We Have Family in Iran… Here’s Our Take on the War

Iran Protests and the 2022 Uprising 0:00

Women pushed back, they protested in 1979, and they still do. In 2022, Masa Amini died in custody after being detained over her hijab. Her death sparked nationwide protests across more than 150 cities, led by women under one message, woman, life, freedom. All right, so hi, everyone. Thanks for listening. This is SiblingRx. I'm Dr. Yas. Dr Roddy. And before we get started, we really just wanted to Update, everyone, on a lot of people have been asking us, since we're Iranian Americans,

SiblingRx Intro and Family Update 0:34

how our family's doing, what's going on in Iran, and how we feel about things. For decades, Iran has been a brutal theocracy ruled by an Ayatollah who crushed dissent and required strict religious observance. But tonight, for many Iranians, there is hope for change. CBS News' senior foreign correspondent, Elizabeth Palmer, has years of experience reporting from inside Iran. And she joins us tonight from London. Shouts of joy rang from the rooftops across Tehran when Israel first announced the supreme leader was dead.

It marks an abrupt end to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's 36 years in power. As the Supreme Leader, he was political target number one and his private compound in Teheran was top of the target list this morning. Reports from The Capitol say besieged paramilitaries are now on the streets cracking down on celebrations. These are some of the same forces who attacked civilians back in January when they came onto the streets to protest first against the economy and then

Khamenei's Death and Regime Unrest 1:35

against everything else they hate about this regime from corruption to oppression. Thousands were killed. Those who marched then and survived will be exhilarated tonight by the news, but also afraid. They heard President Trump urging them to take over their government. But how? They have no guns and no organization. And they are up against millions of regime supporters who will fight for the regime's survival, backed by well-armed security forces. This is a pivotal moment. You know, lots of sirens and bombs going off, but so far everyone is safe, luckily.

And our thoughts and prayers are with our family all the time. It's kind of interesting because we came to this country right before that happened. Uh, the revolution.

Personal Reflections on Iran and Hope for Change 2:50

You're getting a little teary eyed. So yeah, it's a bit emotional. I think that there's lot of misinformation out there and it has been neat people coming up to me and like Yas said about, hey, are people cool? Is everything good? What are your thoughts? And I we're equal in our mindset of we are happy that's there is some change happening. We just hope that it goes all the way through and they finish the job and do that with as less amount of innocent casualties as possible, but that's, I think, inevitable, unfortunately.

But I just think about it. I wish our parents were around to see this happening because if the initial revolution wouldn't have happened in 1978, we probably wouldn t be sitting here right now. Before 1979, Iran was not an Islamic country. It was a very liberal and very free nation. it was ruled under the Shah of Iran and it a resourceful nation with a lot of oil. In fact, it is one of the biggest oil suppliers worldwide. At the time the king of Iran, the Shah, was selling the oil at a fair price of $40 per gallon.

The US and the UK were not happy about this. They wanted it for cheaper. And the shah essentially told them, no, you're not going to get a cheaper deal. You will pay the same price as every other country. The US and the UK were not happy about this so they funded a coup and an uprising and had the Shah exiled from Iran and help put in place this current Islamic regime which absolutely does not represent the people of Iran nor are they Iranian themselves.

Iran Before and After the 1979 Revolution 4:20

And what you're seeing today is the Persian people throwing an uprisings and finally getting rid of these occupiers of their lands. And in 2026, I'm certain that our people will overthrow this government and you will see a free Iran become the Persia it used to be. Right. Yeah. You would have been in the military. But it did. And we stayed in this country and our folks did what they could to provide and give us an opportunity. I know there's a lot of people out there that are conflicted. Some are for this, some are against this.

We just want change. we want the people that have suffered for almost 50 years to feel what it's like to have some freedom and be in a democratic situation in the safe way. I don't think that's possible if they continue with Believe it or not, these women were Iranian, walking the streets of Iran, studying, working, choosing how they dressed, before 1979, in many cities, Women could choose how to dress. Higher education was a personal choice, not a state condition. Today, access to universities exists.

