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[00:00:00] Hello everyone, I'm Manaradi for Mint [00:00:02] Press News. Iran has been in the [00:00:04] crosshairs of both Western media, the US [00:00:07] government, and Israel as demonstrations [00:00:10] have spread across the country against [00:00:12] rising prices that have been hijacked by [00:00:15] pro- monarchy riers calling on the US [00:00:18] and Israel for regime change. But those [00:00:20] protests have calmed down. But if you [00:00:23] watch corporate media, you'll hear the [00:00:25] same old framing that is used to [00:00:28] manufacture consent for war, including [00:00:30] describing the Islamic Republic as a [00:00:33] regime who is mowing down peaceful [00:00:36] activists in their tens of thousands [00:00:38] with outlets from the Times to the New [00:00:41] York Post citing bogus claims of 17,000 [00:00:46] dead protesters and describing it as a [00:00:49] genocide, a term they refused to use [00:00:52] when reporting on the actual Israeli [00:00:54] genocide of Palestinians in Gaz. We have [00:00:58] to remember, Western media accepts death [00:01:00] tolls about Iran at face value and [00:01:03] Palestinian deaths in Gaz remain [00:01:05] endlessly questioned, revealing how [00:01:08] belief follows a powerful agenda, not [00:01:11] evidence. But also, we trace these [00:01:14] inflated numbers of 17,000 deaths and [00:01:16] 30,000 mass arrests, these bogus claims [00:01:20] to one source, the human rights activist [00:01:23] in Iran, which is not even based in [00:01:26] Iran. It's based in Fairfax, Virginia, [00:01:29] and it's funded by the CIA cutout, the [00:01:32] National Endowment for Democracy. and [00:01:34] human rights activists in Iran is part [00:01:37] of a pro-democracy NGO pipeline that's [00:01:40] being backed by the CIA to feed Western [00:01:43] press with inflated figures and false [00:01:45] information about Iran to signal boost a [00:01:48] pro-regime change narrative to not only [00:01:51] manufacture consent for another war but [00:01:54] to manipulate the Iranian diaspora. And [00:01:56] to top it all off, of course, former CIA [00:01:59] director Mike Pompeo has openly stated [00:02:01] that Mossad agents have led these riots [00:02:04] and Israeli media and military analysts [00:02:07] are openly boasting about the success of [00:02:09] their operation. But I want to remind [00:02:12] you, it's been a few weeks where these [00:02:14] protests and these riots have actually [00:02:17] stopped. They've ended, but media is [00:02:20] still playing with this line. So the [00:02:23] question arises, was this a revolution [00:02:25] like the media would like us to believe [00:02:27] or another regime change operation? [00:02:30] Joining me from Thran is a returning [00:02:32] guest, Sed Muhammad Morandi. Dr. Mandi [00:02:36] is a professor of English literature and [00:02:39] Orientalism at the University of Thran. [00:02:42] Welcome to the show, doctor. [00:02:45] >> Thank you very much for inviting me. [00:02:47] It's always a pleasure being on your [00:02:48] show. [00:02:49] >> Of course. So you are in Iran right now. [00:02:52] You're based in Thran and right now the [00:02:55] media is still pushing out these bogus [00:02:57] numbers and it sounds like these [00:03:00] protests and even the riots have [00:03:02] completely vanished on the ground yet [00:03:05] media is still pushing this narrative. [00:03:07] So can you tell us what exactly is the [00:03:10] situation there right now on the ground [00:03:12] in Iran? [00:03:16] Things are very quiet and they've been [00:03:18] quiet since Saturday last week. So 9 or [00:03:22] 10 days. The last nine or 10 days have [00:03:25] been quiet. Uh right now it's uh late at [00:03:29] night after I leave here because I'm at [00:03:33] a studio because our internet connection [00:03:36] right now in Iran is only local. we [00:03:38] cannot uh use our personal internet [00:03:41] connections to to communicate with uh [00:03:45] people outside the country. So I'm come [00:03:48] I've come here to press TV and I'm using [00:03:51] their internet connection. So afterwards [00:03:53] I'll go home late at night and it's very [00:03:56] peaceful. I've done this last night, the [00:03:58] night before, the night before that and [00:04:01] so on. So it's been quite a long while [00:04:03] and the only place where there are riots [00:04:05] and protests are online [00:04:09] not in the real world. Now what happened [00:04:12] was that uh when after Netanyahu went to [00:04:16] the United States to meet Trump and they [00:04:19] spent uh the new year together, we had [00:04:24] a uh sudden I think it was Sunday [00:04:28] uh a Sunday [00:04:30] uh three maybe two three three weeks [00:04:33] ago. I'm not sure about date. I'm not [00:04:34] good at dates, but we saw sudden [00:04:37] collapse or sudden rapid decline, let's [00:04:40] say, to be more accurate, in the Iranian [00:04:42] currency. It went down 30 to 40%. [00:04:46] And that led to protesters in Tehran, [00:04:49] two 2,000 3,000, nothing really big. And [00:04:52] they're basically I assume uh shop [00:04:55] owners and business people who are very [00:04:57] worried about the fall of the currency [00:04:59] because it it's very dangerous for their [00:05:01] businesses. [00:05:03] There's no police harassment. There were [00:05:05] no arrests and the government said you [00:05:07] are right to be concerned. The next day [00:05:09] there were also protests. I guess [00:05:12] roughly more or less the same numbers. [00:05:15] But then after that you saw we saw this [00:05:19] sudden influx of very well-trained [00:05:24] riers [00:05:27] and they began to [00:05:29] create chaos. [00:05:33] So there is a link [00:05:35] between Netanyahu's trip to the United [00:05:38] States, the currency fall where the [00:05:41] Americans manipulated the currency [00:05:42] through Dubai, through the Emirates, [00:05:46] through Kurdish areas in northern Iraq [00:05:49] where the Americans and the Israelis [00:05:50] have huge influence over the local [00:05:53] Kurdish government and apparently even [00:05:56] in Afghanistan. [00:05:58] So you had that currency manipulation [00:06:00] then the protests small protests quickly [00:06:03] infiltrated by people who were obviously [00:06:05] well trained for a very long period of [00:06:07] time and some of them came in from [00:06:10] abroad [00:06:12] on Thursday and Friday we had the height [00:06:16] of riots especially Thursday night [00:06:20] la meaning Thursday night last week [00:06:26] like 10 days ago [00:06:27] 11 days ago and uh [00:06:32] the rioters burned down markets, [00:06:37] entire market places in Rash for [00:06:40] example, private shops. They destroyed [00:06:44] clinics. In one clinic they that they [00:06:46] burned a young nurse. She was she burned [00:06:49] alive. She was burned alive. She she [00:06:50] tried to escape. She went up the [00:06:52] building, but the entire [00:06:55] building caught on fire and the flames [00:06:59] chased her and ultimately she burned to [00:07:01] death. They burned 250 uh schools and [00:07:05] educational centers. They burned down [00:07:08] many tens of buses in Tehran alone, [00:07:10] public buses, uh tens of fire engines, [00:07:13] very expensive cars. Why did they burn [00:07:16] the fire engines? Because they didn't [00:07:17] want them to put out the fires. because [00:07:19] the whole objective was to create chaos. [00:07:23] They murdered uh until now uh over 300 [00:07:29] police officers and volunteers who were [00:07:32] policing the streets. So imagine in the [00:07:35] United States a young woman, [00:07:38] she's in her car turning to the right [00:07:40] and then she's shot in the face and they [00:07:44] the president and his supporters support [00:07:46] it because they're saying that she was [00:07:49] not moving to the right enough [00:07:51] basically. [00:07:53] And uh here they murder [00:07:58] at least 300 well over 300 and I think [00:08:02] some of the