How US-Funded NGOs and Media Turned Iran’s Protests Into a Regime Change Campaign

[00:00:07] [music] [00:00:08] Hello everyone, I'm Manar Adi for Mid [00:00:10] Press News. Iran has been in the [00:00:12] crosshairs of both Western media, the US [00:00:15] government, and Israel as demonstrations [00:00:18] have spread across the country against [00:00:20] rising prices that have been hijacked by [00:00:23] pro- monarchy rioters calling on the US [00:00:26] and Israel for regime change. But those [00:00:28] protests have calmed down. But if you [00:00:31] watch corporate media, you'll hear the [00:00:33] same old framing that is used to [00:00:36] manufacture consent for war, including [00:00:39] describing the Islamic Republic as a [00:00:41] regime who is mowing down peaceful [00:00:44] activists in their tens of thousands [00:00:47] with outlets from the Times to the New [00:00:49] York Post citing bogus claims of 17,000 [00:00:54] dead protesters and describing it as a [00:00:57] genocide, a term they refused to use [00:01:00] when reporting reporting on the actual [00:01:02] Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaz. [00:01:06] We have to remember, Western media [00:01:08] accepts death tolls about Iran at face [00:01:10] value and Palestinian deaths in Gaz [00:01:13] remain endlessly questioned, revealing [00:01:16] how belief follows a powerful agenda, [00:01:19] not evidence. But also, we trace these [00:01:22] inflated numbers of 17,000 deaths and [00:01:25] 30,000 mass arrests, these bogus claims [00:01:28] to one source, the human rights activist [00:01:31] in Iran, which is not even based in [00:01:34] Iran. It's based in Fairfax, Virginia, [00:01:37] and it's funded by the CIA cutout, the [00:01:40] National Endowment for Democracy. and [00:01:42] human rights activists in Iran is part [00:01:45] of a pro-democracy NGO pipeline that's [00:01:48] being backed by the CIA to feed Western [00:01:51] press with inflated figures and false [00:01:53] information about Iran to signal boost a [00:01:56] pro-regime change narrative to not only [00:01:59] manufacture consent for another war but [00:02:02] to manipulate the Iranian diaspora. And [00:02:04] to top it all off, of course, former CIA [00:02:07] director Mike Pompeo has openly stated [00:02:09] that Mossad agents have led these riots, [00:02:12] and Israeli media and military analysts [00:02:15] are openly boasting about the success of [00:02:17] their operation. But I want to remind [00:02:20] you, it's been a few weeks where these [00:02:23] protests and these riots have actually [00:02:25] stopped. They've ended, but media is [00:02:28] still playing with this line. So the [00:02:31] question arises, was this a revolution? [00:02:34] like the media would like us to believe [00:02:35] or another regime change operation. [00:02:38] Joining me from Thran is a returning [00:02:40] guest Sayed Muhammad Morandi. Dr. [00:02:44] Morandi is a professor of English [00:02:46] literature and Orientalism at the [00:02:48] University of Thran. Welcome to the [00:02:50] show, doctor. [00:02:53] >> Thank you very much for inviting me. [00:02:55] It's always a pleasure being on your [00:02:56] show. [00:02:57] >> Of course. So, you are in Iran right [00:03:00] now. You're based in. Right now the [00:03:03] media is still pushing out these bogus [00:03:05] numbers and it sounds like these [00:03:08] protests and even the riots have [00:03:10] completely vanished on the ground yet [00:03:13] media is still pushing this narrative. [00:03:15] So can you tell us what exactly is the [00:03:18] situation there right now on the ground [00:03:21] in Iran? [00:03:24] >> Things are very quiet and they've been [00:03:27] quiet since Saturday last week. So 9 or [00:03:30] 10 days. The last nine or 10 days have [00:03:33] been quiet. Uh right now it's uh late at [00:03:37] night after I leave here because I'm at [00:03:41] a studio because our internet connection [00:03:44] right now in Iran is only local. We [00:03:47] cannot uh use our personal internet [00:03:49] connections to to communicate with uh [00:03:53] people outside the country. So I'm come [00:03:56] I've come here to press TV and I'm using [00:03:59] their internet connection. So afterwards [00:04:01] I'll go home late at night and it's very [00:04:04] peaceful. I've done this last night, the [00:04:07] night before, the night before that and [00:04:09] so on. So it's been quite a long while [00:04:11] and the only place where there are riots [00:04:14] and protests are online, [00:04:17] not in the real world. Now what happened [00:04:20] was that uh when after Netanyahu went to [00:04:24] the United States to meet Trump and they [00:04:27] spent uh the new year together, we had [00:04:31] [clears throat] [00:04:32] a uh sudden I think it was Sunday [00:04:36] uh a Sunday [00:04:38] uh three maybe two three weeks ago. I'm [00:04:41] not sure about the I'm not good at [00:04:43] dates, but we saw sudden collapse or [00:04:47] sudden rapid decline, let's say, to be [00:04:49] more accurate, in the Iranian currency. [00:04:50] It went down 30 to 40%. [00:04:54] And that led to protesters in Tehran, [00:04:57] two 2,000 3,000, nothing really big. And [00:05:00] they're basic mostly, I assume, uh, shop [00:05:03] owners and business people who are very [00:05:05] worried about the fall of the currency [00:05:07] because it very dangerous for their [00:05:09] businesses. [00:05:11] There's no police harassment. There were [00:05:13] no arrests. And the government said, [00:05:15] "You are right to be concerned." The [00:05:17] next day there were also protests. I [00:05:20] guess roughly more or less the same [00:05:21] numbers. [00:05:23] But then after that, you saw we saw this [00:05:28] sudden influx of very welltrained [00:05:33] riers [00:05:35] and they began to [00:05:38] create chaos. [00:05:41] So there is a link [00:05:43] between Netany's trip to the United [00:05:46] States, the currency fall where the [00:05:49] Americans manipulated the currency [00:05:51] through Dubai, through the Emirates, [00:05:54] through Kurdish areas in northern Iraq [00:05:57] where the Americans and the Israelis [00:05:58] have huge influence over the local [00:06:01] Kurdish government and apparently even [00:06:04] in Afghanistan. [00:06:06] So you had that currency manipulation, [00:06:08] then the protests, small protests, [00:06:11] quickly infiltrated by people who were [00:06:13] obviously well-trained for a very long [00:06:14] period of time and some of them came in [00:06:18] from abroad. [00:06:20] On Thursday and Friday, we had the [00:06:23] height of riots, especially Thursday [00:06:26] night [00:06:28] la meaning Thursday night last week, [00:06:34] like 10 days ago. 11 days ago and uh [00:06:41] the riers burned down markets, [00:06:45] entire market places in rash, for [00:06:48] example, private shops. [00:06:51] They destroyed clinics. In one clinic [00:06:53] they that they burned a young nurse, she [00:06:56] was she burned alive. She was burned [00:06:58] alive. She she tried to escape. She went [00:07:00] up the building, but the entire [00:07:03] building caught on fire and the flames [00:07:07] chased her and ultimately she burned to [00:07:09] death. They burned 250 uh schools and [00:07:13] educational centers. They burned down [00:07:16] many tens of buses in Tehran alone, [00:07:19] public buses, uh tens of fire engines, [00:07:21] very expensive cars. Why did they burn [00:07:24] the fire engines? Because they didn't [00:07:25] want them to put out the fires. because [00:07:27] the whole objective was to create chaos. [00:07:31] They murdered uh until now uh over 300 [00:07:38] police officers and volunteers who were [00:07:40] policing the streets. So imagine in the [00:07:43] United States a young woman, she's in [00:07:47] her car turning to the right and then [00:07:49] she's shot in the face and they the [00:07:52] president and his supporters support it [00:07:55] because they're saying that she was not [00:07:57] moving to the right enough basically. [00:08:01] And uh here they murder [00:08:06] at least 300, well over 300. And I think [00:08:10] some of the those who are injured in [00:08:12] hospital the officers some of them are [00:08:14] going are have died. So it is more than [00:08:18] what I thought. [00:08:20] So they murdered all these people. Yet [00:08:22] Western media continues to insist that [00:08:25] these are peaceful protesters. Even [00:08:27] though, as you rightly pointed out, [00:08:29] Pompeo said in his tweet that who's he [00:08:34] was the former head of the CIA that the [00:08:36] Musad is on the ground with the riers [00:08:39] even though [00:08:41] Msad put out a Persian language [00:08:43] statement stating that they're on the [00:08:45] ground with the riers and even though [00:08:47] Channel 14 of the Israeli regime said [00:08:51] that a foreign country brought in lots [00:08:53] of weapons and that is why hundreds of [00:08:55] Iranian officers of the law and security [00:09:00] uh agents were murdered. So, the [00:09:03] Israelis are bragging about it. [00:09:08] The footage that the Iranians have [00:09:09] released so far, they show it clearly. [00:09:11] I've posted quite a bit of them. I [00:09:15] didn't have any internet for a few days, [00:09:16] but then I when I was able to come here [00:09:18] and do interviews, I've been using their [00:09:20] internet, so I've been tweeting some of [00:09:21] these clips. is clearly very violent but [00:09:25] the west insists that these are peaceful [00:09:27] protesters and I believe that that is a [00:09:28] part of the conspiracy. I believe that [00:09:30] the whole the meeting between Trump and [00:09:32] Netanyahu and so do people here that it [00:09:36] was about first bringing down the [00:09:39] currency creating riots and creating an [00:09:42] environment to justify war. That's what [00:09:45] this was all about. If not to overthrow [00:09:47] the state but they were never even [00:09:49] close. [00:09:51] So, and then there's a third another [00:09:52] piece of um information that's very [00:09:55] important. At the height of the riots on [00:09:57] Thursday night, and that's when they [00:09:58] were the largest in number, [00:10:02] theians [00:10:03] [clears throat] cut the internet [00:10:07] and within 24 hours, the whole thing [00:10:11] collapsed. [00:10:13] The whole thing collapsed. On Saturday, [00:10:15] there were no riots. A few gatherings [00:10:17] here and there, and the police had [00:10:19] nothing to do with them. They tried to [00:10:20] attack a couple places but it it was [00:10:22] useless. So basically from Saturday last [00:10:24] week onwards things stopped. Online they [00:10:28] haven't. I know now they're saying Iran [00:10:31] is using chemical weapons apparently [00:10:33] online. Tomorrow they'll be saying [00:10:35] they're using nuclear weapons against [00:10:36] protesters. But um but the point is that [00:10:40] they they pulled the plug and the riots [00:10:43] collapsed. Why? Because the riots were [00:10:48] never [00:10:50] uh they were never um what's the word in [00:10:53] English? Uh [00:10:55] >> organic. [00:10:56] >> Spontaneous. They were never [00:10:57] spontaneous. [00:10:59] >> Yeah. [00:10:59] >> They were wellcoordinated across the [00:11:01] country. [00:11:03] And when they lost communication with [00:11:05] abroad, the intelligence agencies that [00:11:08] were guiding them, it all fell apart. [00:11:11] So for example, the riers would be [00:11:14] riding in one part of the city, the [00:11:16] police would be there and then they [00:11:18] would be told to move to another part of [00:11:20] the city and start something there. And [00:11:22] this by the way created a lot of uh [00:11:24] chaos in the sense that since the police [00:11:28] were overextended, [00:11:30] you had organized crime as well. And [00:11:33] then people had like shop owners had to [00:11:36] bring in people to protect their shops. [00:11:38] So you had uh the riers fighting the [00:11:41] people who were hired to protect the [00:11:43] shops. So the the the [00:11:46] um organized crime and organized crime [00:11:48] was they were very heavily involved in [00:11:50] this whole uh project. But those that [00:11:53] weren't, they were uh um on the streets [00:11:58] and active. So when they but when they [00:12:00] pulled the plug, it all fell apart. [00:12:03] So obviously it was not um uh homegrown. [00:12:07] it was not uh it was very much uh linked [00:12:11] to abroad and so when they could no [00:12:13] longer get orders from abroad they uh [00:12:16] they the whole thing collapsed and now [00:12:18] they're being arrested they also tried [00:12:20] to use um Elon Musk's uh capabilities [00:12:24] but uh that has also been foiled and uh [00:12:28] the whole thing has collapsed I mean as [00:12:29] I said since last Saturday things have [00:12:31] been calm in the country and also on [00:12:35] Monday last week A week ago, [00:12:39] we had huge pro-Islamic Republic [00:12:43] protests across the country, up to three [00:12:45] million people in Tehran. And it took me [00:12:48] a couple of hours because I went, it [00:12:49] took me a couple of hours to get there [00:12:51] and a couple of hours to get out. And [00:12:53] when I was leaving after the program, [00:12:55] people were still trying to get there. [00:12:57] It was massive. And then every city had [00:12:59] its own [00:13:02] gathering. And the places where the [00:13:04] riots were more intense, [00:13:07] the the anti- riot uh demonstrations [00:13:12] were larger. It was quite stunning. But [00:13:15] then the West pretends that that didn't [00:13:17] happen. And also, I've seen them use [00:13:20] footage of these uh anti- riot rallies [00:13:25] in their footage [00:13:29] talking about protests. So to to to [00:13:32] summarize, [00:13:35] they [snorts] conspired to bring down [00:13:36] the currency. They used the protests [00:13:39] which were peaceful. There's no on day [00:13:42] one and two, if anyone goes back, no one [00:13:43] was arrested, there's no footage of the [00:13:46] police uh like in London where an old [00:13:49] 85year-old [00:13:51] Jewish woman is holding a plaque card [00:13:53] saying, "I'm against genocide." And she [00:13:55] goes to jail. We didn't have any of [00:13:56] that. [00:13:57] >> [snorts] [00:13:57] >> or in like in Berlin where a young [00:14:02] German woman would put on a kafir in [00:14:06] solidarity with Palestinians and then be [00:14:08] battered. We didn't have any of that. [00:14:10] The violence began after these small [00:14:13] groups, very well-trained groups who had [00:14:16] guns, [00:14:18] who had swords, who had uh uh they would [00:14:22] you they would batter people with they [00:14:24] the you know, you see have images of [00:14:26] someone using an axe. They as I said, [00:14:29] they cut off people's heads. They burn [00:14:31] people alive. And the west western media [00:14:34] insists that they were peaceful. And [00:14:36] that I think is a part of the conspiracy [00:14:39] that they either wanted to see if they [00:14:42] could overthrow the state which they [00:14:44] were nowhere close to that. [00:14:46] And then but also they wanted to justify [00:14:49] war. And you see people like from AOC [00:14:52] who said we have to help the Iranian [00:14:53] people this fake uh progressive [00:14:56] to Levin uh Mark Leven they're both [00:15:00] they're saying basically the same thing. [00:15:02] CNN, Fox News in their own way, in their [00:15:05] own language. Each, you know, one more [00:15:07] bombastic, one more subtle and [00:15:09] sophisticated. [00:15:11] But I think that what we are seeing is [00:15:13] an attempt by Zionists and neocons to [00:15:18] prepare the grounds for war. And uh we [00:15:22] are where we are. [00:15:25] It's really hypocritical just the way [00:15:27] the media framing has been uh towards [00:15:29] Iran considering the fact that in these [00:15:32] same moments federal agents shot Renee [00:15:35] Good here in Minneapolis where where I [00:15:37] live and these mass protests have [00:15:40] erupted here and they've