درود بر شما پرهام جان. سپاس که انقدر خوب و شفاف گفتید این رو، که من مدت ها گمان میکردم گفتنش به ریختی که همه بن‌مایه سخن رو در بیابن بسیار دشواره و نشده. 🫡❤️

مرسی کیهان عزیز از اظهار لطفت، راستش برای من هم راحت نبود، چند روزی مدام ذهنمو درگیر کرده بود و احساس می‌کردم که روایت درستی ندارم. درنهایت کفتگو و شنیدن نظرات مختلف افراد در این چند روز راه گشا بود. ❤️

I never stayed or lived in Iran and 99% of my perspective of it was shaped by western propaganda but I’m not surprised to read this. Thanks to TikTok and some small blogs I’ve learned that a lot of what I was told about Iran simply wasn’t true. Lots of videos showing women in shopping malls who don’t cover their heads and it doesn’t seem to be an issue in the more crowded cities? My issue with the Free Iran slogan is that’s part of a western regime change operation and that there’s 0% indication as to the definition of what the term “free” is supposed to entail, because western democracies definitely aren’t a good example of being “free”. Is it possible that the current regime is forced to behave the way it does because they have to expect foreign influences via NGOs, intellegence assets, etc and that a certain overreach is to be expected? Targeting children is of course always unacceptable. No intent of downplaying anything of what you’ve mentioned and I’m not here to make excuses for the Iranian regime. My perspective may just be warped.

Genocide committed by Israel in Gaza and 70 years of ethnic cleansing is definitely a different thing. I am afraid that if not Muslim regime Iran would be already under brutal US and Israeli boots. No doubt about that in my opinion. It is not ideal but it is a shield that Persia uses now...there is no other. Overthrow current regime and you'll have LGBT 🏳️‍🌈 flag in Teheran and that is GAME OVER.

I really appreciate your openness and honesty — and I completely get where you’re coming from. It’s true: most of what the world hears about Iran passes through the lens of Western media, which often frames everything in terms of geopolitics and regime change. But living as an Iranian is very different from consuming Iran through TikTok or headlines. About the videos you’ve seen: yes, there are women in Tehran malls or crowded spaces who push the boundaries. But that doesn’t mean the regime allows it — it means people resist every day at personal risk. The same women you see without a headscarf in public could be stopped, harassed, fined, or worse the very next minute. What looks “normal” in a clip is often an act of daily defiance. Regarding “Free Iran” — you’re right, the term is loaded and often co-opted by outside forces with their own agendas. Many Iranians also dislike it when it’s used as a slogan without context. But for us, “free” means something very concrete: being able to live without fear of morality police, without censorship, without executions for protest, without a state that treats our bodies and voices as property. We’re not asking for a copy of the West — we’re asking for dignity, safety, and the ability to shape our own future. And here’s something important: Iran is not like other Muslim-majority countries. Because of our Persian identity and culture, there’s a deep passion for life — poetry, art, music, even wine. These things are part of who we are, and the regime has spent decades trying (and failing) to erase them. What you see in the people — that hunger for expression — is thousands of years of culture pushing back against authoritarianism. As for the idea that the regime is “forced” to overreach because of foreign pressure — I understand the argument, but from inside, it doesn’t hold. The scale of repression we live under far exceeds what could be explained by foreign meddling. Torturing protesters, executing minors, imprisoning artists, banning music, and silencing women isn’t just about “defense.” It’s about control. It’s systemic. And like you said — targeting children, killing protesters, brutalizing women — these things can never be justified as “strategic necessity.” They reveal the true nature of the system. So yes — foreign powers absolutely meddle in the Middle East, and I reject Western hypocrisy as much as anyone. But the Iranian regime’s brutality is not a reaction — it’s a choice. And the people paying the price are ordinary Iranians who want the same thing every human wants: to live free from fear — and to live fully, with our poetry, our music, and our joy intact. Like Terence McKenna said: our thoughts and our bodies are a domain free from government control. And that’s the freedom Iranians fight for every day.

