Transcript [00:00] Hi everyone. It is Monday, January 19th, [00:02] 2026, and we have a very important [00:04] update from Iran from the protest. So, [00:07] first of all, uh, tragically, [00:09] unfortunately, due to the martial law [00:11] and the mass murder of protesters by the [00:14] regime and the crackdown, the the [00:17] streets are fairly quiet, the protests [00:20] have mostly been quelled. But the story [00:23] is far from over. Not the least reason [00:26] why the story is far from over and we [00:28] have to keep this in mind is what [00:29] sparked the protests. I pointed this out [00:31] many times but it's worth repeating. The [00:33] fact that these protests began not as [00:36] some kind of push back against hijabs or [00:39] push back against the regime on some [00:41] ideological issue or some Islamic [00:44] repression issue, but rather that they [00:46] were sparked by an extreme collapse of [00:49] the currency and economic concerns. The [00:51] fact that people could not feed their [00:53] families and then we're seeing their [00:54] life savings wiped out means that [00:57] without solving those problems, the [00:59] chances that these protests just go away [01:00] quietly into the night and then we have [01:02] to wait a few more years till there's [01:04] more unrest is highly unlikely because [01:06] without those economic concerns being [01:08] fixed, the acute problems that people [01:10] are having, putting food on the table [01:12] continue and therefore we can expect [01:15] there to be more to come even though for [01:18] now things are somewhat quiet but [01:20] there's a lot more to say about what is [01:23] happening uh with the regime in Iran. So [01:26] here uh just yesterday Iran's president [01:29] warns US attack on supreme leader would [01:32] mean fullcale war. So Massud Peshan the [01:37] the president of Iran has issued this [01:39] warning that there would be massive [01:41] strikes a harsh response and we don't [01:43] know how real that is. There's this the [01:46] Iranian regime has a long history of [01:48] blustery threats that don't come to be. [01:52] On the other hand, if there's an attack [01:54] on the supreme leader and an attempt to [01:56] really bring down the regime by knocking [01:58] out the top guy, then the Iranian regime [02:02] could be panicking. They could be like a [02:04] wounded animal that lashes out and sees [02:06] itself, you know, going down anyway and [02:10] it could trigger a massive response. Uh, [02:12] and that is one of the reasons why the [02:14] United States actually didn't attack. [02:17] Not because the United States is afraid, [02:19] but because it was reported by Axios the [02:21] other day that the Israelis reached out, [02:24] meaning it wasn't just it wasn't just [02:25] the Saudis and the Qataris and the Turks [02:27] who were trying to save the Iranian [02:28] regime, but the Israelis reached out, [02:30] according to Axios, and told President [02:32] Trump, that they don't believe that that [02:34] air strikes would necessarily bring down [02:37] the regime anyway. and Israel is not [02:40] necessarily in a position to adequately [02:42] defend itself against a retaliatory [02:45] strike that could come from the Iranian [02:46] regime against Israel. And we're also [02:49] encouraging President Trump to back off. [02:51] So as much as there is some sense of [02:53] disappointment by a lot of people that [02:56] that there hasn't been an attack from [02:58] the United States, we have to take this [03:00] all in the big picture and think long [03:02] term about what is best and what will [03:04] actually bring down the regime. On the [03:07] other hand, look, it seems unlikely that [03:09] this regime is going to fall without [03:11] some sort of outside intervention [03:14] helping these protesters. They're simply [03:16] outgunned and outmanned by the IRGC, by [03:19] the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. [03:21] That is the, you know, the regime. At [03:24] the same time, there's a there's a [03:27] I would say there's some damage that has [03:29] been done. It could be undone, but [03:31] there's at at at at the present point [03:34] that we're at, there is real damage done [03:37] to President Trump's reputation and to [03:40] uh and to American reputation because [03:42] threats were made. Let's recall that at [03:44] the very beginning of this, President [03:45] Trump said that if they start killing [03:47] protesters, America is going to step in [03:49] and is going to and is going to strike [03:51] really hard. And the reports of [03:54] thousands of protesters being killed are [03:57] now at this point more and more [03:59] credible. The Sunday Times, pretty [04:01] legitimate paper, reported yesterday [04:04] that more than 16,500 [04:06] people were killed. And this is coming [04:08] from uh sources from doctors, from [04:10] medical sources in Iran. And more than [04:12] 330,000 injured. Think about that [04:15] number. Between a quarter million and [04:17] half a million people injured, 16,500 [04:20] killed. And that's the estimate coming [04:22] from the doctors in Iran. Let's say we [04:24] look at that estimate as high. Even [04:26] Iranian officials, even regime officials [04:29] who you would imagine would be lying [04:32] have verified that at least 5,000 people [04:34] have been killed in the protests. So [04:37] obviously many many people have been [04:38] killed in the protest. It's been a mass [04:40] mass slaughter and yet the United States [04:43] didn't do anything. And this is [04:45] emboldening this kind of this kind of [04:48] thing. Whether you like it or not, [04:49] whether it was the right move or not to [04:51] hold off on the attack, as I just said, [04:53] it still emboldens the the other side. [04:57] It emboldens the regime. It makes them [04:58] feel that they're protected and that and [05:00] that President Trump's threats are empty [05:02] threats. So, this is something that [05:04] needs to be very much taken into [05:05] account. Uh and um and President Trump [05:08] the other day also for the first time [05:11] said quote it's time to look for new [05:13] leadership in Iran. And this was really [05:15] the first explicit time where President [05:17] Trump called for regime change in Iran. [05:20] So the story is as I said far from over. [05:25] Now uh there was also an interesting [05:27] little anecdote where uh Iranian regime [05:30] Iranian regime TV was hacked and a [05:34] speech by Resa Palvi encouraging [05:36] protesters and encouraging defections [05:38] from the security forces came on [05:41] national state television. So that was [05:43] that was a successful hack I guess by [05:46] the opposition that also happened. Now [05:48] on the on the subject of the executions, [05:50] we also we also see here that um you [05:55] know, President Trump had said that he [05:58] was not going to carry out strikes [06:01] because the killing had stopped because [06:03] they had decided not to execute people. [06:06] But just yesterday, Iranian judiciary [06:09] spokesperson Azgar Yahangeenir Jahengeir [06:13] told a press conference, quote, "A [06:16] series of actions have been identified [06:18] as Moharb, which is among the most [06:20] severe Islamic punishments." Now, Moharb [06:22] is an Islamic legal term that that means [06:26] to wage war against God, and it is [06:28] punishable by death. and and uh this [06:31] this judiciary spokesperson went on to [06:34] say, "All those people who played a [06:35] decisive role in these calls for [06:37] violence, which led to bloodshed and [06:39] significant damage to public finances, [06:41] will not be spared, which means they're [06:44] still threatening to execute people for [06:47] having participated in these protests. [06:50] So again, the story is far from over. [06:52] And although the streets are mostly free [06:54] of protesters, there is still ma uh [06:56] vandalism, fires being started. Uh the [06:58] protesters aren't fully going away. You [07:00] just don't see the masses of people in [07:02] the streets. This is a fire being set [07:05] um uh to a regimen store that is being [07:09] burned to the ground. So even though [07:11] there's these curfews and people aren't [07:13] so much in the streets, again, they are [07:15] still trying to fight back against the [07:17] regime. Now, a couple other interesting [07:20] notes. There was a a video that I saw [07:24] the other day which is really worth [07:25] watching which is Reza Palvi the crown [07:27] prince and here he is talking about the [07:32] relationship between the Persian people [07:35] and the Jewish people. Uh and this is [07:39] coming because he is you know he is [07:41] pro-Israel. I've mentioned before that [07:43] the that the Iranian people, the Persian [07:44] people who are actually not very Islamic [07:47] are also quite pro-Israel. And uh and [07:51] here in Pal's speech, he says some [07:53] interesting things about that. Let's [07:54] watch this and then we'll talk about it. [07:56] I went [07:58] to Israel two years ago [08:02] to show that we are the descendants of [08:04] Cyrus the Great, who 25 centuries