cracked down [00:15:42] with the police brutality. It's been [00:15:44] really horrible watching a lot of people [00:15:46] on the left, you know, so-called [00:15:47] liberals saying that we need to help the [00:15:49] Iranian protesters [00:15:51] um when they maybe they don't even [00:15:54] realize because of the propaganda that a [00:15:56] lot of these people uh like you said are [00:15:59] rioting and they are openly backed by [00:16:02] the state of Israel and they're [00:16:03] receiving weapons and being trained by [00:16:05] the CIA and by uh Israeli Mossad. And [00:16:09] you know, we at Mint Press have [00:16:10] documented how Israeli intelligence [00:16:12] covertly transfer weapons into Iran [00:16:15] through its eastern border and oftent [00:16:17] times through Israeli tied cargo ships [00:16:20] that travel past Yemen through the Red [00:16:22] Sea. Um, you know, we've investigated [00:16:25] and revealed that cargo ships like [00:16:27] Zodiac Maritime, which is an operator of [00:16:30] the Mercer Street, has deep ties to the [00:16:33] Israeli military and Israeli [00:16:35] intelligence. And they're using these [00:16:37] commercial ships to move weapons and [00:16:40] operatives for covert operations inside [00:16:43] of Iran, including assassination [00:16:45] missions. And it's because organic [00:16:49] grassroots efforts don't exist to [00:16:53] overthrow the government of Iran. It is [00:16:55] spontaneous and backed by the West for [00:16:59] this regime change operation. And so as [00:17:02] we touch on this aspect, I want to hear [00:17:05] more about how exactly did the United [00:17:10] States and Israel work with Gulf [00:17:12] countries and the Kurdish state to [00:17:15] manipulate the real to push for these [00:17:18] protests. [00:17:22] Well, I'm not an economist, but [00:17:24] basically since Iran is sanctioned and [00:17:27] we have [snorts] maximum pressure [00:17:28] sanctions and those liberals who pretend [00:17:31] to care about Iranians, [00:17:33] the the United States is waging war [00:17:36] against ordinary Iranians. It's been [00:17:37] doing that for years. The sanctions are [00:17:39] intended to strangle ordinary Iranians. [00:17:41] It's intended to make them suffer. Just [00:17:43] like these rioters and terrorists that [00:17:45] they're supporting in Iran, they're [00:17:47] killing Iranians. Just as the 12-day war [00:17:49] where the US conspired with the Israeli [00:17:51] regime to uh carry out a blitz creek [00:17:54] attack, these are all human rights [00:17:56] violations. These are all acts of [00:17:58] murder. And if these liberals are have [00:18:01] any decency, they would be calling the [00:18:04] US government evil. Some of them pretend [00:18:08] to be in opposition. They say yes, we [00:18:11] shouldn't carry out war even though [00:18:13] they're evil. You know, like like in uh [00:18:15] the same is true with vene Venezuela. [00:18:17] Maduro is evil, but we shouldn't, you [00:18:19] know. No, your government is evil. Your [00:18:22] government is evil for murdering a 100 [00:18:24] people in the medit in the Caribbean. [00:18:26] Your government is evil for murdering [00:18:28] another 100 people in a an attack on [00:18:30] Venezuela and kidnapping the president [00:18:32] and his wife and battering his wife. But [00:18:36] they're too cowardly to say this. So [00:18:37] these liberal [00:18:39] say, "Yes, Maduro is evil, but we [00:18:44] shouldn't do it." But you know that that [00:18:46] is in itself reinforcing the narrative. [00:18:49] These people even when they pretend to [00:18:51] be opposed to war or they may be [00:18:53] sincerely opposed to war by reinforcing [00:18:56] this narrative of them being evil and we [00:18:58] being somehow normal they are part of [00:19:01] this murder, death and destruction. They [00:19:04] contribute to the narrative and the same [00:19:06] is true with Iran. In the case of Iran, [00:19:08] Iran's only sin is that it is [00:19:11] independent. [00:19:13] After the revolution it became [00:19:15] independent and on based on its [00:19:18] constitution and its religious ideology [00:19:21] it supports the press [00:19:24] and whether it's in Cuba which is [00:19:26] communist or Venezuela or South Africa [00:19:29] during the parttheid era or Palestine [00:19:32] Iran has fulfilled that uh [00:19:35] constitutional [00:19:37] obligation and that is why the United [00:19:39] States hates Iran so much. That's why [00:19:40] Western elites hate Iran so much. If [00:19:43] Iran was like Turkey or Saudi Arabia or [00:19:46] Egypt or Jordan or the Emirates, there [00:19:49] would be no sanctions. There would be no [00:19:51] blitz creek attack and there are no be [00:19:54] no attempts to infiltrate the country [00:19:56] with terrorists and rioters and to [00:19:57] create death and destruction and chaos. [00:20:01] So [00:20:03] um basically what we have right now is a [00:20:06] situation where [00:20:09] a they are building a consensus [00:20:13] to wage war against the country and and [00:20:18] Iran is prepared right now to to uh to [00:20:22] respond. So, [00:20:25] but to go back to your question, [00:20:28] the since Iran is sanctioned, Iran uses [00:20:34] uh you know um alternative means for [00:20:37] currency exchange, [00:20:39] right? like the uh I don't know how they [00:20:43] would say it in English but like halal [00:20:45] and like these uh currency uh exchanges [00:20:50] they don't use the bank but they use [00:20:51] alternative systems and so with the [00:20:53] Americans in coordination with their [00:20:55] friends and allies is they they they [00:20:57] shut that they block it so Iranians [00:21:00] cannot have access to enough dollars [00:21:05] I mean even though Iran is moving away [00:21:06] from the dollar it still is using the [00:21:09] dollar too. And so when the Iranians [00:21:12] don't have the access to the US dollars [00:21:14] that they need, then suddenly the the [00:21:17] Iranian realale plummets because there's [00:21:19] a greater demand for the dollar and [00:21:21] there not enough dollars [00:21:23] and that is what basically happened. So [00:21:27] it was a sophisticated operation but it [00:21:30] came right after Netanyahu met Trump and [00:21:33] as I said right after that we had the [00:21:35] riers which were obviously being trained [00:21:37] for years and they were being cultivated [00:21:40] but uh just one final point right now [00:21:44] Iran is ready for war. Iran is has told [00:21:49] the Americans [00:21:51] through third parties that if you [00:21:53] attack, we will not pull any punches. [00:21:57] And that means basically the oil and gas [00:22:00] market in the world is going to go [00:22:03] haywire because there won't be any more [00:22:05] oil from [00:22:08] the caucuses or West Asia. Now, that [00:22:12] would bring down the global economy. It [00:22:13] would bring down the US economy. Some [00:22:15] would some Americans say, well, you the [00:22:17] United States is independent [00:22:19] um when it comes to energy supplies, but [00:22:23] that's not true. Ordinary Americans will [00:22:25] suffer. In other words, I mean, that's [00:22:27] not true in the sense they will not save [00:22:30] the US economy. If the price of oil goes [00:22:32] through the roof, [00:22:34] then consumers will pay the price. Yes, [00:22:37] a few billionaires [00:22:39] and oligarchs will make money, but the [00:22:41] US economy will collapse just like [00:22:43] everywhere else. [00:22:45] So the question is why would Trump do [00:22:48] this if it's [00:22:51] if it could bring about a global [00:22:52] economic depression worse than 1929 [00:22:57] because the people around him are [00:22:59] Zionists and Israel first. Their [00:23:02] priority is not the US economy. It's not [00:23:03] eur the European economy. It's not the [00:23:05] global economy. It's the Israeli regime. [00:23:08] And so we are in a situation right now [00:23:10] that we don't know what is going to [00:23:11] happen next. But the Iranians know that [00:23:14] this is going