Iran Protests Escalate Amid Crackdown and Blackout (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Demonstrations in Iran continue to sweep that nation today. Residents have been storming the streets for more than a week now in protest over the crippling economic conditions and a plummeting currency. This is Tehran, where we saw fires burning through the northern part of the city. Authorities are reverting to their usual playbook, responding with violence instead of offering any solutions to the country's problems. My next guest, you know, Iranian journalist and activist, she just finished the White House. This follows an open letter she wrote to President Trump that reads in part, quote, You have said publicly that the killing of Iranians by their own government matters and will not be ignored. Inside Iran, those words were heard. They mattered. They gave people hope that the world would not stay silent while a regime wages violence against its own population, unquote. And Masi Alinajad joins me now. Masi, what can you tell us about your White House visit and what you ask the administration to do?

[00:00:57] Speaker 2: First of all, I have to say this is not economic. This is not a protest against, you know, the collapse of Iran, the collapse of Iranian currency.

[00:01:09] Speaker 1: OK.

[00:01:10] Speaker 2: It went beyond that from the day first. People chanting against the entire regime. This is very clear that they're saying that this regime is no longer can be reformed. So they they're saying we want an end for Islamic Republic. So I met with some senators and people, State Department, White House, to actually inform them that people of Iran, they welcome the strong and forceful message of President Trump. But they want to see action.

[00:01:41] Speaker 1: What action? Because obviously this comes after on Saturday, the president, you know, they removed the leader of Venezuela.

[00:01:49] Speaker 2: So maybe to people in America, it's radical because I see that people are busy criticizing President Trump about capturing Maduro. But Maduro is not the president of Venezuela. He is a criminal and he is not alone. The Islamic Republic invaded Venezuela. You see the Hezbollah presence in Venezuela. They're sending weapons to Maduro. So I strongly believe arresting Maduro should have been done by international court. And now this is the right thing that Iranian people celebrating this. I asked Iranian people, Jake, before coming here, I asked them what they really want from President Trump. They say the same thing, because Ali Khamenei is not just targeting the lives of innocent people inside Iran. They're not just targeting them. Ali Khamenei is the one who ordered my killing.

[00:02:43] Speaker 1: In New York?

[00:02:44] Speaker 2: In U.S. soil. On U.S. soil. Here.

[00:02:46] Speaker 1: Yeah.

[00:02:47] Speaker 2: Three times. Ali Khamenei is the one ordering the killing of President Trump. So basically, this is the guy actually expanding terror everywhere, not only in the region, but in Europe, in America.

[00:03:00] Speaker 1: I want to show this video. It went viral on social media. It's Iranian security forces storming a hospital in Elam. That's a city that's found itself at the center of these protests. You see this in the, it's horrible. We're nearing now two weeks of these protests. Do you think the nation might reach a breaking point?

[00:03:20] Speaker 2: First of all, President Trump actually mentioned that some people were killed because of the crowd. This is misinformation. I have to make this clear that the Iranian regime opened fire. In 10 days, 40 people got killed. They're not just numbers. They're not just a statistic. They are the people with empty hands, took to the street, chanting for freedom, dignity. They want to have a normal life and they are being killed by IRGC, the Revolutionary Guards. I think this is the Berlin Wall moment in Iran. If international community get united the same way when they were all united to help East Germany to bring down the wall. Now Iranian people are trying to bring the wall of dictatorship down. We need to see action from Europeans, from free world. Otherwise, believe me, Jake, they will kill more innocent people.

[00:04:19] Speaker 1: You and I have been talking about this for years. And I've been covering this for years. I remember covering the murder of Neta in the streets of Iran when Ahmadinejad was in charge.

[00:04:29] Speaker 2: You were the first one. The brutal murder of Massoud Jinnah Amini in 2022 as well.

[00:04:36] Speaker 1: So you've been obviously focused on this for years. Does this moment feel different than previous moments of unrest?

