Sugand Fakhri, an Iran analyst at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, sharply criticized Western governments over renewed diplomatic engagement with Iran’s regime while, she says, ordinary Iranians continue to suffer under brutal repression.
“While leaders sign deals and pose for press conferences, Iranians are still waiting for freedom,” Fakhri wrote, arguing that the Iranian people are paying the price while the world focuses on negotiations with Tehran.
Fakhri stressed that contrary to the image often presented in the West, many Iranians remain deeply opposed to the Islamic regime and are willing to endure heavy sacrifices in hopes of seeing it fall. She also criticized international support and sympathy shown toward Hamas while the suffering of the Iranian people receives far less attention.
In one of her strongest statements, she said: “Iranians may be the only people calling on a foreign military to strike their own country, because for them the enemy is the regime — not the bombers.”