, everywhere. Einat still remembers standing on a stool next to the Moroccan neighbor in her building learning how to roll couscous. EINAT: One neighbor that was my second mom, her name was Tova, and she was Moroccan, so it was like, I have another Moroccan mom. But all the building was all Holocaust survivors. None of them had kids, and they were all speaking in Yiddish, mostly. So I grew up with a lot of mix. I wouldn't say, you know, in my time, it's not like our neighborhood. I grew up in Bnei Brak, and our neighborhood was very, it was before Bnei Brak became so religious like today. It was still religious, if you go really in, but we're close to Ramat Gan, and I have to say that it's, I would say, I didn't grow up with, it's very mixed, very mixed. Wouldn't say I grew up just with Moroccan or Mizrahi, I say that it's very, very mixed. And my mom same. I think a lot of her friend is like, It's my mom would speak some Yiddish. She would do Kugel on Shabbat next to the jachnun and all the Mizrahi food. You know, this is the multi-pot and one things I love in Israel. You can see in one table so many different cultures. And that's something that would have happened in my house a lot. MANYA: That amalgam of Jewish cultures is reflected in her cookbooks Balaboosta and Shuk. It also shows up in her menu at the brick-and-mortar Balaboosta, a quaint Middle Eastern trattoria on Mulberry Street in Manhattan. The name Balaboosta is borrowed from Yiddish meaning “a perfect housewife” – a twist on ba'al habayit, Hebrew for master of the house, or boss. But Einat insists that the term is no longer exclusively Ashkenazi, nor does it refer exclusively to a woman's domestic role. EINAT: An old friend, chef, asked me when I went to open Balaboosta, and I said, ‘I don't have a name.' She said: ‘What do you call a badass woman in Hebrew?' I'm like, ‘balaboosta.' She said, ‘It's a perfect name. We done.' Took five minutes to find this name, and I love it. It's really connected because for me it's so so much different things. You know, I always talk about the 20th century balaboosta. The balaboosta that outside going to work, the balaboosta that asking a man for a date. The balaboosta that it's not just like she's the housewife and the homekeeper. It's much more than that. Today, she's a multitask badass. It's much more spiritual than what it is. I think it's the one that can bond the people together and bring them together and make peace between two parties clashing. So for me, it's much more than somebody that can cook and clean. So, much, much more than that. MANYA: Einat's parents became more religious when she was 12, which of course had the opposite effect on their daughter: she rebelled. When her time came to do her mandatory service in the Israel Defense Force, she was determined not to serve in a role typically assigned to women. She requested a post as a firing instructor. But after reviewing the high school transcript shaped by her rebellious adolescence, the IDF assigned her to the Nevatim Air Base where she served as a chauffeur for fighter pilots. EINAT: Back then most women would be secretaries giving coffee to some assholes. I was trying not to do that, and somehow I got very lucky, and I was in the same division, I was in the Air Force. I had amazing time for two years. I start the military a very different person, and left a very different person. I used to hang with a lot of bad people before, really bad people. And when I get to the military, I was a driver of pilots, it's the top of the top of the top in the hierarchy in the military in all IDF. So now I'm hanging with people that have the biggest ambition ever, and I'm learning new stuff, and everything opened up, even my language changed completely. Everything. I was want to travel more than I ever want before, and I have like, crazy dreams. MANYA: To make sure the elite pilots were well-fed, the IDF bused in a group of Yemenite grandmothers to provide ochel bayit, or home-cooked meals. Einat befriended the kitchen staff and helped out from time to time. Then in January 1991, she was tapped to cook a meal that probably launched her career. The IDF chiefs of staff had convened at Nevatim base to discuss the U.S. plan to bomb Iraq during the Gulf War and what Israel would do if Saddam Hussein retaliated with an attack on the Jewish state. But they needed to plot that strategy on full stomachs. A couple of pilots served as her sous chefs. That night, the Israeli generals dined on Chinese chicken with garlic, honey, and soy. And a rice salad. EINAT: It was definitely the turning point, the military. I would say there is some values of relationship and working ethics that I wouldn't see anywhere else, and that's coming, I think because the military. They're waking up in the morning, the friendship, they're no snitching or none of this. It's to stand up for each other. There is so many other values that I grabbed from that. So when I start my culinary career, and I was in a fine dining kitchen, it was very helpful, very helpful. MANYA: After spending five years in a van driving around Germany – an extended celebration of freedom after IDF service -- it was time to get serious about a career. A culinary career made as good a sense as any. Einat worked as a waitress in Eilat and enrolled in culinary school. At the end, she marched into the kitchen of Keren, one of the first restaurants in Israel to offer haute cuisine. She got an internship, then a job. The former restaurant, run by Israeli Chef and television host Haim Cohen, is credited for reinventing Israeli cuisine. Now, as a restaurant owner and TV personality herself, Einat is largely credited for introducing Israeli cuisine to the U.S. But before she became the self-made Balaboosta of fine Israeli dining, Einat was America's Falafel Queen, made famous by two victories on the Food Network's show Chopped and her first restaurant – now a fast food chain called Ta'im Falafel. But her fame and influence when it comes to Israeli cooking has exposed her to a fair bit of criticism. She has become a target on social media by those who accuse Israelis of appropriating Palestinian foods – an argument she calls petty and ridiculous. So ridiculous, she has found the best platform to address it is on the stage of her new hobby: stand-up comedy. Cooking has always been her Zen. But so is dark humor. EINAT: I like comedy more than anything, not more than food, but close enough. EINAT/Clip: Yeah, this year was great here on Instagram, lot of hate comments, though. A lot about food appropriation, me making Arabic dishes. So let me clarify something here. I check my DNA through ancestry.com and I am 97% Middle Eastern, so I fucking bleed hummus. EINAT: It's very petty. Food, supposed always to share. Food supposed to moving forward. It's tiring and life is much more complex than to even argue and have a debate about stupid things. I'm done. OK, yes, we're indigenous.I have connection to the land. My parents, my grandparents and great grandparents have connection to that land. Okay, I get it. Now we need to solve what's going on, because there was Palestinian that lived there before, and how we can, for me, how we change the ideology, which I don't see how we can, but how we can change the ideology, convince them that they want peace. And they want…I don't know. MANYA: Needless to say, in the year that has followed the attacks of October 7, stand-up comedy has not been the balm it once was. The attacks that unfolded that day by Iran-backed terrorists that killed more than 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped more than 250 more was simply too devastating. EINAT: I was broken there, my husband was with me, I was every day on a bed crying, and then going to work, and it was like I couldn't hear music, because every music thinking about Nova and my friends and then I couldn't see babies with a mom. Everything was a trigger. It was bad. We had a disaster of October 7 and then October 8 to see the world reaction was another. It's not just enough that we going through so much grief and need to kind of contain all that emotion and crazy and anger and rage and now we need to see the world's. Like, ok. I never thought there is antisemitism. It's something from the past, for my grandparents, for my mom a little, but it's not something in my generation, or my kids' generation. It's done, apparently, not. MANYA: The lack of sympathy around the world and among her culinary peers only amplified Einat's grief. As a way to push for a cease-fire and end U.S. support for Israel, nearly 900 chefs, farmers and others in the food industry signed a pledge to boycott Israel-based food businesses and culinary events that promote Israel. EINAT: I felt very, very alone, very alone. The first few months, I felt like, wow, not one call from anyone to check on me. It was pretty sad. At the same time, I'm in the best company ever Jewish community. There is nothing like that, nothing. MANYA: Her team at Balaboosta also checked in on their Israeli boss. But they too were scared. Soon after she posted pictures of the hostages on the window of her restaurant, she confronted a group of teenagers who tried to tear them down. EINAT: I stand in front of them and I said, ‘You better move fast'. MANYA: It's no secret that Iran helped plan Oct. 7. What is not as well known is how many Jews still live and thrive in Iran. Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, there were nearly 100,000 Jews in Iran. Today, Israeli sources say the population numbers less than 10,000, while the regime and Iran's Jewish leaders say it's closer to 20,000. Regardless, Iran's Jewish community remains the largest in the Middle East outside Israel. To be sure, the constitution adopted in 1906 is still in place nominally, and it still includes Jews as a protected religious minority. Jews in Iran have synagogues, access to kosher meat, and permission to consume wine for Shabbat, despite a national ban on alcohol. There's also a Jewish representative in Iran's parliament or Majlis. But all women and girls regardless of religion are required to wear a veil, according to the Islamist dress code, and Jews are pressured to vote in elections at Jewish-specific ballot stations so the regime can monitor their participation. Zionism is punishable by death and after Oct. 7, the regime warned its Jewish citizens to sever contact with family and friends in Israel or risk arrest. They also can't leave. Iranian law forbids an entire Jewish nuclear family from traveling abroad at the same time. At least one family member, usually the father, must remain behind to prevent emigration. But Houman points out that many Iranian Jews, including himself, are deeply attached to Iranian culture. As a resident of Los Angeles, he reads Persian literature, cooks Persian herb stew for his children and speaks in Persian to his pets. He would return to Iran in an instant if given the opportunity to do so safely. For Jews living in Iran it may be no different. They've become accustomed to living under Islamist laws. They may not want to leave, even if they could. SARSHAR: The concept of living and thriving in Iran, for anyone who is not related to the ruling clergy and the Revolutionary Guard, is a dream that feels unattainable by anyone in Iran, let alone the Jews. In a world where there is really no fairness for anyone, the fact that you're treated even less fairly almost fades. MANYA: Scholars say since the Islamic Revolution, most Jews who have left Iran have landed in Los Angeles or Long Island, New York. Still, more Jews of Iranian descent live in Israel – possibly more than all other countries combined. The reason why? Because so many like Einat's family made aliyah–up until the mid-20th Century. It's hard to say where another exodus might lead Iranian Jews to call home. Einat will be forever grateful that her family left when they still could and landed in a beautiful and beloved place. Though she lives in the U.S. now, she travels back to Israel at least twice a year. EINAT: It's a dream for every Jew, it's not just me. It's the safe zone for every Jew. It's the one place that, even if we have, it's not safe because there is people around us that want to kill us. It's still emotionally. You know, I've been in Israel a few months ago, it's like, you always feel loved, you always feel supported. It's incredible. And it's still home. It's always going to be my home. MANYA: Persian Jews are just one of the many Jewish communities who, in the last century, left Middle Eastern and North African countries to forge new lives for themselves and future generations. Many thanks to Einat for sharing her family's story. You can enjoy some of her family's favorite recipes in her cookbooks Balaboosta and Shuk. Her memoir Taste of Love was recently released in an audio and digital format. Too many times during my reporting, I encountered children and grandchildren who didn't have the answers to my questions because they'd never asked. That's why one of the goals of this project is to encourage you to ask those questions. Find your stories. Atara Lakritz is our producer. T.K. Broderick is our sound engineer. Special thanks to Jon Schweitzer, Nicole Mazur, Sean Savage, and Madeleine Stern, and so many of our colleagues, too many to name really, for making this series possible. You can subscribe to The Forgotten Exodus on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts, and you can learn more at AJC.org/theforgottenexodus. The views and opinions of our guests don't necessarily reflect the positions of AJC. You can reach us at theforgottenexodus@ajc.org. If you've enjoyed this episode, please be sure to spread the word, and hop onto Apple Podcasts or Spotify to rate us and write a review to help more listeners find us.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the people of Iran directly Monday with a simple message: Until the Islamic Revolution, Persians and Jews were friends—and can be again. 5) Netanyahu sends video message to people of Iran; 4) Israel prepares ground invasion of Lebanon; 3) BRICS could expand to include Indonesia, Nigeria; 2) Unexpected consequence of Hurricane Helene—world's only source of ultra-pure quartz needed for computer chips cut off; 1) Iranian cleric claims Israel used genies to take out Hezbollah leader. FOLLOW US! X: @WatchSkyWatchTV | @Five_In_Ten YouTube: @SkyWatchTelevision | @SimplyHIS | @FiveInTen Rumble: @SkyWatchTV Facebook: @SkyWatchTV | @SimplyHIS | @EdensEssentials Instagram: @SkyWatchTV | @SimplyHisShow | @EdensEssentialsUSA SkyWatchTV.com | SkyWatchTVStore.com | EdensEssentials.com | WhisperingPoniesRanch.com
Porochista and Eurydice talk literature, uniparty, America's reality TV politics, celebrity culture, pop culture, rape culture, Jeffrey Epstein and P. Diddy. They discuss feminism from the 90s to now, Hamptons “white parties” and NYC clubs and Palm Beach society. Porochista Khakpour is a refugee from Iran , whose family fled the Iran-Iraq War and the Islamic Revolution , and the author of the books Sons and Other Flammable Objects, The Last Illusion, Sick, and Tehrangeles, her satirical, polyphonic, campy third novel, a tragicomic saga about the high-functioning dysfunctional Milani family of Iranian multimillionaires in LA who have a McMansion, a snack food empire, and four young daughters who live a reality TV lifestyle. The book is a critique of the untruth of social media, and the challenge of living an authentic life online. For more on Porochista's work, go to https://porochistakhakpour.com. @pkhakpourFor more on Eurydice's work, go to https://Eurydice.net or https://SpeakwithEve.com or https://youtube.com/@EveEurydice. @EurydiceEvePlease support this podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/speaksex/support or donate at https://www.paypal.me/Eurydice. We are 100% listener supported.Enjoy.Solstice Episode --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/speaksex/support
Following Ayatollah Khomeini's Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran became the world's only country to be governed by an Islamic theocracy. Today, many of those living under the Islamic regime are filled with despair. Yet, their disillusionment has opened new doors for the Gospel, which is sweeping across the nation via satellite TV, the Internet, as well as a growing number of house church movements. Even so, the government continues its attempts to thwart the spread of Christianity by persecuting the nation's followers of Jesus. Many Iranians are also coming into a relationship with Christ after leaving the country and moving abroad, where they are passionate about seeing fellow Iranians – both inside and outside of the nation – come to faith in Jesus. One such person is Shah Ahmadi [SM1] of Iran Alive Ministries, a U.S.-based organization and trusted ministry partner of Voice of the Martyrs Canada. In this episode of Closer to the Fire, host Greg Musselman sits down with Shah at the Iran Alive headquarters in Texas. Length: 42 minutes Episode Notes To watch the interview with Shah Ahmadi https://vomcanada.com/ir-videos/video/ir-hopelessness-opens-door.htm Iran Alive Ministries: www.iranalive.org Voice of the Martyrs Canada: www.vomcanada.com
Featuring Abdel Razzaq Takriti, this is the first of a two-part epilogue to Thawra (Revolution), our series on Arab radicalism in the 20th century. Today's installment covers the Iranian Islamic Revolution's huge impact across the Arab East alongside Saudi and Egyptian efforts to foster religious conservative movements in an effort to supplant and suppress the secular nationalist left. Plus the Iran-Iraq War, the mujahideen in Afghanistan, the First Intifada, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, the first US-led invasion of Iraq, and the PLO's march toward the Oslo Accords–and how Hamas and Islamic Jihad stepped into the resulting vacuum, picking up a Palestinian armed struggle the PLO had renounced.Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDigBuy Nuclear Is Not The Solution at versobooks.comBuy The Wannabe Fascists at UCPress.edu Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Featuring Abdel Razzaq Takriti, this is the first of a two-part epilogue to Thawra (Revolution), our series on Arab radicalism in the 20th century. Today's installment covers the Iranian Islamic Revolution's huge impact across the Arab East alongside Saudi and Egyptian efforts to foster religious conservative movements in an effort to supplant and suppress the secular nationalist left. Plus the Iran-Iraq War, the mujahideen in Afghanistan, the First Intifada, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, the first US-led invasion of Iraq, and the PLO's march toward the Oslo Accords–and how Hamas and Islamic Jihad stepped into the resulting vacuum, picking up a Palestinian armed struggle the PLO had renounced. Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig Buy Nuclear Is Not The Solution at versobooks.com Buy The Wannabe Fascists at UCPress.edu
Rabbi Jacobson will discuss the following topics:What do the Nine Days teach us today? What is the Rebbe's unique approach to this saddest time of the year? How does this period help us face challenges? How does Rosh Chodesh Av empower us? Can we expect that the sadness of this period will be transformed to joy? Should we be afraid of our enemies threatening us? What is the best way to fight our enemies? What can we learn from this assassination in Tehran, in a private place? Are we allowed to celebrate the deaths of our enemies? Can we desecrate their graves? What does the Torah say about offense being the best defense? What should be our reaction to Israeli soldiers being arrested for abusing Hamas terrorists? Why do we have an enemy that wants to destroy us in every generation? Why isn't there greater emphasis on fighting radical Islam and its mandate to take over the world? Did the Rebbe comment on the Islamic Revolution and Khomeini? Should we start buying property now in Israel? Why are we not doing more to unite Jews? What should be our attitude to Jewish antisemites? Why don't you openly come out against the current democratic party? How should we address the current crisis following the assassination of prominent terrorist leaders? Is it wise to assassinate the enemy's leaders? War in Israel Jewish Unity Presidential Election Sholom Bayis: How do you distinguish between healthy compromise and becoming a “doormat”? What is the significance of Shabbos Chazon?
