'Shame on the UN for inviting Iran murderers', UN Watch chief says

Seventeen-year-old Sam Afshari had been taken to Madani Hospital in Karaj, near Tehran, after being shot on January 8 during protests near Mehran Square in the city’s Azimieh district. Witnesses later told his family that doctors were attempting to save him and that he was still conscious when asked his name.

“He had the breathing tube in his mouth. They came and shot him. A final bullet,” his father, Parviz Afshari, told Iran International’s English podcast Eye for Iran.

That day, protests spread across Iran as demonstrators took to the streets demanding an end to the Islamic Republic. Sam was among them.

“They went for a free Iran,” Parviz said. “They went out to protest with bare hands. But they returned to their families with bullets in the back of the head and bullets in the back.”

Sam was his only child—an unimaginable loss, his father said, that many Iranian families are now struggling to understand and explain.

Sam was born in 2008 in Karaj and had turned 17 just weeks before his death. He was studying computer networks and hoped to continue his education abroad.

“This year he was supposed to come here so we could sort out his papers,” his father said, speaking from Germany. “He wanted to continue his studies, go to university and study computer engineering.”

His father described him as cheerful and ambitious.

“He joked a lot. We laughed so much,” Afshari said. “We were always in video contact, talking about the future.”

“I don’t think he went out because of poverty,” he added. “He went out because of his beliefs. He wanted democracy and the right to speak his mind.”

According to accounts later gathered by the family, Sam was shot from behind near a security police post at Mehran Square. Residents in a nearby apartment building attempted to pull the wounded teenager into their parking area to protect him.

Security forces arrived shortly afterward and took him away, his father said.

“They took my child with them.”

A hospital employee later informed the family that Sam had been transported to Madani Hospital along with other injured protesters. Witnesses told relatives that when medical staff asked his name, he answered “Sam,” indicating he was still conscious.

Hours later, he was dead.

"At the hospital they finished him off with a shot to the back of the head. The bullet came out through his cheek," Parviz said.

Because internet access had been cut during the unrest, Afshari said he did not learn what had happened until days later, when communication was briefly restored. Family members searched hospitals and morgues before his brother located the name “Sam Afshari” on a list of the dead at Beheshte Sakineh morgue in Karaj.

When Sam’s mother was brought to identify the body, she initially could not recognize him because of severe injuries.

“One side of my child’s face was destroyed,” Afshari said. “The back of his head too.”

She confirmed his identity only after asking officials to uncover a tattoo on his chest bearing the word “Mother” written in Latin script.

“When they saw the tattoo, they realized, yes, tragically — it was Sam.”

According to the family, authorities initially ordered that Sam be buried quietly at night in a remote area. After negotiations and payments, relatives secured permission to bury him closer to Karaj, but cemetery space was scarce.

“There were so many graves,” his father said. “They said there was simply no space.”

At Kalak-e Bala cemetery in Karaj, Sam was buried above another young protester because burial plots were already filled.

“Under his grave there is another martyr, Amir Bayati, and above is my son, Sam Afshari,” Afshari said.

Relatives described morgue halls crowded with bodies and refrigerated trucks waiting outside — scenes they said reflected the scale of deaths families were confronting in the days after the crackdown.

'He wanted a free Iran'

As the interview continued, Afshari’s grief gave way to anger and appeals for accountability.

“This is no longer the time for my tears. Now I feel rage,” he said. “If nothing happens, the blood of our children will be trampled. Our people—90 million human beings—are now hostages. Hostages of the Islamic Republic.”

He urged the international community not to remain silent. “The terrorist Islamic Republic must be brought to an end,” he said.

Throughout the interview, he returned repeatedly to the future his son never had.

“He had so many dreams, and I had so many dreams for him,” he said. “We buried this child with thousands of dreams.”

For Afshari, the story ends where it began—with a teenager who left home hoping for a different future. “He went for a free Iran,” his father said. “And we buried him instead.”

Middle East analyst Dr. Eric Mandel said the contrasting public tones adopted by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should not necessarily be read as disagreement.

