Latest news with #Iranian-born
CairoScene
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
Select 340: Mixed by MSIYAN
With fast-paced techno, trance ecstasy, and a whole lot of emotional drive, Iranian-born DJ and producer MSIYAN takes over SceneNoise Select 334. Jun 28, 2025 This week's Select mix comes straight from a high-voltage night where MSIYAN played alongside I Hate Models, an evening that carved itself into the memory of everyone in the room. Born Mahsa Asiyan, the Iranian DJ and producer has become known for her euphoric yet tightly controlled sound, navigating fast techno and trance with a groove-heavy sensibility that hits the chest before it hits the floor. MSIYAN's mix is a peak-time trip that wastes no time. Clocking in with high BPMs and emotionally charged transitions, this live set delivers the kind of energy that floods your bloodstream. It's music that moves fast but lands heavy,full of body-shaking rhythms, hands-up moments, and flashes of pure, joyful release. 'I've been holding onto this one for a bit,' MSIYAN tells SceneNoise. 'Now it's finally time to share it. Hope you feel it as much as I did.' Listeners can expect big tracks from the likes of Marlon Hoffstadt (with his standout 'Hotline Bling' edit), Caiva & Julian Muller's 'Vigour', and MSIYAN's own selection of crowd-shakers like Skapier's 'Seb's Hands Up' and Swart's 'Hypnosis'. Every transition in the mix feels like a charged decision, balancing trance ecstasy with dancefloor urgency. Listen to the full set below. SceneNoise · Select 341: Mixed by Mahsa Asiyan
The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Israel-Iran conflict: Iranian Americans feel helpless, hopeless
Cyrous frantically made a video call. Her parents kept saying they were OK, but the Internet signal was so weak, she could barely see them. "It's very terrifying," said Cyrous, 38, who left for America in 2011 and declined to provide her parents' names, fearing for their safety. "We're just trying to send prayers for peace. Sometimes, I feel both helpless and hopeless.... I don't want them to be in danger." As the conflict between Israel and Iran rests on a fragile ceasefire, Cyrous and other Iranian Americans expressed dismay at American involvement and fear for loved ones still in Iran, saying a resurgence in violence could ripple around the world. "Iranian Americans are worried, obviously, about their loved ones," said Neda Bolourchi, executive director of the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans. Bolourchi said the national advocacy organization, based in Washington, D.C., has lobbied Congress to help Iranian Americans stay in touch with family and friends in Iran during times of crisis. Reza Rajebi, an Iranian-born novelist and physician who now lives in Houston, said he worries daily about loved ones still living in his homeland. "Like many in the diaspora, I live in two worlds," said Rajebi, who came to the U.S. in 2005 and writes under the pen name Diako Hazhir. "One is here in the U.S, where I work, making a living and care for my family. The other is in my mind, always carrying the weight of anxiety for those I love and all the people in Iran who have no escape." Those claiming to protect the oppressed have turned into oppressors The situation, Rajebi said, represents a "national tragedy" with roots in the 1979 revolution that vaulted Iran's theocratic regime to power. "The leadership has made it clear that they would rather see the country burn than surrender their grip on power," he said. "Step by step, cell by cell, soul by soul, the holy men who once claimed to protect the oppressed transformed into oppressors." Trump this week told reporters he was not seeking regime change in Iran and scolded both sides for violating the ceasefire. Lana Silk, the Iranian-born CEO of Transform Iran, an international Christian humanitarian organization with offices in Glendale, California, said among the broad emotions unleashed by the U.S. airstrikes were feelings of relief from those who resent the longstanding regime. "These past days have felt surreal," Silk said. "What once seemed like a distant hope now feels within reach .... While any form of military engagement brings with it the heavy burden of civilian suffering, many Iranians are acknowledging that the strikes have delivered the most significant blow to the Islamic Republic in over four decades." Silk said the Iranian regime "does not negotiate in good faith" and employs diplomacy as a deceitful stalling tactic designed to preserve the Islamic theocracy. "As war unfolds and daily life is disrupted by severe shortages of essential resources, many Iranians are facing displacement and growing fear," she said. "In the midst of this suffering, there is a desperate cry not only for freedom but for a swift end to the violence - even if that means welcoming further international intervention." Firuzeh Mahmoudi, of Berkeley, California, agreed. "It is well established that the Islamic Republic of Iran does not mind killing civilians indiscriminately," Mahmoudi said. "We saw this during the Women, Life, Freedom movement and again in Iran's attacks on Israel." 