Iran has fascinated me for as long as I can remember thinking about civilisation and culture. It is one of the cradles of civilisation, the home of ancient Babylonians and Persians who fought the Romans and Greeks and created the basis of modern-day civilisations. Their culture, science, art, philosophy, and literature remain as rich and important as they ever were. Darius, Cyrus, and other great historical figures remain essential to understanding the origins of our modern world. Iran is also rich in terms of geography and nature.
I’ve always wanted to visit and have always been fascinated by the country, especially when I witnessed pictures of the Iranian Revolution on television, the Ayatollah returning from exile, kissing the ground upon his return, and what ensued afterwards. From the hijacking of the American embassy to the transformation from a social revolution into a theological and theocratic state, the implications continue to shape geopolitics today.
It was also because of these events that I was able to go on my first ever march in London, joining a community of Birmingham Iranians who were protesting against the occupation of Al-Aqsa in 1987. At one point, I led the march with an Iranian flag five times my height, simply because I was so energised and enjoying the moment of being able to demonstrate in Knightsbridge. As the march arrived at the gates of the Foreign Office, mysterious white vans parked around us. But when the American flag was being burnt and “Death to the USA” was being chanted, the air became incredibly chilly and sinister. The protesters backed down, and the atmosphere became peaceful again. I remember that moment vividly to this day.
The reason I say all of this is because I’ve been fascinated by the nation and have been wanting to visit it for decades. While I almost had a couple of opportunities through academic conferences, it never quite materialised. As a result of the Rushdie affair, the breakdown in diplomatic relations between the UK and Iran, and the implications for people with British passports, I have refrained from going. But it still remains on my mind.
I want to present this overview to offer some background in relation to my own perspectives on why I find Iran interesting, but I also want to use it as a way to introduce what is currently happening in the country right now, something that is quite disturbing and worrying, yet we have little or no information about it, largely because outside media access is restricted and internal voices are suppressed. Although there have been a few limited attempts to get stories out.
During my time in Istanbul, I made great friends with whom I’m still in contact today. One of them is of Iranian background. He returned to Iran after his studies, and we’ve remained in touch because I’ve always found him engaging and thoughtful. He would always beat me at chess, but I would continue playing, accepting further punishment every time I tried to challenge him. Still, it was a lot of fun. The point was that it was improving my game, and I got close a couple of times. I hope to be able to play with him again soon.
I wanted to get an update from him directly as to what’s happening right now in Tehran, because I’m getting conflicting information, some of which is patchy and limited in my view. I wanted to hear it from the horse’s mouth, as it were. Two days ago, I asked him squarely and clearly what’s going on. This is what he said, and it’s clearly indicated that he used translation software to convert his Farsi into English in some of the text below. This needs to be borne in mind because I don’t speak Farsi and have relied on his text:
Hello my friend, My family and I are fine. The IRGC and the Basij have killed a huge number of people, truly a massive number. What people call a “bloodbath” is exactly what this was. They themselves announced 36,500 deaths, but it must be far more. Some friends who have connections with people higher up are speculating that the number could eventually reach as high as 60,000. In Mashhad, they literally deployed DShK heavy machine guns and opened fire on people. Right above our house, people were shot. Then they went into homes, dragged out those who had fled, and shot them.
Even now, they are still going into hospitals, taking wounded people from their hospital beds, and executing them with a final shot to the head. Videos of this are coming out. Thankfully, my close friends are all safe, but I keep hearing from them that a relative or a friend of theirs has been killed or arrested, and some have received death sentences on charges of rebellion. The clerics will do anything to stay in power, and if they can’t, they will destroy everything behind them. They are utterly ruthless and corrupt. I think this government can only be destroyed by an external force, because the people themselves have been crushed. The combination of political dissatisfaction and catastrophic economic conditions has pushed everyone to the brink. I sold my company shares last month and moved into a XXXXX manufacturing company as XXX XXXX. The construction sector has completely stalled, sales dried up, and I had to exit before taking heavier losses. Now all we can do is sit and watch sudden events unfold. I don’t think anything is really predictable anymore. Inflation is currently around 60–70%, and the government has no solution to the crisis other than printing money, which only makes things worse. Just like during the 12-day war period, we’re preparing our warehouse again. What else can I say, my dear? “
I subsequently asked him whether I could use this conversation to tell the world what’s going on as best as possible, without including anything that could identify him directly or compromise his safety. He agreed, and hence some aspects of the above conversation are redacted. His follow-up remarks are as follows:
My friend, it is an honor for me to be able to help bring these crimes to the attention of the world through you. You are doing a great service to the people of Iran. It seems that today the IRGC-affiliated news agency announced the number as 41,000. One of my friends, whose relative was killed by knife attacks in Haft-Howz Square, told me that in order to receive the body, the family is forced to sign a written commitment stating that the person killed was a Basij member. If you refuse to sign this statement, you must pay for the bullets, which can amount to something equivalent to more than USD 6,000. Even then, they may not allow burial in a public cemetery; instead, the body must be buried in a remote location. No more than 40 people are allowed to attend the funeral.
I had heard similar accounts earlier from other people on Instagram, but I didn’t believe them until my friend told me this directly. If I witness anything else, I’ll let you know as long as the internet remains accessible. For now, the VPN is working intermittently, but access is still heavily restricted.”
People are losing their loved ones and the friends of loved ones. There is clearly a sense that the regime has been pushing hard against any kind of resistance. This is plainly an attempt to suppress any kind of revolution, wary of possible external motivations and interests, which some people are indeed seeking to exploit. At the same time, it’s also true that the restrictions facing the nation have meant that it has been forced to look inward to protect what security it needs, both external and internal, in light of so much international pressure focused on the country as a result of its intended or actual nuclear energy development programme.
But this does not detract from the fact that real people on the streets, in the towns, in the suburbs, in families and neighbourhoods are suffering and living in uncertainty. There is little the world can do but watch, for now it seems.
A ground invasion, as has been indicated by some in America, would not proceed without significant implications, as the Iranian regime is likely to hit back hard. With the ongoing real war between Iran and Israel, this could escalate in a very dangerous way that could engulf the entire region. Iran is one of the very few places in the world that doesn’t have any American military bases, but there are American bases all around its borders in neighbouring countries. There are 81 million people in Iran, and it is a relatively closed country with over five thousand years of recorded history and civilisation at stake.
Iran has been on the agenda of the architects of the New World Order in the 21st century ever since the War on Terror came in response to the attacks on America on 9/11. There is still the military-industrial complex, or what is also the security-industrial complex in today’s world, that sees Iran as an opportunity ripe for exploitation. There are many risks for the people of the country inside and for the stability of the region if matters escalate as a result of both internal and external factors. We can only hope and watch that matters resolve themselves sooner rather than later.
I do not pretend to offer an objective account or a verified analysis of the statistics. This is simply the voice of a friend, one with whom I share concerns and fears, and it is illustrative of the issues clearly in play.
I pray for him, and for the people of Iran.