What next?

"Keep tweeting from your living room: ‘Unity is coming!’ While the streets boil with blood feuds, Kurds sharpen knives, and protestors families whisper, 'Who dies firs?" Mosab Hassan Yousef

You can listen to me read this essay here:

Above, crowds gather in Iran to mourn the death of the ‘martyr,’ Ayatollah Khamenei.

I have written about my concerns with the various factions in Iran that are not united and could fight against each other for power. The Western media presents Reza Pahlavi as if he will easily step in and take charge. But not everyone in Iran wants to see him ascend to the throne. As just one example, Pahlavi has criticized the newly announced alliance of Kurdish parties in Iranian Kurdistan. He emphasized that “the territorial integrity of Iran is a red line” and warned that any attempt to cross it would face a unified response.

The Kurdish coalition called Pahlavi's comments “hysterical and hateful” and said his family's dynasty was known for the “massacre of civilians and suppression of democratic freedoms of the Iranian people, especially the oppressed nations of this country.

“Why do they think that people oppressed by the dictatorship of the Islamic Republic are willing to bow to him and other like-minded people as part of the alternative for the future Iran?” it said.

After Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, its fledgling theocracy battled Kurdish insurgents. Iranian forces destroyed Kurdish towns and villages in fighting that killed thousands over several months. (1)

The people of Iran are fighting for a democracy, not a monarchy. And unfortunately, as the video above shows, there are mobs of Iranians who are calling Khamenei a martyr. Wherever the cult of Islam takes root, it is rarely eradicated and only with great bloodshed.

On the other hand, what should Israel and the US have done, abandoned the people of Iran in their hour of need? The head of the snake is destroyed. An incredibly precise attack:

Now what?

Iranian powerhouse activist Masih Alinejad has described how she and her people feel euphoric one moment and terrified the next. The future is uncertain. But this is the history of humanity, rising up against tyranny and toppling it, only for another tyranny to take its place. Please watch this incredible speech by Masih Alinejad as she accepted the 2026 Courage Award, bringing up on the stage two women who lost an eye in protests.

Recently, I strongly criticized Mosab Hassan Yousef for his hate-filled attack on evangelical Christians. I was then criticized as if I was somehow calling him a traitor to Israel. Are we no longer allowed to criticize anyone, we have to accept everything they say just because we are on the same side? Forget it. This is the tyranny of words that I will never accept. We can admire and respect someone for one thing while criticizing them for another. It's okay not to agree on everything.

I have mentioned that I share Mosab's concerns about this regime change. (And again, I look to Masih Alinejad who asks, why is everyone allergic to the term ‘regime change’? They should be allergic to dictatorships.)

On the other hand, we hear little of Narges Mohammadi, the Iranian activist who still languishes in an Iranian prison. The Nobel Laureate has been arrested 13 times and been sentenced to more 36 years’ imprisonment and 154 lashes. She is against Reza Pahlavi.

Narges Mohammadi; Taghi Rahmani, centre, with twins Kiana and Ali after signing the guest book at the Nobel Institute in Oslo, Norway, on December 9, 2023 [Frederik Ringnes/NTB/via Reuters]

Outside of Iran, Mohammadi is mercilessly attacked as if she is the enemy, with online comments such as, “Narges Mohammadi is not the representative of Iranians,” and “Our real representative is King Reza Pahlavi.”

They flooded the social media pages of the Swedish royal family and the Nobel Peace Committee with such vitriol that comments had to be disabled.

So, there are many reasons to worry, and I feel just as Masih describes. I am elated one moment and plunged into fear for the people of Iran the next. They are the ones who face this uncertain future, they are the ones who will have to continue this fight. We sit here in safety and comfort.

This is why I listen to Mosab Hassan Yousef, because I respect that he isn’t afraid to speak plainly and strongly. I disagree sometimes, but it is with respect.

Here are his words about Reza Pahlavi:

“Oh, bravo, Your Highness.

You sold them the ultimate fairy tale: ‘One airstrike, one dead Ayatollah, the bloodthirsty tyrant who murdered thousands, and poof, Tehran rolls out the red carpet for the Shah 2.0.’ Like it’s a Netflix reboot.

But look, hundreds of thousands in Isfahan right now, black veils, yellow flags, screaming for revenge.

Not for you. For him. The butcher you hate? They call him martyr. And guess what? They’re armed. One million Basij fanatics, ready to turn Tehran into a firing range.

So go ahead, keep tweeting from your living room: ‘Unity is coming!’ While the streets boil with blood feuds, Kurds sharpen knives, Baloch load trucks, and protesters’ families whisper, ‘Who dies first, monarchists or mullahs?’

Democracy? Nah. You’re not walking into Tehran, you’re walking into a slaughterhouse you helped build.

And Trump? He’s the DJ, drops bombs like confetti, then yells ‘Party’s on!’ while the guests stab each other.

Thanks for the invite, gentlemen. I’ll pass.”

I continue to pray for the people of Iran.