Daniel and Harry had Danielle Dardashti on last week to discuss the film Persepolis, and this week they are sharing the first episode of Danielle's series, "The Nightingale of Iran", enjoy!____________________________Sisters Danielle and Galeet Dardashti grew up in a Jewish American family band: The Dardashti Family. They sang international folk music in 12 languages – English, Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, Greek, Spanish, French, Japanese and more – but never any songs in Persian. This seems odd to them since both their father and grandfather were famous Iranian singers during the “Golden Age” for Jews in Iran, before the Islamic Revolution. Danielle and Galeet make a discovery that takes them back in time, and helps them find answers to their questions about why their family left Iran and abandoned their Iranian identity.Co-creators / Co-executive producers - Danielle Dardashti and Galeet DardashtiThe Nightingale of Iran - nightingaleofiran.comPresented by The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a publication of 70 Faces MediaHost - Danielle DardashtiWriter / Director / Senior Producer - Danielle DardashtiProducer / Musical Director / Subject Matter Expert - Galeet DardashtiAudio Editors / Sound Designers - Rebecca Seidel and Zachary GoldbergStory Editor - Rider AlsopStory Consultant - Asal EhsanipourComposer of Theme Song - Galeet Dardashti: “Melekh” from her album Monajat, featuring Younes Dardashti (with Shanir Blumenkranz, Max ZT, Zafer Tawil, Philip Mayer)In Episode 1, The Time Machine, you heard our conversations with: Farid and Sheila Dardashti, Shahla Javdan, Homa Sarshar, Lili Keypour, and Nahid Pirnazar.Thank you to our sponsors:-Jewish Writers' Initiative Digital Storytellers Lab / Maimonides Fund-Common Era-Younes and Soraya Nazarian Family Foundation-The Himan Brown Charitable Trust-UCLA Mickey Katz Endowed Chair in Jewish Music-Be'chol Lashon (fiscal sponsor)Intro credits read by: Michelle DardashtiCover art design: Ghulam NabiAssistants: Courtney Cunningham & Jessica DeWeeseMarketing / PR: TinkDistributed by PRX, the Public Media ExchangeConnect with Jews on Film online:Jews on Film Merch - https://jews-on-film.printify.me/productsInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/jewsonfilm/Twitter - https://twitter.com/jewsonfilmpodYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@jewsonfilmTikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@jewsonfilmpod
In this episode, we explore the duality of life in Iran through the journey of an Iranian-born designer who moved to New York. She delves into her experience growing up in Tehran, where public life mandates wearing a hijab, while underground shows and exhibitions provided a different reality. The discussion highlights the constraints and obstacles faced due to governmental policies, the impact of the Islamic Revolution, and the ongoing struggle for freedom. The designer also talks about her company's origins, the impact of international sanctions on Iranian artisans, and the hopes pinned on the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement. This episode offers a nuanced view of Iranian culture, the paradoxes within, and a call for greater global awareness and action. 00:00 The Dual Lives of Iranians: Public vs. Underground 00:24 The Perils of Being Labelled Suspicious in Iran 00:51 The Underground Art Scene and Cultural Restrictions 03:08 The Complexities of Iranian Education and Gender Roles 03:56 Misconceptions and the Reality of Iranian Women's Education 04:51 The Rich History and Cultural Misunderstandings of Iran 05:33 Pre-Revolution Iran: A Glimpse into the Past 06:59 The Impact of the Islamic Revolution on Daily Life 08:51 Challenging Western Media's Narrative on Iran 10:10 Navigating Sanctions: The Struggle of Iranian Artisans 16:05 The Personal Cost of Political Tensions 19:45 The Woman Life Freedom Movement and Hope for Change 24:22 Comparing Women's Experiences: Iran vs. The United States 30:58 The Future of Iranian Artisans and Global Awareness 32:28 The Role of Social Media in Iran's Protests 33:54 Closing Thoughts and the Power of Conversation
Find me and the show on social media @DrWilmerLeon on X (Twitter), Instagram, and YouTube Facebook page is www.facebook.com/Drwilmerleonctd FULL TRANSCRIPT Wilmer Leon (00:00:00): As I'm sure most of you know by now, according to Iran State Media, Iran's President Ibrahim Raisi, the country's foreign minister, Hussein Amir Abdulah, have died in a helicopter crash. There are a number of questions that this unfortunate turn of events presents. Was this simply an unfortunate accident as their helicopter traveled in dense fog along Iran's border with Azerbaijan, was the helicopter taken down? What's next for Iran? What's next for the region? Announcer (00:00:43): Connecting the dots with Dr. Wilmer Leon, where the analysis of politics, culture, and history converge. Wilmer Leon (00:00:51): Welcome to the Connecting the Dots podcast with Dr. Wilmer Leon. I'm Wilmer Leon. We have a tendency to view current events as though they occur in a vacuum, failing to understand the broader historical context in which most events take place. During each episode of this program, my guests and I have probing, provocative and in-depth discussions that connect the dots between the events and the broader historic context in which they occur. This enables you to better understand and analyze these events that impact the global village in which we live. For insight into these issues, let's go to Beirut Lebanon. Let my guest, he's an award-winning broadcaster and independent journalist based in Beirut Lebanon. He's a policy consultant with the Community Media Advocacy Center, and you can find him and his work at Free Palestine dot video. He's Laith Marouf Laith. As always, welcome back. Laith Marouf (00:01:53): Thank you for having me. It's always a pleasure to be with you. Wilmer Leon (00:01:56): So let me start with who was former president Ibrahim Raisi. The western media describes him in less than glowing terms as a religious hardliner. He's seen as a potential successor to Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Hamani. He was a former judge and allegedly a member of what the West calls the death commission, which forcibly disappeared and traditionally executed in secret thousands of political dissidents. Those are the allegations who was former President Ibrahim Raisi. Laith Marouf (00:02:41): Well, definitely he was part of the first generation that lived the Islamic Revolution and were on the front lines during the massacres that Iraq and the West commissioned in Iran, the use of chemical weapons against Iranians paid for by the Germans and the us. So he has that credential of living that revolution, and he was a judge and the accusations that are keep on being repeated there of thousands of prisoners being executed, we're talking about the terrorists that are part of the Mujah, the MEK terrorist organization that was housed in Iraq and funded by the West and is now housed in Albania that was responsible for the killing of almost 70,000 people in Iran through their terror campaign. That includes the killing of ministers and the government officials at the time. So the accusation against him is that he crushed the vessels, the terrorists that work for the CIA, that's his accusation against him and otherwise he was a judge and very respected within the country because of this background. Actually, whatever accusation that the west has against him as a discrediting thing, in reality, it is a positive thing for his reputation in Iran because of how he defended Iran against the terrorist. (00:04:31): The hype that we saw over the last month or so in the media about Rasi being going to be the next ayatollah after Hamina steps down, that there is no truth to that in terms of any speaking of that in Iranian society or Iranian media. In fact, we should take it as an indicator of that he was going to be assassinated. There's something that say it has the Sid Hasan Astra, the Secretary General of Hezbollah after the assassination of General Soleimani in 2020 by Trump. So Sid Hasan Asra a speech. He spoke about how when the media in the West suddenly gives attention to a leader in the region out of the blue and start giving them very high stature, that is maybe true, but it's not. That's an indicator of an assassination coming and that he spoke to General Soleimani the day before he was assassinated while he was in Beirut about that and warned him as he was flying to Baghdad on a domestic flight that this is actually even more worrisome that he was on a domestic flight given all this attention. So now we see kind of the same thing happening here, all this hype being pumped about Raisi in the month before the assassination, specifically since the retaliation of Iran against the assassination of its diplomats in the Damascus. So I see it as actually an indicator that he was going to be assassinated and now that's what actually happened. Wilmer Leon (00:06:26): To your point that this was an assassination, there are a couple of things that as soon as I heard that the helicopter went down that came to mind. One was, was it taken down? Apparently there were three helicopters flying in formation and his helicopter was one of the three, and it seems as though it just dropped out of the sky. They keep talking about the terrain, they keep talking about the fog. I know some US military trained helicopter pilot certified helicopter pilots. The first thing I did was call them and ask them when you heard fog, when you heard terrain, when you heard the helicopter went down. I said, what's the first thing that came to your mind? They all said, oh, they took that thing out the sky and they said, first of all, they all said to me as certified pilots, we would never have crashed our helicopter. That just was not going to happen short of some catastrophic mechanical failure. They said, which by the way, we are trained to deal with. They told me the quality of pilots that they have in Iran that those pilots, they say this goes all the way back to when Iran was an ally of the United States during the Shaw's time and that the protocols that were in place then are many of the same protocols that they follow today. (00:08:03): So there was a lot of information opinion that they gave to me, which said, and then they even mentioned, you got to understand the MEK along that region, that Azerbaijan is an ally of Israel or that there are elements within Azerbaijan that are so connect some of those dots for me please. Are these just the opinions of Ill-informed individuals or they said for the fact that the thing dropped out the sky without it, even a mayday call indicates that something was wrong here? Laith Marouf (00:08:43): Yeah, I mean, you mentioned a lot of important things. So first off, obviously there was no made call as you said. So we don't have any information about some problem happening on the helicopter. The other is that there was two other helicopters with it and they continued to reach their target and destination and they reached it. That's the question also, why didn't they stop and fly back and look for the other helicopter? That's a big indicator that there's something wrong that happened there that is not just a regular crash. The other thing is that the Iranian government took a very long time to really show us what happened and tell us that Rasi and his companions were dead. In fact, the hours after the crash, the Minister of Internal Security told the whole world that they received two calls from survivors on the plane, on the helicopter, and later on all the way around 2:00 AM PA on time, again, the minister of internal claim that they received a call from one of the crew members on the helicopter all the way that late saying that they were hearing the ambulances or the sirens in the area. (00:10:13): So while all of this was happening, the minute the helicopter crash was announced and called a soft landing, and then it took so long, I mean, this is Iran that has satellites. This is Iran that has drones that can fly and reach Israel and hit their targets thousands of kilometers away. I thought in my mind that either from the first minute that Raisi and his team were assassinated and they're dead, and the Iranians were delaying the announcements so they can tidy up their house and prepare for the transition and think about what they want to do if there's an actual assassination or that the Iranians were hiding the fact that he was alive and they were just milking it for support. This is what I thought during the whole night as they were doing this search, and obviously for them to finally tell us they're dead, that's in me confirmed that there was an assassination. (00:11:21): None of the stories that came from the Iranian government to the media during the quote search made any sense. And so now we know they're killed. I believe the Iranian government knows that they were killed and how they were killed, and I think given the fact that the Israelis have a tendency of assassinating political leaders as retaliation for their failures on the battlefield, this is historic. Look at how even recently, look at how they assassinated Hamas leadership in Beirut because they were failing on the ground in Gaza and they failed in the battle with Iran after they targeted the embassy in Damascus and Iran landed a huge blow on them and they were not able to retaliate. So their only usual behavior is to assassinate political leaders, and that's what we saw. The question is because Netanyahu attempted last month when attacking the embassy to drag the United States into a war because he sees Israel losing the battle on the ground. (00:12:47): He sees that Israel cannot even fight Hezbollah if a bigger war starts with Lebanon. He needs the United States to be around on the battlefield with him. He wanted to drag Iran into that war with the attack on the embassy, and they didn't retaliate in a way that created a war. And now he did this to try to drag again Iran into this war. But this is not what Iran wants. Iran has a clear plan with the access of resistance that we're seeing unfold over the last seven months, which is to chisel away at Israel slowly and cook it like a frog, a live frog boiling where it collapses internally, where all this support from the world collapses externally, and there's no need for a war for this Zionist colony to collapse, but Netanyahu wants a war. So I think the Iranians are not going to admit that this is an assassination because if they admit this an assassination, they have no choice but to carpet bomb the hell out of the Zionist colony, and that would derail the plan and will take it to the stage that Netanyahu wants it. So I think they're going to just bite the bullet and continue on their set plan and will not be dragged into, it's very sad. I mean, it's very sad that this is going to be what's going to happen, but that's the only thing path forward I see. Otherwise, if Iran decides to retaliate, we're going to be in World War three immediately. Wilmer Leon (00:14:24): And I think it's important for people to understand that there's a much longer term vision here, that the axis of resistance, they have a different worldview. We know that if the situation were reversed and either if somebody had shot an Netanyahu's playing out the sky or if this had happened to Tony Blinken while he was traveling in the region, that the bombs would be exploding by now. But I think there are economic concerns here that those in the region are taking into account war. As I said to Godfather, war is messy business war is very expensive. And with their economies under sanctioned, with their now finding ways to move and operate without the sanctions to go into a war right now, whether it's the Russian economy, whether it's the Chinese economy, whether it's the Iranian economy, they don't want that economic stress on their economies. They also know that I think going into a World War which, or at least a regional conflict, would shut off oil transport through both the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, which would then collapse the world economy. They don't want do that. I don't think I'm conflating their concern for world welfare. I think they're looking much, much longer. Am I connecting some dots here? Laith Marouf (00:16:04): Yes, yes, you definitely are. And although most of the access of resistance and China, Russia, and most of Africa and Latin America want to see an end to American imperialism, no one wants the whole world to burn in the process. Okay? It's no one's interest to have a World War. People want to clip the wings of the United States, bring it back to its natural size, and the same thing for Europe and balance humanity. There's no interest in these countries to see the United States burn and Europe become a wasteland. And so there's the difference. The difference is people in the south and the East just want the foot of America off their neck. They don't want to put their own foot on America's neck. And so we will see, as we are seeing right now, both in the battlefield in Ukraine, or what's happening around Taiwan or what's happening here right now in the Western Asia battlefield is the constant attempt by the access of resistance and others around the world to take things slow, to allow time to be the biggest weapon. Wilmer Leon (00:17:33): Hence the adage. You have the watches, we have the time. So with all of this, what's next for Iran? Laith Marouf (00:17:43): Yeah, I mean, we already know that they have to have an election within 50 days. That was announced yesterday, and the current vice president was appointed as temporary president until elections happen. Iran as a constitutional democracy will fill these positions as fast as possible, even though these individuals leave a huge gap behind them because of their knowledge and portfolios. abd Ian being the youngest foreign affairs minister of Iran's history, and because of his relations in Africa and Latin America and Rasi with the relationships that he built. So where should expect that this is going to happen this election. But look at one thing, the Israelis, at least what they got from this is at least now a distraction for the next three, five days in Iran and World News while they intensify the massacres in Gaza and in the West Bank last night, for instance, eight people were killed in Janine, so Palestinians. (00:19:06): So there's a lot that we can't really predict what's going to happen. The other thing is that it's very possible that Iran, although they don't announce that this was an assassination and that they don't put the finger on Israel, that they actually conduct clandestine actions that are in kind and something nasty happens to some Israeli official, and nobody can say who it is. So those are possibilities. But I think the most probable thing is that Iran will try to stay the course that the support fronts in Lebanon and Yemen will intensify rapidly to a different level. Wilmer Leon (00:19:49): That's my next question. What happens in the region? Laith Marouf (00:19:53): Yes. Yes. So we're already seeing an intensification even before this assassination. We had a change in the tactics on the Lebanese front with Hezbollah conducting multilayered complex operations that include drones, guided missiles, and achieving huge hits. Much of the air defenses that Israel has downing two huge surveillance balloons. One of them is the biggest in the world, this Zeppelin balloon, there's only two of them in the Zionist colony, one around the Una reactor, one in the north. And the Israelis had put this one in the north because of the destruction of all of their surveillance equipment on the border with Lebanon. So to see Hezbollah not only down these drones, but also film the after from, sorry, not only down these balloons, but also film with surveillance, drones after effect of the destruction and coming back with their images, 100% high HD 4K images of the, so we're already passed into a new stage now in Lebanon, and I expect it to only intensify. And similarly with Yemen, I think that in the next 24 hours, we will see Yemen starting to attack shipping in the Mediterranean, and that will add another sea under Yemeni sovereignty. It's not only going to be the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean, you'll have also the Mediterranean, and that will be the smartest thing that Iran can do with the access of resistance is to intensify the battle on these fronts without addressing the issue of the assassination of Raisi. Wilmer Leon (00:21:55): When we look at the recent dynamics, and what I mean by that is if we go back to October 7th, in fact not even that, I'm sorry. What I mean is China gets involved with the Saudis, the Saudis wind up talking to Iran. There's reproach mom between Iran and the Saudis haven't heard much from the Crown Prince Ben Salman. In all of these most recent developments, are there things coming out of Saudi Arabia that are not being reported in the West, particularly now as it relates to the death of former President Raisi? And is Bin Salman concerned about his longevity? Laith Marouf (00:22:54): I think everybody is right now worried about their longevity. We've seen the assassination attempt on the Czech president, so we saw the attempted coup, all of this within 24 hours in Congo. Again, American Israeli mercenaries trying to overthrow the president of La Congo. So we're right now entering a new stage in the global battle, not only in Western Asia, we're seeing the West do the maximum they can with the hybrid war. So it's not only a media war, it's not only a sanctions war, it's not only direct confrontations or military confrontations. We're seeing these assassinations and cos and so on, intensified by the United States and its vessel states. So the Saudis issued an official statement condolences to Iran on the assassination. In fact, all of the Gulf countries, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Emirate, Oman, Saudi, all of them send their condolences. There is three days of mourning in Lebanon, in Syria, in Iraq, in Pakistan, in India, and in Tajikistan and in Turkey. And this is things that are unheard of. Maybe it was expected as Syria or Iraq, but Lebanon and Pakistan and Turkey, this is so we can see that the whole region is worried about the results of this assassination. What does it also mean to, what are the rules of the game now? What is allowed to be done? Because if you are allowed to assassinate presidents now, this means there's no rules. Wilmer Leon (00:25:05): Lemme just quickly say to that point, that reminds me of a comment that President Putin made maybe a year ago as people were talking about, oh, is Russia going to assassinate the president of Ukraine? And Putin said, no. He said, no, no, no, we don't do that. So people need to understand that there's a, I hate to use it. There's a decorum, there's a protocol. There are certain things you're not supposed to do even in the rules of war, even in warfare, you don't assassinate the leader of your opposing country. So you are making that comment just made me think about the point that Laith Marouf (00:25:57): By the way, president Putin is on the way right now on the flight to the Harran, and he's flying with escorts of Soho 35 to the Harran, and he will be there tomorrow during the funeral procession led by the Illah. Wilmer Leon (00:26:19): What is that signal? In my mind that's huge because that's huge on a couple of fronts. One, his country is in the midst of a conflict with NATO slash the United States slash the West. So he must feel incredibly comfortable to leave as he did when he went to China in the midst of this conflict. I can leave my country. I'm not concerned about a being assassinated. I'm not concerned about something happening domestically. B, he's flying into a war zone. He's flying into a country whose president was just killed, many believe assassinated. So on a number of fronts, that to me speaks volumes. Laith Marouf (00:27:07): Yes. And there's the ICC arrest warrant Wilmer Leon (00:27:10): Against that too. Laith Marouf (00:27:11): It's the National Criminal Court. So we know that yesterday, the minute the announcement was made that the crash happened, the President Putin called in the ambassador of Iran to Moscow into almost a six hour meeting with all the heads, the intelligence military in foreign affairs of Russia. It was