those who are injured in [00:08:04] hospital the officers some of them are [00:08:06] are have died. So it's more than what I [00:08:11] thought. [00:08:12] So they murdered all these people. Yet [00:08:14] Western media continues to insist that [00:08:17] these are peaceful protesters. Even [00:08:19] though, as you rightly pointed out, [00:08:21] Pompeo said in his tweet that who he was [00:08:26] the former head of the CIA that the [00:08:28] Musad is on the ground with the riers [00:08:30] even though [00:08:33] Mousad put out a Persian language [00:08:34] statement stating that they're on the [00:08:37] ground with the riers and even though [00:08:39] Channel 14 of the Israeli regime said [00:08:43] that a foreign country brought in lots [00:08:45] of weapons and that is why hundreds of [00:08:47] Iranian offic officers of the law and [00:08:50] security uh agents were murdered. So the [00:08:55] Israelis are bragging about it. [00:08:59] The footage that the Iranians have [00:09:01] released so far and show it clearly. [00:09:03] I've posted quite a bit of them. I [00:09:06] didn't have any internet for a few days, [00:09:08] but then I when I was able to come here [00:09:10] and do interviews, I've been using their [00:09:12] internet. So I've been tweeting some of [00:09:13] these clips. is clearly very violent but [00:09:17] the west insists that these are peaceful [00:09:19] protesters and I believe that that is a [00:09:20] part of the conspiracy. I believe that [00:09:22] the whole the meeting between Trump and [00:09:24] Netanyahu and so do people here that it [00:09:28] was about first bringing down the [00:09:31] currency creating riots and creating an [00:09:34] environment to justify war. That's what [00:09:37] this was all about. If not to overthrow [00:09:39] the state but they were never even [00:09:41] close. [00:09:42] So, and then there's a third another [00:09:44] piece of um information that's very [00:09:47] important. At the height of the riots on [00:09:49] Thursday night, and that's when they [00:09:50] were the largest in number. [00:09:53] The Iranians cut the internet [00:09:59] and within 24 hours, the whole thing [00:10:03] collapsed. [00:10:05] The whole thing collapsed. On Saturday, [00:10:07] there were no riots. A few gatherings [00:10:09] here and there, and the police had [00:10:11] nothing to do with them. They tried to [00:10:12] attack a couple places but it it was [00:10:14] useless. So basically from Saturday last [00:10:16] week onwards [00:10:18] things stopped. Online they haven't. I [00:10:21] know now they're saying Iran is using [00:10:23] chemical weapons apparently online. [00:10:26] Tomorrow they'll be saying they're using [00:10:27] nuclear weapons against protesters. But [00:10:30] um but the point is that they they [00:10:33] pulled the plug and the riots collapsed. [00:10:36] Why? Because the riots were never [00:10:42] uh they were never um what's the word in [00:10:45] English? Uh [00:10:47] >> organic. [00:10:48] >> Spontaneous. They were never [00:10:49] spontaneous. [00:10:51] >> Yeah. [00:10:51] >> They were wellcoordinated across the [00:10:53] country. [00:10:55] And when they lost communication with [00:10:57] abroad, the intelligence agencies that [00:11:00] were guiding them, it all fell apart. [00:11:03] So for example, the riers would be [00:11:06] riding in one part of the city, the [00:11:08] police would be there and then they [00:11:10] would be told to move to another part of [00:11:12] the city and start something there. And [00:11:14] this by the way created a lot of uh [00:11:16] chaos in the sense that since the police [00:11:20] were overextended, [00:11:22] you had organized crime as well. And [00:11:24] then people had like shop owners had to [00:11:28] bring in people to protect their shops. [00:11:30] So you had uh the riers fighting the [00:11:33] people who were hired to protect the [00:11:35] shops. So the the [00:11:37] um organized crime and organized crime [00:11:40] was they were very heavily involved in [00:11:42] this whole uh project but those that [00:11:45] weren't they were uh um on the streets [00:11:50] and active. So when they but when they [00:11:52] pulled the plug it all fell apart. [00:11:55] So obviously it was not um uh homegrown. [00:11:59] and it was not uh it was very much uh [00:12:03] linked to abroad and so when they could [00:12:05] no longer get orders from abroad they uh [00:12:08] they the whole thing collapsed and now [00:12:10] they're being arrested. They also tried [00:12:12] to use um Elon Musk's uh capabilities [00:12:16] but uh that has also been foiled and uh [00:12:19] the whole thing has collapsed. I mean, [00:12:21] as I said, since last Saturday, things [00:12:23] have been calm in the country. And also [00:12:26] on Monday, last week, a week ago, [00:12:31] we had huge [00:12:33] pro-Islamic Republic protests across the [00:12:36] country, up to 3 million people in [00:12:38] Tehran. And it took me a couple of hours [00:12:40] because I went, it took me a couple of [00:12:42] hours to get there and a couple of hours [00:12:44] to get out. And when I was leaving after [00:12:46] the program, people were still trying to [00:12:48] get there. It was massive. And then [00:12:50] every city had its own [00:12:53] gathering. And the places where the [00:12:56] riots were more intense, [00:12:59] the the anti- riot uh demonstrations [00:13:04] were larger. It was quite stunning. But [00:13:07] then the West pretends that that didn't [00:13:09] happen. And also I've seen them use [00:13:12] footage of these uh anti- riot rallies [00:13:17] in their footage [00:13:21] talking about protests. So to to to [00:13:24] summarize, [00:13:27] they conspired to bring down the [00:13:28] currency. They used the protests which [00:13:31] were peaceful. There's no on day one and [00:13:34] two if anyone goes back. No one was [00:13:36] arrested. There's no footage of the [00:13:37] police uh like in London where an old [00:13:41] 85year-old [00:13:43] Jewish woman is holding a plaque card [00:13:45] saying I'm against genocide and she goes [00:13:47] to jail. We didn't have any of that. Or [00:13:50] in like in Berlin where a young German [00:13:55] woman would put on a kafir in solidarity [00:13:58] with Palestinians and then be battered. [00:14:00] We didn't have any of that. [00:14:02] The violence began after these small [00:14:05] groups, very well-trained groups who had [00:14:08] guns, [00:14:10] who had swords, [00:14:12] who had uh uh they would they would [00:14:15] batter people with they, you know, you [00:14:17] see you have images of someone using an [00:14:19] axe. They as I said, they cut off [00:14:21] people's heads. They burned people [00:14:23] alive. And the West, Western media [00:14:26] insists that they were peaceful. And [00:14:28] that I think is a part of the conspiracy [00:14:31] that they either wanted to see if they [00:14:33] could overthrow the state which they [00:14:36] were nowhere close to that [00:14:38] and then but also they wanted to justify [00:14:41] war. And you see people like from AOC [00:14:43] who said we have to help the Iranian [00:14:45] people this fake uh progressive [00:14:48] to Levin uh Mark Leven they're both [00:14:52] they're saying basically the same thing [00:14:54] CNN Fox News in their own way in their [00:14:56] own language each you know one more [00:14:58] bombastic one more subtle and [00:15:01] sophisticated [00:15:03] but I think that what we are seeing is [00:15:05] an attempt by Zionists and neocons [00:15:09] to prepare the grounds for war and uh we [00:15:14] are where we are. [00:15:16] >> It's really hypocritical just the way [00:15:19] the media framing has been uh towards [00:15:21] Iran considering the fact that in these [00:15:24] same moments federal agents shot Renee [00:15:27] Good here in Minneapolis where where I [00:15:29] live and these mass protests have [00:15:32] erupted here and they've cracked down [00:15:34] with the police brutality. It's been [00:15:36] really horrible watching a