Transcript [00:00] Well, the Israeli election is tomorrow [00:02] and of course everyone's expressing [00:03] their opinion. I see Poly Market still [00:05] has Gotti Eisenkot winning. Although in [00:07] Israel it doesn't look quite like that. [00:10] I'm not, you know, I I've already [00:11] expressed my opinion in a number of [00:13] places about what I think is going to [00:15] happen. And I think if you watch this [00:17] channel, you kind of know my politics [00:18] and you know which way I'm going to be [00:20] voting. But what I want to do in this [00:22] video is talk about the Iranian people [00:24] and what they think of this election. Uh [00:27] we're going to deal with that uh at the [00:28] beginning of the video and then we're [00:29] going to get into some other domestic [00:31] issues in Iran. Talk about what the [00:33] state of affairs is on the ground with [00:36] the Iranian people. It's a topic that I [00:38] like to cover on a regular basis. So [00:40] let's hit the headlines. Start with the [00:42] election. Iranians pin hopes for change [00:45] on Netanyahu's election win. That's [00:48] right. Prime Minister Netanyahu is very [00:50] popular person among the Iranian people. [00:52] That's the theme of this piece. Iranians [00:54] are looking to Israel's election as a [00:56] potential turning point in their [00:58] country's future with supporters of [01:00] Benjamin Netanyahu hoping his victory [01:03] will bring renewed pressure on the [01:05] Islamic Republic. Quote, "I wish we the [01:08] people of Iran could vote too," one [01:10] Persian speaking Instagram user wrote [01:12] beneath a post about Netanyahu. Quote, [01:15] I've pledged a thousand salawat and 12 [01:17] candles for BB to win. another wrote, [01:20] referring to the Israeli leader by his [01:22] widely used nickname and to a religious [01:24] practice involving blessings. Uh these [01:28] comments are among the hundreds of [01:29] Persian language reactions to Netanyahu [01:32] and Israel's October 27th election, [01:34] reflecting hopes that the vote could [01:36] help advance efforts against the Islamic [01:38] Republic. Then it talks about his BB's [01:41] history, his personal political history. [01:44] Then then we read this. Netanyahu has [01:46] repeatedly addressed Iranians directly [01:48] through video messages and Persian [01:50] language social media posts, urging them [01:53] to seek political change and an end to [01:55] Islamic Republic rule. During Iran's [01:58] water crisis in August 2025, Nathaniel [02:01] promoted Israeli water technology and [02:03] promised to send Israeli experts to help [02:06] tackle the country's water shortages [02:08] following a change of government. That [02:11] outreach has continued during the final [02:13] days of his election campaign. Quote, [02:16] "The people of Iran deserve to live in [02:17] freedom, security, and dignity," [02:19] Netanyahu wrote in a Persian language [02:21] Instagram post on Thursday on Thursday, [02:24] October 22nd, 5 days before Israel's [02:26] election. His messages have resonated [02:29] with opponents of the Islamic Republic [02:31] who hope Israeli pressure will [02:33] contribute to political change in Iran. [02:36] Nathano's familiar nickname, BBE, has [02:38] taken on new forms among Persian [02:40] speaking admirers. They call him BBun, [02:43] adding a Persian term of affection or [02:45] BBol, a reference to a popular song by [02:48] Iranian singer Moen. More than half of [02:52] respondents inside Iran, 50.6% 6% held [02:56] favorable views of Netanyahu compared [02:58] with 38.1% who viewed him unfavorably. [03:01] According to a survey conducted from [03:03] June 20th to 27th by the [03:06] Netherlands-based research group GMAN, [03:09] the online survey involved more than [03:11] 31,000 participants and used statistical [03:14] waiting to produce its findings. [03:18] Uh so yeah, we see the you know it's no [03:20] surprise that that Netanyahu is very [03:22] popular in Iran and as they said he's he [03:24] puts out messages to the Iranian people. [03:26] It wasn't just the water message last [03:27] year. He's been doing this for years [03:29] putting out messages with Persian [03:31] subtitles for the Iranian people [03:33] encouraging them encouraging them to [03:34] rise up against the regime giving them [03:37] hope for the future. Let's just hope [03:38] that um that that hope is realized. [03:42] Meanwhile, in Iran, flower shortages [03:45] forced bakeries to close across Iran. [03:47] This is from today. Flower shortages [03:49] have forced bakeries to close in several [03:51] Iranian cities and pushed up bread [03:53] prices with residents and bakers [03:55] reporting disrupted supplies, falling [03:58] purchasing power, and growing [04:00] uncertainty over their businesses. [04:02] Previous reports have also documented [04:04] flower shortages and bakery closures [04:06] with residents describing bread [04:08] shortages and interruptions to [04:10] production caused by electricity [04:12] outages. Independent bakers have [04:14] reported that difficulties obtaining [04:15] flour have forced businesses to suspend [04:18] operations. Flour prices have riven has [04:21] have risen and suppliers are now saying [04:24] there is no flour available at all. Our [04:27] b quote our bakery is closed because we [04:29] have no flour and nobody is taking [04:31] responsibility in independent baker told [04:33] Iran international. [04:35] Now [04:36] Iran's flower distribution system [04:38] distinguishes between subsidized [04:40] bakeries and independent bakeries which [04:42] face different purchasing prices and [04:44] supply arrangements. Flour allocations [04:48] to certain independent bakeries had been [04:50] reduced. Bagger Kodadi, head of [04:53] supervision and inspection at the [04:55] Corusan Razabi Provincial Agriculture [04:57] Department, confirmed that on October [04:59] 21st. He said the shortages in flour [05:01] distribution had been addressed. Two [05:04] bakeries supplying bread to a [05:05] supermarket in Kman said they no longer [05:07] had enough flour to continue production. [05:11] Bread prices in Thran province had risen [05:13] by as much as 100% for certain varieties [05:16] by June 23rd. So yeah, that's that's a [05:19] big problem. And if you look back at uh [05:23] at societal unrest, at revolutions [05:26] uh in in the past, this is usually where [05:30] the breaking point is is like the point [05:33] of no return. When people stop having [05:35] access to food and to bread, the [05:37] desperation uh can often lead them right [05:40] back out into the streets. So this is [05:42] this is this is a real escalation. This [05:44] isn't just a human interest story. This [05:46] is a real escalation. If we're now [05:48] seeing reports of bread shortages, flour [05:50] shortages, bakeries closing, that is [05:53] it's it's the next stage of things, [05:55] let's put it that way. Uh, and [05:57] meanwhile, we also have this rapid price [05:59] hikes push basic food products beyond [06:01] reach of Iranian working class. So, it's [06:03] not just about lack of availability, [06:04] it's also about the prices of things. [06:07] Heightening the sharp increase in in Oh, [06:09] here we go. Uh, yeah. Heightening the [06:12] sharp increase in food prices. The labor [06:14] activist said that the cost of living of [06:15] a living basket for working-class [06:17] households stood at 91 million tomans [06:20] prior to October and now it had reached [06:23] 100 million Tommans. That's just in a [06:25] month. He claimed that that within the [06:27] last month the cost of the food basket [06:31] for workingclass households had risen by [06:33] at least 12% in one month. [06:36] Wow. adding that calculating monthly [06:39] living expenses no longer makes sense [06:41] because the prices of essential goods [06:43] change daily. [06:47] Wow. [06:51] According to the report, the minimum [06:52] daily wage for workers is 554,000 [06:55] tomans, an amount sufficient to buy only [06:58] about 1 and a half kilos of chicken. [07:01] I mean, folks, that is that is just not [07:03] sustainable. [07:05] Um, [07:07] Iranians vent anger over rising costs of [07:10] slow restricted internet. So, it's not [07:11] just about food, other aspects of life [07:13] that are important. This is not just [07:15] like leisure. It's for businesses. It's [07:16] for mental health. Iranians say they're [07:19] paying more for slow, unreliable, and [07:21] heavily restricted internet after mobile [07:23] operators raised data prices up to 40 by [07:26] up to 40% with some reporting that their [07:29] allowances run out unusually quickly. [07:32] One reader said that a a weekly 4 [07:34] gigabyte package had risen from 330,000 [07:37] realals to 450,000 realals. Another said [07:40] that a monthly 6 GBTE package that cost [07:43] 530,000 realals. Now 3 days 3 days [07:46] earlier went up to 740,000 real. So in 3 [07:49] days it rises from 530,000 to 740,000. [07:52] Now these these amounts of realals are [07:55] not that much money like in American [07:56] dollars. of 740,000 realals is only 28 [07:59] cents. But the pressure comes as Iran's [08:02] official minimum wage stands at about [08:05] 166.3 [08:06] million real per month equivalently [08:09] equivalent to roughly $62 [08:12] at unofficial market exchange rate. So, [08:16] $62 [08:18] per month. [08:20] Per month, [08:24] folks. [08:26] That's less than [08:29] that's less than $1,000 a year. [08:33] I mean, [08:34] this is what people are trying to live [08:36] on, and now the internet is is shutting [08:39] out on them. [08:42] Before we go on, make sure that you uh [08:44] that you check out the ProI Israel [08:46] handbook. There's a link in the [08:47] description of this video. Click on that [08:49] and uh and you want this book. It's a [08:51] really it's an easy it's an easy [08:54] handbook. It's an easy read written by [08:56] Matan Pelleg. Winning facts against pro [08:58] Palestinian progressives. This book [09:01] gives you the key arguments against all [09:05] of the uh uh the most common lies and [09:09] accusations about Israel. This gives you [09:11] all of this. This will equip you to win [09:14] those arguments to fight those battles. [09:16] You'll have the the basic