But it has been increasingly restricted. By the 1960s, women in Iran could vote and run for office. Some were elected to parliament, while others worked inside government institutions. This wasn't the same for everyone. Opportunities depended on class, location, and access. But there was no state dress code. In 1979, everything shifted. After the Islamic Revolution, new rules reshaped public life, especially for women. What you wore was not longer a choice. Mandatory hijab became law. Clothing turned into a legal issue.

Family laws changed. Public spaces became more regulated. Women stayed present, but under tighter control. Women pushed back. They protested in 1979. And they still do. In 2022, Massa Amini died in custody after being detained over her hijab. Her death sparked nationwide protests across more than 150 cities, led by women under one message. Woman. Life. Freedom. This is part of the broader picture in Iran today. Follow Activista Media for more. Yeah, and I do want to say one thing. When it comes to liberals in the US, and I know I'm gonna say something that might be inflammatory, but I feel like we need to say this.

Women's Rights and the 2022 Mahsa Amini Protests 6:50

Before you start protesting against this so-called war, Do your research on what's actually happening with the IRGC and what they're doing to women and children, especially female children when they arrest them. So all you liberal people that are, you know, fighting for women's rights and fighting. The injustice in Gaza, which is definitely a genocide and an injustice, think about and do your. About what is actually. In Iran to the poor. people there, the women, children, that are just asking for basic human rights.

So do your research before you hold those stupid signs. It just makes me so angry. Yeah, it's frustrating. And if you didn't understand just how depraved this regime is, then understand this. After it slaughtered tens and thousands of protesters, their family members told us that they never gave those bodies back. Why? So that, they could repurpose them later and claim them as casualties of war. I promise you that you do not understand the scale of the operation that we are dealing with here. You do understand, the mind war, forget What the mouthpieces are saying to you, this is a watershed moment in history.

It is rescue operation for not just 90 million Iranians, but for the Middle East and for entire world. And I don't care where you have stood up until now.

Calls for Awareness and Criticism of the Regime 8:20

I do not care how many times you believed the lies. How many time you ignored our cries. You ignored humanity. All is forgiven. side of history today, because this is our moment. This is the Iranian Independence Day. So stand with us now. Whatever your position is, I think everybody has a common denominator. Everybody wants peace. And that's what we're hoping for. And we are hoping that this continues to provide the change and 80% of the population there just wants to live freely and live the way they were entitled to.

They've never lived that way because most of them have lived in this type in the last 50 years of have been in suppression, so they don't know what democracy is like. Anyway, we just felt compelled that we needed to at least provide our input, and more importantly, just letting people know that our family that is there, a family we unfortunately didn't really grow up with but stay in touch with, they are safe. They are happy that there's change happening. Hopefully, as the days go on, there is reform and change, people are happier, that they can celebrate and embrace, all the yuckiness is out of there.

And then enjoy the basic freedoms we get here in the United States. That we take for granted. Yeah, that we do. Just to keep this short, a couple years ago, I went back, as you know, for some stuff for our parents. And when I got back it was very emotional because I was only there for a week.

Closing Thoughts on Freedom and Family 9:50

But when i got Back, i was crying every night for probably a few days. My kids were like, Mom, why are you crying? And I was crying for two reasons. One, I'm happy that I am home because I realize how oppressed people are there. But two, because of my guilt for living here in freedom. And our cousins were not. The basic things that my kids complained about, you know, whatever electronics or whatever it might be, just basic freedoms and just first world problems. It just really hit me back then. And I'm like, wow, we really take a lot of things for granted.

So anyways. Yeah, that's that. Our prayers go out to people that are in the middle of all this and we hope that there's quick resolve and that we can all move on. In this historical moment, there is some positive change. That's it. Thank you guys.