to be a fight for survival [00:23:17] if there's war. And Iran is not going to [00:23:21] pull, as I said, Iran is not going to [00:23:23] hold back. [00:23:25] So those people in the western media who [00:23:28] are lying [00:23:30] about peaceful protesters being gunned [00:23:32] down by these evil Iranians, this this [00:23:36] narrative [00:23:38] uh this ugly and false fake narrative, [00:23:42] they are contributing to war and they [00:23:46] are claiming basically that by attacking [00:23:49] Iran and killing people, they're going [00:23:51] to be helping the Iranian people. [00:23:53] They want to help the Iranian people. [00:23:55] They should end the sanctions. [00:23:57] They should stop engaging in war. They [00:24:00] should stop supporting terrorists. And [00:24:02] by the way, man, these in the West, they [00:24:04] say, you know, there the Western is [00:24:06] trying to portray these groups as [00:24:08] popular in Iran. They're completely [00:24:10] discredited. There are four groups. [00:24:13] One is the MEK cult. Who are they during [00:24:17] the period when Saddam Hussein invaded [00:24:19] Iran in the 1980s and 1981? They carried [00:24:23] out a [00:24:26] um a a a an a an a mil a military [00:24:31] uprising against the state as Iran was [00:24:33] fighting said Hussein resisting the [00:24:36] aggression now they're doing the same [00:24:37] thing as Iran is under threat they are [00:24:40] engaging in armed conflict with the [00:24:42] state then in afterwards they went to [00:24:45] Iraq and fought for Saddam Hussein [00:24:48] against Iran [00:24:50] does anyone in their right mind believe [00:24:52] that these people who fought for Saddam [00:24:54] Hussein against their own country, they [00:24:56] have any popularity in Iran. The second [00:24:59] group, they're the monarchists, the son [00:25:01] of the Sha who hasn't been in Iran for [00:25:04] 50 years. People ridicule him. He's not [00:25:07] very smart and his family issues are we [00:25:11] don't even need to go there. [00:25:13] But people ridicule him. But he went to [00:25:15] Israel. [00:25:17] Israel, which carried out a a blitz [00:25:20] creek war against Iranians, killed a [00:25:24] thousand Iranians, including [00:25:26] tens of children. [00:25:29] He went there and he's also calling for [00:25:31] Trump to attack Iran. [00:25:33] Does anyone in their m any sane person [00:25:36] believe that someone who's the son of a [00:25:38] former despot who stole billions of [00:25:40] dollars and from Iranian [00:25:43] assets took it abroad and is calling for [00:25:46] attacks on the country and who's gone to [00:25:49] uh [00:25:51] uh kiss the ring in in Tel Aviv or Alutz [00:25:57] that Iranians support him. [00:26:00] The third group is ISIS and the [00:26:04] Takiritis and the remnants of ISIS. [00:26:09] Of course, they're enemies of Iran and [00:26:11] no one supports them. And the fourth are [00:26:13] the Kurdish terrorist groups that are [00:26:16] based in northern Iraq that are [00:26:18] separatists. [00:26:20] So, Iranians would support. Which of [00:26:22] these four groups would Iranians [00:26:23] support? And these groups are, by the [00:26:25] way, very hostile towards one another. [00:26:28] But Western intelligence agencies in [00:26:30] this operation coordinated all of them. [00:26:33] And as I said, when the Iranians pulled [00:26:35] the plug, the whole thing fell apart [00:26:38] because [00:26:40] it was controlled from abroad. But as I [00:26:43] said, none of these have any [00:26:44] credibility. So we have the mass [00:26:46] demonstrations across the country that [00:26:48] were [00:26:50] shown [00:26:52] on live TV. We had rolling coverage on [00:26:54] multiple channels. And then uh RT was [00:26:58] here, Al Jazzer was here, Al-Mayadin was [00:27:02] here, [00:27:04] Turkish journalists were here, CCTV was [00:27:06] here, CGTN was here, all there were all [00:27:09] sorts of people in Tehran and of course [00:27:11] they were taking place in across the [00:27:13] country, these anti- riot protests. [00:27:16] So the western media and then you know [00:27:20] it's it's extraordinary when I speak on [00:27:23] western media or when I speak to western [00:27:25] journalists and I tell them uh that the [00:27:28] Israelis and the Americans you know [00:27:31] they're they were involved they try to [00:27:33] deny it whereas the Israelis are open [00:27:35] about it you know I tell them you know [00:27:37] the Israelis beg to differ and some of [00:27:39] these analysts in the west [00:27:44] one of them comment mented on the [00:27:46] channel 14 tweet, the channel 14 Israeli [00:27:49] news channel that said a country brought [00:27:51] in large amounts of weapons and killed [00:27:53] hundreds of police officers. One of the [00:27:56] I don't want to name names, but he [00:27:58] commented on the tweet and said that [00:28:00] basically he was upset that why is are [00:28:03] the Israelis ruining the peaceful [00:28:05] protest narrative? [00:28:08] So these Iran experts, these analysts [00:28:12] are intellectually dishonest. [00:28:14] They're hiding the reality [00:28:18] because [00:28:19] that's how they get their money. That's [00:28:21] how they get their funding. And so [00:28:24] mainstream media, these so-called [00:28:25] analysts, all of them are part of the [00:28:27] same apparatus. [00:28:30] And uh [00:28:33] or ordinary Americans, I'm sure many of [00:28:35] them believe this nonsense, but it's the [00:28:38] same thing as Venezuela. But the [00:28:39] difference between Iran and Venezuela is [00:28:40] Iran is uh much more powerful and Iran [00:28:44] has powerful allies across the region. [00:28:46] In Iraq in the recent elections, [00:28:50] you know, and I'm sure many in your [00:28:52] audience know that Iran's allies won. [00:28:55] They they did very well in the [00:28:57] elections. Iran's allies, strong allies [00:28:59] in Yemen. This is not a situation where [00:29:02] the Americans can win. Of course, in [00:29:04] war, everyone will lose. [00:29:06] But the United States will not win. it [00:29:08] will lose. [00:29:09] >> Of course, none of this is possible [00:29:12] without the corporate media [00:29:14] manufacturing consent for regime change, [00:29:18] dehumanizing people on the ground. We're [00:29:20] going to go straight into the Kathy [00:29:21] Newman clip at Channel 4. The people on [00:29:25] the streets in their thousands who are [00:29:27] now being systematically slaughtered in [00:29:29] their thousands. They are saying that [00:29:31] your government no longer has the right [00:29:33] to govern. [00:29:36] Yesterday we saw rallies across the [00:29:38] country and the footage is online and it [00:29:41] was broadcast live even though now [00:29:45] people like Musk and others are trying [00:29:47] to pretend it was AI or [00:29:50] >> no these were people who were forced to [00:29:52] go out and protest but people of their [00:29:54] own free will bravely went out and in [00:29:57] return the government your government [00:29:59] has slaughtered them in their thousands [00:30:02] and for what [00:30:04] >> they were 2.3 million people in Tehran [00:30:07] yesterday on the streets and reporters [00:30:10] from Al Jazzer, English, Arabic, RT, [00:30:13] CGTN, CCTV and others, Al-Mayadin were [00:30:16] there and they witnessed it. How can you [00:30:19] force millions of people on the streets [00:30:21] of [00:30:22] >> you instilled fear into the people of [00:30:24] your country? Your government instills [00:30:26] fear into the people of your country. [00:30:30] I think that you are living in an [00:30:32] alternative universe and you're drowning [00:30:35] in your own fake narratives. If you [00:30:38] think that uh the people of Iran support [00:30:41] the MEK terror organization or the [00:30:44] monarchists [00:30:45] uh that your governments fund and [00:30:47] support, uh I think uh you really know [00:30:51] literally nothing about Iran. [00:30:54] >> Your government says that 2,000 people [00:30:56] are dead. Are you denying that? Our [00:31:00] government never made any statements [00:31:02] about any death numbers at all. [00:31:05] >> It's been reported to Reuters. [00:31:09] >> Our government does not report to [00:31:11] Reuters and Reuters constantly [00:31:13] fabricates [00:31:15] uh information about Iran and it [00:31:17] constantly says unnamed sources. [00:31:20] >> So the bodies piling up on the streets, [00:31:22] that's all AI. That's all fake, is it? [00:31:25] >> There are no bodies piling up on the [00:31:27] streets. No bodies piling up on the [00:31:29] streets. We've seen them with our own [00:31:31] eyes [00:31:32] >> and by and no not on the streets. I live [00:31:36] in Tehan. [00:31:37] >> Well, in the morning and by the way [00:31:39] >> and by the So then rephrase and don't [00:31:44] produce propaganda. Uh you're supposed [00:31:46] to be a credible news outlet. 