WHAT IRANIANS WANT

According to this passionate book, Iranians want a liberated life in a free country.

Azizi, the author of The Shadow Commander: Soleimani, the US, and Iran’s Global Ambitions, is a writer and historian based in New York City who specializes in Middle East issues. He shows how in Iran, even the most basic rights are either nonexistent or severely curtailed, with women and ethnic minorities facing the most severe oppression. The author tracks through the history of the country since 1979, when the aging cleric Ayatollah Khomeini led a revolution to install a hard-line Islamic regime. His shadow still looms large over Iranian politics, in everything from the requirement that all women wear hajib to the militant gangs who roam the streets looking for transgressors. Azizi ably describes the tenures of subsequent leaders who have promised reforms, only to crack down when pressed; the current Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, is perhaps the most ruthless and manipulative of all. With the media effectively under government control, it is difficult for any organized opposition to form. Nevertheless, protests and demonstrations occur regularly, and the regime responds with murderous force and arbitrary detention. Azizi chronicles his interviews with many of Iran’s dissidents and believes that pressure is building for real change. His optimism, however, might be misplaced. The government, while plagued by corruption and incompetence, still has considerable support, and it holds all the guns. Still, the author lays out the situation in a cleareyed manner, and readers will leave with a deeper understanding of Iran’s historical and current circumstances. “No matter what comes after Khamenei,” he writes, “Iran’s formidable mass movements will continue to fight for Women, Life, Freedom: the fullest democracy and social, economic, environmental and gender justice.”

In a brave, disturbing book, Azizi exposes the nature of the Iranian regime and applauds the courage of its opponents.