“This revolution will succeed but we need external help to reduce the price of victory”—Iranian dissident Armin Navabi

Armin Navabi is an Iranian dissident and former Muslim who lives in Vancouver. He is an author, podcaster, and blogger with a large following inside Iran.

This is not the first time there have been mass protests against the regime, but this time we are witnessing a revolution.

This is by far the largest protest ever. When Prince Reza Pahlavi called for people to take to the streets, the reaction of the Iranian people was much greater than even the most optimistic forecasts had predicted. In recent years, I have watched with optimism as popular support for the prince grew, but I never imagined anything like this. Millions of people have taken to the streets, and their solidarity and love for their compatriots has encouraged many more. I think even the prince is shocked by what he has seen. And the same is true of the regime; no one saw this coming: the largest uprising against the Islamic regime to date.

That is why the regime has responded as it has, unleashing unprecedented brutality and cruelty. We are talking about a criminal government that has committed all kinds of crimes, but even for its own standards, this is a much higher level. The regime’s forces are using machine guns and snipers, firing indiscriminately into crowds, and even infiltrating agents who mingle with protesters and stab them. Everyone in Iran knows someone who has been killed by the regime, and the numbers are likely to be much higher than what is currently known. The level of brutality is enormous, and this is the largest massacre in our modern history. In the face of this, the messages we are receiving from inside the country show us the courage and solidarity of the Iranian people: first aid stations to treat the wounded, and elderly people who are putting themselves on the front line to protect the lives of younger people.

The death toll continues to rise and seems more typical of a war from a bygone era. How would you define the regime’s repression? 

Human rights violations occur when you commit these crimes against civilians in another country, but I don’t know if there is a name for what is being done against the people you are supposed to govern. This is on another level. Historically, we suffered massacres like this during the Mongol and Arab invasions, but never at the hands of our own government. What surprises me is how little is being said about what is happening, perhaps because it is not happening in Gaza. Those who are ignoring or remaining silent about this massacre should be ashamed of themselves for decades to come.

Is a triumph of the revolution possible without external support? 

This revolution will succeed with or without outside support, but we need external help to reduce the price of victory. Some believe that repression can end the revolution, but it is exactly the opposite: the Iranian people’s hatred for the Islamic republic is growing, and that is why, with this massacre, the regime has guaranteed its own demise. Of course, most Iranians want to receive support from the United States or Israel, and anyone who says otherwise does not know what they are talking about. The Iranian people are paying a very high price, and even the few who opposed foreign intervention are now calling for it.

This revolution is the revolution of the Iranian people. What the United States and Israel can do is make the regime and its repression last less time. Therefore, all those who oppose this intervention have blood on their hands, because they will make the price to pay much higher.

In the twelve-day war, the regime was defeated by Israel. It seemed like a good time to apply pressure, but the United States intervened. Now Trump has gone from supporting the uprising to lending credence to the idea that the repression had ceased. Do you think there will ultimately be an intervention?

Regarding the twelve-day war, I would like to point out that the news spread by the Islamic Republic’s propaganda, and reported by many media outlets, was false. The Iranian people celebrated the Israeli offensive and the attacks against the regime’s murderers. The war then stopped because the Islamic republic still had the capacity to retaliate against Israel or U.S. bases.

Regarding Trump’s attack plan, several analysts point out that it was canceled at Israel’s request. This has been misinterpreted as a betrayal of the Iranian people, but the reason Netanyahu asked Trump to cancel the attack was because its scale was not sufficient and the operation needed to be larger. Basically, the reason for the delay is that we would not be talking about a punitive operation, but one aimed at regime change.

In many Western countries, the Left is positioning itself in favor of the regime and against military intervention. I imagine the same is true in Canada.

Yes, I think they don’t understand what’s going on, and we Iranians are very familiar with the alliance between the Left and Islam, because that’s how we lost our country, and that’s why what is happening in Europe and Canada is déjà vu. I’m referring to the woke Left, which is the cultural version of old Marxism, which does not seek to improve people’s lives but is an anti-Western and anti-capitalist movement. These neo-Marxists have a model of the world, as does Islam, and both are opposed to the liberal Western model. We saw this alliance in Iran, where the revolution against the monarchy began with Marxist terrorism and then became an Islamic revolution, and, as always happens, the Islamists eliminated the Marxists when they seized power.

What the Left is doing is opening the city gates to the barbarians. Since it is not possible to defeat Western values directly, on the battlefield, they are trying to do so from within, taking advantage of two factors: Western tolerance and the democratic model. The new form of invasion is through immigration, using demographics to achieve political change. Instead of storming the borders as in the past, parliaments are stormed from within.

Earlier, you mentioned Prince Reza Pahlavi’s call to action. Is the prince the only one who can unite the Iranian people, or is there another option?

There is absolutely no other option. There is no one else mentioned by Iranians in the protests, and Iranians are literally dying for him in the streets, demanding his return. Similarly, the only flag of Iran is the flag of the Sun and the Lion, not the symbol of the terrorist Islamic Republic. The prince’s return is the only real opposition, not the fake opposition created by the regime to divert attention.

Now, with so many people killed, the regime’s plan to discredit the prince and destroy his popularity has been shattered. The idea of creating a third republic, as some “opponents” advocate, is a way to save the current Islamic republic, but after this bloodbath, Iranians understand that there can be no compromise, no middle ground, and no appeasement. The only solution is to destroy the regime, and the only way to achieve this is with the return of the prince. If he does not return, the revolution will have failed and a new version of the Islamic republic will emerge. This is the big difference between this revolution and previous ones: Iranians are not only fighting against the Islamic republic, they are fighting for the return of Reza Pahlavi.