'Historical precedents don't show anything favorable' War is not the means through which many Iranians want to achieve freedom after decades of undemocratic regimes that have combined religion and authoritarian control, said Nahid Siamdoust, a former journalist who grew up in Iran and is now a professor of media and Middle Eastern studies at the University of Texas, Austin. "It's a very depressing moment for Iranians right now," said Siamdoust, who left Iran at age 10 with her family. "They are not happy with the Islamic Republic, and they do not want war and destruction, but the historical precedents don't show anything favorable." More than a third of the nearly 400,000 Iranian immigrants in the United States live in the Los Angeles area, and more than half overall are in California, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a non-partisan think tank based in Washington, D.C. A national poll conducted last year by the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans said Iranian Americans were nearly divided on the 2024 presidential election. About 45% of Iranian Americans voted for Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, and 41% percent for Trump, the GOP nominee. 40,000 reasons to worry: U.S. troops in Middle East could face Iran blowback Until last weekend, Trump had pursued negotiations to end Iran's nuclear enrichment program but began warning of annihilation after Israel's June 13 attacks on the country's nuclear and military operations killed multiple military leaders and nuclear scientists. Siamdoust said she is "saddened for my people," believing America's involvement further complicates matters. "It does not appear to be the case of a one-and-done," Siamdoust said. "Trump said he would keep the U.S. out of these 'forever wars,' and the U.S. has just engulfed itself in yet another war in the Middle East that will cost Iranians dearly." Fear that Iranian Americans could become targets Persis Karim, an Iranian American and professor of comparative and world literature at San Francisco State University, said that as much as her family dislikes the regime, they've already lived through a war between Iran and Iraq in the 1980s that killed more than a million people combined. They don't want another one. "They know what war looks like," Karim said. "It's messy, it's ugly, and it does not resolve a situation." While Karim, 63, doesn't believe Iran is innocent, "I think the negotiating table is the only wise choice," she said. However, she fears Iranians in the U.S. will be vilified "just like Latinos are vilified, just like Arabs were vilified and like we were vilified after 9/11." That concern is shared by Bolourchi, of the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans, which had worked with the U.S. Justice Department's civil rights division to help fight discrimination and hate crimes against Iranian Americans. She worries the Trump administration's elimination of that unit earlier this year may put the community at risk of increased targeting should the conflict escalate. "Iranian Americans constitute the fabric of our American society," she said, and risk "getting caught up in a resurgence of post-9/11 Islamophobia and hate, even though Jews, Christians and Baha'is make up who we are." A 'good omen' or 'more perilous than ever'? Despite the dire situation in Iran, Mahmoudi said, many Iranians remain cautiously hopeful about the potential for change. "It is heartwarming to see how unified Iranians (in Iran) are becoming, helping each other wherever they can," said Mahmoudi, founder and president of United for Iran, a non-governmental organization working to improve civil liberties in Iran. "Doctors are offering free medical support, strangers are opening their homes and assisting the elderly, and restaurant owners are providing free food. It's a good omen of what the future could bring." Siamdoust said she feels for those back home just struggling to live normal lives. "The country has among the best-educated young people in the Middle East," she said. "They don't deserve the tightrope they have been put on and ... the devastation that is yet to come. They've worked so hard to bring about changes to their political and social circumstances." "#ww3"?: Gen Z, Iran and the mass panic happening on TikTok Jamal Abdi, president of the National Iranian American Council, urged restraint and expressed concern for people living in the region who will suffer the consequences should tensions reignite. "Our hearts are with everyone in Iran who has been impacted by this horrific war already and could soon be put at risk by the consequences of this outrageous choice to broaden the war," he said in a statement. "... The way ahead seems more perilous than ever."