like a special kind of war council almost. And we don't know what happened in this meeting. So what information did Russia share with Iran? What are their points that were made in that meeting? And immediately we see this visit by President Putin being confirmed, and he's flying over the Caspian Sea directly into Iran from Russian territory to Iranian territory with the military escorts. We will clearly that this indicates a lot of things. And he's flying with him the top cater of the Russian military intelligence and foreign affairs to Iran. So there's something that's going to happen there. (00:28:34): We don't know what's the exchange that's going to happen in these meetings. And to go back to the issue of assassinations, the access of resistance members have never assassinated any Israeli leadership. Not because they can't. In fact, the only time that there was any assassination of an Israeli official is the Minister of settlements during the second in the Father in 2002 was conducted by the popular front for the liberation of Palestine in retaliation for the assassination of the leader of the PLFP AB mufa when the Israelis fired missile from a helicopter into his official office. So historically, the axis of resistance does not do assassinations like this. Why? Because number one, and this is true for Russia, by the way, number one, our enemies don't have any heroes. They only got lunatics, stupid leaders. And if you kill them, Wilmer Leon (00:29:42): You martyr them. Laith Marouf (00:29:43): You create the martyrs, right? The Israelis, Wilmer Leon (00:29:48): You inflate them to an artificial sense of value in power. Laith Marouf (00:29:56): Exactly. So there's no need to create martyrs for the Ukrainians or the Israelis. These are all goals. They should never be allowed to reach that status of martyrdom. The second issue, and this is true again for Ukraine, is because we're gifted as an axis of resistance. And Russia is gifted with the stupidest kind of enemy. Why would you want to kill Zelinsky if he's so dumb? Or Netanyahu is making so many stupid mistakes. If you kill them, maybe somebody smarter will come, you'll be even cursed. And in fact, if you look at the Israelis assassinating over and over, leaderships in the axis of resistance, every time they assassinated somebody, somebody even more cunning and more ready to fight them, gets into the position. Look at Hezbollah. Say Hasan came into his position as Secretary General after the assassination by Israel of Del Mu, the former First Secretary General of Hezbollah who was very moderate, soft spoken. And then you get sala and look at what so assassinations don't work on those two grounds. So it's a stupid thing that the Israelis did, this assassination of sei, and it's just going to bring somebody more in power. And now Iran has a president as a martyr on the path of liberation of Palestine. What glory does Iran have? No other nation lost a president in defense of Palestine, not even the Palestinian authority. You see, Wilmer Leon (00:31:49): You're laying out. That logic also goes back to some fundamental organizational constructs, as in organizations that are personality led versus organizations that are structurally led. So what I understand you to be saying is that this resistance is not based upon the personality in charge, that there is a structure here. There is an ideology here that, as we've said a number of times on a number of shows, you can't kill an ideology with a military. You can only defeat an ideology with a better ideology. And so you can assassinate all the leaders you want to, but there are people right behind them that are waiting to take charge. Laith Marouf (00:32:48): Yes, it is institutionalized. Obviously, we don't want to undermine the human factor, like a human factor is very important in all of these things. And people's personalities and connections make a difference. And so yes, these losses are always big, but because of this institutionalization, hopefully the, and because of the actual human factor, this new person that will fill, will bring new openings, new connections with them. Yes, the human factor is very important and institutionalization is as important. Wilmer Leon (00:33:28): Switching gears a bit, the ICC, the International Criminal Court is seeking arrest warrants for the leader of Hamas, Yaya Sanir, as well as the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity. And it seems to be centered around the October 7th retaliation by Hamas on Israel. President Biden has denounced as outrageous the request for these warrants. Biden has said, let me be clear. Whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no evidence none between Israel and Hamas. Biden said that this is a false equivocation. A couple of things. One, people need to understand that the ICC, the prosecutor is seeking arrest warrants. No warrants have been issued yet. I also find it interesting that they are tying all of this back to the October 7th response by the resistance as though October 7th is actually the beginning of something as opposed to the continuation of something. And then I'd like to get your take on, as I understand international law, the actions taken by Hamas on October 7th do not violate international law because Hamas is, Hamas represents the occupied, Israel is the occupier. And in international law, the occupied can do anything in its power to resist occupation. There is no right to defend oneself when you are the occupier. Laith. Maro your thoughts on that analysis? Laith Marouf (00:35:35): Yeah, I mean, I agree with everything that you said, and I would add to it, can you imagine if during the Vietnam War, Vietnam was, and the Vietnamese resistance were taken to the international criminal court and their leadership were declared terrorists for defending themself against French and American occupation, or the Algerian resistance being called terrorists at the ICC for defending themself against the massacres of the French or the French resistance against the Nazis Wilmer Leon (00:36:13): Or the A NC in South Africa Laith Marouf (00:36:15): Or the A NC? So I personally think the collaboration is Palestinian Authority on purpose launched this case at the ICC because they wanted the leadership of the resistance in Hamas to be charged with war crimes. Okay, Wilmer Leon (00:36:43): Wait a minute. Start that again because man, I never saw that one coming. Start that one again, please. Laith Marouf (00:36:52): Yes, yes. I know it's sometimes hard for people to make these connections, but you see there's never been, that's why Wilmer Leon (00:36:58): You're wrong. Connecting the dots. Laith Marouf (00:37:00): Yes. There's never been in history international criminal court case of the occupied taking their occupier into court and the occupied being charged with crimes against their occupier. And it was the Palestinian authority that pursued this case. Okay? And I think it was done on purpose by Abbas Wilmer Leon (00:37:29): Mah. Abba did this Laith Marouf (00:37:31): Mahmud, Abba and his collaborationist goons to dirty the reputation of the resistance to make their resistance equal to the crimes of the occupier. Okay? And I add to it even more the these arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Ganz, who's going to actually enforce them? No Western country will stop Netanyahu from flying over its airspace or landing on its territory, that's for sure, 100%. But you know who's going to be a target? It's a smile Nia, who's sitting in Qatar, right? SSIR and Aldi are in Gaza. The Israelis can't even kill them or assassinate them. They can't reach them, let alone try to arrest them for ICC charges. But smile, Nia, the head of Hamas in foreign political borough is now the number one target. He's probably right now running to find a place that he can hide than Qatar, because Qatar is a vessel state, and they will hand them over to the Americans at any moment. Okay? So in reality, this is one of the worst things that ever happened to the Palestinians. This ICC case, there's nothing to celebrate about it. And if you notice the limitations of this case that it only, as you said, starts October 7th, Wilmer Leon (00:39:03): They don't mention genocide, Laith Marouf (00:39:05): Okay? And not only that, the case is only for crimes inside Ga Gaza, none of the historical Palestine, west Bank, east Jerusalem, any of that will be included in this. And this is not only to protect Israel from accusations of apartheid and the settlement building that is one of the biggest war crimes possible, but also to hide the fact that all these internment camps that have been built since October 7th, were thousands of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip were abducted and sent into these Guantanamo and being tortured, raped, and killed on mass, disappeared completely, because nobody even knows that they're in this. And the fact that VE turned all the Israeli prisons into that same model, 12,000 Palestinian prisoners since October 7th, have been living in these internment camps, tortured, raped, and killed with hundreds, hundreds of testimonies of rape and torture by men, women, and children coming out of these dungeons. And if you notice the docket of these requests for arrest warrants, this house, slave Han, who is a puppet of the United States and Israel, who came as a replacement to the ICC chief prosecutor before him, who got humiliated and death threats and banned from entering the United States and so on, because she even dare thought about charges Wilmer Leon (00:40:56): Even his family was under. Yes, Laith Marouf (00:40:58): Yes. So now, what does this guy do? If you look at the charges when he's talking about Hamas crimes, he speaks of them as if they're facts that rapes happen. We have no, Wilmer Leon (00:41:17): No evidence Laith Marouf (00:41:18): Any rape that babies were killed. No evidence, no evidence killed. But when he talks about the crimes of the Zionist, Wilmer Leon (00:41:27): He uses a minute, just to that point, going back to President Putin, I remember him saying, if you have evidence of these crimes, please show the world. He was very emphatic on that point. You have made these allegations. If you have evidence, please show the world. And no matter how many times Joe Biden, no matter how many times Tony Blinken wants to talk about these atrocities, they've never even pierce Morgan. I know you saw the interview with Dr. Morandi and Pi Morgan, where Morandi just cut him a new one. He said, Pierce, where's the evidence? And Pi Morgan just kept chatting, just kept chirping. Go ahead, I'm sorry. Laith Marouf (00:42:30): Yes, yes. I mean, the evidence is like you have to take the word of the chosen people for fact. What are you antisemitic, Wilmer. You don't believe every word that comes out of a chosen person mouth. I mean, that's it. That's all evidence you need. So Wilmer Leon (00:42:48): If I was antisemitic, I wouldn't be talking to you. Laith Marouf (00:42:50): Exactly. Exactly. But we're joking about it. But truly, this guy, this sock puppet had, he went down to Israel after October 7th and sat down with the families and unquote survivors, and visited the colonies that were attacked, but refused to enter Gaza Amass, opened the door for him, invited him to come and see Joe evidence, the war crimes. He refused to go to Gaza, okay? And then now he's coming and he's writing in his docket that these crimes happened by Hamas. But when he's talking about the crimes accusations against Israel, he says reasonable grounds before every accusation he is already, you could see how tainted this case is and what is its ultimate goal. I mean, yesterday, the spokesperson for the American government, I can't remember his name, the thin white guy. He was being interviewed, sorry, asked in the question period about this issue, and the guy claimed that the Palestinians have no right to go to the ICC and that their only courts that have jurisdiction are Israeli or American courts. He wants the Palestinians to come and beg at American courts, which even shows you how Israel is a colony, a vessel of the United States. But yes, this is where Wilmer Leon (00:44:32): Matthew Miller, Laith Marouf (00:44:35): Yes, Matthew Pillar, and people call him Matthew Killer. Yes, Wilmer Leon (00:44:38): Right. Matthew Miller. Laith Marouf (00:44:39): Yeah, yeah, yeah. Wilmer Leon (00:44:42): So I'm sorry, I interrupted you. You're saying he was saying that they need to come to American courts? Laith Marouf (00:44:47): Yes. That they have no right to go to the ICC, and the only place that has jurisdiction is the US or Israel over crimes in Gaza, Wilmer Leon (00:45:00): Which is also very telling in that the United States is not as signatory to the ICC, but seems to want to either use it when it's convenient or condemn it when it's convenient. But in fact, excuse me, there's a standing American law, and people can look this up, that if an American is brought before the Hague, the United States reserves the right to invade it. I might even be called the Hague Invasion Act. I'm drawing a blank on the name, but people, folks, you need to look this up. The United States has a standing American law saying, we will invade the Hague if an American is arrested and held accountable for crime. Laith Marouf (00:45:59): Yes, it's ally known as the Hague Invasion Act. And in fact, if you look at the ICC record, 42 out of the 42 people that were convicted of crimes at the ICC were African African leaders, and then add to it that the charges against President Putin. So this ICC is the most captured, un affiliated organism captured by the West, along with the International Atomic Energy Organization and the Chemical and Weapons Organization. These are the least trusted three organs of the un. And we're seeing, I believe these indictments, or if there is an arrest warrant issued, I mean, I don't see anything good coming to the Palestinians from this. Wilmer Leon (00:47:08): Wow. That's a perspective and a level of analysis that I did not see coming. But what you're saying makes sense. Bring us up to date, please on what's happening in Rafa. According to the new Arab, there are by 1.4 million Palestinians there. And that around the 7th of May, they were told that they had to leave. And the number I see is about 80,000 people have fled, but there's, I guess a slow boiling Israeli incursion into the area. What's going on in Rafa now? Laith Marouf (00:48:02): Yeah, I mean, the Israelis are doing what they call belts, fire belts. It's like bombardment from the land, from the sea, from the air on straight lines, and then going next straight line and so on. This is what they've been doing since last week. They haven't yet attempted invading Rafa. They have been stuck in Jabal since last week in the longest and fiercest battle on the ground of Gaza since the beginning of the war. The Israelis lost, according to their own media, at least 10 officers there. That includes a field general, the highest ranking military officer on the field of any army, and along with all his commanders. So we've seen the videos come out from this Jabali battle every day, two or three videos coming out from Hamas, Islamic Jihad and others that showed us tens of Israeli tanks destroyed APCs and bulldozers. So they're receiving a beating, a whipping in the battlefield of Jabal. (00:49:21): So I don't think they're going to invade RA anytime soon. They'll continue bombing from the air. But this has also happened at the same time as yesterday or the day before the Americans finished building the pier, right? Right. And we already now have images of this spear with American air defenses, radars and tanks and ABCs waiting in the landing ships. So clearly the sphere is not about delivering any aid, and it's definitely not about the mass expulsion of Palestinians. This is an invasion, beachfront landing zone in the case of total collapse of the Israeli military on the battlefield. And that's what we are seeing right now happening. Wilmer Leon (00:50:11): And is it a coincidence or should we connect dots that the pier was completed right around the same time that it was announced that, what was it, 1.2 billion more of weaponry has been approved. And so is that a coincidence or am I wrong to connect these dots? Laith Marouf (00:50:34): No, it's not a coincidence. It's also not a coincidence that it was finished the day they assassinated rasi. You see, all of these are time things. It's same thing. It's not a coincidence that the sock puppet Han announced the ICC arrest warrants at the same day of the assassination. So all of this is clearly timed together, and we now saw in the last 48 hours, the cards of the West put on the table, have opened. Now their hand, they just opened their hand with these three moves. The Wilmer Leon (00:51:15): But wait a minute, president Biden is calling for a ceasefire. How can this be true? Laith Maro, when President Biden, when he was at Morehouse giving his commencement address, he's calling for a cease fire. Help me understand this, because obviously you didn't hear him. And so now that you understand, Joe Biden wants to cease fire, how can everything that you've just said be true? Laith Marouf (00:51:44): Isn't it one of the most disgusting things that Biden could do is to lie to the black students and the administration of the university say that he will not use their black faces in his promotional materials for his election? That was one of the conditions to allow him to speak to the students who were going to demonstrate. But because their administration found a middle ground and told them, okay, you can demonstrate without, Wilmer Leon (00:52:15): Don't make any noise, shut Laith Marouf (00:52:16): Down, don't make any noise, and so on. And this guy is not going to use your faces for his election. And now he goes around and immediately, immediately releases a promotional video of using these students to try to get sympathy from the black communities in America. This is, and obviously anybody that believes American leaders should go and ask the indigenous people about all the treaties and their promises. I mean, there's 400 years of record of broken promises and broken treaties. There's not one treaty I think the United States ever abided by with anyone. Have Wilmer Leon (00:53:04): You seen this Washington Post article from last week? The Washington Post reported about a WhatsApp chat stream where New York mayor Eric Adams was chatting with a number of American multimillion and billionaires, such as the former founder of Starbucks and the CEO of Dell and a number of other financiers where they were demanding that Eric Adams send the NYPD into Columbia University. They offered campaign contributions, they offered to fund private investigators to look into the students. And he is now, of course, denying that this took place. But the Washington Post has the transcript of the WhatsApp communications, and they named these individuals by name. And it seems as though their whole concern or motivation behind this is they're losing control of the narrative. Your thoughts, lath maus. Laith Marouf (00:54:21): Yeah. I mean, it's 100% a fact that this happened. No matter what the mayor says, who was another sock puppet? And if me and you have enough money, we can buy American politicians if we want to. They're very cheap. They'll sell you their mamas if you have enough money. Okay? So it's not a surprise. It's actually great that it got leaked, and I'm sure the Washington Post only published it because it was going to be all around the internet anyways, and they needed to have a scoop to stay on top of the story. But this is the truth. The political class and the economic elite are abusing the police in the United States, abusing the power they have over the police, forcing the police to become political police, to suppress the students and the communities that are demonstrating for the liberation of Palestine. I mean, I watched these images over the weekend. The beatings that the NYPD was giving to these youth was, I mean, very similar to who Wilmer Leon (00:55:36): Were peacefully protesting, Laith Marouf (00:55:37): Peacefully protesting, being jumped and taken to the ground and punching women in the face while having your legs on their necks. I mean, it is very similar to how they treat on a daily basis, the black community, specifically black men. But now we're seeing it on a daily scale of people not being accused of any crime or just speaking out or demonstrating. And that's what was happening to the black community in the sixties and the seventies and or the Black Lives Matter movement during the Obama years. Now we are gearing up to this summer of discontent all across the west as these youth finished their exams in the universities and pour into the streets. And we should expect maximum suppression from the political class, and they will be abusing the police to do so because they can't use the courts. Look, in Canada, there's been now two court cases where Zionist students went to court to try to force the police to remove a student encampment from McGill University in Montreal. (00:57:01): McGill University is the Ivy League University in Canada, and they lost. The judge said, no, the students have a right. And then the university administration itself appealed and went to the court to also asked the court to tell the police to remove the students. And again, the court said no. And therefore, this is what's happening. The Zionists in Canada were stupid enough to think that they can win this in court. They thought like, oh, we have all the media, we have all the politicians. We can rip apart the Bill of Rights in Canada. But the Zionists in the United States are a little bit smarter. They know that if they go to court First Amendment, they cannot remove these students. Therefore, they skipped all the legal process and went immediately into abusing their access to power by moving the police, setting them like dogs on the students. Wilmer Leon (00:58:03): Laith Maro, my brother. As always, I got to thank you for joining me today. And let me reiterate to folks that they need to go to Free Palestine video. Go to Free Palestine video. You can see if you could quickly just explain to the audience what you're doing there on the ground, real time in Beirut with free Palestine video. Laith Marouf (00:58:33): So yeah, as a volunteer community television, we're teaching youth and students to produce content in English. We're also doing everyday almost reporting from the south of Lebanon, from the Warfront exclusive coverage of what's happening there, interviews of people on the ground. And we're doing weekly episode of a special show called Wartime Cafe with the biggest intellectual and political leaders in Lebanon in English. Last time, the last episode of wartime Cafe was with Ibrahim Al Mu, who is a member of Parliament, but also the former spokesperson for Hezbollah. He hasn't spoken in English media for a long time. So this is the kind of content that you will get. Please support us donations. We need membership. If there's possible, so people subscribe for monthly donation, that will be amazing. And you can add on our website, free pass. Send the video. You have the links to all our socials, so Twitter, telegram, Instagram, YouTube, brumble. Please watch the content and help us through donations. Wilmer Leon (00:59:49): My brother, my dear brother, lathe Maru, thank you so much for joining me today. Laith Marouf (00:59:54): Thank you for having me. Wilmer Leon (00:59:56): Look forward to having you back. Folks. Thank you all so much for listening to the Connecting the Dots podcast with me, Dr. Wimer Leon. Stay tuned for new episodes every week. Also, please follow and subscribe. Please leave a review, share the show, and you can follow us on social media. You'll find all the links below to the show description, contribute to this effort if you can. Nothing is too small and we know nothing is too large. We greatly, greatly appreciate the contributions that are helping to keep this program on the air. Remember, this is where the analysis of politics, culture, and history converge because talk without analysis is just chatter, and we don't chatter here on connecting the dots. See you again next time. Until then, I'm Dr. Wilmer Leon. Have a great one. Peace. I'm out Announcer (01:00:59): Connecting the dots with Dr. Wilmer Leon, where the analysis of politics, culture, and history converge.