[00:04:43] Speaker 2: I even smell the freedom. I even feel like when people go to the streets, they show their face. They take on their own social media. They say that we have no fear because we have nothing to lose. As you mentioned, we have seen six major massive uprisings in Iran. In 2009, you mentioned about Nadar al-Sultan. At the same time, when people were in the street chanting Obama, Obama, you either with us or with them, President Obama was sending a secret letter to Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic. In 2022, when Massoud got killed, women took to the street, women, life, freedom. One of the most progressive slogans. What happened? Biden was handing out billions of dollars to the same regime that hired killers to target U.S. citizens on U.S. soil. They even asked me to go under witness protection. I mean, it's a joke. So for the first time that we now see the United States of America's president taking a strong action, saying that he is ready to save the lives of Iranians, Iranians are welcoming that. I want to see action. Otherwise, empty words are not going to save lives, are not going. Let's be very clear. People of Iran are better allies compared to these backward mullahs for America, for the rest of the world. And Iran without Islamic Republic will guarantee global security. And this is the moment that we want to see.

[00:06:09] Speaker 1: Well, I certainly hope for freedom for the people of Iran.

[00:06:11] Speaker 2: Masi, I want to invite you to my beautiful Iran.

[00:06:15] Speaker 1: I'd love to go.

[00:06:16] Speaker 2: That's my dream. I haven't seen my mother for 15 years.

[00:06:19] Speaker 1: I'd love to go. I'd love to go with you when, when and if that ever happens. Masi, it's so good to see you.

[00:06:24] Speaker 3: Iran is facing a nationwide Internet blackout with escalating protests across the country. Video from Capitol shows large crowds marching and chanting slogans against the regime. People also gathered in other major cities. Social media showing fires inside the regional government complex in northern parts of the country. Demonstrations over economic hardships and the falling value of the currency. Jamana Kardash is following all this from London. Two questions. Let's start with the tricky one first. Does this feel different to what you've seen before?

[00:07:00] Speaker 4: You know, Richard, it seems like Iran is in this constant cycle of protests. Every few years, something sparks these protests that end up turning into anti-regime demonstrations. This time, it was the state of the economy. And I don't know if it's different yet. It's very hard to judge. But Iran is a different country to what it was when these protests were taking place three years ago after the death of Masajid Amini in the custody of the morality police, you remember, and that turned into the woman life freedom protests. This is a very different Iran. This is an Iran that has been weakened after going to war with Israel, after strikes by the U.S., the state of its economy, and at the same time losing its allies in the region, whether it's Hezbollah, whether it is the Assad regime. And you also have the U.S.'s actions recently, President Trump also threatening the Iranians that if they kill protesters, the U.S. will intervene. I mean, this is the third time we've heard that from the president in the past few days.

[00:08:07] Speaker 3: That's what I want to ask you about. First of all, it's a threat from the U.S. president that might be tricky to actually follow through. I suppose you could always send some missiles across and blow up some areas without doing you know, without sort of putting your own people at harm's risk. But that's a big difference. It seems like the U.S. president is agitating to get involved.

[00:08:31] Speaker 4: Look, what the president is doing with these messages, with these signals that he's put out with these statements, is he has certainly emboldened a lot of Iranians to take to the streets. I've been speaking with activists outside the country, as you know, there's a communications blackout right now and it's getting very difficult to get in touch with people inside Iran. Of course, it's risky for them to speak with us as well. But speaking with activists throughout the day today, you know, day 12 of these protests and they're seeing these protests growing. What they tell you, Richard, is the regime is in a very tricky position right now. If they do nothing about these protests, they don't intensify the crackdown. These protests are only going to grow, as we are seeing tonight from these images, stunning images coming out of the capital, Tehran. And if they do crack down, what is the U.S. president going to do? Do they really want to test his willingness to follow through on these threats? That's the big question right now.

[00:09:33] Speaker 3: I'm grateful. Thank you. Keep watching those protests and please come back when there is more to discuss and report. I'm grateful. Thank you.