Iranian Society Based on Extreme Perversion of Theocracy Not Replicated Elsewhere

As Operation Epic Fury wraps up its 13th day, the Pentagon is saying that it would be the heaviest day of kinetic fire over Iran. And joining me now to discuss these important developments is Dr. Humin Hamadi. Thank you so much for joining us. Thanks for having me. So first, you are an Iranian and Jewish American. First, tell us why your family fled Iran when you were around three years old at that time, and what was life like for your family or for those you know witnessing the revolution and living under the first Ayatollah? And what was it like for those who stayed behind instead and to live under the oppression that followed? Yeah, and thank you for asking me this. As you can imagine, being three years old at that time when the revolution occurred, my memories are few and limited. But one of my earliest and only memories of that time was sitting in a little window at my parents' house, looking down on the streets of Tehran, and seeing fighting, seeing chanting, seeing smoke, seeing people lighting fires, tires on fire. And, you know, really, you know, as a kid being scared, not really understanding just how bad things were going to get for all the people, especially for people who were not Muslim. You know, being a Jew, being labeled as the enemy automatically without having done anything, and, you know, being forced to flee. You know, I know my parents and the entire Jewish community really had an emergency decision to make. Can we stay? And if we do, what will happen to us? And the entire community, with very few exceptions, made the decision to flee. Sure, there were many who did not have the opportunity to flee, right? It's not an easy thing to pack up whatever you can and get on a plane and find a country that's willing to accept you. So many of us were fortunate enough and blessed enough to make it to the U.S. Some others went to Austria and other intermediary countries. Most did end up in the U.S., and half of them about in New York and about half in Los Angeles. There are some who stayed behind, and many of those over the years made it, you know, to the U.S. or other free countries as well. And there are a small population who remained. I think those who remained, many of them, I think, have found a way to make it work. Obviously, they've stayed, and, you know, they basically practice their religion, for example, in quiet, in secret, and some don't, and really try not to bother anyone and not to flaunt who they are and what their background is. But it is a country that oppresses even Muslim people who choose not to practice the extreme version of their religion that the government imposes on the people, let alone people who are not Muslim to begin with, whether it's Jews, Baha'is, Zoroastrians, people who are atheists, Christians, anyone else. And so that's the problem, is you have a society that is based on an extreme perversion of a theocracy, one that doesn't really replicate anywhere else in the world, and has a morality police that basically will torture, jail, or even kill you if you don't practice their interpretation of their religion to the letter of the law. And that's not fair to anyone, and it's really been for 47 years a nightmare for everyone on the inside, and so many others who fled and are looking in and realizing what it could have been for them there. And so this is really an important time for all of us because we're finally, after 47 years, seeing an opportunity to have a change. I'm sure for those of you who fled and for those of the people who stayed behind but wanting to flee, for them is a big sense of relief seeing the U.S. military operation, but of course we've heard the Trump administration trying to message to the people inside Iran, all of them, to rise up and really take over their government. How likely do you see that happening given what you know about a population there right now? You know, it's impossible for me to predict the likelihood of anything happening on the inside because things are so much in flux, but what I can tell you is this is the population that has for decades been eager to have some major change. They see with the internet, with television, talking to friends and family, just knowing what's going on outside their walls, what freedom is like, right? They can't be deceived into thinking that this is how the rest of the world is, and they want it. The youth want it. The elderly want it because they remember what it was like before the regime. And so with all that, there has been an urge, and there have been so many false starts, so many attempts over the years that have been suppressed by force by the evil regime that has a death grip on the people. It is only now when we're seeing cracks in that regime that there is hope among the people that they can take their country back. And what is that going to entail? Yes, it's going to entail a destruction of regime leadership, but on the ground, what it's going to require is the destruction of the Basij, which is the paramilitary force representing the regime that has that death grip on the people that sets up checkpoints in the streets and guns down people by the tens of thousands, as they did just a few weeks ago, when they do take to the streets just to protest, let alone to take their country back. And I think what's going to happen, as we're beginning to see this week, is that there are being drone strikes on individual Basij members, on Basij checkpoints within the city centers that have