This is a heartbreaking story from The... - Christopher Majka | FacebookChristopher MajkatseoondprSct68 caa5h35215hcimhlMu06020981f 4:3m23trf1024ama ·
This is a heartbreaking story from The Guardian's Deepa Parent. After being given hope by the US that it was committed to regime change in Iran, many Iranians are now feeling betrayed, not least by the fact that their homes and civilian infrastructure are being pulverized by American and Israeli airstrikes and hundreds are being killed.
"Many others in the anti-regime movement are hearing reports of newborn babies being killed by the US and Israeli strikes, and conclude simply that now three governments, rather than one, are killing Iranians. A protester in Tehran said: “A significant portion of the people I’ve been speaking to, after witnessing the killing of civilians, have altered their perception of military intervention.” - Deepa Parent
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"After years of arrests, disappearances and mass killings of protesters, the hatred in Iran from some quarters for the hardline, oppressive governing regime had boiled into such a desperate rage that many believed Donald Trump’s promise that the US would “come to their rescue”.Now, after a fortnight of war, with US and Israeli airstrikes killing hundreds as they hit residential blocks, shops, fuel depots and even a school, the mood is changing.“They are also lying! Like the regime has been lying to us,” said Amir*, a student at the University of Tehran. “You are all worse than each other.”The anti-regime protester has let himself hope for more from the US and Israel, which on the first day of the war had swiftly killed Iran’s most feared and powerful man, the supreme leader.Yet the regime lives on, with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son quickly appointed to replace him, while Israel has widened and intensified its attacks on the country of more than 90 million people.“We’re tense. We are really tense,” said Amir. “I feel worse when I am alone. Khamenei’s death has left us with this weird sense of emptiness. Like I am now forced to think about the future, which seems so chaotic right now. We never got to look at him in the eye. He died just like that? Without facing justice for what he did to us?”The turning point for Amir was the Israeli strikes on fuel depots in Tehran last week, with one attack on the Shahran oil depot overshadowing the capital with black smoke. A rain shower later covered trees, homes and cars with layers of toxic oil.“I genuinely believe now they [the US and Israel] didn’t have a plan. I was still hoping I was wrong, but the Shahran attack changed the way I look at this war right now,” he said. “If the regime is what you want to hit, even if you think these depots were used by the regime, where do you draw the line? What about us, the ordinary Iranians? We rely on this civil infrastructure. Why take away our ability to govern in the future? Who can rebuild utter ruins?”Amir said he now had constant anxiety about Iran “turning into another Iraq”, a country the US invaded in 2003, promising freedom but delivering a civil war. Israeli leaders have also previously called on Palestinians in Gaza and the Lebanese people to rise up against oppression, only to later kill them in large numbers.“My heart is so heavy,” said Amir. “I don’t even have tears left. Only anger and more anger. At this regime, and them,” he added, referring to the US and Israel.Others who spoke to the Guardian this week also had a shift in their attitudes towards the war, especially after the attack on oil depots, but also after seeing images of the country’s heritage sites damaged.Among those that took the worst hits were Tehran’s Golestan Palace, dating to the 14th century, and the 17th-century Chehel Sotoon Palace in Isfahan.“How will they rebuild … a priceless part of history?” asked a Tehran-based student. “And how will we bring back people who are dying? Is that it? Is the message from abroad that just because the regime doesn’t care, the world shouldn’t? Is the goal to erase our culture and history?”Another student, based in Karaj, a city about 30 miles west of the capital which has been under heavy bombardment this week, said: “I want this regime gone. I asked for help from Trump.” But the student said he thought the strikes would target the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and its volunteer militia, the Basij. “When did this plan change and why are they hitting our infrastructure?”Most Iranians have lived their whole lives under the Iranian regime, which took power in a 1979 revolution that toppled the monarchy, only to replace it with autocratic clerics.It is hard to assess support for the government in a country with such a heavily restricted media climate, and where open dissent can mean jail and death.Yet, for almost two decades, protest movements have managed to thrive, often sparked by political unrest, a sudden rise in fuel prices, economic turmoil or the