“This could be a giant ruse — Netanyahu and Trump playing bad cop, good cop,” Mandel said, arguing that diplomacy may be designed to demonstrate that all political options were exhausted before stronger measures are considered.

Former US ambassador John Craig echoed that assessment.

“The pressure is deliberate,” Craig said, adding that talks could represent “a prequel… to military action,” as Washington increases its force posture in the region.

Military buildup alongside diplomacy

That military posture has become increasingly visible. President Donald Trump has said he is considering sending a second US aircraft carrier to the Middle East as tensions with Tehran escalate, describing an expanding naval deployment intended to reinforce American leverage.

“We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going,” Trump said in an interview with Axios, signaling that additional forces could be deployed if diplomacy fails.

The United States has already positioned the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, accompanied by destroyers armed with long-range Tomahawk missiles, within the US Central Command area covering the Middle East.

The Pentagon has also moved additional fighter jets, air defense systems and other military assets into the region.

Defense planners are weighing further options should Trump authorize a broader buildup, including the possible deployment of additional carrier groups.

The military movements come as Washington pursues indirect talks with Iranian officials over Tehran’s nuclear program — the first such discussions since US strikes targeted three major Iranian nuclear facilities last June was held in Oman last week. A second meeting is set to continue this week in Geneva.

At the same time, the Trump administration has warned US commercial vessels to avoid parts of the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman.

Netanyahu struck a notably cautious tone following his meeting with Trump in Washington, the seventh between the two leaders since the US president returned to office.

Speaking before departing the United States, the Israeli prime minister said Trump believes Iran could still be pushed into accepting what he called “a good deal,” but made clear he remains doubtful.

“I do not hide my general skepticism about the possibility of reaching any agreement with Iran,” Netanyahu said, stressing that any deal must address ballistic missiles and Tehran’s regional proxy network in addition to its nuclear program.

Trump, meanwhile, warned that failure to reach an agreement would be “very traumatic for Iran,” while urging Tehran to move quickly toward accepting US conditions.

Pressure grows as unrest inside Iran deepens

The diplomacy is unfolding against the backdrop of one of the deadliest crackdowns in the Islamic Republic’s history. Iranian security forces opened fire on nationwide protests on January 8-9 with at least 36 thousand killed in a matter of days as demonstrations spread across multiple cities.

Voices connected to people inside Iran, shared on Eye for Iran, suggest that the internal crisis is shaping how many Iranians now view international negotiations.

Mina, an Iranian speaking on the program whose friends were killed or imprisoned during the protests, described a level of desperation.

“There are people in Iran who watch the air traffic every night to see if there are fewer airplanes in the sky,” she said. “Maybe tonight intervention will come.”

Her account reflects a growing sentiment among some protesters who, after years of failed reform movements and escalating repression, say they no longer believe internal change alone is possible.

Many, she said, now see outside pressure — including potential military action — as the only remaining path to ending the rule of the Islamic Republic.

Analysts say that reality adds urgency to the current diplomatic moment. Washington emphasizes negotiations, while Israel highlights the risks of delay, creating what Mandel described as a coordinated messaging strategy rather than a clear policy divide.

“The president wants to show he has gone to the nth degree diplomatically,” Mandel said.

“But that doesn’t mean other options disappear.”

Craig argued the visible military buildup is intended to shape Iranian calculations during talks, warning Tehran may attempt to prolong negotiations to buy time — a pattern seen in previous nuclear negotiations.

Netanyahu’s skepticism mirrors longstanding Israeli concerns that agreements focused narrowly on nuclear restrictions fail to address broader threats posed by Iran’s missile program and proxy forces operating across the region.

The Israeli leader also announced he would not return to Washington next week for a planned Board of Peace gathering and will instead address the AIPAC conference virtually, a move that has fueled speculation about the urgency surrounding current Iran discussions.

“If you told me tonight something dramatic happened,” Mandel said, “I wouldn’t be surprised.”

The effort to compile a database of detained healthcare workers is led by the AIDA Health Alliance (AHA), named after Aida Rostami, a 36-year-old Tehran physician who treated protesters in secret during the 2022 protests, went missing after a hospital shift, and was later found dead bearing signs of torture.

