Cyrus or Why Are We Silent About Iran?

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My favourite podcast is Dan Carlin’s "Hardcore history". Specifically the episodes on the ancient Achaemenid Persians: Kings of Kings. In it, Carlin tells the story how Cyrus the Great took Persia from a backwater tribe to become the mightiest empire in the world. The story goes that he did this with military might, but that by focussing on certain ideals was able to revolutionize the ancient world. Those ideals were freedom of expression and religion, plurality, and open commerce. Carlin raises the idea that perhaps Cyrus was one the first humanists. Cyrus the great, built an empire in a tough neighbourhood - the Persian Empire, like all empires, waxed and waned. It was defeated by Alexander the Great, a couple hundred years later.

I’m a history buff and I’d love to go there one day to check it out.

I’ve been biding my time however, as Ancient Persia was primarily situated in what is now Iran. My whole life the travel advisory for Iran has been: don’t go there. The Canadian government’s website is pretty clear on the matter:

“Risk of arbitrary arrest and detention, and the death penalty.

Canadians, including those with dual Canadian-Iranian citizenship, are at high risk of arbitrary arrest and detention in Iran. Holding a Canadian passport can be reason enough for Iranian authorities to detain you. The Government of Canada has no embassy or consulate in Iran, which significantly limits our ability to assist you in that context.

Iranian law criminalizes all forms of collaboration with individuals or organizations considered enemies of the state, and allows for the death penalty as punishment. Iranian authorities have wrongfully arrested and detained foreign nationals over charges related to espionage and/or national security, without concrete evidence they committed a crime.”

They’ve updated it in the last week or so. Now it reads:

"IRAN - AVOID ALL TRAVEL"

"Avoid all travel to Iran due to ongoing nationwide demonstrations, tensions in the region, the high risk of arbitrary detention and the unpredictable enforcement of local laws. The Iranian authorities have arrested and/or detained individuals, including foreign and dual nationals, to exert political or diplomatic influence on their governments."

So we’re crystal clear, or at least we ought to be. Our own government has pointed out, there are mass protests occurring in the Islamic republic. I’m completely miffed as to how little attention they are getting. As of the writing of this article, estimates on casualties range from between 5000 and 12,000. There are Internet and media blackouts in Iran, it is difficult to get information. It is barely covered in the news.

But as Victoria Vali wrote on accordingto this week - Iran’s fight for freedom cannot be ignored.

The Iranian regime is killing protestors in the streets, threatening to hang protesters, and blaming Americans and Zionists for it all. Yet we do not see any attention given to the matter in Canadian daily news cycles. Just this morning, major Canadian news outlets are mum on the protests. China and Gaza (somehow still) dominate the headlines.

Canadian Persians are calling out for help. They need your support. I mentioned this shortly after October 7, 2023, but people remember how you treat them in their darkest hours. So reach out to your Persian friends. Ask questions. Find out if they still have family back home. Lend them your voice if they ask for it.

I’ve come to know of the Islamic Republic from two key sources: First hand accounts of Persians who have moved to Canada, and as the chief antagonist to Israel in the Middle East.

The Persians I know here all tend to share one major through line: They are first or second generation Canadians whose parents fled the Iranian regime. This is because Iran is a theocracy run by a theocratic dictator: Ayatollah (Religious Leader) Khamenei. A theocracy is a government that is based not on the authority of humans, but on the authority of God. That means that the government’s first duty is to religion, and not to its people. In Iran, there is a pseudo-democracy that underlies this, but everything needs to be approved by the Ayatollah, otherwise known as the “Supreme Leader”. This means there is an unelected cleric at the head of the Iranian regime and no one can question his authority.

Saliently, this means that If a behaviour or idea doesn’t mesh with the religion, then it is against the state, and therefore criminal. For example: women can’t show their hair in public in Iran. People cannot be gay or trans in Iran. The World Cup is being held this year, Iran has qualified and has a game in Seattle against Egypt that has been designated as the pride match. Celebrating gay pride. Homosexuality can be punishable by death in Iran, and their association has demanded that FIFA cancel the pride activities.