repression of women’s rights. In 2009, in what was known as the Green movement, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets over disputed presidential elections. The protests were met with a bloody state crackdown.In 2022, one of most powerful uprisings, the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, was sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini over her alleged improper wearing of the hijab. The most recent wave of protests began in late December. They began as small-scale strikes in Tehran’s bazaar over plunging currency. As they spread into countrywide rallies of mass upset, security forces launched one of their deadliest crackdowns, killing thousands.An Iranian doctor who treated protesters in January for gunshot wounds said he still had some hope the war would “at least result in real change”.“What we fear most is the war stopping now in its current stage,” he said. “Then we’ll be left with the same people who massacred us last month … only stronger.”But many others in the anti-regime movement are hearing reports of newborn babies being killed by the US and Israeli strikes, and conclude simply that now three governments, rather than one, are killing Iranians.A protester in Tehran said: “A significant portion of the people I’ve been speaking to, after witnessing the killing of civilians, have altered their perception of military intervention.”Earlier this week, they said that for the first time in Tehran, they had experienced “something resembling the idea of carpet bombing. Several neighbourhoods in the city centre were attacked in a sequential, wave-like manner.”Iranians, they said, had been “well and truly abandoned”. - Deepa Parent *Names have been changed
AuthorRomana Ahmad: I don't know that they really had any influence on Trump and Netanyahu's plans. They both wanted a war; talking about "regime change" was just window dressing.
Monisha TasnimRomana Ahmadyep, why I feel like this article was written to protect the US shills among the Iranian diaspora, so they can have an article to share how they "changed" and yet Iran is still considered worse than the other (and vice versa? Lol)
William RattleyAmerica may have gone in under the "supposed" (I call bullshit) intention of liberating Iranians. Israel however has not. All Israel wants is to dominate the region. Destabilise any potential threats to that dominance, and where necessary carry out a collective punishment against those they see as their enemies.
Israel will follow the Gaza playbook in Iran, in Lebanon and if they turn their sights on it, in Turkiye if given the chance. Their only goal is expansion and domination and at the moment they are calling the shots in this invasion. America is Israel's submissive little puppy.
America was hoping to secure oil assets from Iran. That was the primary goal and the liberation of the Iranian people was always just a skippable side quest if it got too tiresome. Putting the exiled Prince in power is not indicative of true autonomy and freedom for the people, it means Iran will still be under the back-door control of the United States.
What Iran needs is a new start for themselves. Something unique, something homegrown, something truly independent. America will never allow it though if it threatens their self-appointed belief in control - particularly of the economy and Iran's oil and other natural resources.
In 1953 the CIA helped create a coup and put the Shah in power because Iran was doing things for itself and keeping the oil for their own people. Britain and the US wanted them to only be allowed to keep 5% of that oil for themselves when Iran wanted to hold 50% - of their OWN oil.
America is not on your side. "America First" isn't just a slogan that Trump uses to sound tough, it's a strong held belief that most American Governments hold. With the way Trump's Administration has been trying to bully their own long-standing allies... well, you're betting on the wrong horse if you think America (and particularly this administration) cares about anything or anyone outside of themsevles.
Khoi TrinhIt amazes me that after countless wars and failed attempts at regime change, there are still some who believe that the US somehow has their best interests at heart. It's sad. But it also serves to illustrate just how desperate these people are that they would take the word of a convicted felon, serial adulterer, pathological liar and all-around rotten human being. So what's the answer. Honestly, I'm not sure. But war is definitely NOT the answer.
Shawn KayWhat did they think was going to happen?
This is Trump that we're talking about here.
Diane BlackmoreI find it hard to understand how this vandalism is meant to help the Iranian people.
Hope SmithWe tried to warn people. Anyone who truly expected the US to save Iranians is somebody who has never paid attention to the United States and their history.
Akalanka KhUS has regime changed lot of countries through military action.
How many of them have improved?
