Anonymous Iranian person comments on the war
Social media influencer Cyrus Janssen shared a comment on Twitter he received on his YouTube channel from an anonymous Iranian person which was probably pretty representative of what most Iranians are feeling right now (copy-pasted below).
It is clear to me that Iranians want regime change to come from within, not because it is forced by some foreign empire, and especially not to give more control of their natural resources to the foreign empire.
I should also say, as an American, I too want to see regime change in the US, and to see the un-elected institutions of our country abolished, and I too want it to happen from within. Solidarity with Iran.
(Begin quote)
As an Iranian, I can tell you the situation is no longer just political – it’s existential. We are trapped between two collapsing structures: one internal, one external. On one hand, we face a deeply dysfunctional government, led by the Supreme Leader and the Islamic Republic’s unelected institutions.
Decades of economic mismanagement, suppression of dissent, and brutal ideological control have alienated multiple generations. No one believes in reform anymore – because every attempt has either been co-opted or crushed.
But here’s the paradox: We are also terrified of regime collapse – because we’ve watched the aftermath of Western intervention in countries like Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Afghanistan.
Each was promised freedom; each descended into chaos, civil war, or foreign occupation. So no, we don’t trust the U.S. or Israel. Not because we support our regime – but because we know how imperial powers treat ‘liberated’ nations in the Middle East.
Freedom, in their language, often means vacuum, fire, and permanent instability. Right now, many Iranians live with three truths at once: The Islamic Republic is morally and politically bankrupt. The alternatives offered by foreign actors are not liberation—they’re collapse. A bad government is survivable. No government is not. We are not silent because we agree.
We are cautious because we’ve learned – too well – what happens when superpowers decide to “help.” In a sentence: Iran is a nation held hostage by its own regime, but haunted by the fate of its neighbors. We are stuck in a house we hate, surrounded by fires we fear more.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi says Iran’s war with Israel has exposed the regime’s fragility — calling it a “paper tiger” and predicting a peaceful revolution could soon topple Supreme Leader Khamenei.
