TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – The ongoing conflict in Iran are on the minds of people in the capital city.
Iranian and former Florida State student Behrouz Esfahani said he can only speak to his parents and other family members in Iran for a minute or two at a time when the call even connects.
But Esfahani says he still has hope.
“But right now, people are all hope inside Iran, honestly. It might be something crazy to say, but if you understand the context here and you think and see as an Iranian, you will fully get it,” he said.
Esfahani said his family is okay, as far as he knows, though they have felt the earthquake like shocks from Israeli and US missiles.
He said the Iranian diaspora is now pushing stronger than ever for change, hoping for a democracy, instead of a theocracy, to take over.
He added both he and others have had to weight the risks of speaking out for a future of freedom against the fear of possible retaliation against his family.
“It’s so vital right now to speak out as a like Iranian person that you almost like forget about yourself that might end up some harm,” Esfahani said. “I don’t know. I don’t think so because I think the regime is already like taking last breaths.”
Esfahani said the Iranian diaspora is highly educated, and that’s why he estimates 90% of that diaspora has thrown its support behind the son of Iran’s former Shah.
However, he said the key would be a transitional government, not a dictatorship like the Shah ran.
Esfahani said local Iranians are left to piece together the truth, citing the limited pictures and videos that make it past the internet block in Iran.
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