As the ceasefire between Israel and Iran continues to hold, inside Tehran, beyond the headlines and official narratives, ordinary Iranians are continuing the struggle over the future identity of their country. It is also a struggle for them to speak the truth. In a message sent clandestinely to The Jerusalem Post over the weekend, a trusted source still operating inside the Iranian capital laid bare a version of events starkly at odds with the regime’s narrative of victory over Israel, and with the Western media’s framing of the 12-day war.
“The people of Iran were not upset when the attack on the regime began. On the contrary, they rejoiced as regime leaders were eliminated one by one. Their question was never, ‘Why did this war start?’ but rather: ‘Why did it stop? Why didn’t it continue? Why were we abandoned?’”
These words come from Iranians still living under the very shadow of the Islamic Republic regime, people who have spent decades under surveillance, silence and fear, rather than dissidents-in-exile speaking from the safety of the US, or armchair critics abroad. Now, as the regime faces unprecedented attacks, these voices have found cracks in the edifice and are attempting to rally the populace into action. The fear now, the Post’s source warned, is that international powers will once again leave the Iranian people to suffer alone. (Read More)