Doctors involved with AHA say they have so far identified at least 40 detained healthcare workers across multiple provinces, including doctors, nurses, medical students, technicians and volunteer first responders. They say the figure is likely incomplete.

“Hospitals are no longer safe places,” said Homa Fathi, one of the doctors involved in documenting the cases. “If a doctor treats a protester, questions security forces or refuses to discharge a patient prematurely, that doctor becomes a target.”

Doctors working on the documentation say the crackdown has pushed medical care underground, forcing physicians to choose between their professional oath and their personal safety.

Some have established makeshift home clinics to treat gunshot and pellet wounds. Others report being followed, threatened or warned to stop providing care altogether.

The Norway-based rights group Hengaw reported this week that an Iranian surgeon, Alireza Golchini, had been charged with moharebeh, or waging war against God—a charge that carries the death penalty.

Golchini was later released on bail following international pressure, including a statement by the U.S. State Departmentcalling for his release alongside what it described as “all the brave doctors who have helped their fellow countrymen.”

Doctors following his case say it has not been closed and is not an outlier, but part of a broader effort to dismantle medical networks that support protesters.

Fathi described a hospital in southwest Iran where an elderly woman suffering from hundreds of pellet wounds to her face, back and legs was forced out of care to free beds for members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

In other cases, she said, security forces fired tear gas inside emergency departments to clear wards, while doctors who confronted plainclothes agents photographing injured patients were later arrested.

She also cited an incident in which a medical intern was shot inside a hospital after protesting the presence of security forces. In one of the most disturbing accounts, she described unconscious patients being placed among the dead.

Another physician, Panteha Rezaeian, described cases in which doctors were followed to prevent home treatment, homes were raided, and physicians were warned to stop speaking publicly or face detention.

“We are seeing people attempt to remove bullets themselves or treat serious injuries at home,” Rezaeian said. “Some of them die days later, not because their injuries were unsurvivable, but because they were too afraid to seek help.”

Rezaeian warned that the denial of medical care had become “a secondary killing mechanism,” as injured demonstrators avoid hospitals out of fear of arrest or execution, risking death from untreated wounds, infections and internal injuries.

Doctors involved in the documentation effort say the pattern has intensified since January, with arrests accelerating after the latest wave of nationwide protests.

They warn that the systematic targeting of healthcare workers is intended not only to punish doctors, but to deter the injured from seeking care at all.

“This is not just about arresting doctors,” Rezaeian said. “It is about making people afraid to survive.”

You can watch the full interview of Eye for Iran on YouTube or listen on any podcast platform of your choosing.

“I think it’s only a matter of time before the US will conduct strikes against the Islamic Republic,” Lt Col Jonathan Conricus said in an interview with Iran International's English podcast Eye for Iran.

President Donald Trump said this week that the United States was prepared to act with “speed and violence, if necessary,” while Iranian officials have threatened immediate retaliation.

Trump also suggested Friday that Tehran may ultimately seek negotiations rather than face American military action.

“I can say this, they do want to make a deal,” confirming that he had given Iran a deadline to enter talks without specifying what it was. “We have a large armada, flotilla, call it whatever you want, heading toward Iran right now,” he added.

'Almost everything is in place'

Conricus, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), argued that the military tools required for meaningful action are already positioned.

“I think most of those capabilities and assets are in place and are ready to be deployed,” he said, adding: “Judging by the way things look now, almost everything is in place.”

He said the remaining question is timing—“the tactical operational opportunity” and political considerations around when to strike.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also told lawmakers this week that the Islamic Republic is “probably weaker than it’s ever been."

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday that Tehran was ready for talks only “on an equal footing,” but stressed that Iran’s missile and defence capabilities would “never be subject to negotiation.”

What would strikes target?

Conricus told Iran International any US strikes would likely prioritize crippling the regime’s internal control and ability to sustain repression.

He suggested an initial focus on “command and control” and the Islamic Republic's capacity “to exercise power domestically,” including “specifically targeting IRGC and Basij, but not limited to that.”

He also flagged cyber and communications disruption, saying he would “assume cyber and communications warfare against the networks and the communications infrastructure of the regime.”

