This is the full English translation of the original German article and transcript. The commentary reflects Reza Mehman’s perspective at the time of publication.
Iran Under Bombardment: Why the People Are Divided
War rhetoric, human shields and the many voices within the Iranian community: a commentary by Reza Mehman
The Iranian People: Different Perspectives
The Iranian people are divided, and Israel’s current bombardment of infrastructure in Iran has brought those divisions into focus again. A viral post by an Iranian Instagram influencer calls for Iran to be bombed completely, drawing both support and fierce criticism. In this episode of Project Mindset, Reza Mehman puts the situation into context and explains why he believes that position goes too far. He analyses US President Donald Trump’s war rhetoric on Truth Social, interpreting it as deliberate intimidation rather than a genuine war plan. He also examines how the mullah regime uses civilians as human shields. The episode shows that different opinions within a community are normal, even among a people who have lived under a repressive regime for 47 years. Reza Mehman takes a clear position: yes to outside help, no to indiscriminate bombing.
Summary
In one sentence: The Iranian people are deeply divided over whether a full-scale US bombardment of Iran would be the right route to liberation from the mullah regime, and Reza Mehman argues firmly against indiscriminate destruction and for targeted external support.
In three sentences: Israel has begun bombing Iranian infrastructure, and Trump’s threats on Truth Social have fuelled debate within the Iranian community. An Iranian Instagram influencer openly calls for Iran to be bombed completely, but Reza Mehman considers that position excessive because the price for ordinary civilians would be too high. Instead, he advocates targeted help from outside and stresses that a diversity of opinions among the Iranian people is entirely normal.
In five sentences: Israel has begun bombing Iranian infrastructure while Donald Trump has threatened on Truth Social to raze Iran to the ground. An Iranian influencer calls for precisely that, expressing the feelings of many Iranians after 47 years under the mullah regime. Reza Mehman understands the background but believes the demand goes too far, because civilians must not become the price of regime change. He classifies Trump’s threats as war rhetoric and propaganda, especially as negotiations for a ceasefire are taking place in parallel with Pakistan acting as mediator. At the same time, he condemns the mullah regime for sending its own citizens to power stations and bridges as human shields, and stresses that divisions within the Iranian community reflect a normal diversity of views.
Context: Who, What and Why
Who is speaking: Reza Mehman, host of the Project Mindset podcast, who regularly discusses geopolitical issues, particularly those relating to Iran and the Middle East.
What it is about: The current military escalation in Iran, a viral post by an Iranian influencer calling for Iran to be bombed completely, and US President Donald Trump’s war rhetoric on Truth Social.
Why it matters: The debate over how to deal with Iran’s mullah regime affects millions of Iranians worldwide and has far-reaching geopolitical consequences. Divisions within the Iranian community reflect a universal phenomenon: on existential questions, there is no single opinion shared by an entire people.
Three central questions in this episode:
- Is bombing Iran completely the right way to overthrow the mullah regime?
- Were Trump’s threats on Truth Social serious, or merely war rhetoric?
- Why are divisions among the Iranian people entirely normal and even to be expected?
Contents
- Introduction — What this episode is about
- Summary — The key points at a glance
- Context: Who, What and Why — Background and perspective
- Topics and Context — The main themes
- Key Takeaways — The central positions
- Frequently Asked Questions — Answers to key questions
- Selected Quotes — Standout statements
- Transcript — Read the complete episode
- Keywords — Relevant search terms
- Names and Terms — Important references
- Passage to Quote — For sharing and quoting
Topics and Context
Military Escalation in Iran
Israel has begun bombing Iranian infrastructure, while the US under Trump is threatening further military force. The situation is tense, but negotiations are taking place in parallel.
Keywords: Iran bombing, Israel–Iran conflict, military escalation in the Middle East
War Rhetoric and Propaganda
Trump’s Truth Social posts threatening to raze Iran to the ground are interpreted here as deliberate intimidation and war propaganda, rather than an actual attack plan.
Keywords: Trump war rhetoric, Truth Social threats, war propaganda
Human Rights and Human Shields
The mullah regime is calling on civilians, including young people and athletes, to position themselves at strategic locations such as power stations and bridges to protect them from bombing.
Keywords: human shields in Iran, mullah regime civilians, human rights in Iran
Divisions Within the Iranian Community
The Iranian diaspora and population are deeply divided over the right path to liberation from the regime. This diversity of opinions is a normal phenomenon in any society.
Keywords: Iranian people divided, Iranian community, diversity of opinion in Iran
Regime Change and External Help
At the heart of the debate is whether and how the Iranian people can receive help from outside without endangering civilians. Targeted support rather than indiscriminate destruction is presented as the preferred solution.