Faye LynnAny Iranian thinking Israel and US genuinely want to help them by sacrificing their soldiers was lying to themselves. With Trump, it’s never about helping others, except for Bibi (cause allegedly, Mossad has a full unredacted Epstein files). Trump is all about stealing other countries’ oil. With Israel, it’s about building the Greater Israel promised 3000 years ago.
Marta Merlos DorosencoWhen it comes to Trump, people have no foresight. He will never do the right thing, and every single person who has ever supported him, will eventually regret it. Every single person.
Krista CohenI am very surprised the liberation narrative lasted beyond ten minutes for real people and not just bot accounts in Virginia.
When asked about concerns of Russia providing Iran with intel on targeting US bases, Secretary of War Pete Kegbreath basically said "I'm not worried about harm to the US, worry first about Iranians who think they're going to live"
He also slashed programs that didn't contribute to his goal of "lethality". We had a Civilian Something Center of Excellence dedicated to limiting civ casualties. Kegbreath brought their staff from hundreds down to like 40 people. The team that specifically oversaw the Middle East is now one person.
US intervention was horrible before, now it's even worse.
George ClevelandTrump doesn't care who is in charge in Iran. In fact he admires the autocrats. He just wants get their money and resources. If they have to shoot 4x the number of people in the streets that Khamenei did, he is fine with that, as long as he gets his cut. I'm sorry freedom loving Iranians, fascists like Trump and Netanyahu won't deliver you from your masters, they want you to be mastered, but just by their puppet.
Gillian ButlerIf only ‘we’ had helped them overthrow their government rather than sanctioning and isolating them. Now Israel and the USA have played right into the hands of the Iranian regime.
Karin LarssonNone of our governments seem to care about any of us. We should refuse to bear arms against each other on their orders. We are all just people trying to survive with our loved ones on this earth. And the are apparently not on our side. Viva la revolution!
Brian GallagherSo sad. And yes, many of us did have this on our bingo card. I read recently that Trump’s war cabinet consisted of Whiskey Pete, Lil Marco, and Just Dance Vance. That’s it. We had experienced, intelligent, working for the best outcomes, for the most part, on Iraq and Afghanistan, and couldn’t achieve a successful ‘regime change” in 20 years and $2 trillion dollars with thousands of boot on the ground in Afghanistan, and the four losers think they could pull this off in Iran?
Leslie LambertHideous decision by Trump and Hegseth. As an American I am deeply sorry for the assault on the Iranian people. Clearly your interests are not a motivating factor in this misguided war.
Fiona BatesonWhile I'm sad they've suddenly had a viciously rude awakening, they can't honestly say they weren’t warned. All they had to do was look at the U.S. track record for similar actions over the last 60+ years. Why on earth would they think there would be any different outcome for them, considering what happened to their next door neighbours.
Wendi WalkerIt was only a matter of time before this happened. Trump cannot be trusted, the losers here all around are the Ordinary People of Iran, who only want to live their lives in peace, without fear
Dan MeeuwsenThis is silly. They didn't really want change if they didn't understand there would be an undesired cost. Come on, what a dumb article.
Rod HodgesSo sad that Iranians thought the US was coming to help. It’s heartbreaking. Weat least used to pretend to be a country concerned about other people. Now our contempt (MAGA) for anyone not on board with Trump is in the open.
Michael WetzelIt was never about freeing the Iranian people. It is about oil and creating a diversion from the Epstein files.
Carol Gaudet GowanlockIt was never about them. I wish they had seen what happened in Venezuela and in the USA. Their hopes will now be a nightmare.
Liz DiSaThe only plan as to distract from Dump's presence in the Pedo Files.
Ryan EastwickI kept hearing this justification after the initial attacks. “The diaspora is so happy!” Okay, great. In the end, Trump burns EVERYONE.
Leena TitiBombs/missiles do not make a distinction between those who support the regime and those who don't.
Kathy PackwoodAt least some pro-US Iranians are waking up to the realities.
Reuben ZammitAlmost ALMOST it's a bad idea to ever want the biggest bully in the world to save you from your homegrown tormentor.