Show Notes and Transcript A warm welcome for the return of Anni Cyrus, host of "Live Up to Freedom" to provide a detailed analysis of Iran's history and its impact on the Middle East. She traces Iran's journey from Zoroastrianism to the Islamic Revolution of 1979, highlighting the societal changes and challenges faced under the Islamic regime. Anni explores Iran's relationships with neighbouring countries like Saudi Arabia and Turkey, shedding light on power struggles and religious divisions in the region. She also discusses Iran's media censorship, political landscape, and foreign policy towards Israel, emphasizing the use of proxies for influence. We end with reflections on the possibilities for change in Iran and its implications for regional stability. Aynaz “Anni” Cyrus is the founder of ‘Live Up To Freedom', she was born in 1983 into an Islamic family in Iran, after the Islamic Revolution removed the Shah and turned the “mini-America” of the Middle East into an Islamic tyranny. Given no choice, Aynaz was labeled as a Muslim by birth. Under Sharia (Islamic Law) she grew up under total Islamic dominance by her father, a Sheikh, and her mother, a Quran teacher. At age nine, Aynaz rejected Islam completely in her heart and mind. It happened on her 9th birthday when the Islamic state, in a public ceremony, declared the absurdity that she would be, from that day forward by law, an adult woman. Over the next six years, Aynaz suffered terrible, but legal by Islamic Law, abuses and punishments at the hands of many Islamic males of Iran. After being forcibly sold by her own father into an extremely violent marriage, Aynaz desperately sought escape from her hell as a child bride. Even after being visibly battered one last time, the Islamic courts denied her a divorce from the man who was clearly bound to beat her to death. So at age 15, facing death by one way or the other, Aynaz got herself smuggled out of Iran, to save her own life. Knowing nothing of the life of freedom for women and girls outside of Iran or Islam, she ran into what she calls “The Unknown.” But her running was a crime, for which, to this day, she stands condemned to death by stoning under Sharia. Aynaz then gained asylum in Turkey through the United Nations. But, as an unaccompanied minor, she was obligated to wait three more years. Finally, at age 18 her petition to become an American citizen was approved. After a further delay following 9/11, Anyaz was allowed entry into the United States on August 8, 2002. She became a naturalized and proud American citizen in 2010. Since 2011, Aynaz has produced the popular Internet video series, “The Glazov Gang”, hosted by renowned author in the counter-jihad movement, Dr. Jamie Glazov. Aynaz also appears in many of the show's hundreds of segments. Years of her media appearances are found in public speaking venues, interviews, videos, and articles, published in affiliation with The David Horowitz Freedom Center, Jihad Watch, Breitbart, American Thinker, Worldview Weekend, and American Truth Project, to mention a few. Connect with Anni….. WEBSITE liveuptofreedom.com GETTR: gettr.com/user/AnniCyrus X x.com/LiveUpToFreedom INSTAGRAM instagram.com/aynazcyrus TELEGRAM t.me/Liveuptofreedom Interview recorded 19.4.24 Connect with Hearts of Oak... WEBSITE heartsofoak.org PODCASTS heartsofoak.podbean.com SOCIAL MEDIA heartsofoak.org/connect SHOP heartsofoak.org/shop *Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast. Check out his art theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com and follow him on X twitter.com/TheBoschFawstin Transcript (Hearts of Oak) And I'm delighted to have Anni Cyrus back with us again. Anni, thank you so much for your time today. (Anni Cyrus) Absolutely. My pleasure. It's been a while. It has. That's exactly what I was thinking. It has been a while. And current events bring us together with the madness and chaos over in the Middle East. And who better, I thought, than asking on is Anni Cyrus. But first, people can find you @LiveUpToFreedom. Tell us about your show. Just give people, give the viewers, if they don't follow you, give them a taster of what they can find and what you put out. Absolutely. So Live Up to Freedom, which is also the name of my show, we produce two shows a week at the moment, hoping to somehow get to five days a week. But the majority of information that is produced on Live Up to Freedom is related to Middle East, Islamization, Sharia, and the dangers of red-green axis. 90% of the time, this is the type of educational programming. I mean, I don't force my opinion, but I will give you evidence from the Quran, from the Sira, from the Sura, every single one evidence coming from their own word, proving the fact that the possibility of us coexisting, not really possible. I'm with you 100%. And I do want your opinion, full force. So, yeah, I'm looking forward to getting your thoughts. But maybe I can ask you, we have watched what has happened with Israel, obviously, and then watched what has happened with Iran responding. Most of the viewers, whether they're US-based or UK-based, have zero concept of how Iran fits in the Middle East. They may have an understanding of, if they know history, of the Persian Empire. So it is a history that stretches back thousands of years. But today, few people in the West have an idea, I guess, of how Iran fits in. But obviously, you're Iranian-born. You live in the States at the moment. Maybe just touch on that about Iran and how it fits in with that, I guess, illustrious history over the thousands of years? How does Iran kind of fit in to the Middle East jigsaw? Sure. So let me start from here. Since you brought up the Persian Empire, let me just set the record straight about Persians versus Persian Empire. There's this thing going on lately that Persians don't exist because Persia doesn't exist. I want to make it very clear. Iran, as you know it today, is what was of Persia. So by nationality, we are Iranians. By race, we are Persians. Why is this important? Because there's a difference between nationality and race. And that's where actually we get all confused between racism, if you're criticized Islam, because a lot of nations now carry Islam. If you say something against Islam, they're racism Islam. Their race could be Persian, could be Indian, could be Arab. Now, Arab race has a breakdown. Again, Syrian Arabs have their own DNA. Saudi Arabian Arabs have their own DNA. However, there's one group of Arabs that don't have DNA, Peter, and that is Palestinians. The reason it's important to say we're Persians, nationality Iranian, is because we can make the point of there is no such a race as Palestinians. If you would do a DNA test on anyone in Palestine claiming to be Palestinian, you would find the DNAs of Syrian Arabs. You would find Iraqi Arabs. You would find even Egyptian blood. But you wouldn't find a Palestinian race blood because it doesn't exist. Now, I'm going to pull a leftist here and say, if you're willing to call them Palestinian by race, well, I identify as a Persian, so you're going to call me a Persian. That being said, Persian Empire down to a smaller size, down to a smaller size to today, which is a tiny bit of Islamic Republic of Iran, has always been the heart of Middle East. Literally the heart. Depending on how Iran beats, Middle East operates. That's why it's the heart. You go back, we're not going to even go 2,700 years ago. Let's not do that. We could. Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, freed the Jews in Babylon, told them you're free, and there you go. Temple Mount is there. That's how much Persia or Iran has been the heart. But recent, 45 years ago, 47, 50 years ago, when Iran was under the kingdom of Shah Pahlavi, you look at Middle East, there was peace. Prosperity, lots and lots of import and export financially, economy of Middle East was in good shape. Every neighbour country was also in good shape as far as culture, freedom, education goes. Islamic regime took over in a matter of 45 years. Not only Iran itself with all the resources Iran has, and I'm just going to name a few. Iran is number one land of making saffron. We have the second top quality pistachio. I'm not going to even go into the oil industry because everybody's aware of that. And then considering between Afghanistan and Iran, you have the two only countries producing opium. Well, I know some people misuse it, but it still is important material we need. So with all the resources, Iranian people, more than 82% are living life under the line of poverty by international standards. Same thing with the neighbours. You got the Turkey, you got Pakistan, you got Afghanistan, Azerbaijan. That is how much Iran's operation has affected not only Middle East, but over here with Western countries. I hope that answered the question. Oh, it does. I want to go back because we look at Islamic connection with Iran. But if you go, I mean, long time prior to the Islamic revolution in, it was 79, you've got from different breakups of the kingdom. And before that, you had from, I think, from the 20s, the Iranian state. So Islam was not in it. Tell us kind of how Iran kind of fits into that, where it's now known as the Islamic Republic of Iran. But before that, Islam wasn't in the name. Does that mean Islam was not part of the culture? Sure. Yes. So if we go back way back, way back, about 2,700 years ago, all the way to about 1,800 years ago, that period of time, majority of Iranians were known as Zoroastrians. There were some other atheists, there were Jews, there were Christians, all that. But then the Battle of Mohammed started 1,400 years ago. Now, what was the Battle of Muhammad? Muhammad started from Mecca, then went to Medina, then conquered Saudi Arabia. Now, who was the competition? Who was the biggest challenge? Persian Empire. Persia was standing up. They even sent messengers to the king of that time saying, have your people convert to Islam and we'll leave you alone. The king was like, no, we're good. We're not going to force anybody. So the very first time, the very first attack of Islamic attack, which in history books, you read them as Arab attacks. Yes, there were Saudi Arabians, but the attack wasn't about race. It had nothing to do with land versus land or people versus people. It was Mohammed continuing to conquer of Islamization to basically, you know, the global caliphate, which then global was just that area. The first attack happened. They couldn't conquer. The second one couldn't conquer on and on and on and on for a long time. In meantime, some of the Iranians or Persians decided to convert by choice, by choice, until one of the Iranians who by choice converted decided to become a traitor and basically start cooperating with the Arabs. That was the first time I want to say about probably 800, 700 years ago is when the first time of conquering people of Persia happened. A lot of Zoroastrians escaped. They went to India. That's why you see somewhat the biggest population of Zoroastrians are found in India. They took refuge in India. Some converted, some were killed, some became dhimmis and gradually either converted or died and fast forward all the way to almost, I want to say, 90, 92 years ago, when one of the kingdoms of Iran on the Qajar, or you guys pronounce it Qajar dynasty, they actually ruled under Islam. The king in the kingdom decided we will rule under, the full hijab came to the country. The full mosque building started. And then Pahlavi dynasty returned that. They didn't get rid of Islam, but they did return the country into America, freedom of religion. If you want to be a Muslim, be a Muslim. If you want to be Christian, be a Christian, anything. Until the first king, Pahlavi, decided to actually ban Sharia in Iran. Nobody was allowed to wear hijab, mosques were shut down. And surprise, surprise, England and France got involved and told him that you're going to lose power if you don't give them their freedom back. So the decision was the father will step down, the son will take over. And they will allow Sharia to continue. On top of that, they will allow one representative of Islam or Muslim community of Iran to step into Congress. The rest is history. Literally 20 years later, Islamic revolution happened and it has never gone back. But it's not just Iran, I guess, has a history. Think Egypt having a long history. Lebanon, I know, reading the Bible and you hear about the cedars of Lebanon. And then you think of Saudi Arabia and you think of the House of Saud. But a long time before that, there were different emirates in that area. And some of those countries have been artificially created, maybe like Jordan. But other countries actually have got a history of thousands of years. How does that work? Because as a Brit, I think of Europe and the struggle with the nations in Europe for dominance with France, Spain, with the UK. What is that kind of struggle like in the Middle East with those countries that have a long history? Well, another country we can name is Afghanistan. If you look, Afghanistan is a pretty recent conqueror of Islamization. Right around 1979 when Iran was conquered, very shortly before that, Afghanistan was conquered. Afghanistan has a long history of battling back and forth and by the way I sometimes feel like people of Afghanistan are not getting the credit they deserve they have such a long and pure history, cultural music involved in art involved they have some of the most unique musical instrument you find out there that is now westernized and used but nobody knows because everybody thinks Afghanistan was, you know, Islamic country from day one, and Afghans were all Muslim. That is not what it is. Now, that battle, with Saudi Arabia, you need to realize when Mohammed, you know, came up and said, I am the prophet, the majority of people in Saudi Arabia were. I can't pronounce the English, when you believe in more than one god, polygamous? Is that the word? Polytheism? There you go, polytheism. So with Saudi Arabia, there is a much deeper root of Islam. It was literally the first introduced religion that unified the country. It did, or nation. But the rest of Middle Eastern countries those who are not as you said artificial those that existed they were none of them has any roots, none of them, that's the thing sometimes we have this saying in Middle East is like, oh you're just a Muslim born, meaning you're not really Muslim and I'm like, that doesn't exist, it doesn't because nobody the root, except of Saudi Arabia, there is no other race or nation that was the start. So that the struggle for every single Middle Eastern country back and forth between this. Now, again, I even during the Pahlavi kingdom, Peter, nobody minded Muslims. Nobody did because it wasn't the constitution. You wanted to be a Muslim, be a Muslim. But then on the other end of the city, you would find, you know, restaurants and bars and concerts. And women with short skirts. The struggle in Middle East even as recent as two years ago in Afghanistan. It's the matter of literally forcing this Islam into the country rather than allowing it, which is one of my main arguments. if this religion is such a religion of peace, why is it that wherever it goes it's forced, feared, blood involved. If it's so peaceful why can't they get people to convert on their own, but rather have to force them to do it. So that has been the struggle of last literally 1400 years. Today, you find people from Saudi Arabia who reject Sharia. They don't want their constitution to be Sharia anymore. Now, do we have Sharia-based constitution in Western countries? No. But are many of them already living life under Sharia? I would say, for example, London is a great city to name. I have not been to London because they won't let me come to England. But the last time I left London was January of 2011. And sometimes when I look at some of the videos or live feeds coming from London, like that's not where I was. That's not what I remember of London. So not to make it even longer than I did, if Western countries don't realize that there needs to be an absolute cap and limitation, the struggle of Middle East will start coming here, where you constantly have the battle of Islamization, de-Islamization, Islamization, de-Islamization, and gradually the culture will disappear. I hate to say it, when I look at my fellow Iranians today, there isn't much of Persian culture left anymore. it's something of a confused Arab versus Persian, versus Sharia, versus Western. It's a very mixed up where, sadly, you can't really pinpoint anything left of that land or country or culture and behaviour of the people. Half of the Farsi they speak, I don't even understand. I'm like, what is that? Any of the leaders, they started talking. I'm like, okay, you're not a speaking Farsi. It's full on Arabic at this point. Tell me, when I talk, and I want to get up to the current day where we are, but I'm curious because I talk to a lot of my African friends, especially in church, and you realize that African nations are tribal-based and there is more allegiance to the tribe than there is to the nation. We look at Nigeria and it's completely separated on tribal lines. What is it like for a country like Iran? Iran is a large country, nearly 90 million, so it has influence in that regard. How does it work when people call themselves Iranian or me? How has it worked prior to the Islamic Revolution in 1979? Where is that kind of identity and connection for Iranians who lived there prior to the revolution? That's actually an interesting question. One of the top things I did a few years ago, one of the things I mentioned about Iran that many people are not aware of is the majority of Iranians are actually bilingual by about age 9 or 10. Because Iran, as of today still, it has, if you look at the map, the south versus northeast versus west. They are tribes, not the African style of tribe, but they do have their own tribes where you have the Kurds who are still within their own culture. Their customs are still the old school, traditional Kurdish. They speak the Kurdish language at home and then they speak the Farsi language, which is the country's language. And then you have the Turks in Tabriz and some of those areas. Again, the food and the music and the language is the Turkish. And again, this is because you shrunk this huge empire down into the small size of the country. A lot of tribes are still in there. You have the Fars, literally, who are the pure Persians, the only non-bilingual people of Iran who only speak Farsi, have the traditional customs of Persia, the way they do their Norse versus the rest of the provinces. Says it's different however somehow for some reason it has always been united regardless of who's from which side or which background, doesn't matter if you're the Arab of the south or if you're the Kurd or you're the Turk or you're the Fars it has always been united until the Islamic revolution, where the country became divided based on Muslims versus non-Muslims. And when I say non-Muslim, Peter, I don't mean Christian or Jew. No, I mean non-Muslims in eyes of the government. Those like Mahsa Amini, who don't wear the proper hijab. Those who don't do the prayer the right way. Those who wear the makeup. Those who have boyfriend or girlfriends, which is against Sharia. Those are the secondary group of people. Tell me about when you think 45 years ago, the revolution, what does that mean for freedom within the country? I know it's claimed to be 99% Muslim, but not just religious, but general freedom within the country. What is it like to live in the current, I guess regime or government in Iran? I'm so glad you asked that I was having a discussion with a friend of mine literally yesterday about this, that it has come to a point where the the lack of freedom isn't, isn't just about your, what you say or what you wear or what you eat anymore. The lack of freedom has gotten to a point where a majority of Iranians, especially the younger generation have lost absolute motivation, that the answer always is, well, so what? Like, why don't you go get a job? It's like, then what? Why don't you go to school? Do what with it? You literally have Uber drivers it's not Uber, it's called a snap I think in Iran, when they pick you up snap, you sit in the car and by the way for those of you, yes I have not been back to Iran but I do have people who are in Iran or just came back from Iran so the information comes from there, now I'm not smuggling myself back. You start talking to the driver and he will tell you that he holds a darn PhD, Peter, but there's no job for him, either because he doesn't belong to IRGC or SEPA or this group of Islam or that group of Islam, or it's the fact that somewhere somehow when he was younger, got arrested and has some sort of morality police stamp on his resume. So he won't be hired or it's the matter of, he is not a Muslim. He's a Baha'i. He can't admit he's a Baha'i. They're going to kill him, so he'd rather drive his own taxi than go get killed. It's just literally there is zero motivation to do anything with your life because one way or another, you'll be blocked by this regime. Genuinely, they wake up in the morning, change their mind about the latest law, and there's nothing to stop them. There is nothing that could stop them from changing the laws every hour. Every house supreme leader can literally wake up this morning and say colour red is forbidden for women, I dare you wear red, They will arrest you. They will probably put you in detention centre. They will drag you to Sharia court and then probably, I don't know, lash you a couple of lashes and you home. Make an example out of you. Nobody else can avoid a wreck. Now, I'm making this up as an example, but to that, the small detail of life is being controlled. Tell us how, within the country, what does it mean for the media? What does it mean for, I mean, some countries like Dubai want to be outward. Focused but still want to be Islamic where other countries like Saudi it's maybe less, so it's wanting to have that pure Islam and there is a less focus on being outward looking, when you think of Iran you think of something which is a closed box because of the devotion to Islam and that cuts off the West so what does that mean within, for education, for media? Okay, so we need to explain something before we even answer that question. By we, I mean me. I identify as... Media in Iran. There is no... private or alternative media. There's just one type of media, which is owned by government, ran by government, approved by government, everything government. There are, I believe six channels of cable, only six. One is dedicated to news. One is dedicated to sports. And the other three, one is dedicated to religion actually. Most of the time, it's like some Mullah sitting there dissecting and fat buzz and Corona and stuff. And then there are two, that is a combination movies, TV series, commercial news, a little bit, things like that. Now, why am I breaking it down is because it is so extremely controlled that it's only six, Only six. For example, the sport channel, you'll never find any kind of female competition inside or outside of Iran out there. You just don't. They cover all of the European leagues, right? The soccer leagues. And you literally see that if they pass by a female audience in a stadium who is wearing makeup or open hair, you literally see them blurred out and then you come back to zoom back in. To that extent what is being aired inside the country's control You can make a movie in Iran, but before you make a movie you got to take your script and your crew names to this department that's going to read the script, either approve it or tweak it then approve it or reject it, if you get approved on your script then you go make the movie, but before you air the movie Peter they will watch how you make this script. If they find one scene, just one scene that they don't like, they'll have you go either redo it, edit it, come back again. A movie can take seven years to be released or two minutes to be rejected. Doesn't matter how much you spend on your movie. It's done. Won't never come out. So that's the internal. Now, they have one, Tenseem is the name of it. I actually report from it a lot. They have one, let's say, kind of like an article or text formatting website that is tied to the regime. And then they have their own Islamic Republic of Iran's broadcasting website. Those are the ones that are being fed propaganda and lies to be published because we outside have access to that. We read that where it makes it look like the country is flawless and people are super happy and the elections are going fantastic, that is the one for external use that is mainly filled with propaganda And how does politics work? How does, are there elections, were there elections before, how does that work in the country? Yes there are, there are selections. There are selection election however it's in your best interest to show up for this election, because one they can create a lot of propaganda video and put it out, number two, now in Iran when you vote they actually stamp like you use your index on a stamp and they you put it on your birth certificate which Iranian birth certificates are like a lot of booklets, now if you have that a printer means you voted. And for example, at the end of the year, when they're giving away coupon for chicken or egg or oil or whatever it is, if you have that fingerprint, you get your coupon. If you don't, well, good luck, go buy it out of your own pocket. So it's a selection coordinated to look like an election. And if you don't show up, well, there are consequences. [Hmm tell me how it, is the focus with Iran with the leadership, is it for dominance within