ago [08:09] helped Jewish slaves be freed from the [08:12] Babylonian uh government, [08:15] helped them rebuild the temple in [08:17] Jerusalem, [08:20] a country that in the Second World War [08:22] period gave refuge [08:24] to Jews escaping [08:27] the tyranny of Hitler, [08:30] a country that unlike this regime wants [08:32] to have cordial relationship with the [08:35] state of Israel and the rest of our [08:37] neighbors. Hold on. So I want to talk [08:39] about this for a minute because this is [08:41] really a very very interesting thing to [08:43] say. You know, Cyrus the Great 2500 [08:47] years ago approximately [08:49] allowed the Jewish exiles in Babylonia [08:52] to return to the land of Israel and [08:54] rebuild the temple. He gave them [08:56] permission to rebuild the temple. And [08:57] this caused again the rebuilding of the [08:59] of the temple. That's why you had the [09:00] second temple in Jerusalem was because [09:02] of Cyrus the Great. And he also made [09:06] reference to the fact that in World War [09:07] II, uh, Iran or Persia became a safe [09:11] haven for Jews escaping the Holocaust. [09:13] And there's generally been a pretty [09:14] positive relationship. There was a there [09:16] was a a Persian Jewish community in Iran [09:19] for for uh you know a couple thousand [09:22] years and they lived you know as full [09:24] citizens and as free citizens uh you [09:27] know they weren't secondass citizens in [09:29] Iran. this was uh you know so there was [09:32] a very comfortable relationship and [09:34] before 1979 before the Islamic [09:36] revolution there were regular flights [09:39] between Israel and and Iran between [09:42] Tehran and Tel Aviv there were regular [09:44] flights that were I mean these these [09:46] were countries that were at peace with [09:47] each other and I I think if we pull back [09:50] the camera a bit this is very [09:52] significant because the fall of the [09:54] Iranian regime is not just about freeing [09:56] the Iranian people and uh you know and [10:00] ushering in a non a non-hostile regime [10:04] in that particular country in terms of [10:06] the the politics of it. There's also [10:10] something civilizational at work which [10:12] is that all over the world we're seeing [10:14] this rise of Islam, this ascendancy of [10:16] Islamism, you know, terrorism and uh no [10:20] go zones in Europe and and uh you know, [10:23] Muslim Brotherhood affiliates [10:25] uh taking over schools and and building [10:28] mosques all over the West. And this is a [10:30] big issue that a lot of people are [10:31] talking about and I've said this before [10:34] that if the Iranian regime falls it's a [10:36] push back against Islamism in general. [10:39] It's actually it actually delivers a [10:41] defeat to the forces of the spread of [10:44] Islam. And here Resa Palvi is [10:46] articulating that in a very profound and [10:49] historically rooted way. Now I want to [10:52] connect this to some of the moves that [10:54] Israel's been making in the Middle East. [10:55] Israel recently signed a tripartite [10:58] treaty, an agreement, a strategic uh [11:01] cooperation agreement with Greece and [11:03] Cyprus. And at that ceremony, at the [11:06] signing ceremony of that agreement, [11:08] um Prime Minister Netanyahu and the [11:11] other leaders spoke about the ancient [11:13] civilizational bond between Athens and [11:16] Jerusalem and uh and and these Eastern [11:19] Mediterranean peoples. And when you [11:23] think about that in context of where we [11:27] are today in the Middle East, where [11:29] we're used to thinking of Middle Eastern [11:31] peoples as Muslim and as Arabs, well, [11:34] the Arabs only came to this part of the [11:36] world. They only came to what we know as [11:37] the as the the main part of the Middle [11:40] East, meaning Israel, Syria, Lebanon, [11:44] uh Iraq, these areas, Jordan. [11:47] Arabs only came here in the seventh [11:48] century. There was an Arab conquest. [11:50] They came up from the Arabian Peninsula [11:52] in the south, these Muslim uh warriors [11:55] and they slaughtered people and they [11:56] took over and that was really where [11:58] Islam spread and the Arab peoples took [12:01] over this part of the Middle East. So, [12:03] Prime Minister Netanyahu with the Greeks [12:05] and and the Criats were signaling that [12:07] in the Eastern Mediterranean in this [12:08] part of the world we are restoring our [12:11] ancient civilizations and our ancient [12:13] civilizations are not Islamic. So to [12:16] hear Resa Palvi talk this way also to [12:18] invoke