history, the [09:18] basic facts, the basic responses at your [09:21] fingertips. So, click the link in the [09:23] description of this video and put in [09:25] promo code handbook 15 to get a 15% [09:28] discount. Okay, last one we're going to [09:31] look at here. Iran indictes comedian [09:33] over alleged support for Israel and the [09:35] Palavi dynasty. This is from uh [09:38] yesterday. [09:40] So this is Sahed Shakiba. [09:43] Iran's judiciary has indicted comedian [09:45] Sahed Shakiba on charges including [09:47] supporting Israel and the Palabi [09:49] dynasty, state media reported on Sunday, [09:52] days after authorities opened a case [09:54] against him over a video impersonating [09:57] former Supreme Leader Ali Kamayi. [09:59] According to Misan, [10:02] the charges include [10:05] Misan is a news agency. The charges [10:07] include knowingly expressing support for [10:09] Israel on social media. And that's [10:12] that's a that's one of the charges. [10:14] That's one of the uh crimes, insult and [10:17] engaging in propaganda against the [10:19] Islamic Republic through negative [10:21] portrayals of the country and support [10:23] for the Palvi dynasty, which ruled Iran [10:25] until the 1979 Islamic Revolution. [10:28] Shakiba came under scrutiny after [10:30] publishing a satirical video on October [10:33] 13th in which he imitated Kamanayi's [10:35] voice parodying his meetings with poets. [10:39] On October 14th, the next day, Misan [10:42] announced that Tehron prosecutors had [10:44] opened a can had opened a case against a [10:47] social media personality identified only [10:49] by the initials SH [10:53] and accusing him of publishing and [10:55] insulting and offensive content. So [10:56] that's this uh that's this guy say [10:58] Shakiba [11:00] Shakiba is known for posting comedy [11:02] videos and voice impressions of [11:04] prominent figures on Instagram where he [11:06] had around 1 million followers. [11:08] Following the announcement of legal [11:09] proceedings, posts on his in Instagram [11:11] account were removed. A notice bearing [11:13] the emblem of Iran's police said the [11:16] account had been restricted by judicial [11:18] order over what authorities called [11:19] criminal content. The IRGC affiliated [11:22] FAR's news agency also criticized the [11:24] video accusing Shakiba of insulting [11:26] Kamayi and his family. Shakiba had [11:29] previously published satirical [11:30] impressions of other Islamic Republic [11:32] officials and expressed support for [11:34] protesters killed during the January [11:36] uprising. That's obviously what this is [11:38] really about. And it's not just him. [11:40] These are other Iranian comedians. [11:43] Shakir Bori, a comedian and social media [11:45] personality from the southwestern city [11:47] of Abadan, was sentenced to 13 months 20 [11:50] days in prison for disseminating false [11:53] information with the intent to harm [11:54] others. And here's another comedian. [11:57] Zayab Zanab Musavi, known for her online [12:01] character, Empress Kusko, was sentenced [12:03] to six months in prison in November 2025 [12:06] over a satirical video about Ferdosi, a [12:10] celebrated Persian poet. She had been [12:12] pre she but she had been arrested in [12:14] 2022 [12:16] in the central city of K during the [12:18] nationwide protest sparked by the death [12:20] of Masa Amini in moral in morality [12:23] police custody. That was the young woman [12:25] who was arrested for not wearing her [12:27] hijab properly and died in police [12:29] custody and that sparked mass widespread [12:31] protests across Iran. Um the women life [12:35] freedom protests. So she had been [12:37] arrested back then and she recently uh [12:39] was also arrested again. And then here's [12:41] another one. In another case, sat [12:43] satirical writer Clumar Marsban was [12:46] arrested at his home. Um, [12:50] and this this goes back a number of [12:51] years. They're just giving other [12:52] examples of comedians who were arrested. [12:57] Um, but uh this is what happened. Yeah. [12:59] But uh this is this is a brand new story [13:01] about this guy Sahed Shakiba who was [13:03] arrested for expressing support for [13:05] Israel and for the Palabi dynasty and [13:08] for making fun of the Ayatollah. Uh so [13:12] let's pray for him. Let's pray for his [13:14] release. And uh yeah, so that's the [13:17] situation. This this is a short one. [13:18] This video I just wanted to give a [13:20] little bit of an update what's going on [13:21] in Iran and we see where the the Iranian [13:24] people are suffering. Let's let's keep [13:25] it uh very straightforward. the Iranian [13:27] people are suffering. Uh they they they [13:30] still don't have what they need to come [13:31] out into the streets. But when we see [13:34] the price of of uh you know the cost of [13:36] living rising uh the way it is and there [13:39] and now we see that there's a lack of [13:41] bread, a lack of flour, folks, that is [13:44] an escalation and uh that is there's [13:46] only so long a situation like that can [13:48] go on. So let's hope and pray for the [13:51] best. God bless.