the region and then you're clashing with the other Islamic nations or is it with the destruction of Israel because Iran and Israel don't border, think isn't Iraq between them if I my middle eastern geography is bad so feel free to correct me, but how does it fit in, what is the goal? Is it regional stability and power within the region, or is it focused on hatred towards Israel? Can I go with all of the above? Is that an option? Internally, the regime or the mullahs, internally, main focus is to re-establish a stability. Because literally from 2009 and the Green Movement, on and on and on, they have lost that stability. Every time there's an uprising, it's becoming a stronger, longer, stronger, more planned. So they're trying to gain that stability they had for the first, I don't know, 27 years of their power. That's number one internally. Now, how do they gain that is by creating some sort of dilemma or war for the people of Iran to stand down because they're, at the end of the day, if you look at the history of Iran-Iraq war for eight years, eight years, people of Iran fought. And I can tell you, I have heard directly from the soldiers or from children of those soldiers that they have always said, we didn't fight for the mullahs. We fought for our country. Okay. So with that, if there is a war going on, even if it's a small, even if it's not a major, it doesn't have to be an eight years war, but the regime can reestablish that stability inside. They do have hatred for Israel. I repeat, when Khomeini arrived in Tehran in 1979, he was driven from the plane airport to the biggest and most, I don't know why it's famous, but famous cemetery in Tehran. They put a chair, he sat on it, and he started talking. The very first thing that came out of his mouth was, let the plan begin. We're going to take down the great Satan and wipe Israel off the map. Now, 47 years ago, they already said what they're planning to do. So that's that. They want to wipe Israel off the map. Is it mainly religious beliefs? Yes. But also, it's the fact that they know that as long as Israel exists, Iran will not be able, in any shape or form, or the government of Iran, rest easy knowing they have the land forever. But you've got a, I mean, you could have countries coming together with a focus on a common enemy, which is Israel for everyone. But then you've got, you've got obviously Lebanon and Syria basically failed states, but then you've got Turkey and Saudi and Egypt and the Emirate, Dubai wanting to assert themselves. So is there no coming together against a common enemy? Because Iran seems to be very much still out in the cold in regards to relations with other nations around it. That's a good question. I highly doubt that Iran and Saudi Arabia would ever come together. Again, going back to 1400 years ago, this battle didn't start yesterday and it's not going to end tomorrow. That Saudi Arabia versus Iran, or better yet, Arabs versus Persians war, a battle has been going on for a long time. And is Saudi Arabia targeting Israel enough to put themselves in this scenario? I doubt it. As far as Turkey is concerned, right now, Erdogan is doing a lot of talking. But remember, Erdogan needs to be very careful because they don't want to be kicked out of EU. This much of the country is in Europe. The rest is in Middle East. They worked so hard to squeeze themselves into EU. He's going to have to be very careful because he won't have the allies he has today. If he's kicked back into full on Middle East, that's when Iran is going to come after him. Iran and Turkey on paper, it might seem all good, but Iran and Turkey don't get along either. All the way from the Caliph of Sunnis until today, the Sunni versus Shia scenario has been going on between Turkey and Iran. So I know Erdogan does a lot of talking. I don't believe unless Russia gets involved, Turkey won't get involved. That's the only time Turkey will get involved because now Turkey has the approval of Russia to get involved and back Iran. So let me jump up to the present day. And if my research serves me correct, I don't think Iran has actually struck at Israel since the revolution. And this seems to be from what I've understood knowing little about Iranian politics but it seems to be the the first attack on Israel. Is that correct and how does what Iran have done, the attack on Israel, how does that change things in the region? You are correct. Yes since 79 until today there has never been a direct, a strike or attack from Iran toward Israel. But I go back to the fact that we need to acknowledge they are playing it this way, but we need to remember this attack directly was by IRGC. IRGC is Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. It is not Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Were they put together by Khomeini? Absolutely. Do they belong to the government of Iran? No, there are their own entity freely guarding all Islamic nations. That's why you have their children such as Hezbollah and Houthis and Hamas out there. That being said, I don't, this is not going to be pleasant to a lot of your audience, but I'll say it. Iran's strike or IRGC's strike or Israel's airstrike. Neither one of them were strikes. This just doesn't look like anybody's planning to do anything major. Both Iran and Israel have the military needs, means, sorry, wrong word. To do real damage if they wanted to, This whole, in Farsi, we laugh and say, you know, they knock at each other's door and run and hide. Seems like that's what they're doing. They send a couple of missiles, yeah, 300, lots of missiles and drones, but then they call and say, heads up, in about an hour, hour and a half, fix up your iron dome so we're about to arrive. When was the last time Hamas gave a heads up? Right? October 7th happened, catching everybody off guard. And they left a mark. You know what I mean? This Iran Saturday strike and this Israel striking back, which by the way, Iran is absolutely denying the existence of this attack back. And that's what you need to look at. Iran goes saying, okay, we attack, this is it. If you attack back, we're going to be in a split second, we're going to destroy Israel. Israel attack back and Iran denies it. It ignores it, never happened. Does that look like something is about to change in the Middle East? No. This is all tied back to Western countries. In America, we're in election year. We're in election year. Whatever happens over there can definitely help Biden over here. Europe is in pretty much a lot of chaos. The tests run up. Are they going to sit back and let us do whatever we want to do? Or are they going to dare try to rescue and get attacked in their own countries with our sleeper cells? That's all there is to this I'm not downplaying anything but I know both countries, I've heard and I've seen the capability of both ends, this doesn't look like something that's going to turn into world war three, that's not going to happen No you're right when I read the reports a day before, 100 rockets are going to be fired over and talking to people and they said seriously who gives their enemy that much notice and then the next day 100 came over to the number. So you've got that a show of strength and I get that as a show of strength, especially drones taking three to four hours and it shows you what you can do, but with Iran having so many proxies, I mean Hezbollah are a serious threat to the region and seemingly much more dangerous than Hamas are and they're embedded in Lebanon and Syria. How does that play and does Iran not just use a proxy like Hezbollah to attack Israel instead of firing over what, drones that take four hours? That's not a serious attack, but Hezbollah do seem to be serious. Yes, exactly. And that's where I put my thought process. I'm like, OK, you have Hezbollah and you have Hamas. And again, I go back to October 7. It shocked all of us. Not because we weren't expecting Hamas to be so barbaric. No, it was the fact that nobody called anybody to say, okay, so tomorrow at your music festival, we're coming. That's how you do serious damage. You have Hezbollah, you have Hamas. And I'll go back to what I've said many times, and I've been accused of many things. Israel is not going to take on Iran. You know why? Israel has what it takes to take on Hamas, and they never did. They haven't. I was looking on my Facebook page, and last year, this week, is exactly when this Hamas-Israeli situation was going on, and Biden was on the phone asking for a ceasefire, which Israel ended up doing the ceasefire. Every year. It's a pattern. It just happens. But for anybody to either get excited or get nervous that something's going to come out of this, no. Hezbollah is regrouping, yes. Israel is talking about possibly going into Lebanon, yes. Is any of this going to put an end to this back and forth? I highly doubt it. I do. In no shape or form is it in benefit of anyone involved with globalist groups or elite or deep state. None of whom have any interest in ending this conflict in Middle East. So it's not going to end one way or another, and it's not going to even start. Again, it's that time of the year where everybody needs to get a little dusty in Middle East, and then everybody's going to go home and next year we'll repeat. That's just the way things go. Unfortunately, as much as I wish somebody would finally put their foot down and say enough is enough, nobody's going to do that. They are just giving a break to Hamas for now. While Hezbollah is regrouping IRGC is doing a lot of manoeuvring, And that's it. Now, why is Israel not standing up? Well, that one is a question for Netanyahu. It's interesting watching because, obviously, Israel didn't deal with Hamas before. It's now been forced to deal with Hamas. And Israel are going to do what it takes. That's how it seems. And whatever force is needed for them to secure their security, they will go for. But I guess the Islamic nations have been happy for Hamas to be a thorn in the side and for the Palestinians to be a thorn in the side of Israel because that keeps Israel's defence spending high, it keeps their a threat level high, it keeps that fear, it's perfect to kind of keep Israel nervous and not let them kind of relax a constant state of war I guess. What does it mean if Hamas are removed to a degree? Does it then, do those nations around think, what's next? Does Hezbollah then have to come in and provide that? What does that mean for stability? Because it does seem the country has been happy to sit back and let Hamas do the, let's piss off Israel role. Well actually to emphasize on your point, Hamas and Palestinians were put there exactly for that purpose, now I brought this up a couple of times that we call, I don't, but Western countries you call them Palestinians but if you talk to them, talk to Rashida Talib, for example, and listen to their chants on the streets of UK, France, US, Canada, anywhere, you don't hear Palestine, you hear Philistine. It's Philistine. The enemies of Jews, Philistine. They were picked. This name wasn't specifically picked. Their location wasn't specifically picked. That's one of the reasons when it comes to the argument of Palestinians versus Israel or the Gaza border. I just opened this up. First of all, you don't find an Arab-speaking person who can say Palestine. Again, my mother tongue of Farsi was not Farsi. It's Parsi. Parsi, the language of the Pars people of Persia. It turned into Farsi because in Arabic language there is no character as P they don't say Pepsi they say Bepsi, how do you expect them to say Palestine, no we have turned that into Palestine so we hide the fact that they are the Philistinians the enemies of Jews, so they are put in place and named specifically for that reason. Now, if Israel for any reason would finally come to realize that let's just take him out once and for all, and yes, taking out Hamas is very much doable. And that way, they will force the hands of IRGC and Hezbollah of Lebanon to actually take action. That's when Israel will have what they need legally by international law to actually overthrow the regime of Iran. But they won't. Yeah, and with the Palestinian, we've had Robert Spencer on maybe a month or six weeks ago, and I enjoyed his Palestinian myth book. So 100% with you that it is a made-up terminology. Can I just finish off on Iran and you've been great at giving us a broad sweep I think to help us understand, because many of us are completely unaware of not only where the countries fit in together but where Iran fits in, but what does it mean for Iran and freedom because you want individuals to be able to choose where they live, how they live and to decide they don't want the constant state of tension with their neighbours. What does it mean for Iran going forward? Is there a chance of a revolution in Iran from the people to overthrow the regime and have something which cares about people's rights and freedoms? Or do you not have any great hope for that happening in the near future? This might come as a surprise if... Lord willing, comes November, and we get President Trump back in the office. Within months, there will be an uprising in Iran. The last two times people of Iran tried, unfortunately, once was during Hussein Obama, once was Biden, they couldn't get the help they needed. They couldn't get the Biden regime or Obama regime to put sanctions and pressure on the regime. So they ended up losing a lot of lives, either by being killed or being imprisoned and tortured daily. So they went home. I know for a fact, if President Trump is back in office, people of Iran will try again. Will they be successful? That's when the Israeli government comes to picture. Again, Iran by itself, people of Iran, first of all, remember, they don't have a Second Amendment. Not only that, there are no illegal guns to be bought either. The borders are extremely protected in Iran. You can't even smuggle them into the country. So they're always empty handed. Secondly, the very first thing that happened is the regime cut down, cuts off the internet access to the people, which adds the agony of now what? How do we get the message out? How do we get the people to put pressure on the government? So Israel and America's government play a huge role of what will happen internally in Islamic Republic of Iran next. We need all these sanctions back. We need a lot of economic pressure back on Iran, and we need Israel to keep pushing back. Then people of Iran will have what it takes to finally overthrow these people. Am I hopeful? Always. There's always hope. As Robert Spencer said, it's not over until it's over, and it's not over yet.
This graphic memoir (ahem) This collection of comics chronicles the life of an Iranian girl named Marji, whose experiences are heavily based on those of author Marjane Satrapi. Satrapi lived through the Islamic Revolution in Iran and its authoritarian aftermath, and her story is one of resistance, education, and the difficulty of finding yourself amidst societal upheaval. Note: our discussion is based on reading the Complete Persepolis, which combines Volume 1: The Story of a Childhood with Volume 2: The Story of a Return.This episode is sponsored by Squarespace. Go to squarespace.com/overdue for 10% of your first purchase of a website or domain.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.Follow @overduepod on Instagram and BlueskyAdvertise on OverdueSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Iran's attack on Israel. On Saturday, Iran launched 170 drones, 120 ballistic missiles, and 30 cruise missiles toward Israel. Iran had been promising the attack for two weeks since Israel's bombing of an Iranian consulate building in Syria that killed seven members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including two generals. Despite years of Iran's proxies attacking Israel in a wide-reaching shadow war, Iran had never launched a direct attack on Israel until this weekend's missile launches. The two former allies have been living with deep tensions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. You can read our most recent coverage of the war in Gaza here and here. You can read today's podcast here, our “Under the Radar” story here and today's “Have a nice day” story here. Watch our latest YouTube video, an interview with Edwin Raymond. He is a recently retired NYPD lieutenant, civil-rights activist and author of the riveting new memoir An Inconvenient Cop: My Fight to Change Policing in America. You can view it here. Catch up on Episode 1 of our first ever limited podcast series, The Undecideds, before the next one comes out. We're following five voters — all Tangle readers — who are undecided about who they are going to vote for in the 2024 election. In Episode 1, we introduce you to those voters. Today's clickables: Correction and notes (0:53), Quick hits (5:41), Today's story (7:53), Right's take (10:42), Left's take (14:50), Isaac's take (18:43), Listener question (23:28), Under the Radar (27:57), Numbers (28:51), Have a nice day (29:57) You can subscribe to Tangle by clicking here or drop something in our tip jar by clicking here. Our general admission tickets are now sold out; but we still have some VIP seats left for purchase to our New York City event on April 17th. Get them here. Tangle is looking for a part-time intern to work as an assistant to our YouTube and podcast producer. This is a part-time, paid position that would be ideal for a college student or recent college graduate looking to get real-world deadline experience in the industry. Applicants should have: Proficiency in Adobe Premiere — After Effects a plus. Minimum of one year of video editing (Adobe Premiere) Minimum of one year of audio editing and mixing (Any DAW) Good organizational and communication skills Understanding of composition and aesthetic choices Self-sufficiency in solving technical problems Proficiency in color grading and vertical video formatting (preferred, not required) To apply, email your resume and a few paragraphs about why you are applying to jon@readtangle.com and isaac@readtangle.com with the subject line "Editor opening" The job listing is posted here. Preference will be given to candidates in the greater Philadelphia area. What do you think should be the response to Iran's strike on Israel? Let us know! Our podcast is written by Isaac Saul and edited and engineered by Jon Lall. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet 75. Our newsletter is edited by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, Will Kaback, Bailey Saul, Sean Brady, and produced in conjunction with Tangle's social media manager Magdalena Bokowa, who also created our logo. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tanglenews/message
RAF typhoons flew over the skies of the Middle East to help protect Israel on Saturday night after Iran launched a direct attack on the country for the first time since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. The UK was one of several countries, including the US, which helped counter Iran's attack.Today's Nick Robinson speaks to Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron.
Kate Adie presents dispatches from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, the United States, Croatia and France.The brutality of Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army once made headlines around the world, as #Kony2012 became a global social media cause. While the world soon moved on, the forgotten victims of LRA violence living in the Democratic Republic of Congo are still trying to heal. Hugh Kinsella Cunningham reports from Haut-Uele province.The Islamic Revolution in Iran put an end to a once thriving cabaret culture and music scene. But over the years, people have still found ways to party - albeit underground and out of sight of the religious police. Among them was Faranak Amidi, who's met some of Iran's women DJs, who dream of playing to clubbers all over the world.A controversial court ruling in Alabama has divided Christian conservatives on the issue of reproductive rights, as the state's supreme court ruled that frozen embryos should be considered as children. Nomia Iqbal reports on the schism that has emerged between pro-life Republicans.Rab Island off the north coast of Croatia was once home to a lesser-known Italian concentration camp, where some 4,000 people were killed during World War Two. Mary Novakovich visited the island, where she met a woman who began her life in one of the camps.And our Paris Correspondent Hugh Schofield takes on the challenge of running the city's half-marathon - with some welcome assistance from The Rolling Stones.Producer: Serena Tarling Production coordinator: Katie Morrison Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
Iran – America's arch-enemy and the Middle East's malign “mini-Imperial power” – fans conflicts from Ukraine to Israel to Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon, and is said to be only weeks away from developing a nuclear weapon. But the Islamic Revolution is under sustained attack from within, under the banner of ‘Woman, Life, Freedom'. Can Iran maintain its hardline power in the Muslim world? What do its second- and third-generation revolutionaries want? And can the West contain them? Gavin Esler talks to Arash Azizi, author of What Iranians Want, and Barbara Slavin, author of Bitter Friends, Bosom Enemies, to explore the basis of Iranian power – and how Donald Trump wrecked what trust there was between the US and Iran. • “Iran is now more of a military regime than a theocracy… The Revolutionary Guard and Khameini's family are calling the shots.” – Barbara Slavin • “It's not about religion any more. It's about a bunch of goons who are willing to rule over your life in any way they want.” – Arash Azizi • “Iran today is internationally isolated and economically destroyed… The Islamic Republic has taken our country hostage and made it a foreign policy tool for an ideology.” – Arash Azizi • “Trump not only destroyed any basis of trust between the US and Iran, he destroyed confidence in the US as being a state that lives up to its commitments.” – Barbara Slavin Buy these and others books through our affiliate bookshop and you'll help fund This Is Not A Drill by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org's fees help support independent bookshops too. Support This Is Not A Drill on Patreon to get early episodes, merchandise and more. Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In this hybrid political thriller and verité portrait documentary, A REVOLUTION ON CANVAS, Sara Nodjoumi, working with co-director and husband, Till Schauder, makes her directorial debut with this personal film, diving into the mystery surrounding the disappearance of more than 100 "treasonous" paintings by her father, seminal Iranian modern artist Nickzad Nodjoumi. The film follows Sara Nodjoumi as she traces a timeline of events, discovering her father's ongoing activism, his complicated relationship with her mother, artist Nahid Hagigat, and how the implications of his incendiary art impacted the trajectory of their family's future together. In 1980, Nickzad Nodjoumi (more commonly known as Nicky Nodjoumi) fled Iran in the wake of the Islamic Revolution. With his life in danger due to the controversial nature of his paintings on show at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, he joined his wife, Nahid, and daughter, Sara, in New York City, restlessly living in exile and continuing to paint. 40 years later, Sara begins an investigation to track down and reclaim her father's lost artwork from Tehran. As the investigation deepens, she unearths the emotionally charged story of her family mirrored in the political and cultural upheavals of her parents' homeland. Having participated in the pro-democracy movement to oust the Shah of Iran in the 1970s, Nicky's hope for a new Iran crumbled with the ascendance of an authoritarian regime. His provocative paintings, now depicting the new Islamic power brokers, were quickly seized, and rumored to be destroyed by radical Islamists or stowed away in the basement of the museum. As new protests ignite the streets of Iran in 2022, Sara and Nicky contact former workers at the museum determined to find someone on the ground in Tehran who can help locate the paintings but are stymied in their efforts until a contact in Tehran unexpectedly gains access to the museum's unseen basement and archival collection. Co-producers and co-directors Sara Nodjoumi and Till Schauder join us for a conversation on Sara's deeply personal inquiry into her family and the central events of her parents' life, paying tribute to their art while unveiling the complexity and longing that comes with living in exile from one's ancestral home. For more go to: hbo.com/movies/a-revolution-on-canvas
A series of protests escalated into a full-blown revolution in Iran and became a turning point in the history of the Middle East. On February 11, 1979, the rule of the US-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ended, the Iranian monarchy was overthrown, and the country has since been referred to as the Islamic Republic of Iran. In the decades since, Iran has become a major player in the region, either through direct involvement in conflicts or through supporting or forging alliances with militant groups in Lebanon, Iraq and other countries. And to this day, Iran-linked or supported groups remain influential players – in the Israel-Gaza war, for example, helping to widen the conflict to other Arab countries. In this week's episode of Beyond the Headlines, on the 45th anniversary of those seismic events, host Nada AlTaher reflects on the 1979 Iranian Revolution, exploring the complex legacy it left, and looking at its influence on today's geopolitical tensions.