lot of people [00:15:38] on the left, you know, so-called [00:15:39] liberals saying that we need to help the [00:15:41] Iranian protesters [00:15:43] um when they maybe they don't even [00:15:46] realize because of the propaganda that a [00:15:48] lot of these people uh like you said are [00:15:51] rioting and they are openly backed by [00:15:54] the state of Israel and they're [00:15:55] receiving weapons and being trained by [00:15:57] the CIA and by uh Israeli Mossad. And [00:16:00] you know, we at Mit Press have [00:16:02] documented how Israeli intelligence [00:16:04] covertly transfer weapons into Iran [00:16:07] through its eastern border and oftent [00:16:09] times through Israeli tied cargo ships [00:16:12] that travel past Yemen through the Red [00:16:14] Sea. Um, you know, we've investigated [00:16:17] and revealed that cargo ships like [00:16:19] Zodiac Maritime, which is an operator of [00:16:22] the Mercer Street, has deep ties to the [00:16:25] Israeli military and Israeli [00:16:27] intelligence. And they're using these [00:16:29] commercial ships to move weapons and [00:16:32] operatives for covert operations inside [00:16:35] of Iran, including assassination [00:16:36] missions. And it's because organic [00:16:41] grassroots efforts don't exist to [00:16:44] overthrow the government of Iran. It is [00:16:47] spontaneous and backed by the West for [00:16:51] this regime change operation. And so as [00:16:54] we touch on this aspect, I want to hear [00:16:57] more about how exactly did the United [00:17:02] States and Israel work with Gulf [00:17:04] countries and the Kurdish state to [00:17:06] manipulate the real to push for these [00:17:10] protests. [00:17:13] Well, I'm not an economist, but [00:17:16] basically since Iran is sanctioned and [00:17:19] we have maximum pressure sanctions and [00:17:21] those liberals who pretend to care about [00:17:24] Iranians, [00:17:25] the the United States is waging war [00:17:27] against ordinary Iranians. It's been [00:17:29] doing that for years. The sanctions are [00:17:31] intended to strangle ordinary Iranians. [00:17:33] It's intended to make them suffer. Just [00:17:34] like these riers and terrorists that [00:17:37] they're supporting in Iran, they're [00:17:39] killing Iranians. Just as the 12-day war [00:17:41] where the US conspired with the Israeli [00:17:43] regime to uh carry out a blitz Greek [00:17:46] attack, these are all human rights [00:17:48] violations. These are all acts of [00:17:49] murder. And if these liberals are have [00:17:53] any decency, they would be calling the [00:17:56] US government evil. Some of them pretend [00:17:59] to be in opposition. They say, "Yes, we [00:18:03] shouldn't carry out war even though [00:18:04] they're evil." You know, like like in uh [00:18:07] the same is true with Vene Venezuela. [00:18:09] Maduro is evil, but we shouldn't, you [00:18:11] know. No, your government is evil. Your [00:18:14] government is evil for murdering a 100 [00:18:16] people in the Medit in the Caribbean. [00:18:18] Your government is evil for murdering [00:18:20] another 100 people in a an attack on [00:18:22] Venezuela and kidnapping the president [00:18:24] and his wife and battering his wife. But [00:18:28] they're too cowardly to say this. So [00:18:29] these liberals [00:18:31] say, "Yes, Maduro is evil, but we [00:18:36] shouldn't do it." You know that that is [00:18:38] in itself reinforcing the narrative. [00:18:41] These people even when they pretend to [00:18:43] be opposed to war or they may be [00:18:45] sincerely opposed to war by reinforcing [00:18:48] this narrative of them being evil and we [00:18:50] being somehow normal they are part of [00:18:53] this murder, death and destruction. They [00:18:56] contribute to the narrative and the same [00:18:58] is true with Iran. In the case of Iran, [00:19:00] Iran's only sin is that it is [00:19:03] independent. [00:19:05] After the revolution it became [00:19:07] independent and on based on its [00:19:10] constitution and its religious ideology [00:19:12] it supports the press [00:19:15] and whether it's in Cuba which is [00:19:18] communist or Venezuela or South Africa [00:19:21] during the parttheid era or Palestine [00:19:24] Iran has fulfilled that uh [00:19:27] constitutional [00:19:28] obligation and that is why the United [00:19:31] States hates Iran so much. That's why [00:19:32] Western elites hate Iran so much. If [00:19:35] Iran was like Turkey or Saudi Arabia or [00:19:38] Egypt or Jordan or the Emirates, there [00:19:41] would be no sanctions. There would be no [00:19:43] blitz creek attack and there would no be [00:19:45] no attempts to infiltrate the country [00:19:47] with terrorists and riers and to create [00:19:49] death and destruction and chaos. [00:19:53] So [00:19:55] um basically what we have right now is a [00:19:58] situation where [00:20:01] a they are building a consensus [00:20:05] to wage war against the country and and [00:20:09] Iran is prepared right now to to uh to [00:20:14] respond. So, [00:20:17] but to go back to your question, [00:20:20] the since Iran is sanctioned, Iran uses [00:20:26] uh you know um alternative means for [00:20:29] currency exchange, [00:20:31] right? like the uh I don't know how they [00:20:35] would say it in English but like halal [00:20:37] and like these uh currency uh exchanges [00:20:42] they don't use the bank but they use [00:20:43] alternative systems and so with the [00:20:45] Americans in coordination with their [00:20:47] friends and allies is they they they [00:20:49] shut that they block it so Iranians [00:20:52] cannot have access to enough dollars [00:20:57] I mean even though Iran is moving away [00:20:58] from the US dollar it still is using the [00:21:01] US dollar too. And so when the Iranians [00:21:04] don't have the access to the US dollars [00:21:06] that they need, then suddenly the the [00:21:09] Iranian realale plummets because there's [00:21:11] a greater demand for the dollar and [00:21:13] there are not enough dollars [00:21:15] and that is what basically happened. So [00:21:18] it was a sophisticated operation [00:21:21] >> but it came right after Netanyahu met [00:21:24] Trump and as I said right after that we [00:21:26] had the riers which were obviously being [00:21:29] trained for years and they were being [00:21:31] cultivated [00:21:32] but uh just one final point right now [00:21:36] Iran is ready for war. Iran is has told [00:21:40] the Americans [00:21:43] through third parties that if you [00:21:45] attack, we will not pull any punches. [00:21:49] And that means basically the oil and gas [00:21:52] market in the world is going to go [00:21:55] haywire because there won't be any more [00:21:57] oil from [00:22:00] the caucuses or West Asia. Now, that [00:22:04] would bring down the global economy. It [00:22:05] will bring down the US economy. Some [00:22:07] would some Americans say, well, you the [00:22:08] United States is independent [00:22:11] um when it comes to energy supplies, but [00:22:15] that's not true. Ordinary Americans will [00:22:17] suffer. In other words, I mean, that's [00:22:19] not true in the sense it will not save [00:22:21] the US economy. If the price of oil goes [00:22:24] through the roof, then consumers will [00:22:28] pay the price. Yes, a few billionaires [00:22:31] and oligarchs will make money, but the [00:22:33] US economy will collapse just like [00:22:35] everywhere else. [00:22:37] So the question is why would Trump do [00:22:40] this if it's [00:22:43] if it could bring about a global [00:22:44] economic depression worse than 1929 [00:22:49] because the people around him are [00:22:51] Zionists and Israel first. Their [00:22:53] priority is not the US economy. It's not [00:22:55] eur the European economy. It's not the [00:22:57] global economy. It's the Israeli regime. [00:22:59] And so we are in a situation right now [00:23:02] that we don't know what is going to [00:23:03] happen next. But the Iranians know that [00:23:06] this is going to be a fight for survival [00:23:09] if there's war. And