Wards No More: Iran's Youth Are Done With The Mullahs

“By the rule laid down by the mullahs, the Iranian people are not even allowed to meddle in their own internal affairs. They are counted as wards of the state, as children in the care of a paternal priesthood. (It’s for this reason that the humiliation of dictatorship is felt with especial and stinging keenness by the rising generation of young Iranian adults.) The immediate result of theocratic policy when measured by the standard of repression is pretty clear and getting ever clearer: any government that imagines it has a divine warrant will perforce deal with its critics as if they were profane and thus illegitimate by definition.” – Christopher Hitchens, “Hitchens on Iran’s Theocrats” Newsweek, December 30, 2009.

Video Title: Cyrus Forum panel: “#IranRevolution and Transitional Justice.” Source: Cyrus Forum. Date Published: October 20, 2022. Description:

This Cyrus Forum panel on “#IranRevolution and Transitional Justice” provides an overview of the main goals in organizing for truth, justice, and accountability in Iran after the fall of the current regime, as well as concerns and challenges. In many regards, this important process has already begun through ongoing public dialogue and the efforts of the panelists. Lessons from other countries’ experiences, Iran’s unique needs, a prioritization of the work that needs to be done, and overarching principles that should guide transitional justice are among the topics discussed by Ladan Boroumand, Shahin Milani, and Sarah Teich, with Kaveh Shahrooz moderating.