been keeping the people out. After a while, do you think these Basij members who survive are going to continue to their checkpoints knowing that it is certain death for them? After a while, they're going to melt away. And once that happens, the people can really take to the streets and overwhelm the remaining regime forces. This will not be easy. It will not be immediate. I am not there, so I can only imagine what it feels like to be one of the people there. I'm speaking hypothetically, but I cannot pretend like I am sitting there in Tehran or in Isfahan or Tabriz or Shiraz or any other city right now living in fear, hearing the bombardment day and night, and just picturing what it would be like to go and fight. That's not easy. And I appreciate what they go through. I don't want to be there right now. But that said, I think the people see an existential issue now. If they don't go fight right now, the only chance they have had in the last 47 years, and perhaps the only chance they will have for the next several decades if they blow it, then they're going to live under a situation that is not worth living. And so, to many, this is the time to make that difficult decision, and that decision is not too difficult to make. A difficult decision, but certainly will be a major development if we do see any of the signs that something is happening inside of Iran. Meanwhile, pivoting to here in the U.S., which we are seeing, for example, in the media arena, we have seen a major legacy media outlet this week actually airing a statement directly issued by the Iranian new leader broadcast on the Iranian state media, directly airing it on American state TV for about four minutes. What's your judgment of that? What do you think of the impact of that here in the U.S.? And does it raise more concerns about potentially propaganda or the influence of their trying to power and narrative control here in the U.S. by regimes like Iran? Yeah, the Iranian regime is smart when it comes to propaganda manipulation. That's the only reason they have had power, is through fear and propaganda, through fake information put to their own people as well as to the outside. And by a U.S. major media outlet, albeit CNN, giving four minutes of airtime, unrestricted basically, to the Iranian regime to put out their messaging that is very anti-U.S., and I think you have it on the screen right now, is really deplorable almost. It's giving a voice to people who shouldn't. It's one thing to report on it. It's another to give them solid, uninterrupted airtime without any spin and without any interpretation. And we see that a lot from legacy media. They are buying as fact, verbatim, anything that the regime tells them. This is the last group of people on earth that you should trust, especially at a time like this when there's a major military conflict against the U.S. and Israel. They're trying their best to do anything they can to preserve themselves and preserve their power. So what they're going to be selling to a U.S. audience is the fact that the U.S. is losing this war, the fact that the Iranian regime is intact and in power, that the people within Iran, the population, overwhelmingly support the regime and want them to remain in power, and that there is no path for the people to change their leadership and take power if the regime ever does collapse, so that they are the best option remaining. That is obviously not the case. They claim every day that they're shooting down U.S. fighter jets. We know that's not the case. And yes, they are a menace to that region now. They are using every weapon they have developed in their stockpile over the years to now harm and destroy and kill their enemies, but with limited success. They're causing more trouble than anything, but their damage is not going to be lasting. And ultimately, they're going to run out of that weaponry, or run out of leaders to be using that weaponry, and that's when they collapse. And we just have half a minute left here so quickly. You talked about misinformation being propagated by the Iranian regime. What's your message to American audience here at home, as someone who has extensive knowledge about both countries here? What's your message to them? What should they be aware of and really be alarmed of when they are consuming so much information every day, both on TV, media, newspaper, as well as on social media? Great question. It's really to understand who we're dealing with, and that Iranian regime is a regime that will torture or beat or kill or imprison women just for showing their hair, will gouge out the eye of a woman for wearing eye makeup, will kill or imprison anyone, who even in a text message to their friend, criticizes the government in even the most remotive way. And just a few weeks ago, before our very eyes, despite an internet blackout, gunned down tens of thousands of their own citizens for what? For peacefully protesting in the streets. These are monsters. These are people who are not just the opposite of American, they're opposite of human. And these are people who should never have been in power. And it is a gift to not just the people of Iran, but it's a gift to the US and to the entire world to eliminate them, the greatest source of terror in the world. I think once they are gone, we will have the most peaceful, imaginable era on this planet. And so many of us welcome that. Well, certainly we have President Trump calling it a regime of hate and terror as well. Dr. Hammadi, thank you so much for insights today. Thank you for coming on.