100 police [00:31:50] officers roughly or officers of the law [00:31:52] were murdered. Two were burnt alive. One [00:31:55] was beheaded. And we had a nurse burnt [00:32:00] alive in a clinic. The clinic was burnt [00:32:02] down and she was burnt. She was a a [00:32:04] young nurse. We had a three-year-old kid [00:32:07] who was shot by these riers or who you [00:32:10] the people who you call protesters. [00:32:12] >> Okay. Dr. Mirande, I'd love to get uh [00:32:14] your perspective on this media framing [00:32:17] and just your uh experience dealing with [00:32:21] these western corporate media outlets [00:32:24] and their utter hypocrisy and bullying [00:32:26] of you um on their channels. [00:32:31] Well, you know, the thing is that [00:32:35] channel 4 news in the UK is supposedly [00:32:41] different from the BBC and Sky News. And [00:32:44] when they were preparing for the [00:32:46] invasion of Iraq in 2003, [00:32:49] the only place where you can hear you [00:32:50] could hear dissenting voices somewhat [00:32:53] louder than in other places was in [00:32:56] Channel 4 News. that this is the tone of [00:33:00] the host of Channel 4 News. The whole [00:33:02] every day they're doing they've been [00:33:03] doing anti-ranian propaganda when they [00:33:05] come and she the the beginning of the [00:33:07] pro of the interview they deleted. They [00:33:10] did not put it on YouTube. Even this [00:33:13] interview only parts of it was shown on [00:33:15] television but on YouTube they didn't [00:33:17] even show all [00:33:20] of it because at the beginning was the [00:33:21] worst part of it where she was you know [00:33:24] outrageously she was outrageous. But the [00:33:26] point is that they have created a [00:33:28] manufactured consent as I said when it's [00:33:30] it's on the one hand you have AOC saying [00:33:32] we need to help the Iranians and then [00:33:34] you have uh Levin [00:33:39] you have the so-called liberals and you [00:33:42] have the conservative conservatives all [00:33:44] saying the same thing and if anyone is [00:33:46] sort of dissenting they're saying yes [00:33:48] they're evil but you know we shouldn't [00:33:51] attack we should use other means [00:33:54] but in reality [00:33:56] They are the ones who are evil. They're [00:33:58] the ones who are imposing sanctions. [00:34:00] They are the ones who are sending [00:34:01] terrorists into the country. They're the [00:34:03] ones who fund the Israeli regime and [00:34:05] they're the ones who helped the Israelis [00:34:06] carry out genocide and they're the ones [00:34:08] who enabled the Israeli regime to carry [00:34:10] out a Blitzcreek attack on Iran and who [00:34:12] are threatening Iran with war. So these [00:34:15] very same people, liberal and [00:34:17] conservative, those in the mainstream, [00:34:20] they're all sinister actors and they all [00:34:23] are a part of the problem. They're not a [00:34:26] part of the solution. And it's not just [00:34:27] Iran. They did the same thing in [00:34:29] Venezuela. [00:34:31] They justified even those who wereo, as [00:34:33] I said earlier, those who were [00:34:35] supposedly against the war by demonizing [00:34:39] President Maduro, who's infinitely more [00:34:42] humane than Trump or Biden or anyone in [00:34:45] the US political establishment, which [00:34:48] has been supporting a holocaust in Gaza. [00:34:50] By demonizing him, they are partners in [00:34:52] the crimes against the Venezuelan people [00:34:55] because they're too cowardly to tell the [00:34:57] truth. And I'm talking about those who [00:34:59] have been speaking against war. I don't [00:35:02] see any difference between, [00:35:04] you know, excuse me for saying this. I [00:35:06] don't see anything, any substantial [00:35:08] difference between AOC [00:35:11] and [00:35:13] the prince of darkness, Richard Pearl. [00:35:15] They're all the same. [00:35:19] And this kind of uh push back, I guess [00:35:23] you could say, that you're giving [00:35:25] Western corporate media is really um [00:35:28] upsetting a lot of the politicians that [00:35:31] may be receiving money from the Israel [00:35:33] lobby. And one of those people is, you [00:35:35] know, Canadian politician Goldie Gamari. [00:35:39] She has actually targeted you [00:35:41] specifically and she recently uh called [00:35:44] you the Joseph Gabels of Iran and said [00:35:48] that once the government is over [00:35:50] overthrown, they will make sure to kill [00:35:52] you like they killed Kaddafi. Her [00:35:54] specific quote was the tip of your pinky [00:35:57] finger will be the biggest piece of you [00:36:00] after we Iranians are done with you. And [00:36:03] of course, she's a Canadian politician [00:36:04] who's also an Iranian of the diaspora. [00:36:07] What do you make of such threats and [00:36:10] what do you say about the nature of the [00:36:14] portion of Iranian diaspora that are [00:36:17] this vicious? [00:36:20] >> Well, they are reflective of the [00:36:21] rioters. In other words, they and the [00:36:23] riers are one at the same. [00:36:26] Those riers have that mentality. people [00:36:29] who burn people alive, crush people's [00:36:32] heads, murder a nurse, murder a um a a [00:36:37] Red Crescent volunteer, murder people [00:36:40] who are just walking down the streets. [00:36:43] These people are just like her. And it's [00:36:46] not just her that threatens us. I mean, [00:36:49] just look at my Twitter feed and [00:36:52] elsewhere. And they can say it and get [00:36:54] away with it. They won't. They She She [00:36:57] said it. She made threats on Piers [00:36:59] Morgan's show. I mean, I was invited on [00:37:02] Pierce Morgan's show. His I I said I I [00:37:04] will never go again on the show. Then [00:37:07] his producer contacted me. [00:37:09] He she promised it would be I mean I [00:37:12] have the exchange on my WhatsApp. [00:37:16] [snorts] She uh said it will be a [00:37:19] one-on-one and that was my condition. [00:37:22] And then he lied of course as usual as [00:37:23] he always does because he is he has no [00:37:26] sense of morality or anything. They did [00:37:29] their research on this one. I didn't [00:37:30] know who she was. Even now I don't know [00:37:32] her name. You said her name. I knew who [00:37:34] you were talking but I don't know her. [00:37:37] And as we speak I can't remember her [00:37:39] name. But um they did their research. [00:37:42] They know who they bring on the show [00:37:44] because whenever they invite me, it's [00:37:45] clear that he's had he has the summaries [00:37:47] of all my pre some of my, you know, key [00:37:50] interviews that I had before being on [00:37:51] his show. So, he's brief. He they know [00:37:54] who this woman is. They know what sort [00:37:56] of language she uses. They know the sort [00:37:58] of threats that she makes. And then on [00:38:00] the show, she made threats on live TV [00:38:03] and I mean, well, record on a recorded [00:38:05] program. And then hours later, they [00:38:07] broadcast. They didn't remove it. and [00:38:10] she does those tweets that you point out [00:38:13] and on social media and no one touched [00:38:15] them until a a well-known [00:38:19] uh [00:38:21] a very well-known [00:38:23] um [00:38:25] online activist or med media person [00:38:28] Glenn Greenwald. He he tweeted and and [00:38:32] then they afterwards when this became a [00:38:35] big thing they restricted [00:38:37] uh [00:38:39] views on of her tweet only because of [00:38:41] that. [00:38:43] So the same I mean if I were to say [00:38:47] anything like that [00:38:52] imagine what they would have done to me. [00:38:54] Imagine they would have taken my account [00:38:55] away from me. I would have been [00:38:56] condemned across the board by social [00:38:59] media activists and rightly so. But [00:39:03] these people can say whatever they want [00:39:05] because they've dehumanized the Iranians [00:39:07] so much. [00:39:09] And as I said, the whole political [00:39:10] establishment is a part of this. They're [00:39:12] all criminals. Just like Manar, anyone [00:39:17] who trusts Western media and Western [00:39:20] elites [00:39:24] and Western pundits [00:39:27] after Gaza [00:39:30] and believes that they're credible about [00:39:31] Iran or Venezuela, [00:39:34] these people are [00:39:36] useless. I mean, it's they they're [00:39:39] irredeemable. They just they're too [00:39:42] naive. They're too ignorant to to to be [00:39:46] able to change them. It's clear as day. [00:39:50] For well over two years, they've been [00:39:51] trying to hide a holocaust [00:39:54] and they've been apologists for the [00:39:56] Israeli regime. Remember the the October [00:39:59] the 7th rapes and the beheadings. [00:40:05] Months after it was clear that these [00:40:07] were lies, they cons they continued to [00:40:09] push it. people like Pierce Morgan among [00:40:12] many others, they continued to push it [00:40:15] because they wanted to justify the [00:40:17] Holocaust. [00:40:20] They were lying. There was no evidence. [00:40:21] We all know that now. [00:40:24] So, anything you hear about Iran from [00:40:25] these people is obviously of the same [00:40:28] nature. Iran [00:40:30] is being punished because of its [00:40:32] position on Palestine. Because it is [00:40:34] only Iran that supports the Palestinian [00:40:37] people, the Iranians and the Yemenes and [00:40:40] the Axis of resistance. No one else [00:40:41] does. Everyone else does business. Like [00:40:45] Erdogan, like Abdullah in Jordan, like [00:40:48] Cece in Egypt, like Muhammad bin Z. All [00:40:50] of these people do business with Israeli [00:40:52] regime. They can say a few nasty words [00:40:55] here and there, [00:40:57] but they're fine. But Iran is is because [00:41:01] of its support for the Palestinian [00:41:02] people. So yes, if you believe the [00:41:05] nonsense about Gaza being a war and not [00:41:08] a genocide, then you can believe all the [00:41:10] nonsense of by Western media and Western [00:41:13] pundits and Western governments about [00:41:16] >> of course. And I mean, you you kind of [00:41:18] have to be a special kind of stupid [00:41:20] honestly at this point if you believe [00:41:22] anything that comes out of Western [00:41:24] corporate media about any nation that [00:41:26] dares to stand up to US and Israeli [00:41:29] imperialism. Like you said, we witnessed [00:41:31] over 2 years of atrocity propaganda [00:41:34] being uh pushed within Western corporate [00:41:37] media from the beheaded babies to, you [00:41:39] know, these rape claims to babies being [00:41:42] baked in ovens. We saw how media [00:41:46] manufacture consent, how they push bogus [00:41:50] claims and atrocity propaganda to [00:41:53] justify war. And yet we have many of the [00:41:58] same people who saw that say, "Oh, but [00:42:01] you know, Iran is different or they" and [00:42:03] they they are sharing a lot of these [00:42:04] statistics and these numbers of mass [00:42:07] arrests and mass casualties. [00:42:09] >> 20,000 killed, chemical weapons being [00:42:12] used. I mean, [00:42:14] >> just give them a few more days and it'll [00:42:16] be 200,000 people killed and nuclear [00:42:18] weapons used. [00:42:19] >> I mean, we literally just heard that [00:42:21] about, you know, Palestine and they're [00:42:24] paring the same thing. And a lot of it [00:42:26] has to do with um a lot of the [00:42:28] Iranophobia and the Shiaophobia and just [00:42:32] the total dehumanization of Iran um over [00:42:37] the course of the past, you know, [00:42:39] decades. And it has even touched the [00:42:41] Palestinian-American community. It has [00:42:43] touched a lot of the um Arab and Muslim [00:42:46] community here in the west because um [00:42:49] even sometimes Al Jazzer pushes [00:42:51] sometimes these these narratives about [00:42:54] Iran and nuclear weapons. So it's very [00:42:57] clear there's an agenda uh to push for [00:43:00] this regime change and it's through [00:43:01] dehumanization of um of Iran. And I want [00:43:05] to talk about the timing of all of this. [00:43:07] And this is, you know, one of my final [00:43:09] questions for you because it's really [00:43:11] important because right before Nicholas [00:43:14] Maduro was kidnapped and right before [00:43:17] um, you know, these Iranian protests [00:43:19] were hijacked and right before Trump [00:43:22] announced that he's ready to invade [00:43:24] Greenland to take over the minerals [00:43:26] there. Of course, all of these things, [00:43:29] [snorts] the Trump administration is [00:43:32] openly saying what they're trying to do. [00:43:35] There were closed door meetings between [00:43:37] President Trump and Netanyahu and [00:43:39] everything that I just mentioned [00:43:41] basically happened right after that. Do [00:43:45] you agree? [00:43:49] >> Oh, yes. Yes. And and you're absolutely [00:43:51] correct. this Iran, this phobia against [00:43:52] Iran and Shia. It's something the [00:43:54] Western media has been doing for [00:43:56] decades. And the media empires of these [00:43:59] family dictatorships in the Persian [00:44:01] Gulf, whether in Katad or Saudi Arabia [00:44:03] or the Emirates and and others, they've [00:44:05] been doing it for for decades. And uh [00:44:09] you know, Katar is a Wahhabi regime. [00:44:12] It's central mosque. It's a is the [00:44:14] Muhammad Abdul Wahab mosque which is uh [00:44:19] he you know takiri uh ideology that he [00:44:22] he pushed and of course Erdogan and Kat [00:44:25] they've been pushing supporting ISIS and [00:44:28] al for a very long period of time sadly [00:44:31] Turkey especially being a a strong Sufi [00:44:34] you know having a strong Sufi tradition [00:44:36] Erdogan is moving p trying to push it in [00:44:39] a very different direction so this [00:44:42] sectarianism under the umbrella of the [00:44:44] American empire and this general [00:44:46] hostility towards Iran [00:44:49] in the Western media. All of these [00:44:51] together, the Arabic and uh the oil and [00:44:53] gas funded Arabic media and the Western [00:44:55] media because they're all in the same [00:44:57] camp, you know, they they've all they're [00:44:59] all in it together. remember after the [00:45:03] so the the the fake ceasefire when all [00:45:06] these world leaders gathered in Egypt [00:45:09] for that monkey show they all went there [00:45:12] basically to whitewash Trump and his and [00:45:15] his atrocities in Gaza [00:45:18] and I don't want to go into you know [00:45:19] each and every one of them but Iran was [00:45:22] not there [00:45:24] if Iran went there and Trump would have [00:45:27] been very pleased but Iran was not going [00:45:28] to whitewash his crimes so They are all [00:45:31] in the same camp and it's the axis of [00:45:33] resistance. That is why they're [00:45:34] targeting Iran today because Iran is at [00:45:36] the heart of the axis of resistance. And [00:45:38] that is why we've had this anti-Iranian [00:45:41] narrative for for decades or anti-Shia [00:45:43] narrative for decades or anti-resistance [00:45:46] narrative for decades. [00:45:48] And the current conspiracy that that's [00:45:52] playing out, it began over the new year [00:45:55] with Netanyahu and Trump meeting in Mara [00:45:59] Lago and Florida. That's