Iran is not going to [00:23:13] pull, as I said, Iran is not going to [00:23:15] hold back. So those people in the [00:23:19] Western media who are lying [00:23:21] about peaceful protesters being gunned [00:23:24] down by these evil Iranians, this this [00:23:28] narrative [00:23:29] uh this ugly and false fake narrative, [00:23:34] they are contributing to war and they [00:23:38] are claiming basically that by attacking [00:23:41] Iran and killing people that are going [00:23:43] to be helping the Iranian people. They [00:23:46] want to help the Iranian people. They [00:23:47] should end the sanctions. [00:23:49] They should stop engaging in war. They [00:23:52] should stop supporting terrorists. And [00:23:53] by the way, these in the west they say, [00:23:56] you know, the Western is trying to [00:23:58] portray these groups as popular in Iran. [00:24:01] They're completely discredited. There [00:24:03] are four groups. [00:24:05] One is the MEK cult. Who are they? [00:24:09] During the period when Saddam Hussein [00:24:10] invaded Iran in the 1980s and 1981, they [00:24:15] carried out a [00:24:17] um a a a an a milit a military uprising [00:24:23] against the state as Iran was fighting [00:24:26] Saddam Hussein resisting the aggression. [00:24:28] Now they're doing the same thing as Iran [00:24:30] is under threat. They are engaging in [00:24:32] armed conflict with the state. Then in [00:24:35] the n afterwards they went to Iraq and [00:24:38] fought for Saddam Hussein against Iran. [00:24:42] Does anyone in their right mind believe [00:24:44] that these people who fought for Saddam [00:24:46] Hussein against their own country, they [00:24:47] have any popularity in Iran? [00:24:50] The second group, they're the [00:24:51] monarchists, the son of the Sha who [00:24:54] hasn't been in Iran for 50 years. [00:24:57] People ridicule him. He's not very smart [00:25:00] and his family issues are we don't even [00:25:03] need to go there. But people ridicule [00:25:06] him. But he went to Israel. [00:25:09] Israel which carried out [00:25:11] a a blitz creek war against Iranians, [00:25:15] killed a thousand Iranians including [00:25:18] tens of children. [00:25:21] He went there and he's also calling for [00:25:22] Trump to attack Iran. [00:25:25] Does anyone in their m any sane person [00:25:28] believe that someone who's the son of a [00:25:30] former despot who stole billions of [00:25:32] dollars and from Iranian [00:25:35] assets took it abroad and is calling for [00:25:38] attacks on the country and who's gone to [00:25:40] uh [00:25:42] uh kiss the ring in in Tel Aviv or Alot [00:25:49] that Iranians support him. [00:25:52] The third group is ISIS and the Takiris [00:25:57] and the remnants of ISIS. [00:26:01] Of course, they're enemies of Iran and [00:26:03] no one supports them. And the fourth are [00:26:05] the Kurdish terrorist groups that are [00:26:08] based in northern Iraq that are [00:26:10] separatists. [00:26:12] So, Iranians would support. Which of [00:26:13] these four groups would Iranians [00:26:15] support? And these groups are, by the [00:26:17] way, very hostile towards one another. [00:26:20] But Western intelligence agencies in [00:26:22] this operation coordinated all of them. [00:26:25] And as I said, when the Iranians pulled [00:26:27] the plug, the whole thing fell apart [00:26:30] because [00:26:32] it was controlled from abroad. But as I [00:26:34] said, none of these have any [00:26:36] credibility. So we have the mass [00:26:38] demonstrations across the country that [00:26:40] were [00:26:42] shown [00:26:44] on live TV. We had rolling coverage on [00:26:46] multiple channels. And then uh RT was [00:26:50] here, Al Jazzer was here, Al-Mayadin was [00:26:54] here, [00:26:56] Turkish journalists were here, CCTV was [00:26:58] here, CGTN was here, all there were all [00:27:01] sorts of people in Tehran and of course [00:27:03] they were taking place in across the [00:27:05] country, these anti-otists. [00:27:08] So the western media and then you know [00:27:12] it's it's extraordinary when I speak on [00:27:15] western media or when I speak to western [00:27:17] journalists and I tell them uh that the [00:27:20] Israelis and the Americans you know they [00:27:23] they were involved they try to deny it [00:27:26] whereas the Israelis are open about it [00:27:28] you know I tell them you know the [00:27:29] Israelis beg to differ and some of these [00:27:32] analysts in the west [00:27:36] one of them comment commented on the [00:27:38] channel 14 tweet, the channel 14 Israeli [00:27:41] news channel that said a country brought [00:27:43] in large amounts of weapons and killed [00:27:45] hundreds of police officers. One of the [00:27:48] I don't want to name names, but he [00:27:50] commented on the tweet and said that [00:27:52] basically he was upset that why is are [00:27:55] the Israelis ruining the peaceful [00:27:57] protest narrative. [00:28:00] So these Iran experts, these analysts [00:28:03] are intellectually dishonest. [00:28:06] They're hiding the reality [00:28:10] because [00:28:11] that's how they get their money. That's [00:28:13] how they get their funding. And so [00:28:15] mainstream media, these so-called [00:28:17] analysts, all of them are part of the [00:28:19] same apparatus. [00:28:22] And uh [00:28:25] or ordinary Americans, I'm sure many of [00:28:27] them believe this nonsense, but it's the [00:28:29] same thing as Venezuela. But the [00:28:31] difference between Iran and Venezuela is [00:28:32] Iran is uh much more powerful and Iran [00:28:35] has powerful allies across the region. [00:28:38] In Iraq in the recent elections, [00:28:42] you know, and I'm sure many in your [00:28:44] audience know that Iran's allies won. [00:28:47] They they did very well in the [00:28:49] elections. Iran has allies, strong [00:28:51] allies in Yemen. This is not a situation [00:28:54] where the Americans can win. Of course, [00:28:55] in war, everyone will lose. [00:28:58] But the United States will not win. they [00:29:00] will lose. [00:29:01] >> Of course, none of this is possible [00:29:04] without the corporate media [00:29:06] manufacturing consent for regime change, [00:29:09] dehumanizing people on the ground. We're [00:29:12] going to go straight into the Kathy [00:29:13] Newman clip at Channel 4. The people on [00:29:17] the streets in their thousands who are [00:29:19] now being systematically slaughtered in [00:29:21] their thousands. They are saying that [00:29:23] your government no longer has the right [00:29:25] to govern. [00:29:27] Yesterday we saw rallies across the [00:29:30] country and the footage is online and it [00:29:33] was broadcast live even though now [00:29:36] people like Musk and others are trying [00:29:39] to pretend it was AI or [00:29:42] >> these were people who were forced to go [00:29:44] out and protest but people of their own [00:29:46] free will bravely went out and in return [00:29:49] the government your government has [00:29:51] slaughtered them in their thousands and [00:29:54] for what [00:29:56] >> they Over 2.3 million people in Tehran [00:29:59] yesterday on the streets and reporters [00:30:02] from Al Jazzer, English, Arabic, RT, [00:30:05] CGTN, CCTV and others, Al-Mayaden were [00:30:08] there and they witnessed it. How can you [00:30:11] force millions of people on the street [00:30:14] >> because you instilled into the people of [00:30:16] your country? Your government instills [00:30:18] fear into the people of your country. [00:30:22] I think that you are living in an [00:30:24] alternative universe and you're drowning [00:30:27] in your own fake narratives. If you [00:30:30] think that uh the people of Iran support [00:30:33] the MEK terror organization or the [00:30:36] monarchists [00:30:37] uh that your governments fund and [00:30:39] support, uh I think uh you really know [00:30:43] literally nothing about Iran. [00:30:46] >> Your government says that 2,000 people [00:30:48] are dead. Are you denying that? Our [00:30:52] government never made any statements [00:30:54] about any death numbers at all. [00:30:57] >> It's been reported to Reuters. [00:31:01] >> Our government does not report to [00:31:03] Reuters and Reuters constantly [00:31:05] fabricates [00:31:07] uh information about Iran and it [00:31:09] constantly says unnamed sources. [00:31:11] >> So the piling up on the streets, that's [00:31:14] all AI. That's all fake, is it? [00:31:17] >> There are no bodies piling up on the [00:31:19] streets. No bodies piled up on the [00:31:21] streets. We've seen them with our eyes [00:31:24] >> and by and no not on the streets. I live [00:31:28] in Tehran. [00:31:28] >> Well, in the mall and by the way [00:31:31] >> and by the So then rephrase and don't [00:31:35] produce propaganda. Uh you're supposed [00:31:38] to be a credible news outlet. 