Claudia PantsI'm surprised they expected anything else. It's heartbreaking.
Troy SmithAnother weak woke hit piece that defies reality. The Iranian people want change but there’s only so much the US and Israel can do. The US is just as much about denying nuclear capability than a political take over. Even though the Iran military is destroyed and their leadership weakened Iran can only be freed by their own people. There is no way other free them if they don’t rise up themselves.. Just saying…
Erick ValenzuelaSome will obviously not be happy. However many Iranians are still extremely vocal about supporting these attacks. I have both friends outside who have family in Iran and also get direct Telegram updates from Iran sources. It’s in Persian which needs to be translated, but they have full support in those telegrams with all watching the updates.
Greg BuserIt was never about ‘liberating Iranians.’ A country of 9 million people that’s about the size of New Jersey, but with a smaller economy, is dictating the foreign policy of the United States, and the leadership of that small country doesn’t give a damn about the people of Iran, they just want Balkanize it and dominate it.
Erin CadiganAs Americans when we expressed dismay on Feb 28 we were scolded about not understanding Iran or their culture. It wasn’t that. I, personally, knew how exciting it must have been to have Khamenei dead.
I think perhaps it was they who didn’t understand our dismay came from understanding OUR culture and that we all knew it was going to quickly move from bad to worse.
It’s awful
Cindy HillThe truest statement i have seen in a long while - “You are all worse than each other.” Because of this other truth - they "conclude simply that now three governments, rather than one, are killing Iranians."
Marta LamollaIt was never about rescuing or regime change. The hope was that it might bring change. Now is not only that the regime is not changing. On top of that is the killings from two other criminals pretending that they care about anybody else but themselves
Amber FlavinIt was NEVER about saving anyone, he doesn’t care about anyone but himself.
Luke AtnipIf you sincerely thought that the American empire was coming to liberate you, you’ve been fooled.
Linda Araz BerensonAll they needed to do was to look at the past .. USA and Israel … seriously.?? doing anything to ‘help’ another ?
Iraq… Afghanistan.. Syria … the Kurds and Afghans and Iraqis that helped us …
It’s all so very sad
Sharon CaulfieldEzra Klein of the NYT has an excellent interview this week with Ali Vaez, the Iran project director at the International Crisis Group. He was involved in the negotiations that led to the 2015 nuclear deal, and is a nuclear scientist. He’s also an author of “How Sanctions Work: Iran and the Impact of Economic Warfare.” Vaez, born in Iran, offers a clear historical perspective on how the US has used and abused Iran since the 1930s.
Samuel NievesWhat made them think the Us was on their side?
1953 should have taught y’all something…
Janna ZabenYou can’t claim to be the savior while also being the destroyer.
Andrew HardsReality: any Iranians who thought this was ever about regime change were deluded.
Roshan NasimudeenWhat did they expect? Were they naive to think it was all for their freedom? Did they not understand foreign powers intervening will never be good for the long term including the issues that will arise with the ownership of their country’s resources??
Ashley DanielsCommon sense that the U.S. was not going to offer care and loving-kindness to any group of people, especially not Iranians as this country has never treated Iran with honor.
Dena HuismanMy heart hurts for these people. But expecting a malignant narcissist with totalitarian goals to save people for the good of the people is a special kind of folly. This man has no goal but destruction and self-aggrandizement. And he’s brought a bunch of lackeys on board who are perfectly willing to help him (for their own misguided, crazy ends).
Thelma BeamThey trusted the
and got thrown under the bus.
Mike SmithCommon sense, you may be against your Government, but you will certainly be against having your Country Dstroyed.
David JohnsonIt was of course delusional to think that a US attack on Iran would in any way improve things for Iranians. If helping Iranians had been their goal, the US would’ve simply supported reformist figures in Iran’s government (like Pezeshkian). Instead they doubled down on the antagonism, knowing full well the consequences for ordinary Iranians.
Martin WillisonThe commission of atrocities during wars creates resistance against the attacker. The idea that a pro-US or pro-Israel regime will arise from ashes in Iran is ridiculous. Sadism is not a political philosophy, and definitely not a road to peace, but seems to be an element of Trumpist thought.
