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• LISTEN: What’s Truly Happening Within Iran? Tune into the latest Daily Mail Deep Dive podcast

On an exclusive episode ofthe Deep Dive podcast from the Daily Mail, Middle East Correspondent Natalie Lisbona and Chief Foreign Correspondent Andy Jehring share accounts from within a fragile Islamic Republic.

Lisbona and Jehring worked together on a recent study for the Daily Mail, which included exchanges they had with everyday individuals residing inIran.

These courageous individuals, whose identities were kept confidential in the article for their protection, described a community ruled by ‘total suppression,’ according to Lisbona, where public hangings, sexual abuse, and government monitoring are routine.

The government’s oppression has intensified following widespread demonstrations that occurred in the country during late December and January. In the most violent 48 hours of the crackdown, on January 8 and 9, over 30,000 civilian hospital records indicated deaths linked to protests.

“They’re discussing a nation where you are always under surveillance,” Lisbona stated, explaining what her sources revealed about living conditions six months after the massacre.

You are not permitted to convert to Christianity. Public executions take place. One Iranian dissident told me that when they watchedThe Handmaid’s Tale, they believed it was connected to Iran.

I have come across numerous accounts of sexual violence carried out by the Basij [the regime’s militia].

The state has authority over all aspects. The officials can easily disconnect the internet at any moment. Numerous people are unaware of their family’s whereabouts.

Covering these atrocities is further complicated, Jehring noted, by another aspect of the regime’s suppression: false information.

The Islamic regime has utilized artificial intelligence, he stated, using it to mislead global media and instill fear among its citizens.

He stated: “There have been several highly stressful instances while making sure we weren’t echoing regime propaganda… it’s fascinating and unsettling how it functions.”

They genuinely released AI-created images of individuals who are not truly on death row, serving as a method to instill fear.

In another part of the podcast, Lisbona mentioned that some Iranians she interviewed felt ‘deeply let down’ by Washington’s decision to negotiate with the Islamic Republic instead of pursuing its stated goal of regime change.

President Donald Trump had assured demonstrators in January that ‘help is on the way’. When Operation Epic Fury began in February, Lisbona mentioned that her sources were ‘overjoyed’.

However, with a grip on the Strait of Hormuz, a critical passage through which one-fifth of the world’s oil flows, it acts as a negotiating tool, making it probable that the Islamic Republic will endure the conflict.

Lisbona said, ‘The Iranians felt truly abandoned.’

But they are highly resolute. They do mention: ‘That won’t deter us.’

From everyone I’ve talked to, they all believe something is definitely going to occur. It’s just a question of time since people are so upset.

Listen to the entire episode by searching for Deep Dive, available on all podcast platforms. New episodes come out every Thursday..

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