100 police [00:31:41] officers roughly or officers of the law [00:31:44] were murdered. Two were burnt alive. One [00:31:47] was beheaded. And we had a nurse burnt [00:31:52] alive in a clinic. The clinic was burnt [00:31:54] down and she was burnt. She was a a [00:31:56] young nurse. We had a three-year-old kid [00:31:58] who was shot by these rioters or who you [00:32:02] the people who you call protesters. [00:32:04] >> Okay. Dr. Mirande, I'd love to get uh [00:32:06] your perspective on this media framing [00:32:09] and just your uh experience dealing with [00:32:13] these western corporate media outlets [00:32:16] and their utter hypocrisy and bullying [00:32:18] of you um on their channels. [00:32:23] Well, you know, the thing is that [00:32:27] channel 4 news in the UK is supposedly [00:32:33] different from the BBC and Sky News. And [00:32:36] when they were preparing for the [00:32:38] invasion of Iraq in 2003, [00:32:40] the only place where you can hear you [00:32:42] could hear dissenting voices somewhat [00:32:45] louder than in other places was in [00:32:48] Channel 4 News. This is the tone of the [00:32:52] host of channel 4 news. The whole every [00:32:54] day they're doing they've been doing [00:32:55] anti-running propaganda when they come [00:32:57] and she the the beginning of the pro of [00:32:59] the interview they deleted. They did not [00:33:02] put it on YouTube. Even this interview [00:33:05] only parts of it was shown on television [00:33:07] but on YouTube they didn't even show [00:33:12] it because in the beginning was the [00:33:13] worst part of it where she was you know [00:33:16] outrageously she was outrageous. But the [00:33:18] point is that they have created a [00:33:20] manufactured consent as I said when it's [00:33:22] it's on the one hand you have AOC saying [00:33:24] we need to help the Iranians and then [00:33:26] you have uh Levin [00:33:31] you have the so-called liberals and you [00:33:34] have the conservative conservatives all [00:33:36] saying the same thing and if anyone is [00:33:38] sort of dissenting they're saying well [00:33:40] yes they're evil but you know we [00:33:43] shouldn't attack we should use other [00:33:44] means [00:33:46] but in reality [00:33:48] They are the ones who are evil. They're [00:33:50] the ones who are imposing sanctions. [00:33:52] They are the ones who are sending [00:33:53] terrorists into the country. They're the [00:33:55] ones who fund the Israeli regime and [00:33:57] they're the ones who helped the Israelis [00:33:58] carry out genocide and they're the ones [00:34:00] who enabled the Israeli regime to carry [00:34:02] out a blitzcreek attack on Iran and who [00:34:04] are threatening Iran with war. So these [00:34:07] very same people, liberal and [00:34:09] conservative, those in the mainstream, [00:34:12] they're all sinister actors and they all [00:34:15] are a part of the problem. They're not a [00:34:18] part of the solution. And it's not just [00:34:19] Iran, they did the same thing in [00:34:21] Venezuela. [00:34:23] They justified even those who wereo, as [00:34:25] I said earlier, those who were [00:34:27] supposedly against the war by demonizing [00:34:31] President Maduro, who's infinitely more [00:34:34] humane than Trump or Biden or anyone in [00:34:37] the US political establishment, which [00:34:39] has been supporting a holocaust in Gaza. [00:34:42] By demonizing him, they are partners in [00:34:44] the crimes against the Venezuelan people [00:34:46] because they're too cowardly to tell the [00:34:48] truth. And I'm talking about those who [00:34:51] have been speaking against war. I don't [00:34:53] see any difference between, [00:34:56] you know, excuse me for saying this. I [00:34:58] don't see anything any substantial [00:35:00] difference between AOC [00:35:03] and [00:35:04] the prince of darkness, Richard Pearl. [00:35:07] They're all the same. [00:35:11] And this kind of uh push back, I guess [00:35:15] you could say, that you're giving [00:35:17] Western corporate media is really um [00:35:20] upsetting a lot of the politicians that [00:35:23] may be receiving money from the Israel [00:35:25] lobby. And one of those people is, you [00:35:27] know, Canadian politician Goldie Gamari. [00:35:31] She has actually targeted you [00:35:33] specifically and she recently uh called [00:35:36] you the Joseph Gabels of Iran and said [00:35:40] that once the government is over [00:35:41] overthrown they will make sure to kill [00:35:44] you like they killed Kaddafi. Her [00:35:46] specific quote was the tip of your pinky [00:35:49] finger will be the biggest piece of you [00:35:52] after we Iranians are done with you. And [00:35:55] of course she's a Canadian politician [00:35:56] who's also an Iranian of the diaspora. [00:35:59] What do you make of such threats and [00:36:02] what do you say about the nature of the [00:36:06] portion of Iranian diaspora that are [00:36:09] this vicious? [00:36:12] >> Well, they are reflective of the riers. [00:36:14] In other words, they and the riers are [00:36:15] one and the same. [00:36:17] Those rioters have that mentality. [00:36:20] people who burn people alive, crush [00:36:24] people's heads, murder a nurse, murder a [00:36:28] a Red Crescent volunteer, murder people [00:36:32] who are just walking down the streets. [00:36:35] These people are just like her. And it's [00:36:38] not just her that threatens us. I mean, [00:36:41] just look at my Twitter feed and [00:36:44] elsewhere. And they can say it and get [00:36:46] away with it. They won't. They She She [00:36:48] said it. She made threats on Piers [00:36:51] Morgan's show. I mean, I was invited on [00:36:54] Piers Morgan's show. His I I said I I [00:36:56] will never go again on the show. Then [00:36:58] his producer contacted me. [00:37:01] He she promised it would be I I mean I [00:37:04] have the exchange on my WhatsApp. [00:37:08] She uh said it will be a one-on-one and [00:37:13] that was my condition. And then he lied [00:37:14] of course as usual as he always does [00:37:16] because he is he has no sense of [00:37:19] morality or anything. They did their [00:37:21] research on this one. I didn't know who [00:37:23] she was. Even now I don't know her name. [00:37:25] You said her name. I knew who you were [00:37:26] talking but I don't know her. And as we [00:37:30] speak I can't remember her name. But um [00:37:33] they did their research. They know who [00:37:35] they bring on the show because whenever [00:37:36] they invite me, it's clear that he's had [00:37:38] he has the summaries of all my pre some [00:37:41] of my, you know, key interviews that I [00:37:43] had before being on his show. So, he's [00:37:45] brief. He they know who this woman is. [00:37:47] They know what sort of language she [00:37:48] uses. They know the sort of threats that [00:37:50] she makes. And then on the show she made [00:37:53] threats on live TV and it I mean well on [00:37:56] and record on a recorded program and [00:37:58] then hours later they broadcast they [00:38:00] didn't remove it and she does those [00:38:03] tweets that you point out and on social [00:38:06] media and no one touched them until a a [00:38:09] well-known [00:38:11] uh [00:38:13] a very well-known [00:38:15] um [00:38:17] online activist or med media