Now, of course, not everyone in the country agrees with this way of life. Iran was a monarchy in the 70s before the Islamic Revolution turned it over to the Ayatollah. So a massive portion of the population, (the majority it seems) don’t agree with this way of life. Those who are lucky escape to places like Canada and the United States.

While on vacation in Portugal a couple of years ago I met a Dutch man who claimed to be hitchhiking around the world. He told stories of hitchhiking through Iran. He said that Iran was one of the most wonderful welcoming places in the world. He had an amazing time, he always felt safe, and he described something of a double society while he was there.

In public, everyone followed the regime’s rules. In private, citizens were living liberal lives. He said while he was there, he attended a rave, where practically everyone was drinking and where many drugs were being consumed. The police came by, knocked on their door, and collected their bribe money and turned a blind eye to the activities.

He maintained that this was a regular activity in the towns he went through. It’s just one data point but still, can you imagine having to hide or live a double existence like this?

I am watching the protests unfold, and hoping that the regime comes to an end. Iranians, and all peoples deserve freedom.

What is so puzzling about the silence in the discourse is how seemingly morally clear the situation is.

A theocratic regime has prioritized antagonism, funding terror, and has driven its economy into the toilet. Its oppressed population is now unable to feed their families - this is the straw that has broken the camel’s back. In turn, the undercurrent of rebellion has bubbled up to the surface. The regime has reacted with force, threats, and further oppression.

It’s a regime that recently shot down a civilian plane with just under one hundred Canadian citizens and permanent residents on it. It is a regime that last month labeled the Canadian Navy a terrorist organization. (Unfortunately, our servicemen won’t be cruising the straights of Hormuz…) They have a lengthy history of sponsoring terrorism the world over. There is no real debate about any of this and yet our society remains silent.

Why is that?

The cynical take is that Iran (or one of its allies) has been funding the news sites, activists, and protestors that seem to show up for other causes.

It could be that we are simply all fatigued from years of keeping up with other tragedies. This is no different than what is going on in Sudan, really.

Or maybe we are distracted, and the behaviour of ICE and the American threats over Greenland are taking up all the oxygen in the room.

Another theory is that this is the product of a sleepy winter time. People are still getting up to speed after the new year. It’s cold, folks are depressed, they don’t have the energy to care.

The super cynical take is that this is all Judeophobia. No Jews, no news, the parlance goes.

Perhaps it is some combination of many or all of the above.

There is light and there is hope however. Aside from my Persian friends, the only real support I have seen in my heavily echo chambered network has been from Jews. There have been dozens of posts and shares. Even my Rabbi implored us to post, share, and speak up about what is going on in Iran.

Jews felt great betrayal from the progressive coalition post October 7th. I hope that those of us on the left can see the moral clarity of the issue at hand and continue to speak up. Every crisis is an opportunity to do what is right.

Persians and Jews have a longstanding relationship. History teaches us that Jews in fact owe the Persians a great debt for the service Cyrus the great did for ancient Judeans when he liberated them from the Babylonian Captivity - allowing them to return to their homeland from being forcibly moved into Babylon.

There is an ancient and natural alliance between the two peoples, and until the Ayatollahs, many Jews lived and thrived in Iran. Of the hundred thousand or so that were there in 1979, they are practically all gone.

Keep in mind that Iran makes no effort to hide their intent: their leaders like to shout out in their government “Death to America" and "Death to Israel" (often accompanied by "Curse be upon the Jews"). Most of the recent Middle East wars are caused by agitents that are proxies of Iran:

Hamas, Hezbollah, the Assad regime, the Houthis, Iraq, they have all been clearly documented as Iranian proxies and outposts. Most of them have been defanged since 2023 by Israel and the US. Iran is the “final boss”, “the head of the snake”. Their power is diminishing and hopefully, these events are the catalyst that triggers a new and free era for the Persian people.

I’d love to go there one day. See the remnants of what Cyrus built in ancient Persia. Experience a culture that has always been inaccessible to me. Shake hands, have a drink, and partake in a serious discussion with the Iranian version of me.

Maybe that day is finally coming

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