you know [00:46:02] immediately afterwards all these events [00:46:04] started and these pre planned riots [00:46:08] these people who've been trained for a [00:46:09] very long period of time [00:46:12] uh they were deployed subsequently and [00:46:15] we may have a full-scale war in the [00:46:18] coming days who knows and the western [00:46:20] media is desperately trying to prepare [00:46:23] the grounds for such a war but it's not [00:46:25] going to end well for them and I and [00:46:27] when there's the when we have the [00:46:29] economic crisis the the the oil and gas [00:46:32] crisis, the energy crisis. I think a lot [00:46:34] of people whose lives will be ruined [00:46:36] will be seeking out these people who've [00:46:38] been pushing for the war, including [00:46:40] Trump's opponents who are also pushing [00:46:42] for war. As I said, even those who are [00:46:45] speaking against the war, they're [00:46:46] justifying it by demonizing Iran. The [00:46:48] same thing that they did with President [00:46:50] Maduro and the Venezuelans. [00:46:53] And we have uh news sources like Iran [00:46:56] International which is funded by Saudi [00:46:59] Arabia and directed a lot of its [00:47:01] coverage um by Saudi intelligence and [00:47:05] they're pushing this dehumanization of [00:47:09] Iranians and pushing this Shiaophobia. [00:47:12] What do you make of Iran International? [00:47:16] Well, Iran International is based in [00:47:18] London, and I've actually recently [00:47:21] tweeted uh a a clip from what the one of [00:47:25] the host was one of the hosts was [00:47:27] saying. He was saying that we have to [00:47:29] have uh armed rebellion in Iran. He was [00:47:32] advocating it. [00:47:34] But Offcom in the UK is not banning the [00:47:38] channel for this. This is this is [00:47:39] something that would cause any other [00:47:42] media channel to be shut down. Press TV, [00:47:46] RT, [00:47:48] uh, all sorts of Lebanese and Yemeni and [00:47:51] Iraqi media channels and all Iranian [00:47:54] media channels have been banned in the [00:47:55] West and sanctioned [00:47:59] for just opposing Western narratives. [00:48:01] None of them have called for armed [00:48:02] rebellion in the UK or the US. [00:48:06] But they're so the US government and the [00:48:08] UK government because they have offices [00:48:10] in the US, UK and in and in in Tel Aviv. [00:48:13] They are openly advocating for they are [00:48:16] opening openly telling people to wage [00:48:17] war against the government in Iraq. [00:48:20] I don't know who funds I don't know if [00:48:22] the Saudis still fund it. They they were [00:48:24] funding it in the past. Some say that [00:48:26] it's sort of been uh Saudis cut funding [00:48:30] and the Israelis have replaced them. I [00:48:32] don't know the details, but it is a a a [00:48:34] it is a a terrorist entity and the Iran [00:48:37] International is pushing for war and it [00:48:40] is pro-Zionist and it is uh it it wants [00:48:43] to see Iran bombed and they are day and [00:48:48] night trying to create fear and division [00:48:50] in Iraq and it's very ugly in Iran and [00:48:52] it is very ugly and and it's not just [00:48:54] Iran international. The West spends [00:48:56] billions of dollars a year on [00:48:59] anti-Iranian propaganda in Persia. There [00:49:02] are, I think, 200 to 300 TV channels. [00:49:05] We don't have onetenth of that inside [00:49:08] Iran. [00:49:09] We They have all sorts of websites. They [00:49:12] have Telegram channels. They have a [00:49:15] numerous troll farms. [00:49:19] One in Albania has 2 to 3,000 people [00:49:22] working in it. [00:49:23] This is all funded by American taxpayers [00:49:26] and others. So you you have bots. So [00:49:29] this is a huge media campaign. And then [00:49:31] on the other hand, they shut down voices [00:49:34] in Iran. I have lost my Instagram [00:49:37] um [00:49:39] account a long time ago, my Facebook [00:49:42] account. I only have uh X and I'm it's [00:49:47] clear I'm heavily shadowbanned. People [00:49:48] say that I you know many people have [00:49:51] told me that. So, and many people have [00:49:53] lost their accounts and many young [00:49:54] people in Iran are fearful of tweeting [00:49:57] because they they're thinking about [00:49:58] continuing their education abroad and [00:50:00] they know that their accounts are going [00:50:02] to be checked in western countries. So [00:50:05] they shut down accounts, they sanction [00:50:07] people, they sanction media outlets in [00:50:09] our part of the world, they try to [00:50:11] silence our voices [00:50:13] and they [00:50:15] um [00:50:17] try to [00:50:19] uh amplify [00:50:21] uh anti-Iranian voices as much as [00:50:23] possible. [00:50:24] >> And uh one last point I want to talk [00:50:26] about is the targeting of women in Iran, [00:50:30] women's rights. Um just a short story. [00:50:33] Many of the Iranian diaspora that I meet [00:50:36] when I talk to them about Iran, the [00:50:38] first thing they mention is we are not [00:50:41] free in Iran as women because we have to [00:50:43] wear the hijab. And that's literally the [00:50:45] single most uh uh point that they [00:50:48] mention everything else about women [00:50:51] working being represented in government [00:50:52] and and and so forth is very positive [00:50:56] for them. But the fact that Iran has the [00:50:58] hijab uh mandate is uh you know a a [00:51:03] point that they always press about [00:51:05] Iranian women's rights. But we also have [00:51:09] to remember and so they so they want [00:51:10] that mandate to be removed from these [00:51:12] are from the Iranian diaspora women that [00:51:14] I that I meet often and they really [00:51:17] really admire uh western capitalism. [00:51:21] That's also something that I find that [00:51:23] they uh want. They want McDonald's in [00:51:26] Iran. They want western capitalism in [00:51:28] Iran. They want Starbucks. They want all [00:51:30] the corporations uh in Iran. And they [00:51:32] want to openly work with the US. They [00:51:35] want to work with Israel. And they kind [00:51:37] of have this kind of rose shade, you [00:51:41] know, colored glasses on about working [00:51:44] with the United States and Israel and [00:51:46] what that would mean for Iran. And when [00:51:50] I mention how a lot of these, you know, [00:51:52] woman life freedom hashtags are being [00:51:54] signal boosted literally inside of Tel [00:51:57] Aviv. This is something that we've [00:51:58] documented and analyzed from literally [00:52:01] Google Analytics and X. A lot of these [00:52:04] hashtags are being signal boosted by the [00:52:07] West and Israel to manipulate the [00:52:10] Iranian woman in the diaspora. They're [00:52:13] completely in denial about this. So, I [00:52:15] don't know. I wanted to kind of talk [00:52:17] about this because it's a it's a [00:52:18] sensitive topic and people don't truly [00:52:20] understand in the west this issue but I [00:52:23] was hoping to maybe get your perspective [00:52:24] on this. [00:52:26] >> Well, first of all, the millions of [00:52:28] people who went to the streets in Thran [00:52:30] and the millions of others who went to [00:52:32] the streets in different other cities [00:52:35] at least I suppose half of them were [00:52:37] women. [00:52:38] So obviously those women don't agree [00:52:41] with the narratives that are produced in [00:52:43] the west. [00:52:45] Also, many of these Iranian Iranians [00:52:47] living in the United States, [00:52:50] many of them have never been to Iran for [00:52:54] decades. And many of them are influenced [00:52:56] by Western narratives. They don't live [00:52:58] in Iran and they're influent when uh you [00:53:00] know when they're bombarded day and [00:53:02] night by these narratives, they too are [00:53:04] influenced. And also, and you know this [00:53:08] better than most, if you are against [00:53:12] Western narratives, [00:53:14] life does not become easy for you in the [00:53:16] United States. [00:53:18] And for someone who has Iranian roots [00:53:21] who just wants to be left alone and live [00:53:25] uh you know live a private life, the [00:53:28] smart they would consider often the [00:53:30] smart thing to do would just be to mimic [00:53:32] what they're being told. And so they're [00:53:36] conditioned many to think that way. Of [00:53:38] course, many in the Iranian diaspora [00:53:39] don't think that way. I've been to [00:53:41] different communities. I've been to [00:53:43] Iranian restaurants. I've met many [00:53:44] Iranians abroad. some of them know me [00:53:47] because I've been on media and I've [00:53:48] never had any problems. I've never been [00:53:51] um you know so it you know that's not [00:53:55] really necessarily the ca the case for [00:53:58] most people in diaspora and we have to [00:54:00] also keep in mind that there are [00:54:02] thousands of Iranians or former Iranians [00:54:05] or Iranian-Americans [00:54:08] and in Europe who they have jobs that [00:54:11] are linked to the United States [00:54:14] government. [00:54:15] All those Persian media uh channels, [00:54:19] they hire Iranians. All those troll [00:54:22] farms, all those this there are Iranians [00:54:26] who are involved. So, a lot of people [00:54:28] have a vested interest in in these uh in [00:54:33] in they're part of this industry. But in [00:54:36] any case, inside Iran, I I think I may [00:54:39] have told you this once before on your [00:54:41] show. I've been a academic at the [00:54:43] University of Tehran for [00:54:48] let's see for almost 23 years now [00:54:53] actually for yes literally for almost 23 [00:54:56] years now and in a couple of weeks it'll [00:54:58] be 23 years and um [00:55:02] during these 23 years one woman or [00:55:05] another [00:55:07] uh in 19 of those 23 years one woman or [00:55:10] another. No. Um, yes. 19 of those 23 [00:55:15] years, one woman or another was my boss [00:55:17] at the University of Tan. My the dean of [00:55:20] my faculty has been one prof one female [00:55:22] professor another. [00:55:25] This is one of the elite universities in [00:55:27] the country. Most of the the majority in [00:55:30] my I'm not saying the whole university [00:55:32] but in my I'm affiliated to two [00:55:34] departments. [00:55:35] one in the uh so in both departments in [00:55:38] two different faculties that I'm [00:55:40] affiliated to [00:55:42] one is I'm a part of the other one I'm [00:55:44] an affiliate member one is my own [00:55:46] department the majority of the academics [00:55:49] who've been have hired over the last [00:55:52] let's say decade or half a decade 7 8 [00:55:54] years are women so this is really [00:55:57] nonsense in Iran yes there are dress [00:56:00] codes which are very loosely enforced [00:56:03] you'll see women on campus or on the [00:56:06] streets not wearing the hijab. But the [00:56:09] idea behind the dress code which is for [00:56:12] men and women is they do not want women [00:56:15] to be sexualized or commodified or [00:56:18] objectified. Now, someone in the United [00:56:21] States or in the West may disagree with [00:56:22] that and some Iranians may disagree with [00:56:24] that, but that's a debate that Iranians [00:56:26] have and Iranians debate that if you go [00:56:28] in any taxi in Iran, if you spend a few [00:56:31] days in Iran and take a bus or take the [00:56:34] metro or take taxis and go around, [00:56:37] people in Iran talk. They're not like [00:56:39] in, you know, in some western countries [00:56:41] where everyone is quiet. They talk and [00:56:45] uh [00:56:46] they'll they speak against the [00:56:48] government. They'll speak against the [00:56:50] leader. They'll speak against the [00:56:51] president. They'll speak against [00:56:53] religion. You'll find everything. [00:56:56] But remember [00:56:58] those millions of people who went to the [00:56:59] streets, these are the same bus drivers [00:57:02] or taxi drivers or people in the metro [00:57:04] that may be attacking the government, [00:57:11] but that doesn't mean that they're [00:57:13] against the state. That doesn't mean [00:57:15] they're against the constitution. there. [00:57:18] And I would and I insist that among all [00:57:21] of its neighbors in this region, Iran is [00:57:23] the most open of them all. Contrary to [00:57:26] the western narratives, despite the [00:57:28] sanctions, despite the constant attempts [00:57:31] to create division, I western [00:57:33] governments which pretend to support um [00:57:36] multiculturalism, [00:57:40] they in inside Iran, they try to turn [00:57:43] one sect against another. [00:57:47] one ethnic group against another. [00:57:49] They're doing it all the time. [00:57:53] That's what their intelligence agencies [00:57:54] do. [00:57:56] That's their objective. And it's of [00:57:58] course true across the region, you know, [00:58:00] between Shia and Sunni, Arab and Persian [00:58:03] or I don't know, Muslim and Christian. [00:58:08] That's what they've been doing for [00:58:09] centuries. And as the empire declines, [00:58:12] they become more brutal in this respect [00:58:15] because they have less power. So they [00:58:17] rely more on division and and and uh and [00:58:21] and and and the attempt to turn people [00:58:25] against one another [00:58:26] >> of course and we have to remember that [00:58:28] in Iran I mean there are more women in [00:58:31] parliament than most western countries. [00:58:33] Um, I think Iran has the highest number [00:58:36] of [00:58:37] >> We have women pilots, we have women taxi [00:58:39] drivers, we have women uh we have women [00:58:44] in the cabinet, we have them in [00:58:46] parliament, we have they're everywhere. [00:58:49] I'm not saying Iran is some utopia, [00:58:53] but it is definitely not the dystopia [00:58:56] that they say it is in Western media. [00:58:58] It's a normal society. [00:59:00] >> Yeah. and people in Iran when millions [00:59:02] come to the streets in Tehran which is [00:59:04] the mo the most secular city in this [00:59:06] country [00:59:09] that shows that it has popular support [00:59:11] and that western narratives are false [00:59:13] and [snorts] after Gaza no one should [00:59:15] trust western narratives [00:59:17] so you know we you mutual friends of [00:59:21] ours max Blumenthal [00:59:24] uh G George Galloway you know many [00:59:27] people visited Thran and Iran done in [00:59:30] recent months. Anyone can ask them is it [00:59:33] what they it is said in the west. No. [00:59:35] Western mainstream media is controlled [00:59:37] by the same oligarchs that control [00:59:39] western political parties and uh [00:59:43] anything that they say is is you know [00:59:46] agenda driven and people should be very [00:59:48] careful about them [00:59:49] >> of course and uh you know the the people [00:59:52] that are in the diaspora can't rely on [00:59:55] uh you know big tech billionaires like [00:59:58] Elon Musk and his Starlink to to save [01:00:00] them. These are the billionaires that [01:00:03] have exploited uh people to make their [01:00:06] billions and their agenda is very clear [01:00:09] in their AI uh pursuit. So um Dr. Mendi, [01:00:14] >> they don't care about Americans just as [01:00:16] they don't care about Iranians. [01:00:18] >> Of course. Um Dr. Mendi, I really [01:00:20] appreciate you uh being here today to [01:00:22] dismantle the anti-Iran propaganda used [01:00:25] to manufacture consent for war and [01:00:27] regime change against your country. And [01:00:29] I applaud you for being so steadfast, [01:00:32] standing so strong against uh the winds [01:00:35] of these horrible propagandists in [01:00:39] Western corporate media and dismantling [01:00:42] uh their narrative. Thank you [music] so [01:00:44] much. [01:00:45] >> Thank you very much. And thank you for [01:00:48] all the fantastic [music] work that you [01:00:50] do. And I also thank your audience [01:00:53] because I know they are steadfast [01:00:54] [music] people who see beyond the [01:00:57] propaganda. [01:00:58] And thanks to people like yourself. [01:01:00] >> Thank you. [01:01:11] [music]