person [00:38:20] Glenn Greenwald. He he tweeted and and [00:38:24] then they afterwards when this became a [00:38:27] big thing they restricted [00:38:29] uh views of her tweet only because of [00:38:33] that. [00:38:35] So the same I mean if I were to say [00:38:39] anything like that [00:38:43] imagine what they would have done to me. [00:38:46] Imagine they would have taken my account [00:38:47] away from me. I would have been [00:38:48] condemned across the board by social [00:38:51] media activists and rightly so. But [00:38:54] these people can say whatever they want [00:38:57] because they've dehumanized the Iranians [00:38:59] so much. [00:39:00] And as I said, the whole political [00:39:02] establishment is a part of this. They're [00:39:04] all criminals. Just like Manar, anyone [00:39:09] who trusts Western media and Western [00:39:12] elites [00:39:16] and Western pundits [00:39:19] after Gaza [00:39:22] and believes that they're credible about [00:39:23] Iran or Venezuela, [00:39:26] these people are [00:39:28] useless. I mean, it's they they're [00:39:31] irredeemable. They just they're too [00:39:34] naive. They're too ignorant to to to be [00:39:38] able to change them. It's clear as day. [00:39:41] For well over two years, they've been [00:39:43] trying to hide a Holocaust [00:39:46] and they've been apologist for the [00:39:48] Israeli regime. Remember the the October [00:39:51] the 7th rapes and the beheadings. [00:39:57] Months after it was clear that these [00:39:59] were lies, they cons they continued to [00:40:01] push it. people like Pierce Morgan among [00:40:04] many others. They continued to push it [00:40:07] because they wanted to justify the [00:40:09] Holocaust. [00:40:12] They were lying. There was no evidence. [00:40:13] We all know that now. [00:40:16] So, anything you hear about Iran from [00:40:17] these people is obviously of the same [00:40:20] nature. Iran is being punished because [00:40:24] of its position on Palestine. Because it [00:40:26] is only Iran that supports the [00:40:28] Palestinian people, the Iranians and the [00:40:31] Yemenes and the Axis of resistance. No [00:40:33] one else does. Everyone else does [00:40:35] business. Like Erdogan, like Abdullah in [00:40:39] Jordan, like Cece in Egypt, like [00:40:41] Muhammad bin Z. All of these people do [00:40:43] business with Israeli regime. They can [00:40:46] say a few nasty words here and there, [00:40:49] but they're fine. But Iran is is because [00:40:53] of its support for the Palestinian [00:40:54] people. So yes, if you believe the [00:40:56] nonsense about Gaza being a war and not [00:41:00] a genocide, then you can believe all the [00:41:02] nonsense of by Western media and Western [00:41:05] pundits and Western governments about [00:41:08] >> of course. I mean, you got you kind of [00:41:09] have to be a special kind of stupid [00:41:12] honestly at this point if you believe [00:41:14] anything that comes out of Western [00:41:16] corporate media about any nation that [00:41:18] dares to stand up to US and Israeli [00:41:21] imperialism. Like you said, we witnessed [00:41:23] over 2 years of atrocity propaganda [00:41:26] being uh pushed within Western corporate [00:41:29] media from the beheaded babies to, you [00:41:31] know, these rape claims to babies being [00:41:34] baked in ovens. We saw how media [00:41:38] manufacture consent, how they push bogus [00:41:41] claims and atrocity propaganda to [00:41:45] justify war. And yet we have many of the [00:41:50] same people who saw that say, "Oh, but [00:41:53] you know, Iran is different or they" and [00:41:55] they are sharing a lot of these [00:41:56] statistics and these numbers of mass [00:41:59] arrests and mass casualties. [00:42:01] >> 20,000 killed, chemical weapons being [00:42:04] used. I mean, [00:42:06] >> just give them a few more days and it'll [00:42:07] be 200,000 people killed and nuclear [00:42:10] weapons use. [00:42:11] >> I mean, we literally just heard that [00:42:13] about, you know, Palestine and they're [00:42:16] paring the same thing. And a lot of it [00:42:18] has to do with um a lot of the [00:42:20] Iranophobia and the Shia phobia and just [00:42:24] the total dehumanization of Iran um over [00:42:28] the course of the past, you know, [00:42:30] decades. And it has even touched the [00:42:33] Palestinian-American community has [00:42:35] touched a lot of the um Arab and Muslim [00:42:38] community here in the west because um [00:42:41] even sometimes Al Jazzer pushes [00:42:43] sometimes these these narratives about [00:42:46] Iran and nuclear weapons. So it's very [00:42:49] clear that there's an agenda uh to push [00:42:52] for this regime change and it's through [00:42:53] dehumanization of um of Iran. And I want [00:42:57] to talk about the timing of all of this. [00:42:59] And this is, you know, one of my final [00:43:01] questions for you because it's really [00:43:03] important because right before Nicholas [00:43:05] Maduro was kidnapped and right before [00:43:09] um, you know, these Iranian protests [00:43:11] were hijacked and right before Trump [00:43:14] announced that he's ready to invade [00:43:16] Greenland to take over the minerals [00:43:18] there. Of course, all of these things, [00:43:21] the Trump administration is openly [00:43:24] saying what they're trying to do. There [00:43:27] were closed door meetings between [00:43:29] President Trump and Netanyahu and [00:43:31] everything that I just mentioned [00:43:33] basically happened right after that. Do [00:43:37] you agree? [00:43:41] >> Oh, yes. Yes. And and you're absolutely [00:43:42] correct. this Iran, this phobia against [00:43:44] Iran and Shia. It's something the [00:43:46] Western media has been doing for [00:43:48] decades. And the media empires of these [00:43:51] uh family dictatorships in the Persian [00:43:52] Gulf, whether in Katad or Saudi Arabia [00:43:54] or the Emirates and and others, they've [00:43:57] been doing it for for decades. And uh [00:44:00] you know, Katar is a Wahhabi regime. [00:44:04] It's a central mosque. It's a is the [00:44:06] Muhammad Abdul Wahab Mosque which is a [00:44:10] uh he you know Takiri uh ideology that [00:44:14] he he pushed and of course Erdogan and [00:44:17] Katar they've been pushing supporting [00:44:19] ISIS and al for a very long period of [00:44:22] time sadly Turkey especially being a [00:44:25] strong Sufi you know having a strong [00:44:27] Sufi tradition Erdogan is moving p [00:44:30] trying to push it in a very different [00:44:32] direction so this [00:44:34] sectarianism under the umbrella of the [00:44:36] American Empire and this general [00:44:38] hostility towards Iran [00:44:40] in the Western media. All of these [00:44:42] together, the Arabic and uh the oil and [00:44:45] gas funded Arabic media and the Western [00:44:47] media because they're all in the same [00:44:49] camp, you know, they they've all they're [00:44:51] all in it together. remember after the [00:44:54] so the the the fake ceasefire when all [00:44:57] these world leaders gathered in Egypt [00:45:01] for that monkey show they all went there [00:45:04] basically to whitewash Trump and his and [00:45:06] his atrocities in Gaza [00:45:10] and I don't want to go into you know [00:45:11] each and every one of them but Iran was [00:45:14] not there [00:45:16] if Iran went there and Trump would have [00:45:19] been very pleased but Iran was not going [00:45:20] to whitewash his crimes so They are all [00:45:23] in the same camp and it's the axis of [00:45:25] resistance. That is why they're [00:45:26] targeting Iran today because Iran is at [00:45:28] the heart of the axis of resistance and [00:45:30] that is why we've had this anti-Iranian [00:45:33] narrative for for decades or anti-Shia [00:45:35] narrative for decades or anti-resistance [00:45:38] narrative for decades. [00:45:40] And the current conspiracy that that's [00:45:44] playing out, it began over the new year [00:45:47] with Netanyahu and Trump meeting in Mara [00:45:51] Lago and Florida. That's you know [00:45:54] immediately