USA Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- USA Today
Iran-Israel conflict leaves Iranian Americans feeling helpless, hopeless
Iranian Americans with loved ones in Iran fear reignited war and say conflict could endanger those living in the US. The texts began coming late one night from somewhere outside Tehran, shaking Shaghayegh Cyrous from her sleep. For more than two weeks, the Los Angeles-based artist had tried in vain to reach her parents, retired designers who live near the capital city of Iran, the country she left 14 years ago. Israeli bombs had been hitting oil depots, military installations and nuclear facilities. The U.S. had just launched its own attack and worries were rising about a full-blown Middle East war. Cyrous frantically made a video call. Her parents kept saying they were OK, but the Internet signal was so weak, she could barely see them. 'It's very terrifying,' said Cyrous, 38, who left for America in 2011 and declined to provide her parents' names, fearing for their safety. 'We're just trying to send prayers for peace. Sometimes, I feel both helpless and hopeless.... I don't want them to be in danger.' As the conflict between Israel and Iran rests on a fragile ceasefire, Cyrous and other Iranian Americans expressed dismay at American involvement and fear for loved ones still in Iran, saying a resurgence in violence could ripple around the world. 'Iranian Americans are worried, obviously, about their loved ones,' said Neda Bolourchi, executive director of the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans. Bolourchi said the national advocacy organization, based in Washington, D.C., has lobbied Congress to help Iranian Americans stay in touch with family and friends in Iran during times of crisis. Reza Rajebi, an Iranian-born novelist and physician who now lives in Houston, said he worries daily about loved ones still living in his homeland. 'Like many in the diaspora, I live in two worlds,' said Rajebi, who came to the U.S. in 2005 and writes under the pen name Diako Hazhir. 'One is here in the U.S, where I work, making a living and care for my family. The other is in my mind, always carrying the weight of anxiety for those I love and all the people in Iran who have no escape.' Those claiming to protect the oppressed have turned into oppressors The situation, Rajebi said, represents a 'national tragedy' with roots in the 1979 revolution that vaulted Iran's theocratic regime to power. 'The leadership has made it clear that they would rather see the country burn than surrender their grip on power,' he said. 'Step by step, cell by cell, soul by soul, the holy men who once claimed to protect the oppressed transformed into oppressors.' Trump this week told reporters he was not seeking regime change in Iran and scolded both sides for violating the ceasefire. Lana Silk, the Iranian-born CEO of Transform Iran, an international Christian humanitarian organization with offices in Glendale, California, said among the broad emotions unleashed by the U.S. airstrikes were feelings of relief from those who resent the longstanding regime. 'These past days have felt surreal,' Silk said. 'What once seemed like a distant hope now feels within reach …. While any form of military engagement brings with it the heavy burden of civilian suffering, many Iranians are acknowledging that the strikes have delivered the most significant blow to the Islamic Republic in over four decades.' Silk said the Iranian regime 'does not negotiate in good faith' and employs diplomacy as a deceitful stalling tactic designed to preserve the Islamic theocracy. 'As war unfolds and daily life is disrupted by severe shortages of essential resources, many Iranians are facing displacement and growing fear,' she said. 'In the midst of this suffering, there is a desperate cry not only for freedom but for a swift end to the violence – even if that means welcoming further international intervention.' Firuzeh Mahmoudi, of Berkeley, California, agreed. "It is well established that the Islamic Republic of Iran does not mind killing civilians indiscriminately," Mahmoudi said. "We saw this during the Women, Life, Freedom movement and again in Iran's attacks on Israel." 'Historical precedents don't show anything favorable' War is not the means through which many Iranians want to achieve freedom after decades of undemocratic regimes that have combined religion and authoritarian control, said Nahid Siamdoust, a former journalist who grew up in Iran and is now a professor of media and Middle Eastern studies at the University of Texas, Austin. 'It's a very depressing moment for Iranians right now,' said Siamdoust, who left Iran at age 10 with her family. 'They are not happy with the Islamic Republic, and they do not want war and destruction, but the historical precedents don't show anything favorable.' More than a third of the nearly 400,000 Iranian immigrants in the United States live in the Los Angeles area, and more than half overall are in California, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a non-partisan think tank based in Washington, D.C. A national poll conducted last year by the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans said Iranian Americans were nearly divided on the 2024 presidential election. About 45% of Iranian Americans voted for Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, and 41% percent for Trump, the GOP nominee. 