Keywords: regime change in Iran, external help for Iran, IRGC
Key Takeaways
- The Iranian people are deeply divided over the right strategy against the mullah regime, and that is entirely normal.
- Calling for Iran to be bombed completely goes too far, because ordinary civilians must not pay the price for regime change.
- In Reza’s view, Trump’s threats on Truth Social were war rhetoric and propaganda, not an actual attack plan.
- The mullah regime uses its own citizens as human shields by calling on them to gather at strategic infrastructure sites.
- Iran needs outside help because the IRGC keeps the population down with superior weaponry.
- Targeted strikes on the mullah regime’s infrastructure are acceptable in Reza’s view, but civilian facilities must not be targets.
- Pakistan is acting as a mediator for a possible two-week ceasefire between the parties to the conflict.
- A people cannot share a single opinion on complex political issues; that applies to Iran just as it does to Germany.
- Iranians have lived under the regime for 47 years, which makes some radical demands understandable without making them right.
- A US war crime would also have had major internal consequences for Trump within his own ranks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are the Iranian people divided?
The Iranian people are divided because, after 47 years under the mullah regime, there are very different ideas about what liberation could look like. Some favour a full-scale bombardment, while others advocate targeted outside help. This diversity of opinion is normal in any society and is not a sign of weakness.
Were Trump’s threats against Iran on Truth Social serious?
Reza Mehman interprets Trump’s threats to raze Iran to the ground as war rhetoric and propaganda. He argues that no normal person would bomb an entire civilisation and that Trump would also have faced major internal problems if he had committed a war crime.
What are human shields in Iran?
Through television channels, the mullah regime is calling on civilians, particularly young people and athletes, to position themselves at strategically important locations such as power stations and bridges. This is intended to protect those facilities from bombing. Reza Mehman doubts that most people go there voluntarily.
Why does Iran need outside help?
The IRGC, or Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, is heavily armed and has every means of keeping the Iranian people down and suppressing uprisings for freedom and democracy. In Reza’s assessment, the people have little chance of liberating themselves without external support.
What role does Pakistan play in the Iran conflict?
Pakistan is acting as a mediator between the parties to the conflict and is involved in discussions about a possible two-week ceasefire. Reza Mehman is optimistic that such a ceasefire can come about.
What does the Iranian Instagram influencer call for in the viral video?
The influencer calls for Iran to be bombed completely to remove the mullah regime. He argues that a people who have lived under Islamist rule for 47 years need an “apocalypse” to be liberated. Reza Mehman understands the frustration but believes the demand goes too far.
Does Reza Mehman support or oppose bombing Iran?
Reza Mehman supports targeted attacks on the mullah regime’s infrastructure but firmly opposes indiscriminate bombing of Iran. He stresses that civilian facilities must not be targeted and that ordinary civilians cannot be the price of regime change.
Why does Reza Mehman compare divisions in Iran with Germany?
He draws the comparison to show that a diversity of opinions is normal in every society. In Germany, too, there is no single view about who should run the country or which direction it should take. Present 100 options and you will get 110 different opinions.
Selected Quotes
“I support helping Iran from outside. But ordinary civilians being bombed cannot be the price.”
— Reza Mehman
“In my view, the threats were war rhetoric. I cannot imagine a normal person razing an entire civilisation to the ground.”
— Reza Mehman
“The Iranian people are divided. And that is entirely normal. There is no single opinion on politics in Germany either.”
— Reza Mehman
“As long as the mullah regime’s infrastructure is being hit, I agree. But civilian facilities must not be targets.”
— Reza Mehman
“No normal person supports Iran being bombed completely. I actually think that was war propaganda from Donald Trump.”
— Reza Mehman
“If we have 100 different options, we get 110 different possibilities, so to speak, for how individuals want to act.”
— Reza Mehman
“Not one millimetre backwards when it comes to Islamism. Do not give these people a single millimetre. Once they have gained a foothold, once they are in power, it takes an apocalypse to remove them again.”
— Iranian Instagram influencer, quoted by Reza Mehman
Transcript
The Full Conversation
Breaking news, friends: Israel has begun bombing infrastructure in Iran, and Trump will surely keep his promise and attack in a few hours [wording unclear in the original transcript]. To the Germans who cannot understand what is happening here: he said he would bomb us back to the Stone Age, and we are saying, please do it. Please, please, we are waiting for it. We will even thank you. We will build you a statue if you do it. These are people who have lived for 47 years under the regime of Islam, or what they understand Islam to mean.
Remember this for the future. Not one millimetre backwards when it comes to Islamism. Do not give these people a single millimetre. Once they have gained a foothold, once they are in power, it takes an apocalypse to remove them again. This cancer does not simply go away. That is a post by an Instagram influencer, an Iranian who actually makes very interesting posts about Iran. I follow him too. I find what he has to say on individual issues really interesting.