afterwards all these events [00:45:56] started and these pre planned riots [00:46:00] these people who've been trained for a [00:46:01] very long period of time [00:46:04] uh they were deployed subsequently and [00:46:07] we may have a full-scale war in the [00:46:09] coming days who knows and the western [00:46:12] media is desperately trying to prepare [00:46:15] the grounds for such a war but it's not [00:46:17] going to end well for them and I and [00:46:19] when there's the when we have the [00:46:21] economic crisis the the the oil and gas [00:46:24] crisis, the energy crisis. I think a lot [00:46:26] of people whose lives will be ruined [00:46:28] will be seeking out these people who've [00:46:30] been pushing for the war, including [00:46:32] Trump's opponents who are also pushing [00:46:34] for war. As I said, even those who are [00:46:37] speaking against the war, they're [00:46:38] justifying it by demonizing Iran. The [00:46:40] same thing that they did with President [00:46:42] Maduro and the Venezuelans. [00:46:45] And we have uh news sources like Iran [00:46:48] International which is funded by Saudi [00:46:51] Arabia and directed a lot of its [00:46:53] coverage um by Saudi intelligence and [00:46:57] they're pushing this dehumanization of [00:47:01] Iranians and pushing this Shiaophobia. [00:47:03] What do you make of Iran International? [00:47:08] Well, Iran International is based in [00:47:10] London and I've actually recently [00:47:13] tweeted uh a a clip from what the one of [00:47:17] the host was one of the hosts was [00:47:19] saying. He was saying that we have to [00:47:21] have uh armed rebellion in Iran. He was [00:47:24] advocating it. [00:47:26] But Offcom in the UK is not banning the [00:47:29] channel for this. This is this is [00:47:31] something that would cause any other [00:47:34] media channel to be shut down. Press TV, [00:47:38] RT, [00:47:40] uh, all sorts of Lebanese and Yemeni and [00:47:43] Iraqi media channels and all Iranian [00:47:45] media channels have been banned in the [00:47:47] West and sanctioned [00:47:50] for just opposing Western narratives. [00:47:53] None of them have called for armed [00:47:54] rebellion in the UK or the US. [00:47:58] But they're so the US government and the [00:48:00] UK government because they have offices [00:48:01] in the US, UK and in and in in Tel Aviv. [00:48:05] They are openly advocating for they are [00:48:08] opening openly telling people to wage [00:48:09] war against the government in Iran. [00:48:12] I don't know who funds I don't know if [00:48:13] the Saudis still fund it. They they were [00:48:15] funding it in the past. Some say that [00:48:18] it's sort of been uh Saudis cut funding [00:48:21] and the Israelis have replaced them. I [00:48:24] don't know the details, but it is a a a [00:48:26] it is a a terrorist entity and the Iran [00:48:29] International is pushing for war and it [00:48:32] is pro-Zionist and it is uh it wants to [00:48:35] see Iran bombed and they are day and [00:48:39] night trying to create fear and division [00:48:42] in Iraq and it's very ugly in Iran and [00:48:44] it is very ugly and and it's not just [00:48:46] Iran international. The West spends [00:48:48] billions of dollars a year on [00:48:51] anti-Iranian propaganda in Persian. [00:48:54] There are, I think, 200 to 300 TV [00:48:56] channels. We don't have onetenth of that [00:48:59] inside Iran. [00:49:01] We They have all sorts of websites. They [00:49:04] have Telegram channels. They have a [00:49:07] numerous troll farms. [00:49:11] One in Albania has 2 to 3,000 people [00:49:14] working in it. [00:49:15] This is all funded by American taxpayers [00:49:18] and others. So you you have bots. So [00:49:21] this is a huge media campaign. And then [00:49:23] on the other hand, they shut down voices [00:49:25] in Iran. I've lost my Instagram [00:49:29] um [00:49:31] account a long time ago. My Facebook [00:49:34] account. I only have uh X and I'm it's [00:49:38] clear I'm heavily shadowbanned. People [00:49:40] say that I you know many people have [00:49:42] told me that. So, and many people have [00:49:45] lost their accounts and many young [00:49:46] people in Iran are fearful of tweeting [00:49:48] because they they're thinking about [00:49:50] continuing their education abroad and [00:49:52] they know that their accounts are going [00:49:54] to be checked in western countries. So, [00:49:57] they shut down accounts, they sanction [00:49:59] people, they sanction media outlets in [00:50:01] our part of the world, they try to [00:50:02] silence our voices [00:50:05] and they [00:50:07] um [00:50:09] try to uh amplify [00:50:13] uh anti-Iranian voices as much as [00:50:15] possible. [00:50:16] >> And uh one last point I want to talk [00:50:18] about is the targeting of women in Iran, [00:50:22] women's rights. Um just a short story, [00:50:25] many of the Iranian diaspora that I meet [00:50:28] when I talk to them about Iran, the [00:50:30] first thing they mention is we are not [00:50:32] free in Iran as women because we have to [00:50:35] wear the hijab. And that's literally the [00:50:37] single most uh uh point that they [00:50:40] mention. Everything else about women [00:50:43] working, being representative government [00:50:44] and and and so forth is very positive [00:50:48] for them. But the fact that Iran has the [00:50:50] hijab uh mandate is uh you know a a [00:50:54] point that they always press about [00:50:57] Iranian women's rights. But we also have [00:51:00] to remember and so they so they want [00:51:02] that mandate to be removed from these [00:51:04] are from the Iranian diaspora women that [00:51:06] I that I meet often and they really [00:51:09] really admire uh western capitalism. [00:51:13] That's also something that I find that [00:51:14] they uh want. They want McDonald's in [00:51:17] Iran. They want western capitalism in [00:51:20] Iran. They want Starbucks. They want all [00:51:22] the corporations uh in Iran. And they [00:51:24] want to openly work with the US. They [00:51:27] want to work with Israel. And they kind [00:51:29] of have this kind of rose shade, you [00:51:33] know, colored glasses on about working [00:51:36] with the United States and Israel and [00:51:38] what that would mean for Iran. And when [00:51:42] I mention how a lot of these, you know, [00:51:44] woman life freedom hashtags are being [00:51:46] signal boosted literally inside of Tel [00:51:48] Aviv, this is something that we've [00:51:50] documented and analyzed from literally [00:51:53] Google Analytics and X. A lot of these [00:51:56] hashtags are being signal boosted by the [00:51:59] West and Israel to manipulate the [00:52:02] Iranian woman in the diaspora. They're [00:52:05] completely in denial about this. So, I [00:52:07] don't know. I wanted to kind of talk [00:52:09] about this because it's a it's a [00:52:10] sensitive topic and people don't truly [00:52:12] understand in the west this issue, but I [00:52:15] was hoping to maybe get your perspective [00:52:16] on this. [00:52:18] >> Well, first of all, the millions of [00:52:20] people who went to the streets in Tehran [00:52:22] and the millions of others who went to [00:52:23] the streets in different other cities, [00:52:27] at least I suppose half of them were [00:52:29] women. [00:52:30] So obviously those women don't agree [00:52:33] with the narratives that are produced in [00:52:35] the west. [00:52:36] Also, many of these Iranian Iranians [00:52:39] living in the United States, [00:52:42] many of them have never been to Iran for [00:52:46] decades. And many of them are influenced [00:52:48] by Western narratives. They don't live [00:52:50] in Iran and they're influent when uh you [00:52:52] know when they're bombarded day and [00:52:54] night by these narratives, they too are [00:52:56] influenced. And also, and you know this [00:53:00] better than most, if you are against [00:53:04] Western narratives, [00:53:06] life does not become easy for you in the [00:53:08] United States. [00:53:10] And for someone who has Iranian