On Sunday, Iran celebrated the 45th anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. That same day, the former head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization boasted about Iran's nuclear program which caused many to wonder, “Does Iran have all the pieces for a nuclear weapon?” During Episode 33 of the Blessors of Israel Podcast, Dr. Matthew Dodd addresses this disturbing development in Iran along with its biblical significance. Visit the Blessors of Israel Website: https://www.blessors.org/ Thank you for supporting Blessors of Israel. Donate Online: https://blessors.org/donate/ Please Subscribe and Like our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUfbl_rf8O_uwKrfzCh04jg Subscribe to our Spotify Channel: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blessorsofisrael Subscribe to our Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blessors-of-israel/id1699662615 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlessorsofIsrael/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/BlessorsI Gettr: https://gettr.com/i/blessorsofisrael Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-1670015 Thank you for watching. Please like and share this video. We would love to hear your comments. Those who bless Israel will be blessed (Genesis 12:3). Pastor Rich Jones Pastor Matthew Dodd Dr. Matthew Dodd Rich Jones Blessors of Israel Matthew Dodd Blessors of Israel Blessors of Israel Blessers of Israel Tags: Pastor Rich Jones Pastor Matthew Dodd Rich Jones Dr. Matthew Dodd Rich Jones, Blessors of Israel, Rich Jones, Blessers of Israel, Matthew Dodd, Blessors of Israel, Matthew Dodd, Blessers of Israel, Blessers of Israel, Blessors of Israel, Two-State Solution, Palestine, Modern Palestinian Problem, Israel, Jesus Christ, Roman Empire, Anti-Semitism, Iran, Battle of Gog and Magog, Persia
The Rt Revd Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani is the Bishop of Chelmsford. She also sits in Parliament as a Lord Spiritual and last year she played a prominent role in the Coronation, administering Holy Communion to the King and Queen. She was born in Isfahan, central Iran, the youngest of four children to Hassan Dehqani-Tafti, the first ethnic Iranian Anglican Bishop of his country, and his wife Margaret. In 1980, in the wake of the Islamic Revolution, her family were targeted and forced to leave the country. She arrived in the UK aged 13 as a refugee. Four decades on, Guli has yet to set foot on Iranian soil.She was ordained as a deacon in 1998 and a priest the following year. She was consecrated a bishop in November 2017, making her the first woman from a minority ethnic background to be ordained as an Anglican bishop in the UK.She is the lead Bishop for Housing for the Church of England and is a contributor to BBC Radio 4s Thought for the Day. She is married to Lee, who is a priest, and they have three children.DISC ONE: Requiem in D Minor, Op. 48: VI. Libera me. Composed by Gabriel Fauré and performed by Stephen Varcoe (baritone), The Cambridge Singers, conducted by John Rutter DISC TWO: Morgh-e Sahar - Homayoun Shajarian and Dastan Ensemble DISC THREE: Ride on Time - Black Box DISC FOUR: Miniatures for Piano Trio. Set 2: No. 4, Romance. Composed by Frank Bridge and performed by Alexander Chaushian and Ashley Wass DISC FIVE: Variations on Bahram's Melody. Composed by Bahram Dehqani-Tafti and performed by Gabriel Francis-Dehqani with Fiona Sweeney, Krystof Kohout and Will Harmer DISC SIX: Take me to Church - Sinead O'Connor DISC SEVEN: Sovereign Light Café - Keane DISC EIGHT: Mahi - Golnar Shahyar, Mahan Mirarab, (feat. Luis Guerra)BOOK CHOICE: The Book of Kings LUXURY ITEM: Photo albums CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Requiem in D Minor, Op. 48: VI. Libera me. Composed by Gabriel Fauré and performed by Stephen Varcoe (baritone), The Cambridge Singers, conducted by John Rutter Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley
Sisters Danielle and Galeet Dardashti grew up in a Jewish American family band: The Dardashti Family. They sang international folk music in 12 languages – English, Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, Greek, Spanish, French, Japanese and more – but never any songs in Persian. This seems odd to them since both their father and grandfather were famous Iranian singers during the “Golden Age” for Jews in Iran, before the Islamic Revolution. Danielle and Galeet make a discovery that takes them back in time, and helps them find answers to their questions about why their family left Iran and abandoned their Iranian identity. Co-creators / Co-executive producers - Danielle Dardashti and Galeet Dardashti Website: nightingaleofiran.com Presented by The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a publication of 70 Faces Media, and distributed by PRX. Host - Danielle Dardashti Writer / Director / Senior Producer - Danielle Dardashti Producer / Musical Director / Subject Matter Expert - Galeet Dardashti Audio Editors / Sound Designers - Rebecca Seidel and Zachary Goldberg Story Editor - Rider Alsop Story Consultant - Asal Ehsanipour Composer of Theme Song - Galeet Dardashti: “Melekh” from her album Monajat with Shanir Blumenkranz, Max ZT, Zafer Tawil, Philip Mayer For this episode, thank you to: Farid and Sheila Dardashti, Shahla Javdan, Homa Sarshar, Lili Keypour, Nahid Pirnazar Thank you to our sponsors: -Jewish Writers' Initiative Digital Storytellers Lab / Maimonides Fund -Common Era -Younes and Soraya Nazarian Family Foundation -The Himan Brown Charitable Trust -UCLA Mickey Katz Endowed Chair in Jewish Music Our fiscal sponsor is Be'chol Lashon.
Guest Bios Show Transcript https://youtu.be/RF-3TbX8fXAAs a Christian in Iran, Naghmeh Panahi was arrested numerous times—and once even had a gun pointed at her head. But as awful as that was, Naghmeh says she endured something far worse when she began speaking out about abuse from her husband. It was then that she faced persecution—not from radical Muslims, but from Christians. In this edition of The Roys Report, you're going to hear Julie's powerful interview at the Restore Conference with Naghmeh Panahi. Naghmeh was catapulted into the national spotlight in 2013, a year after her husband, Pastor Saeed Abedini, was imprisoned for his faith in Iran. With the help of Franklin Graham of Samaritan's Purse and Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice, Naghmeh launched the Save Saeed campaign. The campaign garnered worldwide attention. And it eventually led to Saeed's release in 2015. But during this time, Naghmeh learned that Saeed's violence, repeated insults, and spiritual manipulation were not just a sign of a bad marriage. It was abuse. Yet, when she spoke out about the abuse, the backlash from Christians was virulent and cruel. And the psychological and spiritual damage from that backlash was far worse than anything Naghmeh said she encountered in Iran. In this interview, Naghmeh talks candidly about the abuse and the Christian community's failure to stand with victims. But she also talks about the persecuted church—and how the Western Church's failure to care for the abused and broken is not a bug but a feature. Drawing from her book, aptly titled, I Didn't Survive: Emerging Whole After Deception, Persecution, and Hidden Abuse, Naghmeh's message is a prophetic witness to the American church—if we will listen in and take heed. In her talk, Naghmeh refers to recent books by Miriam Ibraheem and Lance Ford. Guests Naghmeh Panahi Naghmeh Panahi is an author, speaker, and Bible teacher. Naghmeh made national news when she publicly advocated for the release of her then-husband, Saeed Abedini, who was imprisoned in Iran for his Christian faith. Naghmeh's autobiography, I Didn't Survive: Emerging Whole After Deception, Persecution, and Hidden Abuse, is available now. Learn more at NaghmehPanahi.com. Show Transcript SPEAKERSNAGHMEH PANAHI, Julie Roys Julie Roys 00:04As a Christian in Iran, Naghmeh Panahi was arrested numerous times and once even had a gun pointed at her head. But as awful as that was Naghmeh says she endured something far worse when she began speaking out about abuse from her husband. It was then that she faced persecution, not from radical Muslims, but from Christians. Welcome to The Roys Report, a podcast dedicated to reporting the truth and restoring the church. I’m Julie Roys, and today you’re going to hear my powerful interview at the RESTORE conference with Naghmeh Panahi. Naghmeh was catapulted into the national spotlight when her husband, Pastor Saeed Abedini, was imprisoned for his faith in Iran. And with the help of Franklin Graham of Samaritan’s Purse, and Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice, Naghmeh launched the Save Saeed campaign. The campaign garnered worldwide attention and it eventually lead to Saeed’s release. But during this time, Naghmeh learned that Saeed’s violence, repeated insults, and spiritual manipulation was not just a sign of a bad marriage, it was abuse. Yet when she spoke out about the abuse, the backlash from Christians was virulent and cruel. And the psychological and spiritual damage from that backlash was far worse than anything Naghmeh said she encountered in Iran. In our interview, Naghmeh talks candidly about the abuse and the Christian community’s failure to stand with victims. But she also talks about the persecuted church and how the Western Church’s failure to care for the abused and broken is not a bug but a feature. I am so grateful for Naghmeh’s, prophetic witness to the American church, and I’m confident that God is using that witness both through podcasts like these, and in Naghmeh’s book aptly titled, I Didn’t Survive: Emerging Whole After Deception, Persecution and Hidden Abuse. Julie Roys 01:50 We’ll get to my interview with Naghmeh just a moment, but first, I’d like to thank the sponsors of this podcast, Judson University and Marquardt of Barrington if you’re looking for a top ranked Christian University, providing a caring community and an excellent college experience. Judson University is for you. Judson is located on 90 acres just 40 miles west of Chicago in Elgin, Illinois. The school offers more than 60 majors, great leadership opportunities, and strong financial aid. Plus, you can take classes online as well as in person. Judson University is shaping lives that shaped the world. For more information, just go to JUDSONU.EDU. Also, if you’re looking for a quality new or used car, I highly recommend my friends at Marquardt of Barrington. Marquardt is a Buick GMC dealership where you can expect honesty, integrity, and transparency. That’s because the owners there Dan and Kurt Marquardt are men of integrity. To check them out, just go to BUYACAR123.COM. Julie Roys 02:56 Well, again, here’s my interview with Naghmeh Panahi on surviving persecution from the church. This is from our last RESTORE conference in October 2023. Julie Roys 03:07 Let’s just start with a little bit of your story. And again, those of you who know her story, this may be familiar, but I know I learned a lot of new things. You were born in Iran. And the interesting thing is you got to see Iran before the revolution, and then after. Talk about what the change was in Iran when you when you saw that happen? NAGHMEH PANAHI 03:29 Yeah, I was actually born soon, a few years before the revolution. So, my mom was one of the first women in the king’s army, as a woman, which was pretty radical for her time. And also just, you know, Iran has had Islam for about 1400 years, so not Islamic culture. And she was very proud woman with her gun and protecting the Shah, but also, you know, having authority in a sense that women usually didn’t have. So, my mom was kind of protecting the king from the revolution. My dad was actually one of the people that wanted the Islamic Revolution, because, before the revolution, people like my mom, were wearing miniskirts. And, you know, just like the US, they were free, and my dad and his group of people thought, you know, we’re becoming too westernized. And if we have an Islamic religious revolution, then the culture will be more purified. And so, I kind of grew up in chaos. I saw tires burning, my mom going, and my nanny would cry, and is she going to come back? Cuz she was trying to defend against the protesters, and then my dad would be in the streets and there was different groups that were trying to take over the government. And they were all radical and there was a lot of people just been killed in the streets. And so, I kind of grew up in a very chaotic political atmosphere of where the country was becoming very Islamic. And so, I went to school I shared in my book, my photo from my school, elementary school and I looked at and I was the most covered up. Like some of the girls had their head covering a little back. Just from the photo, you can tell I was so afraid. I was told you can’t show hair and all this teaching that was like going through the schools about just Islam and how we had to cover up. And so, it was very foreign to me, having seen my mom without a covering, and then seeing her, she had to be all covered up and her rank taken away from her. And she had to be in an office setting, as a woman couldn’t have any authority over men in any position of power. And so, I was noticing a lot of that changes and the fear that was gripping a lot of the woman. I would actually have a lot of dreams that I was walking in the streets in Iran without head covering, and I was being arrested. And that was one of my, a lot of the nightmares I had. But just the fear of having to cover up and right around the revolution right after there was a war with Iraq. So, I also grew up in war, we had bombs and missiles. And I was just flipping through my social media, and I saw a video with the sirens going off in Israel. And all of a sudden I had a panic attack, because I would hear those sirens all of the time, the bomb sirens and you have to go to shelter and not knowing if your house was going to be the next one that was bombed, or a missile would hit it, or a lot of the Iraqi soldiers were certain parts of Iran were attacking and raping and taking captives and women and children were being killed. And so, it’s brought back a lot of that memory as a child, even just hearing that siren was so hard to listen to. Julie Roys 06:47 I’m thinking when you’re talking about being covered up your mother losing her rank, being afraid as a woman I mean, I’m thinking of Sheila’s talk yesterday. I mean, this is like modesty message on steroids. As a young girl, how did you internalize, did that make you feel different about you? NAGHMEH PANAHI 07:04 Yeah, I was told as a seven-year-old at that time. Like when I went to school, I had to dress up, like cover up, I was told that I was sexually appealing to men. Julie Roys 07:14 As a seven-year-old? NAGHMEH PANAHI 07:16 That’s what I we had to once I went to school, like six, seven-year-old got to be fully covered. And people I know that had their relatives like their grandmother had married at the age of nine and their mother had married at the age of 12. Right now, we do work in Afghanistan, and since the Taliban has taken over these, as soon as the girl hits puberty, like nine, a lot of times 9-10, they’re being married and they’re now giving birth to babies at like 10, 11, 12. And so yeah, it’s unfortunately it was part of the culture. And as a little girl, you’re told that you had to cover up because it would be tempting to a man as a little seven-year-old. Which is interesting, because years later was like, the purity culture sounds very Islamic. Julie Roys 08:05 So, your parents did leave. And it sounded like the impetus was the fear that your brother might get drafted in the army. And the little boys were basically sent out there to check where the landmines were right? So, I mean, it was almost certain death. So, your parents escaped out of there and came to the US, settled in Idaho, and then the story of how you became a believer is really phenomenal and interesting too, how your parents when you became a believer, that was not welcome. NAGHMEH PANAHI 08:41 No. My mom was more of a moderate Muslim. My dad was very strong Muslim. Like he had his prayer life and fasting. I’d never in the Islamic Revolution world, I never heard of the name Jesus. And so, when we came to America, my twin brother who actually he got his doctorate at University of Chicago in quantum physics, and so he was not emotional growing up, and even with the war I was the more emotional one he was, the more like, questioning God. But he was crying like I’d never seen him emotionally. And he said, I know we question Who is God? Why is he allowing, we would see our classmates like their dead bodies in the street. The houses of the kids that we would play with, completely gone. And we didn’t know if we were next. I mean, just growing up in war was just insane. And so, we had a lot of questions about God. And he came running to me one day when we’d just come to America, and he said, I found the God we’ve been looking for. His name is Jesus. And I was like, what? He had a vision, I guess he had seen Jesus and he said, he is all I felt was love. And I just know we have to find out who this Jesus is. And so that’s how we were saved. We were running around acting like crazy nine-year-olds, like who’s Jesus? And with our limited English, we found some people who, you know, spoke Farsi, and told us and gave us a Farsi Bible. And we thought our parents would be as excited as us. They were angry. My dad wanted us actually, to move us back to Iran. He said, it’s better if we die in the war. You’ve become Christian. You’ve lost your culture. You’ve lost everything. And my full name is Naghmeh Sharia Panahi. So, Sharia is Islamic law. Panahi means protector, so our last name meant protector of Islamic law. And so, my dad always prided himself like we’re related to the Prophet Mohammed, like the Prophet of Islam. And so, for him, for us to become Christian was like, the worst thing ever. And so, he was in the process of moving us back into a war with like chemical warfare. My brother was about to be signed up to go to like, run through the mines. And he didn’t seem to care. He thought us becoming Christian was like the worst thing that had happened. Julie Roys 11:07 Unbelievable. And despite that, I mean, you would think as a nine-year-old, something like this happens, your parents don’t support it, it’ll be gone, it will be eradicated from your life. Why didn’t that happen? NAGHMEH PANAHI 11:19 Yeah, my uncle, my uncle, who graduated from university in California, had found a job in Boise, Idaho. And he said, you know, let’s move them there. They’re only nine. It’s just a little feeling. They’re going to forget about this Jesus, you know. And as a nine-year-old, you want to please your parents. They’re all we had in the war. Like, they were our lifeline, and wanting to please them. And so, they thought he said, they’re going to forget about this Jesus. And we didn’t. I mean, it’s by grace of God, he kept our faith, our Bible was taken from us, me and my brother weren’t allowed to even pray together. My dad had a lot of fits of anger. Just a lot of it, we experienced a lot of persecution, anger in the home. And in Idaho, we were pretty much isolated. Try to forget about Jesus, and we didn’t, and it was not until we were from nine until 16-17, where my parents, I guess, were on their own journey. We didn’t know but they were on their own journey of finding Jesus. They were secretly reading the Bible they took from us. I didn’t know that at that time. Julie Roys 12:26 When did they actually become believers? NAGHMEH PANAHI 12:29 Right around as I was graduating, I could see they had softened. I would sneak out, as soon as I got my driver’s license, I would sneak out to a church. And I thought they didn’t know but they knew. And they were okay with it because they were reading the Bible. But they didn’t become Christians until I went to college. And when I came home, they were like, We believe we want to be baptized, from nine until 22. Julie Roys 12:57 And why is it? I’ve always you hear this among Muslims so often, that they have these visions of Jesus, and they come to Jesus through that. I mean, it just seems to be a feature. Why do you think that is? NAGHMEH PANAHI 13:14 I think that whoever cries out to God, anywhere in the world, God will make himself known. In Iran, you don’t have a lot of missionaries right now. And I would talk to people in Iran, I would talk to, and I would say, hey, I would talk to a woman, I’d say, Do you know who Jesus is? And they would start crying. And they would say, Yes, I saw him in a vision. Like, tell me more. My child was dying, and I cried out to God, and I said, help and Jesus appeared to me and said, I am the way the truth and the life, but they didn’t know much. They just knew that he’d healed their child, or he was the way the truth and the life. Like they knew little parts of who Jesus was. But it was really not hard to evangelize. That’s why I think when I returned to Iran, we saw such a revival because people already knew who Jesus was. They’d seen him in dreams and visions, and they’d already seen him move in ways that wasn’t, we weren’t trying to convince them. They were like, Yeah, we know him. He healed our child, or I saw him in a vision. Julie Roys 14:15 Wow. So you went to college, were planning on becoming a doctor. You must have done quite well in school. NAGHMEH PANAHI 14:23 I think coming from an immigrant family, you’re told you have no choice, lawyer, or doctor. We’re in America you have to pursue the American dream. Julie Roys 14:33 Right. And probably the last place on earth you wanted to go was Iran and yet you ended up back in Iran. NAGHMEH PANAHI 14:41 I did. My parents really struggle with that because I went right after September 11. And when no one wanted to get on an airplane, and no one wanted to fly into the Middle East. So, I had the whole airplane to myself flying into Iran, and President Bush was like there’s gonna be war in that region. And so, I just felt like God was like, this is the time to go, I’m going to change that land through the gospel. My fight is through the gospel is through love, you know, in Christ. And so, I didn’t know when I went back. And my parents thought I was crazy. I was about to take the MCAT like I was on the road to being a medical doctor. And I said, I need a break. I feel like God’s telling me to go to Iran I didn’t know that I was going to be at the forefront of a revival. But I just knew God was like, You need to go now. And so, when I went, he allowed me to be at the forefront of revival and be part of leading one of the largest house church movements in Iran. Julie Roys 15:46 And when you flew over there, was it on the plane, you get those cards, and you have to declare things? NAGHMEH PANAHI 15:51 In Muslim countries, I don’t know why, but every single they have no shame about discrimination. Religious discrimination is like they don’t there’s like nothing. So, everything you fill out has religion, what’s your religion? So, that’s why Christians when people become Christians, they have to fill up. And because of their conscience, they can’t put Muslim. So, they put Christian so as soon as they put Christian, even like filling out a passport. If they write Christian, they’re arrested. They can’t work if they write Christian, if they’re not arrested, they can’t find job, or they can’t go to school, Christians are not allowed to go to school. And so even on the airplane immigration form, I had religion, and I knew my last name meant I was a Muslim. Like people could tell by your last name, you’re a Muslim, but I knew I was a Christian, I really struggle with that form. And it was right after September 11. And I was like, stepping into radical Iran that I had read about killing so many pastors and hanging them as an example. And I wrote down Muslim. Julie Roys 16:57 And also because of your name, they would know that you were born Muslim, yeah. That you converted and that’s a major, major no, no. NAGHMEH PANAHI 17:04 Yeah. I was fine by myself. And I mean, I just felt so bad. I felt like a Peter moment. I just there was so much fear, flying into Iran. And as a Christian, I’d never experienced that. Anyway, I had left Iran as a Muslim. God was allowing me to go back as a Christian and to experience what it meant to really understand the persecuted church. And so yeah. Julie Roys 17:30 So, you get into Iran. Talk about the church and the, you know, the way the house church movement was going and also about this very charismatic pastor that you saw over there named Saeed. NAGHMEH