'The Islamic Republic is already dead': A journalist's view from Iran - interview

The channel she works for, Iran International, is an independent broadcast and digital news service based in London that provides extensive coverage of the war, state violence, and human rights violations in Iran in both the Persian language and in English.

The channel has been criticized by the regime and often reports under significant personal risk to Mojtahedi and her colleagues. International media and journalists follow its reports closely and rely on it for news about developments in Iran and the region.

The following is a conversation with Mojtahedi, edited and condensed for clarity.

What makes Iran International so important is that we amplify voices from inside Iran without the regime’s filters.

Reporters here work under extraordinary danger, risking imprisonment or even execution. Many colleagues were forced into exile simply for reporting the truth, but they remain deeply connected to sources inside Iran.

Life is extremely difficult, beginning with the economy. Inflation is almost World War II-like. Prices for cooking oil, chicken, meat, bread, and other essentials have risen 400% to 500%.

Despite decades of sanctions, corruption, and mismanagement, Iranians were not previously impoverished like this. This is a new phase.

When Western journalists operate inside Iran under the regime’s restrictions, with handlers nearby and people afraid to speak freely, viewers need to understand that context. Otherwise, you risk presenting regime propaganda as legitimate journalism.

I see the same problem with coverage of executions. A headline might say, “Iranian teen accused of killing a police officer is hanged,” but that implies a legitimate judicial process. A former UN prosecutor I interviewed described these executions as murders. There is no due process, often no credible evidence, and defendants may be tortured into false confessions and denied legal counsel.

When Reuters, NBC, BBC, or others repeat the regime’s accusations without explaining these realities, they aren’t giving audiences the full story – they’re amplifying the regime’s narrative.

Some definitely do. It’s heartbreaking when Iranians hear Trump speak positively about dealing with the regime or JD Vance say it was “cool” talking to Iranian officials.

They felt betrayed by president [Barack] Obama during the Green Movement, and now some see that pattern repeating. They thought Trump would be different because he was so vocal.

The killing of supreme leader [Ali] Khamenei helped, but the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] remains in power and is even harsher.

It’s everything: coordination, planning, unity, resources, and foreign support. If you want the bazaaris to strike, there needs to be a strike fund so families can survive.

During the 1979 revolution, very different forces united against the shah. Today, Iranians again need unity across ethnic, political, and ideological lines.

Because the attacks stopped. Israel was doing an amazing job attacking Basij military headquarters, and then it stopped. What message does that send?

Despite the strikes, they still have underground facilities, missiles, and the ability to reconstitute. Their strategy is to wait out Trump. They believe time is on their side.

If they believe they can wait out Trump, they won’t negotiate unless it helps them stay in power.

Normal economic relations with America also threaten the Islamic Republic’s identity, which was built around being anti-American and anti-Israel.

But ultimately, the regime’s strongest ideology is money and survival. They have spent 47 years building corrupt financial networks that benefit themselves, not the Iranian people.

It’s complicated. When the strikes began and Khamenei was killed, people believed this might finally lead to regime change. Iranians thanked Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. People danced on balconies.

But even if another war prevents Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb, that alone doesn’t end the repression.

Many Iranians abroad would return and help rebuild. But there is tremendous infighting in the diaspora. There is unity about wanting change, but not about how to achieve it.

The collapse of the Georgetown coalition during the Woman, Life, Freedom movement sent a terrible message. If we cannot form a coalition outside Iran, what does that tell people risking their lives inside?

Still, I haven’t lost faith, even though we don’t have a Nelson Mandela figure.

The Iranian people.

A mother whose 21-year-old medical-student daughter was killed in January stood publicly without a hijab and celebrated her daughter’s life. She was saying: You killed my daughter, but you cannot control how I grieve or her memory.

She may not consider herself an activist. But by rejecting how the Islamic Republic tells women to dress, mourn, and behave, she stands against everything the regime represents.

That tells me the Islamic Republic is already dead. It’s only a matter of time.■