roots, [00:53:13] who just wants to be left alone and live [00:53:17] uh, you know, live a private life, the [00:53:20] smart they would consider often the [00:53:22] smart thing to do would just be to mimic [00:53:24] what they're being told. And so they're [00:53:28] conditioned many to think that way. Of [00:53:29] course, many in the Iranian diaspora [00:53:31] don't think that way. I've been to [00:53:33] different communities. I've been to rest [00:53:35] Iranian restaurants. I've met many [00:53:36] Iranians abroad. Some of them know me [00:53:39] because I've been on media. I've never [00:53:40] had any problems. I've never been um you [00:53:44] know, so you know, that's not really [00:53:47] necessarily the case for most people in [00:53:51] the diaspora. And we have to also keep [00:53:53] in mind that there are thousands of [00:53:54] Iranians or former Iranians or [00:53:57] Iranian-Americans [00:53:59] and in Europe who they have jobs that [00:54:03] are linked to the United States [00:54:06] government. [00:54:07] All those Persian media uh channels, [00:54:10] they hire Iranians. All those troll [00:54:14] farms, all those this are Iranians who [00:54:18] are involved. So, a lot of people have a [00:54:21] vested interest in in these uh in in [00:54:25] they're part of this industry. But in [00:54:28] any case, inside Iran, I I think I may [00:54:31] have told you this once before on your [00:54:32] show. I've been a academic at the [00:54:35] University of Tehran for [00:54:40] let's see for almost 23 years now. [00:54:45] actually for yes literally for almost 23 [00:54:48] years now and in a couple of weeks it'll [00:54:50] be 23 years and um [00:54:54] during these 23 years one woman or [00:54:57] another [00:54:58] uh in 19 of those 23 years one woman or [00:55:02] another no um yes 19 of those 23 years [00:55:07] one woman or another was my boss at the [00:55:10] University of Tan my the dean of my [00:55:12] faculty has been one prof one female a [00:55:14] professor another [00:55:16] this is one of the elite universities in [00:55:19] the country most of the the majority in [00:55:22] my I'm not saying the whole university [00:55:24] but in my I'm affiliated to two [00:55:26] departments [00:55:27] one in the uh so in both departments and [00:55:30] two different faculties that I'm [00:55:32] affiliated to [00:55:34] one is I'm a part of the other one I'm [00:55:36] an affiliate member one is my own [00:55:38] department the majority of the academics [00:55:41] who've been have hired over the last [00:55:44] let's say decade or half a decade, [00:55:46] seven, eight years are women. So this is [00:55:49] really nonsense. In Iran, yes, there are [00:55:52] dress codes which are very loosely [00:55:54] enforced. You'll see women on campus or [00:55:57] on the streets not wearing the hijab, [00:56:00] but the idea behind the dress code, [00:56:03] which is for men and women, is they do [00:56:06] not want women to be sexualized or [00:56:09] commodified or objectified. Now, someone [00:56:12] in the United States or in the West may [00:56:14] disagree with that and some Iranians may [00:56:16] disagree with that, but that's a debate [00:56:18] that Iranians have and Iranians debate [00:56:19] that if you go in any taxi in if you [00:56:22] spend a few days in Iran and take a bus [00:56:25] or take the metro or take taxis and go [00:56:28] around, people in Iran talk. They're not [00:56:30] like in, you know, in some western [00:56:32] countries where everyone is quiet. They [00:56:35] talk and uh [00:56:38] they'll they speak against the [00:56:40] government. They'll speak against the [00:56:41] leader. They'll speak against the [00:56:43] president. They'll speak against [00:56:44] religion. You'll find everything. [00:56:47] But remember [00:56:50] those millions of people who went to the [00:56:51] streets, these are the same bus drivers [00:56:54] or taxi drivers or people in the metro [00:56:56] that may be attacking the government, [00:57:03] but that doesn't mean that they're [00:57:05] against the state. That doesn't mean [00:57:07] they're against the constitution. there. [00:57:10] And I would and I insist that among all [00:57:13] of its neighbors in this region, Iran is [00:57:15] the most open of them all. Contrary to [00:57:18] the western narratives, despite the [00:57:20] sanctions, despite the constant attempts [00:57:23] to create division, I western [00:57:25] governments which pretend to support um [00:57:28] multiculturalism, [00:57:32] they in inside Iran, they try to turn [00:57:35] one sect against another. [00:57:39] one ethnic group against another. [00:57:41] They're doing it all the time. [00:57:44] That's what their intelligence agencies [00:57:46] do. [00:57:48] That's their objective. And it's of [00:57:50] course true across the region, you know, [00:57:51] between Shia and Sunni, Arab and Persian [00:57:55] or, I don't know, Muslim and Christian. [00:58:00] That's what they've been doing for [00:58:01] centuries. And as the empire declines, [00:58:04] they become more brutal in this respect [00:58:07] because they have less power. So they [00:58:08] rely more on division and and and uh and [00:58:13] and and and the attempt to turn people [00:58:16] against one another [00:58:18] >> of course and we have to remember that [00:58:20] in Iran I mean there are more women in [00:58:23] parliament than most western countries. [00:58:25] Um I think Iran has the highest number [00:58:28] of [00:58:28] >> we have women pilots, [00:58:30] >> we have women taxi drivers, we have [00:58:32] women uh we have uh women in the [00:58:36] cabinet, we have them in parliament, we [00:58:39] have they're everywhere. I'm not saying [00:58:42] Iran is some utopia, [00:58:45] but it is definitely not the dystopia [00:58:48] that they say it is in Western media. [00:58:50] It's a normal society. [00:58:52] >> Yeah. and people in Iran when millions [00:58:54] come to the streets in Tehran which is [00:58:56] the mo the most secular city in this [00:58:58] country [00:59:01] that shows that it has popular support [00:59:03] and that western narratives are false [00:59:05] and after Gazin no one should trust [00:59:07] western narratives [00:59:09] so you know we you f mutual friends of [00:59:13] ours max Blumenthal [00:59:16] uh G George Galloway you know many [00:59:19] people visited Thran and Iran in recent [00:59:23] months. Anyone can ask them is it what [00:59:25] they it is said in the west. No. Western [00:59:27] mainstream media is controlled by the [00:59:29] same oligarchs that control western [00:59:32] political parties and uh anything that [00:59:35] they say is is you know agenda driven [00:59:38] and people should be very careful about [00:59:40] them [00:59:41] >> of course and uh you know the the people [00:59:44] that are in the diaspora can't rely on [00:59:47] uh you know big tech billionaires like [00:59:49] Elon Musk and his Starlink to to save [00:59:52] them. These are the billionaires that [00:59:55] have exploited uh people to make their [00:59:58] billions and their agenda is very clear [01:00:00] in their AI uh pursuit. So um Dr. [01:00:05] Morendi, [01:00:06] >> they don't care about Americans just as [01:00:08] they don't care about Iranians. [01:00:09] >> Of course. Um Dr. Morendi, I really [01:00:12] appreciate you uh being here today to [01:00:14] dismantle the anti-Iran propaganda used [01:00:17] to manufacture consent for war and [01:00:19] regime change against your country. And [01:00:21] I applaud you for being so steadfast, [01:00:24] standing so strong against uh the winds [01:00:27] of these horrible propagandists in [01:00:31] Western corporate media and dismantling [01:00:34] uh their narrative. Thank you so much. [01:00:37] >> Thank you very much. And thank you for [01:00:40] all the fantastic work that you do. And [01:00:42] I also thank your audience because I [01:00:45] know they are uh steadfast people who [01:00:49] see beyond the propaganda [01:00:51] and thanks to people like yourself. [01:00:53] >> Thank you.