Caroline PowellThe american government doesn't give a damn about its own people. Why would they care about hurting Iranians?
Baigala TsbaigalaThat’s what happens when you rely on Trump. He’s never for anyone else. He’s only for himself.
Sherry Ann LynchEveryone who has ever put their trust in Trump learned a hard,ugly lesson. I understand Iranians were desperate but putting your trust in a man whose own country doesn't want ,trust or even like was a sure way to heartache. Trump is the very definition of an "infidel" or "the great Satan".
Patrick SillarsHow could they have looked at Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria and thought to themselves that it would be different with Iran?
Jordanna Blockley"This is the war we want, so this is the war we'll be having"
Poor gullible fools. The US will do what it did in Iraq when it came to "liberate" people. It will take control of the country's resources and make a fortune while ordinary citizens have no clean water and tensions boil over. And round and round we go.
Sea ThérèseIt is awful but also the American government doesn’t care about its own people and is evil so unfortunately this was predictable.
Adrian James BuddleHonestly, if rescue and any kind of agency are what you expected from the US and Israel, you're very hopelessly inured by propaganda and fantastically ignorant of decades and recent history.
Frankly, 'fell for it again L award' doesn't do it justice, nor calling someone stupid. Undermining society in the face of US and Israeli evil, especially after Gaza atrocities, looks a damn sight more like sedition.
Saberi MatDeliUS is not going to spend billions to help Iranians install a secular regime for free, else there will not be North Korea.
Penny ProsserTrump doesn't give a shit about America. He is the most corrupt President in the US history.
So Im truly sorry if the Iranian people thought he would do anything to help them.
Kathleen WaywardWe all know everything Trump says is a lie, every single he says, he does the opposite of. He's living in a delusional world where he's thinking this is a game while he continues to golf while our country is in a war we should never have started.
Moss Ainsley DiRatberryNah, this is heart warming because they should have never trusted that Trump would do anything for anyone besides himself.
Keith MirfakhraieI could have told them that. These people don’t have your best interest.
Marla Bekondo PlunkettThese are all lies. Real Iranians, even those who hate the regime, would never want that their country be bombed and children/people killed. Lies.
Sinwa SunnyJust drop your white saviour syndrome, you are no heroes
Saheed FamuyiwaAny chaos or hardship in Iran was as a result of America's sanction, American domination of Middle East and petroldollar warfare and IsrealHELL expansion and domination of are causes of the middle east conflicts starting with iraq invasion, Syria coup, Libya distablization and now Iran attack by America and Israel.
Marie ByrneYou have to be careful what you wish for, because Israel wanted this war,and they have all the info on trump with Epstein, so the pedophile went in blasting, all because of the greed of Israel, started Second World War, and played the victim, now starting world war 3, the Austrian painter was right.
David ChavkoNaive people brainwashed by western liberal propaganda
Joe E Brasfield17,000 children dead, thousands missing a limb, thousands of them have lost one or both parents… Gaza. They feel truly abandoned too. Get in line, you are not alone. Why anyone would trust a pathologic liar is beyond me.
Robert D SkeelsThe vile, reactionary monarchists begged the violent USA empire and the genocidal theocratic ethnoregime of israel to bomb them and are now having buyers remorse? They must have known what was coming after the empire destroyed Libya, Syria, and The Ukraine with color revolutions.
John TaylorNo one in iran wants regime change. They dont want this illegal war imposed on them by Us n Isreal.
Joel ConstantineMaybe they realized the US was bad when Trump killed over 100 children
Jane WeirIt's very sad but so predictable. Trump didn't do this for Iranians. As always it was for himself and his fellow tyrants.
Rebecca WrightThey said it was worth it that 170 little girls were murdered by the first USA strikes
Hayden ParkeHuh, almost exactly what anyone with a brain said would happen.
Mwangi JamesBetter the devil you know than the the angel you don't...