the roots with Cyrus the great, [12:21] you know, the ancient Persian king who [12:24] who had these warm relations with Israel [12:26] and then talking about how modern [12:27] Persians also have warm feelings for [12:29] Israel. we could see an Iranian regime [12:32] that falls that really brings about a [12:34] civilizational a civilizational uh uh [12:37] shift in some way and and or if not if [12:40] not a shift at least a a civilizational [12:42] earthquake that could really provide [12:45] some uh some meaningful push back [12:47] against the threat of Islamism. Now, a [12:50] couple other um little details that I [12:53] found interesting having to do with [12:54] what's going on in Iran. Well, just this [12:57] one really is Hill Neuer uh is the [13:00] executive director of United Nations [13:03] Watch. And that is a watchdog group that [13:06] calls out all of the uh all of the lies [13:09] and and uh and corruption of the United [13:12] Nations Human Rights Council of of the [13:14] United Nations Human Rights Council. and [13:18] he put out a tweet um he put out a tweet [13:23] uh yesterday that said if you set foot [13:25] in Davos he uh addressing Abbas Aragchi [13:28] the foreign minister of Iran. So he he [13:31] he says to him, "If you set foot in [13:33] Davos this week, a criminal complaint [13:34] will be filed with Swiss prosecutors [13:37] because Abbas Aaraki, the foreign [13:39] minister of the Iranian regime, was set [13:42] to come to the World Economic Forum [13:44] meeting in Davos that's taking place [13:46] this week. So here he's threatening, [13:48] Illinois is threatening uh a criminal [13:51] complaint against them and that he'll [13:52] get arrested. Your command role on the [13:54] Supreme National Security Council in [13:57] mass murder of thousands of protesters [13:59] constitutes crimes against humanity. [14:02] Expect arrest, trial, and justice. And [14:04] just in case you're thinking, he has [14:06] diplomatic immunity. Hill goes on to [14:08] explain he does not benefit from [14:09] immunity because international crimes [14:12] such as crimes against humanity and [14:14] torture are prohibited by juice kogans. [14:17] This is a a legal term. And cannot be [14:19] protected by functional immunity. acts [14:21] like murder, torture, and rape can never [14:23] qualify as legitimate official acts of [14:25] the state and therefore he doesn't have [14:27] immunity. And then uh earlier today, so [14:31] that was yesterday. And then early [14:32] today, Hillyer tweeted again, "Good [14:35] news. In wake of our plan to file a [14:37] criminal complaint for Swiss authorities [14:39] to arrest him for crimes against [14:40] humanity given his role in the regime [14:43] murdering protesters, Iran foreign [14:46] minister Abbasarji will not be attending [14:48] the World Economic Forum in Davos this [14:50] week." Now, I personally I couldn't care [14:53] less who attends the World Economic [14:55] Forum meetings in Davos. That's not the [14:58] point. The point is increased isolation [15:01] and increased pressure on the regime [15:03] because what they need more than [15:05] anything else is relationships with [15:06] other countries to be part of the family [15:08] of nations. So, if Abbas Arachi is [15:10] prohibited from coming to Davos for fear [15:12] of being arrested for war crimes, that [15:15] itself casts a Paul on the on the [15:18] regime. It makes it harder for other [15:19] nations to behave as though everything [15:21] is fine. So good work there by Hill [15:24] Neoer. Look folks, bottom line is this. [15:26] The war in Iran, the war between the [15:29] people and the regime to bring down the [15:30] regime is far from over. We don't yet [15:33] know if President Trump is going to do [15:34] anything or let it just go quietly into [15:36] the night. There is, as I said, the real [15:38] risk of him seeming like another Obama, [15:41] seeming like someone who made a threat [15:42] and didn't fulfill it. On the other [15:44] hand, on the other hand, uh just to sum [15:47] up the points I made earlier, it's not [15:49] clear that air strikes of any kind or [15:52] specific strikes against the regime will [15:54] actually succeed in bringing it down. [15:56] So, decisions need to be made very, very [16:00] carefully. We'll be bringing you more [16:02] updates on the Iran situation in the [16:04] coming days. And if you're enjoying [16:06] these videos, if you're finding them [16:07] helpful, please be sure to check out [16:09] everything that we're putting up at the [16:11] Israel 365 YouTube channel as well.