40,000 reasons to worry: U.S. troops in Middle East could face Iran blowback Until last weekend, Trump had pursued negotiations to end Iran's nuclear enrichment program but began warning of annihilation after Israel's June 13 attacks on the country's nuclear and military operations killed multiple military leaders and nuclear scientists. Siamdoust said she is "saddened for my people," believing America's involvement further complicates matters. "It does not appear to be the case of a one-and-done," Siamdoust said. "Trump said he would keep the U.S. out of these 'forever wars,' and the U.S. has just engulfed itself in yet another war in the Middle East that will cost Iranians dearly." Fear that Iranian Americans could become targets Persis Karim, an Iranian American and professor of comparative and world literature at San Francisco State University, said that as much as her family dislikes the regime, they've already lived through a war between Iran and Iraq in the 1980s that killed more than a million people combined. They don't want another one. 'They know what war looks like,' Karim said. 'It's messy, it's ugly, and it does not resolve a situation.' While Karim, 63, doesn't believe Iran is innocent, "I think the negotiating table is the only wise choice,' she said. However, she fears Iranians in the U.S. will be vilified "just like Latinos are vilified, just like Arabs were vilified and like we were vilified after 9/11." That concern is shared by Bolourchi, of the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans, which had worked with the U.S. Justice Department's civil rights division to help fight discrimination and hate crimes against Iranian Americans. She worries the Trump administration's elimination of that unit earlier this year may put the community at risk of increased targeting should the conflict escalate. 'Iranian Americans constitute the fabric of our American society,' she said, and risk 'getting caught up in a resurgence of post-9/11 Islamophobia and hate, even though Jews, Christians and Baha'is make up who we are.' A 'good omen' or 'more perilous than ever'? Despite the dire situation in Iran, Mahmoudi said, many Iranians remain cautiously hopeful about the potential for change. "It is heartwarming to see how unified Iranians (in Iran) are becoming, helping each other wherever they can," said Mahmoudi, founder and president of United for Iran, a non-governmental organization working to improve civil liberties in Iran. "Doctors are offering free medical support, strangers are opening their homes and assisting the elderly, and restaurant owners are providing free food. It's a good omen of what the future could bring." Siamdoust said she feels for those back home just struggling to live normal lives. 'The country has among the best-educated young people in the Middle East," she said. "They don't deserve the tightrope they have been put on and … the devastation that is yet to come. They've worked so hard to bring about changes to their political and social circumstances.' "#ww3"?: Gen Z, Iran and the mass panic happening on TikTok Jamal Abdi, president of the National Iranian American Council, urged restraint and expressed concern for people living in the region who will suffer the consequences should tensions reignite. 'Our hearts are with everyone in Iran who has been impacted by this horrific war already and could soon be put at risk by the consequences of this outrageous choice to broaden the war,' he said in a statement. '… The way ahead seems more perilous than ever.'
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
85% of Iranians are against the government: Nick Berg
(NewsNation) — Iranian-born author Nick Berg told NewsNation that Iran has publicly executed at least 1,700 people in 2025, adding that much of the country is against its current government. Berg, an Iranian-born author of 'Shadows of Tehran,' joined 'Elizabeth Vargas Reports' to discuss the current reality in Iran and why he believes a dayslong internet blackout has occurred. 'About 85 to 90% of the people, ordinary Iranians, are against the government,' Berg said. 'The Iranian regime lives by fear, and they have killed hundreds of thousands of people throughout these last 40 years in Iran. There are mass graves in Iran that nobody knows about from the people, from the people who were against them. Just this year, they carried out about 1,700 public executions.' Trump says DNI Tulsi Gabbard 'wrong' on Iran Berg has not spoken to his 85-year-old mother or any other family members in five days. He believes the blackout is an intentional move by the government to maintain control and prevent large-scale protests. 'One of the reasons they cut off the internet is exactly that, because people use the internet to organize things,' he added. Despite images of Iranians burning flags often making their way into the media, Berg believes some are paid actors and others are merely fanatics. 'Those are the religious fanatics who, every time something happens, come to the streets and start screaming and doing all of that. This is nothing new for Iran. It always happens,' he said. 'A lot of them come from villages, and the government sends buses to the villages; they gather these people up and pay them to come to these demonstrations.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Fox News
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
A History Of Conflict Between Israel And Iran
Last week, the conflict between Israel and Iran came to a head after Israel launched airstrikes attacking the Iranian regime. In a tactical move, they targeted nuclear and military facilities and their leadership. Since then, the two nations have exchanged airstrikes, escalating destruction in both countries. Fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C. and holding a PhD in Iranian Studies from the University of St Andrews, Nazee Moinian is an Iranian-born Jewish woman with family and connections on both sides of the conflict. She describes the historical relationship between Iran and Israel and the potential for an Iranian regime change that could alter the country's course. She shares her concern for the current situation and the difficult decision that President Trump is facing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