But I have to say, in my view he goes much too far here. I have said in many podcast episodes that I think Iranians need help from outside. An IRGC that is armed to the teeth naturally has every means of keeping the Iranian people down and pushing them back. It need not even allow the Iranian people to rise up over issues such as freedom, democracy and so on. Nevertheless, I think wanting America to bomb the whole of Iran is absolutely no solution.
Trump’s Threats and the Ceasefire
In one of his Truth Social posts, Trump threatened to more or less raze Iran to the ground. I discussed that in the last podcast episode. I think it was purely war rhetoric. And fortunately, today is 8 April, and what he threatened has not happened. I actually perceived it as a form of propaganda. And they are currently discussing, with Pakistan as mediator, what a kind of peace plan or
two-week ceasefire might look like. I am optimistic that it will happen. I also noticed that the Iranian mullah regime was crazy enough to call on its own people to go towards power stations, nuclear power stations and bridges so that they would not be damaged or bombed. You have to be that crazy first. I saw a few videos about this. I cannot imagine it was entirely voluntary for most of them, though certainly for some.
There are surely a few crazy people who say, I will let myself be bombed if necessary. But I can imagine that the vast majority were, of course, forced in some way to go there. The appeals I saw were actually broadcast individually on television channels, calling on young people in particular, athletes and sportspeople, to go there to serve as a kind of protective shield. No normal person supports Iran being bombed completely.
Outside Help and the Limits of Destruction
I actually think that was war propaganda from Donald Trump. But what the influencer said really goes too far for me. You can support helping Iran from outside. That is what I have said in many podcast episodes. But I do not think wanting it to be bombed completely to make a fresh start is the right approach. In today’s podcast, I wanted to make clear again, from my perspective, that Iranians have different viewpoints.
Above all, the more I look into it and try to understand different sides and where they are coming from, the more I see how divided Iranians really are. You cannot really blame them for that. In Germany, for example, there is no single opinion about who should run politics or which direction we should take either. So if we have 100 different options, we get 110 different possibilities, so to speak, for how individuals want to act.
And I think it is entirely normal that Iranians, the Iranian population, also see an enormous range of possibilities or consider different options for the direction to take. We cannot assume that an entire people has a single opinion on a particular issue. People are very different, and that is true in Iran too. To some extent I can understand why this Instagram influencer — who, by the way, I want to stress, is a very cool guy in himself.
Continued
I have been following him for some time. I find what he says very interesting. Interestingly, he is also blind. Nevertheless, he really dares to express very strong opinions publicly. Very intense opinions too, as we have just heard. He is absolutely in favour of abolishing the Iranian mullah regime, and I am completely on his side there. But the question, of course, is at what price. The price cannot be ordinary civilians being bombed. As long as infrastructure is being bombed — the mullah regime’s infrastructure — that is completely fine from my point of view. Of course, care should be taken not to bomb civilian facilities and so on.
I also wrote in the last podcast episode — that was exactly one day before the deadline Donald Trump had set — that he would wait until eight o’clock on Tuesday evening, eight o’clock Eastern Time in the US, for a response from Tehran. I really could not have imagined him committing a war crime of that kind, as the Americans call it. Because I think he would have faced massive problems internally, within his own ranks as well. So, on the one hand, I am of course happy that it did not happen.
War Rhetoric and My Personal Assessment
On the other hand, it was relatively clear that it would not happen. I cannot imagine a normal person — sure, Trump is rather crazy and very unusual — but I cannot imagine a normal person saying, I am now going to bomb an entire civilisation. The way he put it in his Truth Social posts, I simply cannot imagine that he would have done it. So, today was a relatively short podcast episode. Thank you for listening, and see you next time.
Bye, bye, bye, bye.
The original transcript was generated automatically using Whisper AI and may contain occasional errors.
Keywords
Tags: Iranian people divided, Iran bombing, mullah regime, Trump war rhetoric, Truth Social, human shields in Iran, IRGC, regime change in Iran, Middle East, Iran conflict, Iran ceasefire, Pakistan mediator, Iranian community, Islamism, external help for Iran
Names and Terms
Reza Mehman, Donald Trump, Iran, Israel, IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps), mullah regime, Truth Social, Pakistan, Tehran, Middle East, war rhetoric, human shields, ceasefire, war crimes, Islamism, nuclear power stations, Instagram influencer, Project Mindset
Passage to Quote
“The Iranian people are divided, and that is entirely normal.”
“You can support helping Iran from outside, but wanting it to be bombed completely is not the right approach.”
“Trump threatened to raze Iran to the ground, but that was purely war rhetoric.”
“The price of regime change cannot be ordinary civilians being bombed.”
You can find additional clips and references in my collection of sources on Iran.