PANAHI 17:43 Saeed. Yeah, so I grew up in the purity movement. I was like, when I went to Iran, I was 24. I hadn’t dated I was told first hold, holding hand or first kiss had to be with someone you married. I had some people pursued me in college, good Christian guys that I was like, nope. And so, I hadn’t really experienced anything. And Iran had right now they don’t they had some building churches, that they allowed the Armenians to conduct church, because the Armenian people are considered Christians. They’re not converting. They were like, they have been Christians for generations. So Iranian government allows for religious freedom for the Armenians to conduct church. They weren’t allowed to let Muslims in like Persians. Persians are, you know, have been Muslims for so many hundreds of years, you know, 1400 years. But the church actually that I met Saeed in had started allowing Muslims to come in and they were converting, and one of them was Saeed. And that’s why they had killed some of their pastors. The government had arrested and killed some of the pastors at that building church. And I saw Saeed he was on. It’s a long story, how I ended up in that church. I had a cousin that had gotten saved and invited me, so I was about to leave Iran. I had been a missionary for one year, and I had five people who accepted Christ. And I was like, Okay, I shared with every single relative, like aunt and uncle gave out Bibles. And there was five people became Christians. And then I was like, Okay, I’m done. I was about to leave. NAGHMEH PANAHI 19:12 My cousin invites me to this church service. And I go inside Saeed was on stage worship on the worship team. And I really saw a lot of passion for Jesus. And then he was like, I love evangelism. Like that’s my number one passion. And even in Boise, I would always go and evangelize to the refugees, the Muslim refugees that were coming in. And so, he seemed like this great evangelist, and I was really drawn to him. And so, we started working together. He actually reached out to me and said, Hey, you want to do ministry together? And I didn’t realize but he was going to an underground bible school by the Assemblies of God there. And because the government was heavily persecuting the building church, they were being trained to start house churches. So, at that time, he had about a dozen people, I had five we decided to join forces. And within a few years it grew to 1000s over 33 cities and it was college students, they were our house was in the middle of Tehran-by-Tehran University. And so, all these college students were getting saved. And then they would go back into their city and evangelize. And all these house churches was just popping up. And all over Iran, every 33 major cities had churches, within two years. Julie Roys 20:34 Very organically. NAGHMEH PANAHI 20:35 Very, it was all college students, very organic. NAGHMEH PANAHI 20:39 And women. Women did a lot of leadership. Yes, it’s really I mean, ironic in a Muslim country. NAGHMEH PANAHI 20:46 Very ironic. I was just sharing that is China and Iran had this revival of house church movement, and women are the main ones leading it. And in a culture like, Iranian culture, where women are literally told their property, and a lot of the Muslim men treat them with a lot of contempt, they don’t have a lot of freedom. And so, a lot of Muslim women are drawn to the church and become saved because they see how the men in the underground church honor women and they’re leading. And the men are completely okay with that. And they’re working together. I mean, there’s no titles, there’s no stage, they call each other brother and sister, even the pastor, which is like a shepherd or shepherdess. It’s called sister like Sister Naghmeh, Sister Julie. So, no one’s called, , no one’s given a title. And actually, being the pastor or the leader of that house church, means you’re going to be the first one to be arrested and killed, you know. And I share in my book about a 10-year-old girl that I met in one of the cities and she got saved at 10. She was passionate by 25. She was a discipling like 500 women. And she was arrested, tortured, and solitary confinement. She would not even give out one name, she was defending her flock. She went through so much. And she came out she’s like, I didn’t give out one name. They weren’t able to find any of the 500 people that she was discipling. And so that’s what it means to be the leader, it’s, you’re literally laying down your life for the sheep. It’s not like a place of popularity, it’s actually not a place, I’ve shared that in the podcasts with you. Not a place that a lot of narcissists like to serve. It’s not fun. Julie Roys 22:33 I mean, that’s the thing, if you hear so often, the shepherd should be the first to lay down his life, right? And if that were the case, it does just sort of naturally weed out the chaff. NAGHMEH PANAHI 22:47 Literally, if you’re the leader means you’re going to be the first one that’s arrested and tortured. So what narcissist want to do that? So, you don’t see a lot of narcissists. And you don’t see, unfortunately, you don’t see a lot of the men wanting that position. So, a lot of the women are the ones carrying the torch of the gospel, and they’re the ones being arrested. They’re the ones being raped. They’re the ones being tortured. They’re the woman by the well that Jesus is using. I was sharing with one of my pastors recently, I was like, how dare God use women on the underground churches in Iran? Why does he do that? But it’s the woman but they’re not getting any popularity. They’re literally being tortured and killed, but they’re the ones, the weak, Isn’t doesn’t Jesus says he uses the weak, broken? It is the weak, broken woman who’ve been so shattered in that society that God is just lifting up and honoring and giving the privilege to suffer for the gospel. Julie Roys 23:45 And where we see the church shrinking in the West, in these places where it’s organically happening without all of the money and the programs and, you know, all the seven steps to this that are the other thing. The gospel is going forward. NAGHMEH PANAHI 24:02 Yes, it is going without a program. It’s weak vessels that society has crushed, that Jesus is honoring and using for the gospel in one of the hardest countries in the world that has the most crazy governments. With great wisdom, God is using that. And doesn’t he say that in his word? That’s who he uses, but it’s really It’s so confusing for me because I see that happening in the Middle East. And then the way women are honored in a place where they haven’t been. And then I see something different here, which has been so hard to try to digest that. But it’s so radical. I mean if you guys could understand how radical it is. And I know you’ve watched like sheep among wolves and all that. It’s radical for women to be leading in the Middle East, the house churches. Just think about that in a culture that has said You’re nothing your property, just how radical that is. And for Jesus during his time to do that too; be so radical in the way he honored women. I am just still shocked by the fact that how the men in the house churches really honor the women and really God, it’s the work of the Holy Spirit. There’s no other explanation. Julie Roys 25:19 It is so cool. So, you told of a time when you denied the Lord, but you had another chance. NAGHMEH PANAHI 25:26 Yeah, I told the Lord. I went home and I cried, I said, God, if I have another opportunity, I will not deny your name. And two and a half years later, I was arrested. But I’ve been arrested a lot. Many times, for the gospel. We were like, if we were smuggling Bibles, like at night, we would try to move around Bibles and give it to different house churches. So, we were arrested many times, there’s so many stories. But there was an incident where it was the scariest because I was actually detained. I have guns pointed to my head, we were basically told, if you say you’re a Christian, you will go to a woman’s prison, you will get raped and tortured and you will die. If you say you’re Muslim, you get to walk out this door right now. And everything within me wanted to be Muslim. I just want to get out of that door. I had the radical Revolutionary Guards all around me with guns and I was just like, Okay God, you know how the Bible says, he will put the words in our mouth? And I said, I’m a Christian. And the story is more detailed in my book. But towards the end of it, this top interrogator was crying and asking for a Bible. The guy that threatened to kill me, was actually ended up asking for a Bible. Julie Roys 26:46 And Saeed said that he got his inspiration from you because you. . . NAGHMEH PANAHI 26:52 There was three of us that got arrested. The first guy wrote Muslim, and then it was my turn. And so, I wrote Christian, and the Revolutionary Guard interrogator asked for my testimony. He said, basically my testimony was the evidence that was going to convict me of the death sentence they were going to give me for converting. And then Saeed also said he was Christian. And he told me after we left, I was gonna write Muslim. But when you said Christian, I got inspired to also write Christian. So yeah. Julie Roys 27:32 So, you guys come back to the States. You end up getting married to Saeed. There were some red flags in your dating relationship, obviously, that you talk about in the book. And we don’t have time to go into all of what happened. But what was your life with Saeed behind closed doors? NAGHMEH PANAHI 27:55 Yeah, so Saeed had never been to the states. We came to the States in 2005, after a lot of persecution. But in Iran, it was the first full on physical abuse happened when we fled Iran in Dubai. So about a year and a half into our marriage, but I didn’t see the signs of abuse, obviously, now looking back, but early on, he didn’t find me attractive. He would say, you’re so dark, and you’re so ugly, and you need to do nose surgery, you need to do surgery with your eyebrows, and you need to lose weight. And so, he was just, pretty much I start questioning, I said by that by the time we were eight years into the marriage before Saeed’s arrest, I couldn’t even think for myself. I remember the interviews, I would tell people, this is the first time I’m processing life without Saeed because I would have to ask him permission, what do I say? And it was really hard being put in the spotlight and having to rely on my own. Not as Saeed to give answers. It started out with him putting down my looks. And then it was like, questioning the way I was seeing things and then questioning the way I was looking at Scripture and saying, I was idolizing scripture, I needed to let the Holy Spirit , you know, his own idea of what the Holy Spirit is. And just he started questioning my understanding of Scripture. There was not a full-on beating, but he would shove me he had me beg. He would have me beg and kiss his feet. It’s in the book. There’s some really hard stuff in the book. But pretty much, after eight years of marriage, we came to America because of intense persecution. And then after four years of being in America from 2005 to 2009, we didn’t go to Iran, but then he started traveling. And then he got arrested. He thought, Well, we haven’t done house church for four years. I can go back. He went back and forth, back, and forth. 2012 was arrested the time he was arrested; I was a shell of a person. I had no friends. He cut off my family, my friends. I had so much makeup on, I was 30 pounds lighter than I am now. I tried everything to be exactly how he wanted me to be. And I couldn’t show emotion. If I cried, he would say you’re trying to manipulate me with your tears, he would get very angry with tears. I couldn’t laugh, I couldn’t express any emotion. So I was just like this very dead person, just basically, I worked full time he didn’t work. So, I was full time I was a slave, I was working full time taking care of the kids cooking, cleaning. And he was just traveling, and I was funding his travels. And so I was, close to death. I didn’t realize his imprisonment was my freedom. I did not see it; I was so mad at God. And I explained it in my book. I thought God was being so cruel to me. Now I have to try to get my husband out of the worst prison in the world. Julie Roys 30:55 And you are gone from being premed, you had done incredibly well in school, then you help your dad run his business. NAGHMEH PANAHI 31:02 I was very confident. Julie Roys 31:03 Confident, competent, all of these things. And after these years of marriage, you have been reduced to that point. And then you start advocating for him. It doesn’t dawn on you that you’re being abused till pretty far along in the whole process. But talk about when you finally because I think a lot of people have heard you know the story up until this point. But then you advocated for him. And then you got to the point where you finally said, it dawned on you you were being abused. And you said something. NAGHMEH PANAHI 31:36 Well, the reason it dawned on me if he hadn’t had a phone, most people don’t realize this part of the puzzle. The last year of his imprisonment, he had obtained a smartphone where he could literally get on the internet in maximum security prison in Iran. It was a smuggled phone worth $7,000 to get that phone to him. But I’m glad it happened. Because at first I was like, why does he have a phone and he’s treating me like this? He would call me Jezebel, like that was the number one word he’d use against me. whore and again, you’re ugly, you’re nobody if people are clapping, they’re clapping for Abedini, Saeed Abedini. They’re not clapping for you. I’m the hero of the story. He saw that I met with Obama I met with Trump I was on the news. And we did a prayer vigil with Mr. Franklin Graham and 2 million people watching online and he saw when he called me for the first time he saw this confident woman that he had destroyed for eight years. So, he saw, Oh, she has confidence in Jesus. I dreamed in his time of imprisonment. It was my time in the cocoon. I was reading the word praying again, because I couldn’t even pick up the Bible when I was in abuse. I couldn’t imagine, I kept myself pure. I had been a missionary and part of me was really mad at God for allowing me to suffer like this. I mean, I describe a lot of hard things in the Bible. In my book, I was raped by him. It was just a horrible, horrible marriage. NAGHMEH PANAHI 33:15 And so, part of me, I guess, had distanced myself from God thinking, I kept myself pure. I wanted to serve you. Why would you allow this? And so, when he was in prison, actually, I drew close to God and like you said, I had been raised in a home where my dad gave me a lot of confidence. And so anyways, my Heavenly Father was like, really, through the Bible I am finding confidence. So, when he got a smartphone, he saw that confidence and he was scared. I didn’t see it at that time. So, as he was calling me all sorts of names, I’m writing articles for The Washington Post and New York Times. I'm writing op-eds on being on the news and traveling, speaking in churches and he’s calling me names. I couldn’t understand why because people are like, Your husband must be so proud of you. I was literally traveling the world getting him out. He had an eight-year sentence. He spent three years in prison, six months in house arrest, but he could have been there for a longer time. They were actually going to give him more and more years. People are like, he must be so proud. You’ve met with presidents to get him out and then here he was calling me names and I couldn’t get it. NAGHMEH PANAHI 34:22 So finally, I broke coming from the Middle Eastern culture and the Christian culture, you don’t want to air out your dirty laundry. So, I didn’t tell anyone even my parents had experienced abuse themselves. He had physically beat up my dad, but it was a culture of you don’t divorce no matter what, but also a culture, you don’t talk about it. So, for the first time I shared with this pastor that I was speaking at his church, I said, I don’t understand. Here’s all these text messages he’s sending on Skype to me. He’s calling me all sorts of names. I don’t get it like why? And he said, “You're an abused wife. He said, This is why he is And then it started making sense Oh, he needed to crush me to control me. And I wasn’t crushed. During his time of imprisonment, God was setting me free inside was seeing that. And so, he was calling me all sorts of names. And when this pastor gave me the diagnosis, that was it There was no going back. Because before then I was like, I have a hard marriage. And then once I knew it was cancer, I’m like uh, this needs chemo, and I knew I had to educate myself on what abuse was and what do I do? Julie Roys 35:35 And so, you sent an email. To like, 100 close supporters. NAGHMEH PANAHI 35:39 Yeah, I was like, Nah, this is the way the media has blown it up. I sent an email to really close friends. And then that got leaked to the media. And then yeah, I was, I think Lori Anne Thompson said this stone was like the person bleeding by the road. I was like, stones were thrown at me. I was bullied by Franklin Graham, told to shut up. You’re damaging the cause of Christ. He used every power every connection he had. And he was like, You’re never ever going to do ministry again if you talk. I was like, I don’t want to do ministry. I just want to live quietly in Boise, Idaho. Why is ministry an idol? He was scaring me but saying you’re never gonna do anything. I’m like, It’s okay, I don’t want it. So, he couldn’t hold that over me. But I lost everything like Lori Anne Thompson said, I had to quit my job to advocate for him. So, my income had been speaking engagements. And that was taken from me. So, all of a sudden I’m in the middle of he comes out, files for divorce, because how dare I have leaked, shared with a group of people that leaked information about abuse. And so, he came out filed for divorce, the worst thing I was afraid of which was actually my freedom. But at that time, it was heartbreaking. Because I fought to get him out. He didn’t even want to fight for our marriage. He just came out and filed for divorce. And I literally lost everything. I lost my marriage, I lost my income, I had stones thrown at me, I was literally by the side of the road. And all the religious leaders were like either kicking me, or quietly walking by. It was very few that were there, all the text messages stopped, all the Naghmeh, we got you and my poor kids too, they would always get gifts and support. They would get so many gifts on their birthdays. And it all of a sudden stopped. And they’re like, Mom, what happened? And all of a sudden, we’re just like, I mean, I got so many calls from past, pastors that were just throwing things at me. And I had a really interesting experience with Family Research Council too. And so, it was just like, a lot of stones at a time where my marriage was falling apart. And yeah, it was a very difficult time. NAGHMEH PANAHI 35:43 So that the title of your book is I Didn’t Survive. NAGHMEH PANAHI 37:58 People don’t like that. They’re like you’re a survivor. Julie Roys 38:03 But the old Naghmeh is not the Naghmeh who’s sitting here is this like Dr. Monroe said, you know that you change your different. How have you changed and why? NAGHMEH PANAHI 38:19 I am not the person I was 10 years ago once I went to prison. I think I would describe it like a caterpillar going into the cocoon. The caterpillar is no longer the caterpillar, it's a butterfly. There’s a confidence I have in God. There’s a lack of fear of what religious leaders. My Goliath was Franklin Graham. He used every power he had to shut me down. I know this for a fact. Some megachurch pastors called me and said yeah, Franklin called us and every person I reached out for help, Franklin would call and say if you help her, you know? And so yeah, there’s a lot of stories. I don’t have fear of losing anything. I know that losing income, ministry, people’s praises, all of that fell and the old Naghmeh was afraid of losing a lot of things like marriage, status, income, even as a single mom; all that fear is gone. He’s been my provider, day in and day out. I live for Christ and if people don’t like that, then it’s okay. I don’t get any benefit from people either copying or so there’s a lot of people pleasing. I’m just not the old Naghmeh. The old Naghmeh was so afraid, scared about people’s opinion. I mean, I care for people but I’m not a people pleaser. You would have been surprised to meet the Naghmeh of 2012. She would have been a completely different person. Julie Roys 39:49 Thing Mariam said in her book, that she said that the domestic abuse that she suffered by her husband was worse and If you read Miriam’s book, I can’t quite even wrap my head around what can be worse than some of the things that she suffered at the hands of Muslim persecutors. But in what ways was that worse when you get persecuted from professing Christians? NAGHMEH PANAHI 40:22 She said it’s worse? So, Miriam and I are, she’s one of my best friends. And she came out of Sudanese prison. She was on death row, and I met her soon after she’d given birth to her daughter, Maya in prison. And then she faced this horrific, you will read her account in prison in her book that’s out there. The prison experience her growing up as a refugee in Sudan. Her mom was a refugee. Her dad was Sudanese, and she grew up in a horrible situation and then she was given the death sentence by the radical Muslims there in Sudan and treated horribly. For her to say what she experienced in domestic abuse and the church’s response was worse than that? I was like, “Are you what?! She said she knew that was the enemy, she’s like, I knew that was my enemy. I knew that those people that had persecuted me where my enemy. I didn’t expect it to come from my home. And I didn’t expect it to come from my Christian community. Like that was what was like I think you said that about Lori Anne Thompson’s, that it came from the church is the most messed up thing with the name of carrying the name of Jesus to for broken people that Jesus so cares about to be trampled on. And use then abuse is I just that just, it’s so messed up. And so that’s why she says that she’s like, I didn’t expect it in my home, that my enemy would be in my home and that the way the Christian community respond to her she was a Christian hero for standing up to the Muslim community in Sudan. And then she was a bad person for wanting to divorce her abusive husband. No one wanted to touch her. She shares that. It’s like the modern leper, she Yeah, she actually became homeless, no one wanted to help her. She had to flee her home with her two kids that had just left Sudanese prison. And no one wanted to touch it. No one wanted to get her a lawyer help get her nothing. She had nothing. She just come out of Sudan with no English. She filed for divorce in 2018. So, four years after she came out from Sudan, so she knew a little bit of English, but she had never worked in the US. I mean, she literally was helpless. She had no family. Her mom had died. I mean, she had no family and the Christian community that had tried to help her escape Sudan was now like, don’t talk to us, don’t reach out. Don’t talk to us. Like she became a leper. Yeah, so I wish she was here. And we tell her story. Julie Roys 42:56 Yeah. So last question because we’re gonna have to wrap up. But having been through what you’ve been through, seeing what you’ve seen in the house church movement in Iran, then coming to the US and experiencing what you did by the American church, what message do you have for the American church today? NAGHMEH PANAHI 43:18 To get Lance’s book. It's so messed up the way the system is destroying is not Christianity, what we have here is a system it’s a business. It’s not laying down your life for the sheep. It’s actually like Ezekiel, where God’s like you’re abusing, you’re using the sheep for your own benefit. A good shepherd would actually lay down. I mean, Paul says, you know, parents should give to the children, not children, like he should have been this rich pastor, and he’s like, I’m poor. I’m homeless. I’m treated like he wasn’t a great speaker, he wouldn’t be probably have any church gathering. And so, it’s just the way the system is really. If anyone that comes from the house church movement in Iran or China, they come here and they’re like, Oh, the church is asleep, like there’s no church. There’s buildings, people are gathering in buildings, but the church is dead. Anyone has ever come that’s the first reaction they give is, wow, the church here is