Anthony CaudillThey should have learned from Iraq that regime change doesn't necessarily equal freedom...
Ismail GassWe told u dont bring the wolf into the house enjoy ur FAFO
Edan BurgTrump did have a plan, the plan was to get russian oil back on the market
Muneer AhmedThere is a saying “ those who can’t perceive will understand by hard hit”
Khairul Apeng SafwanNewsflash: what do you think on Trump's mind when he planned to attack Iran? Save Iranian? Hahahahhahahahahahahahaahahahahhahahaha
Bob BeisnerBombs don't discriminate. They kill indiscriminately.
Christian SmithBecause, and sing it with me if you know the words,
Israel and the US do not care about Iran or it's people, and never have. Israel wants them exterminated, the US isn't done punishing them for the audacity of standing up to previous US fuckery in 1980.
Reza Mehran-NejadThe US and Israel want a weak and subservient Iran. The Iranian government represents a strong, dignified and sovereign Iran. The two cannot reconcile. One has to defeat the other. You have to decide which side you are on.
John EdensWho could have predicted this. Aside from everybody...
Ale BisTraitors feeling betrayed is a funny concept.
Aêzam LèëDon't just complain. If you want change, do it yourself. It's your own country after all.
Andrea WootenHeartbreaking but not unexpected given what the US has done.
Kerri TheresaI would like everyone who said we all had TDS and that the Iranians were dancing and celebrating to apologize. I want liberation for Iranians (and all people) so much it hurts sometimes, and yet it was painfully obvious it was unlikely to come from this. More destruction and despair. Why are human beings like this?
Sarah NaqviLiterally what did they think would happen? They saw consequences of US-Israeli efforts to “liberate Gaza from Hamas” lol. The American attacks on Iran have had one glaring consequence: that all of Iranians in Iran are united against foreign invaders. They have ensured this regime has internal support, which means regime change won’t happen anytime soon
Master JamesAfter all this, I hope the remaining traitors who support the West are rounded up by the Iranian government.
May HashimNever trust outsiders to help you. So naive...read history.
Your country...your responsibility..not asking a pack of wolves to come n help fight for you..
Robin Goldsmith". “You are all worse than each other.” Well, duh. There never was anything Trump or Bibi touched that didn't turn to schitte.
Néjia DahmouniWith so much awareness of what happened in Iraq how and why would one expect this to be any different? (Beth Franco)
Arief Dharmawandid he represent majority of Iranian (not the diaspora ones)...
Oik WasfukVery well said, we can only hear and see, our hands are tied and only able to typing nonsense... may the truth be blessed and be prevail so there is something we can learn from these wars full of corruption and pedophilia aggressor, Free Palestine!!! Iran, please do your best to dismantle netanyahu zionist trump, the boards of pricks and its all lies
Lisa DalyWhat did they expect? US has no interest in human rights unless there’s resources to be had.
Richard MacerNot trying to be amusing, but the whole scenario gets me thinking of "Team America World Police."
Lorin RedmanShould have never trusted them in the first place! A wolf will always be a wolf
Christopher Ray MillerA transparently slanted “report”. I’d heard that The Guardian was biased against Western liberal values and this certainly does nothing to counteract that claim.
Shaheen AlsulkarPeople like Amir live in dream world who know that the past conflicts and their result were never positive yet keep siding with the enemy ..Change can never occur by leaving the country or asking other dictators for help ..
Gigi CherniakJoin the American Farmers, Factory workers, legal Immigrants, American Hispanics, African Americans, and every single other class that’s not white and wealthy! They / WE ALL got screwed by the Trump regime!
A.R. Martinregime change must be through the struggle of its own people, not dictated by other countries
Anton SilvAt some point the people have to do the fighting if they truly want regime change.
John MyersIf the Iranian government and its military/police goons would stand down and surrender, civilians wouldn’t be killed and infrastructure wouldn’t be destroyed.
Iranians need to step up and demand their government surrender instead of allowing this conflict to continue
Stuart DuboisIt's not a Murrican Intervention unless everybody hates us more after we leave.
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