Thanks for the thoughfulness of your note 💜

|..a state that treats our bodies and voices as property I repeatedly experienced this, essentially beginning with joining preschool, and only now can connect a concept with it, a state taking ownership of my physical body, in addition to leading on my mind. This makes states more insidious than I had imagined.

Thank you @Parham 𓃬☼₿ for taking the time to teach Nostr about this 🙌🏽 beautifully explained

Thanks for the perspective, my uncle lived in Tehran for a number of years, since his passing I don’t see many sources on world events that I trust. Regardless of what happens in any state, it’s mostly just people trying to people while a bunch of psychopaths run things.

I hear you — and I share the anger at Israel’s decades of crimes in Gaza and Palestine. That truth can’t be denied. And yes, foreign intervention in the Middle East has left scars everywhere. Nobody in Iran wants to live under the boots of the US or Israel. But I also need to say this: the idea that the Iranian regime is a “shield” protecting Persia is a dangerous illusion. A shield defends life — this regime takes it. It executes children, jails women, silences poets, and drains the soul of our society. That’s not protection — that’s suffocation. Iran is not surviving because of the regime. Iran is surviving in spite of it. Our poetry, our art, our joy, our culture — these are older and stronger than any theocracy or occupation. That is the true shield of Persia: the people and their spirit, not the men with guns and prisons. As for the fear of Tehran flying a rainbow flag — let’s be honest: Iranians are not fighting and dying for foreign symbols. They are fighting for the right to live, love, dance, think, and speak without fear. Our future doesn’t have to be a copy of the West or a prison of the East. It can be our own. The regime wants the world to believe it’s the “only alternative to foreign domination.” That’s the lie it survives on. But we Iranians know: freedom doesn’t mean trading one master for another. It means finally being free to define our own destiny.

Gregor, I really appreciate you sharing this — it means a lot. What you describe is exactly the heart of it: when a state claims ownership not just over your actions, but over your body and your voice, it crosses into something far deeper than politics. It becomes a theft of existence itself. And what makes it so insidious, as you said, is that it often starts so early — in school, in rules we don’t question at first — until one day you realize your body and your thoughts were never fully yours under that system. That’s why I believe this struggle is universal. It’s not only about Iran, or Palestine, or any single country. It’s about reclaiming what Terence McKenna described: our bodies and our minds as domains that must remain free from government control. When a state turns people into property, it stops being a government and becomes an owner. And ownership of human beings is always tyranny, no matter the flag it hides under.

I’m really sorry to hear about your uncle — having someone you trust on the ground always makes the picture clearer. You’re absolutely right: at the end of the day, people everywhere just want to “people” — to raise families, share meals, create, love, and live in peace. What makes it tragic is that psychopaths, as you put it, are the ones steering states and defining borders. In Iran it’s the same: ordinary Iranians aren’t thinking about geopolitics, they’re thinking about how to put food on the table, how to keep their kids safe, how to find joy in spite of fear. That’s why I always try to remind others — the real story of any nation isn’t the rulers, it’s the people. And across all these divides, we have far more in common than those in power would ever want us to realize.

Mandana jan 🙏🏽 it means a lot coming from you. The diaspora’s voice is part of our shield too — keeping the truth alive where the regime can’t silence us.

Thanks a lot 💜 voices for freedom, whether Ross or Iran, remind us this fight is universal.

اهل دنیا را به نهضت‌گاه آزادی چه کار در مزابل فارغ‌اند از بوی گل کناس‌ها عالمی بالیده است از دستگاه خودسری نشتری می‌خواهد این جمعیت آماس‌ها تا بود ممکن به وضع خلق باید ساختن آدمیت پیش نتوان برد با نسناس‌ها

“Real resistance is about freedom and dignity for all people.” Well said @Parham 𓃬☼₿

💪🔥