sleeping. And so, I would say I think we really need to rethink and not just read about Jesus was the servant, what does that mean in my life? And I love what Lori Anne Thompson said that we don’t also as abuse survivors, we are not the heroes either, Jesus is. I think the reason I wrote my book is that it's not heroic, someone wrote a review. It’s not about anyone being a hero. It’s about the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony, and my hope is my testimony is going to help draw people to Christ because I’m not the answer. Christ is. And so that’s why I’ve kind of refrained from writing a curriculum or having an answer. I’m and like Jesus, he helped me, point to him. And so, we’re not the heroes. You know, as survivors, or as the persecuted church. The persecuted church doesn’t want to be heroes. They’re just following Christ. But I think we can learn a lot from the persecuted church and really learn what it means to carry our cross. I don’t think the American church really, the leadership understand what that is. What does it mean to carry your cross and die to yourself daily? Julie Roys 45:36 And I do believe that out of the ashes, new things are coming. And who was it that said, maybe it was last night at the dinner that I think it was Laurie Adams Brown, who said that she believes that survivors and a lot of what’s happening for people that have been through this who have really experienced the pain of what’s happened, it’s fertile ground for a new thing to happen in the church. And so that’s my prayer. NAGHMEH PANAHI 46:07 I think this is my I’ve prayed and cried out to God many times. I think God’s gonna use the broken. We are looking for oh, I think Sheila said that, too. We’re looking to these big platforms to do something and God’s like, No, I’m going to use the little scattered broken people on the outside. You keep looking to these megachurch pastors see, please see this. And they’re not because for them to see it, it means their whole world would be toppled upside down. And so, we’re trying to change these big organizations. But a lot of times the answer is actually Jesus is like, no, I’m actually going to do a work outside of that. And that’s going to, yeah, anyways, I think just having spent many hours just crying for the church in America, because I was born and raised for the first nine years in Iran. But I’ve been in America for like 37 years. And so, I’ve cried for this country. And as a Christian, and I think he’s going to work in a way we didn’t expect him to. It’s not going to be people with platforms, it’s going to be a grassroot, no one’s going to be the hero, it’s only going to be Jesus. I tell people because they like to build heroes. I’m like, don’t look to me to be the chain. It’s gonna require every one of us, like Sheila I think said, and a lot of the speakers. It’s going to be a grassroot because like I said, Jesus Himself, God is a jealous God. He deserves all the glory; he’s going to be the Savior. There’s no minnie saviors that are going to change the climate, you know, here. So, it’s just gonna be all Jesus. But all of us are just a voice. But we need to use our voice. And I think what Lori Anne said, or Adam said is true, I think it’s going to be a lot of the movement is going to start with the survivors and the broken. And that’s why people ask me, you were so passionate about the Middle East, I still work with the underground church in Iran and Afghanistan. I’m not a ministry, but I try to collect money and just give everything there. But I also care about their views, then they’re like, this is kind of two different worlds. I’m like, No, it’s not. Because Jesus is with the broken, the persecuted church is broken. The abused are broken, they’re both desperate for God. And guess what God cannot resist? God cannot resist His people being broken. Like he will step in like you have not. Gloria Thompson said she was like, once she had her daughter, she’s like, I will fight for her. And God is that jealous for us. And when we’re broken, that’s when God’s steps in. And so, for both the persecuted church and the abused, my heart is for them. First of all, Jesus says, If you want to minister to me, minister to the least of these my brothers. So, if you want to actually walk with Jesus, it’s not on the big platforms. It’s literally walking with the least of these. That’s where I experienced Jesus is when I’m walking with an abused woman. I’m not on I’m literally just, I’ve had abused woman live in my house, like, that’s where I’m experiencing Jesus, or when I’m working with the persecuted church, who have no money to eat, and they’re still carrying forth the gospel. They’re in these countries that are sanctioned. They’re so poor, and as Christians, they’re even poorer, but they continue to take the gospel. So when I hang out with the least of these, I truly experience the move of the Spirit. And so, they’re related. The persecuted church, and the survivors abused, you know, women and men. They have a common thread that is attractive to me, and that’s brokenness and desperation for God. Anyways. Julie Roys 49:47 Naghmeh, every time I sit with you, I get inspired. Thank you so much. Thank you for so truthfully telling your story and for being an inspiration to so many of us. NAGHMEH PANAHI 50:02 Thank you, Julie. And I just so appreciate it. You know, people have attacked you before being divisive and like, trying to go after the church, but your heart to bring healing to the church is I think I just know there’s going to be I’ve prayed for this, there should be 10s of 1000s of people coming to this conference of just finding that restoration. And you know, and so I appreciate your work so much. And yeah, keep going. You have my prayers. And so, thank you. Thank you. Julie Roys 50:45 That was just such a special interview with Naghmeh Panahi, and it’s one of many unforgettable moments from our last RESTORE conference. And if you’re listening and thinking, man, I don’t want to miss out on that next RESTORE conference, I want to encourage you to send us an email at The Roys Report at JULIEROYS.COM, and just put in the subject line RESTORE EMAIL, and we’ll be sure to add you to our email list. And then when we announce the date and all the information about the next conference, you’ll be sure to be the first to know. Also, if you’re grateful for these interviews and talks, which we’re making available free of charge, would you please consider giving to The Roys Report. As I’ve noted before, we don’t have any big donors or advertisers, we simply have you the people who care about abuse and corruption in the church and want to expose it. To donate, just go to JULIEROYS.COM/DONATE. Also, just a quick reminder to subscribe to The Roys Report on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts or Spotify. That way you won’t ever miss any of these episodes. 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Dr. T and Truth Fairy welcome guest Sapha to the show to talk about healing through ayahuasca. When Sapha reached out via email, Truth Fairy realized she has friends in common with him, and, being touched by his email and story, invited him to be on the show. The details of his advocacy and journey are inspiring to hear. Sapha shares his story of emigrating to Canada from Tehran, Iran, during the Islamic Revolution. The pain, abandonment, and confusion that went with Sapha's story led to a need for escapism through substance abuse. The addiction lasted through Sapha's career in the oil and gas industry until age 29 when he realized he needed help. But after being denied assistance from the BC government, Sapha's salvation came from an aunt who connected him with the Leipzig Serenity Retreat, a holistic recovery centre in Saskatchewan.Dr. T and Truth Fairy talk with Sapha about how he found ayahuasca and his early psychedelic experiences, the need to really heal the underlying causes of addiction and not simply the addiction itself, and the benefits of small group work that Sapha embarked upon. Sapha also addresses how he now does a lot of work with men who have suffered at the hands of the patriarchal system and through the expectations placed on men. This episode reveals a lot about the benefits of working with ayahuasca and the healing possibilities of being on a psychedelic-assisted recovery journey.“And that's a big part of the teaching here with what we do and the way that we work with men, it's like ayahuasca is a tool. You know, psychedelics are tools. They're not a cure for addiction. They're an opportunity to get a really close look from a different lens. How to uncover and unravel this bundle of emotions and these layers of pain that as men or as people we've been born with,” - SaphaResources discussed in this episode:Information on AyahuascaLeipzig Serenity Retreat---Punk Therapy: website |email
Iranian-born entrepreneur Patrick Bet-David is known for offering sharp commentary at a waste-no-time pace. His experience as an American immigrant brings a unique perspective to today's chaotic political climate: “I think the white man has forgotten how important the West is,” he tells Glenn on this episode of "The Glenn Beck Podcast." Bet-David is no stranger to world conflict. As a survivor of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, he's seen the devastation it can bring. Fresh off his interview with the crown prince of Iran, he gives his take on the future of Iran, the complicated war between Israel and Palestine, and the evils of Hamas and Hezbollah. But he also has plenty to say about American current events as well. Bet-David and Glenn discuss Trump's complicated presidential backbone, how American politics will affect China's initiative to overcome the U.S. by 2025, and what many conservative Americans have been doing wrong. He also talks about the inspiration he's found in Elon Musk's life story, describing the Tesla CEO as both unpredictable AND predictable: “This is not a money guy; this is a vision guy.” Then, Glenn and Bet-David discuss Bet-David's media enterprise, “Valuetainment,” and dive into his latest book, “Choose Your Enemies Wisely.” They discuss the failures of liberals during the COVID pandemic — from remote work to homeschooling — and why a CBDC may be inevitable. He tells Glenn that now is "a perfect market for bullies and tyrants," comparing today's division to a divorce in need of stopping, like a marriage that can still be rescued. Sponsors: Right now, you can save $200 on an EdenPURE Thunderstorm Air Purifier 3-pack for whole-home protection. You'll get three units for under $200. That's a fraction of the cost compared to other air purifiers that can go for over $600. Just go to http://edenpuredeals.com and enter discount code GLENN. Better Spectacles - Go to https://BetterSpectacles.com/BECK now to schedule a Tele-Optical appointment. You don't even have to leave the comfort of your home. They're offering an introductory 61% off of their progressive eyewear plus free handcrafted Rodenstock frames. "The Glenn Beck Podcast" has partnered with Pre-born with a goal of saving 70,000 babies in 2023. Every tax-deductible donation, big or small, helps to save the unborn. Get involved today by dialing #250 and saying the keyword “BABY” or donate securely at https://preborn.com/GLENN Home Title Lock. Home title fraud is growing 2.5x faster than credit card fraud. You could be a victim and not even know it. Visit https://HomeTitleLock.com and use the promo code BECK to get 30 days of free protection. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode, Courtenay invites Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff to the show to talk about her book, Truth Was My Crime. The book details Elisabeth's unique experience as a diplomat's daughter, growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution of 1979, to later becoming a resident of Iraq, Kuwait, and Libya. During the 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, she was among the Austrian citizens who was held hostage. She later worked as an assistant to the Vice Chancellor of the Republic of Austria, at the Austrian Embassy Kuwait, and the Austrian Embassy Tripoli, Libya. In 2009, she was charged with “hate speech” for telling the truth about the Muslim prophet Mohammed and his “marriage” to a very young child, as related in Islamic sacred literature. She fought bravely in the legal arena through the Austrian courts and eventually the European Court of Human Rights to defend her freedom (and, by extension, the rights of all Europeans). She lost, and her case has exposed the grave danger to freedom of speech (and freedom itself) in Europe and, ultimately, the rest of the free world. Episode Resources: Catastrophic Failure: Blindfolding America in the Face of Jihad by Stephen Coughlin The Misery of Islam Connect with Elisabeth: Website: http://truthwasmycrime.com/ Book: Truth Was My Crime ————————————————— Disclaimer: this is intended to be inspiration & entertainment. We aim to inform, inspire & empower. Guest opinions/ statements are not a reflection of the host or podcast. Please note these are conversational dialogues. All statements and opinions are not necessarily meant to be taken as fact. Please do your own research. Thanks for watching! ————————————————— Follow & Connect with Courtenay: https://www.courtenayturner.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/KineticCourtz TruthSocial: https://truthsocial.com/@CourtenayTurner Instagram: https://instagram.com/kineticcourtz?utm_medium=copy_link Telegram: https://t.me/courtenayturnerpodcastcommunity Read some of her articles: https://www.truthmatters.biz Listen to &/or watch the podcast here! https://linktr.ee/courtenayturner Support my work & Affiliate links: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/courtzt https://zstacklife.com/?ref=COURTENAYTURNER MAKE HONEY GREAT AGAIN https://www.makehoneygreatagain.com/ Promo Code: COURTZ FOX N SONS Coffee: https://www.foxnsons.com Promo Code: CTP Richardson Nutritional Center: https://rncstore.com/courtz The wellness company: https://www.twc.health/?ref=UY6YiLPqkwZzUX Enroll link: https://app.sharehealthcare.com/enroll? Referral code: courtz Www.HolyHydrogen.com Discount code: UPRISING144K LMNT: http://drinklmnt.com/CourtenayTurner Ignite Sales: https://www.universityofreason.com/a/29887/KVR3yvZo Mindset workshop: https://www.universityofreason.com/a/2147526145/KVR3yvZo Critical thinking trivium method: https://www.universityofreason.com/a/2147486641/KVR3yvZo Solutions webinar: https://www.universityofreason.com/a/2147492490/KVR3yvZo Richard's GTW freedom vault: https://www.universityofreason.com/a/2147506649/KVR3yvZo https://www.universityofreason.com/a/29887/KVR3yvZo ©2023 All Rights Reserved Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Tom Renz Show – The Middle East was not always the way it is. During the 1970s, many nations were far more Americanized than they are now. What changed? Much of the change came from the radicalization of Islam and the use of the faith as a mechanism of control. The shame in what has happened is that people all bleed red, and with only a few exceptions (brainwashed terrorists and tyrannical monsters) most people...
The Tom Renz Show – The Middle East was not always the way it is. During the 1970s, many nations were far more Americanized than they are now. What changed? Much of the change came from the radicalization of Islam and the use of the faith as a mechanism of control. The shame in what has happened is that people all bleed red, and with only a few exceptions (brainwashed terrorists and tyrannical monsters) most people...
It's always difficult to know exactly what is going on in Iran - that isolated, Shia theocracy that dominates so much of the Middle Eastern land mass. It's a diverse and divisive state, ruled with an iron fist by Ayatollah Khamenei, whose supreme power means he can dictate what the country does and how it is run, at home and abroad. But in recent years, protests against the regime have been growing, leading to many people hoping that an end to the Islamic Republic and its Islamic Revolution could be on the horizon. In this episode of Conflicted, we move away from looking at the world of Sunni Islam to focus again on the Shia minority, who still retain a real influence over the region's geopolitics. After getting the state of play in Persia, we'll try to analyse how the Iranian system actually works, before looking ahead to what a future outside of Khamenei's despotic regime could look like. Join our FB Discussion group to get exclusive updates: https://www.facebook.com/groups/450486135832418 Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Welcome to the Underdog Show Podcast hosted by Pamela Bardhi. In this episode, our guest is Nicky Billou, a dynamic individual whose background includes working with Olympic Gold medalists and guiding entrepreneurs to double their sales in under a year. He's also an accomplished author and a podcast host. Born amid the Islamic Revolution, Nicky's story is a powerful testament to resilience and the pursuit of freedom. He's also a thought leader in the entrepreneurial world, guiding countless business folks to double their sales in under a year. Tune in as Nicky shares invaluable insights on becoming a thought leader in your industry, identifying ideal clients, and the unwavering commitment needed for entrepreneurial success. Join us for an episode brimming with motivation and practical wisdom, where Nicky Billou's story illuminates the path to triumph.The highlights of the episode include:Nicky Billiou's inspiration, early life and immigrationStanding up for freedom and entrepreneurshipHow to become rich and successful in lifeThe power of making decisionsIf you found this story worth your time and made changes in your life, we'd love to hear from you! Subscribe and leave a review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Catch Nicky in his socials:Website: https://www.ecircleacademy.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickybillou Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickybillouThe Thought Leader Revolution Podcast: https://www.thethoughtleaderrevolution.comThe Underdog Podcast host is none other than Pamela Bardhi. She's rocking the Real Estate Realm and has dedicated her life as a Life Coach. She is also in the Forbes Real Estate Council. To know more about Pam, check out the following:Website: https://pamelabardhi.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/pamela_bardhiTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pamela_bardhiYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@elevatethroughrealestateOur goal is to help you create the life you dream of through real estate. We're giving value-packed masterclasses on our YouTube Channel - Elevate Through Real Estate. Make sure to subscribe. https://www.youtube.com/@elevatethroughrealestate.
Bubjan is a powerful documentary that chronicles an Iranian man who has been living in exile in the United States since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. He was a member of the Iranian parliament, where he dedicated his life to cultivating a progressive, modern, and free society in Iran. But the rise of the Islamic Republic eclipsed those aspirations and forced him to leave behind everything he knew. Joining us on the Film Forward are director Nicholas Mihm and producer Rostam Zafari. Don't miss Bubjan - screening with LADFF on Saturday, September 23rd. Tickets are on sale now at LADFF.com
Today's Life Question of the Week asks does setting boundaries to “protect” one's light actually attracts more experiences and situations that require more boundaries to be set. Next, Michael speaks with Anahita Joon. Anahita is a modern-day priestess, healer, medicine woman, credentialed spiritual counselor, and founder of She School, a global transformation and education company dedicated to restoring the sacred feminine through the embodied leadership of women. Born into Iran's Islamic Revolution, Anahita's work is a culmination of over 25 years of intensive study with mystic masters and shamans, social research, and over 10 years of her own teaching and facilitation. As a Feminine Leadership mentor, Anahita activates the sacred leadership of women, awakening and unleashing the force of nature every woman carries within. During their insightful conversation, Anahita and Michael talk about: Anahita's life growing up during the war-time era of the Islamic Revolution in Iran before moving to the U.S. at age 14 How working as an exotic dancer eventually freed Anahita emotionally and spiritually from feeling overwhelming shame about her body and sexuality The fears that prevent some women from stepping into their power, the awakening of the divine feminine power, and the women at the vanguard of the women's movement in Iran (September 16th marks one year since Mahsa Amini died in the custody of Iran's morality police, setting off months of protests) She School's work with women in activating and expressing their voice from a place of wholeness, love, and fullness How Anahita balances her life as a teacher, coach, business owner, mother, and wife through joy, the vision that's pulling Anahita now—and more! **Please note that today's episode contains explicit language.** You can connect with Anahita at TheSheSchool.com, on Facebook, and her interactive Facebook group. For practical spiritual insight and encouragement around relationships, finances, health, life purpose, or in understanding world events, submit your Life Question of The Week, to podcast@michaelbeckwith.com. And remember to subscribe/follow and set an alert to receive notifications each Wednesday when new episodes are available! Connect with Michael at https://michaelbeckwith.com/ and www.Agapelive.com. Facebook: @Michael.B.Beckwith https://www.facebook.com/Michael.B.Beckwith IG: @michaelbbeckwith https://www.instagram.com/michaelbbeckwith/ X (Twitter): @drmichaelbb https://twitter.com/drmichaelbb YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqMWuqEKXLY4m60gNDsw61w
Zahra Tabatabai's parents grew up in an Iran that would be unrecognizable today. “The pictures I see of my family in Iran in the sixties and seventies, they're in bikinis at the beach, drinking beer,” she says. Now, after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, women are legally required to wear hijabs and alcohol is banned. A few years ago, Zahra became interested in the long history of beer brewing in Iran — a tradition that included her own grandfather. She began brewing her own beer, experimenting with traditional Iranian ingredients like sumac, black lime, and barberries. Now she's using her company, Back Home Beer, to change the narrative about Iranian people and culture. And one day, she hopes to bring her beer to Iran without fear. Nowruz Mobarak!The Sporkful production team includes Dan Pashman, Emma Morgenstern, Andres O'Hara, Nora Ritchie, Tracey Samuelson, and Jared O'Connell.Transcript available at www.sporkful.com.
Marina Nemat (@marinanemat) is a human rights activist who survived torture and imprisonment in Iran after Ayatollah Khomeini's Islamic Revolution. She chronicled her ordeals in Prisoner of Tehran: One Woman's Story of Survival Inside an Iranian Prison. What We Discuss with Marina Nemat: How life for women in Iran prior to Ayatollah Khomeini's Islamic Revolution mirrored their contemporaries in the United States. Why most of the populace optimistically thought the Islamic Revolution was ushering in much-needed changes over the first few months — and what happened when things started to quickly turn sour. How 16-year-old Marina got on the regime's radar and wound up in Tehran's notoriously brutal Evin Prison. The torture Marina endured while imprisoned, and the ultimatum she was forced to accept in lieu of execution. Why Marina was eventually released from prison, and what she's done with her time since then. And much more... Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/799 This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: jordanharbinger.com/deals Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course! Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!
Foreign aid has reached affected areas in Turkey following a deadly earthquake this week. But it has been much harder to get help across the boarder into Syria. Also, in Iran, tensions following months of deadly protest remain as the country observes the 44th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. And in the U.S., FBI agents found one classified document in the Indiana home of former Vice President Mike Pence.
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