In addition, he said missile infrastructure would be central—“related to Iran’s ballistic missiles,” including launch sites, silos and supply chains.

Nuclear-related facilities could also be targeted if the conflict escalates, particularly amid renewed American demands that Iran halt uranium enrichment and curb its missile program.

Israel watching, bracing and waiting

The Trump administration is also hosting senior Israeli and Saudi defense and intelligence officials in Washington this week amid discussions of possible strike scenarios and regional fallout.

From an Israeli perspective, Conricus described a mood focused less on whether action will happen, and more on when—and what retaliation might follow.

“People are waiting for when will it happen? What will the consequences be for Israel?” he said, adding that Israeli forces remain at “elevated readiness.”

He argued that a weakened Islamic Republic would also undercut Tehran’s regional proxy network, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.

“Getting rid of this horrible, terror-supporting, destabilizing regime would be very beneficial,” Conricus said.

You can watch the full episode on Eye for Iran on YouTube or listen on any podcast platform of your choosing.

The non-profit Jewish Institute for National Security of America, founded in 1976, advocates for a strong US military relationship with Israel and researches conflict in the Middle East.

JINSA president and CEO Michael Makovsky and the group’s vice president for policy Blaise Misztal told Iran International’s English-language podcast Eye for Iran that decades of containment, deterrence and nuclear diplomacy have failed because the Islamic Republic itself should be destroyed.

“It should be US policy to seek the collapse of this regime,” Makovsky said.

They said hesitation now — after mass killings of protesters across Iran — risks emboldening Tehran at the theocracy's weakest moment.

“We don’t say regime change,” Makovsky said. “The regime will fall … only when the Iranian people bring it down. But it should be US policy … to seek the collapse of this regime.”

The last months, Misztal said, have created a rare strategic opening: Iran’s nuclear clock has been set back, its regional proxies weakened and Iranians themselves have returned to the streets demanding freedom.

“This is a moment like no other,” he said. “I don’t know when the stars will align like this again… why not make it now? When is a better time than now?”

The duo urged the Trump administration to abandon negotiations, intensify pressure on the Revolutionary Guards and build the infrastructure needed to help Iranians defeat the Islamic Republic.

Misztal said previous administrations focused on Iran’s nuclear program, terrorism sponsorship and ballistic missile development as separate threats without tying them back to what he called the ideological nature of the theocracy.

“Yes, it’s a problem that Iran is the world’s greatest state sponsor of terrorism. Yes, it is a problem that it’s pursuing nuclear weapons,” he said. “But all of that stems from it being the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Trump’s Promises and a Moment of Decision

Their warnings come as President Donald Trump faces rising scrutiny over his own rhetoric. Earlier this month, Trump vowed support for protesters and issued a direct warning to Tehran.

“I tell the Iranian leaders: You better not start shooting, because we’ll start shooting, too,” he said.

But Makovsky warned that after mass killings and widespread arrests, the absence of immediate consequences risks damaging US credibility.

“The Iranians have called his bluff for now,” he said. “If he doesn’t do it, it will go down as a tragic mistake.”

In recent days, Trump has said a US "armada" is heading toward the Middle East, with the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers expected to arrive in the region soon as Washington signals it is positioning military assets amid escalating uncertainty.

The growing tensions are now rippling far beyond Iran itself.

Major European airlines have begun suspending flights across parts of the Middle East, citing security concerns. Air France has canceled flights to Tel Aviv and Dubai, British Airways has halted evening service to Dubai and KLM has suspended routes to Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Industry officials say cancellations are expected to increase gradually as carriers reassess airspace restrictions and passenger safety in a rapidly deteriorating regional environment.

A Cold War–Style Pressure Campaign

Misztal framed the strategy as a modern version of what the United States pursued against Soviet communism: strengthening civil resistance while weakening the ruling system from within.

“The strategy of regime collapse has been precisely what the United States pursued throughout the Cold War,” he said.

He argued that Washington should encourage defections, isolate elites in authority, cut off funding streams and expand opposition communications.

“One of the things we recommended is a quarantine of Iran’s oil exports,” Misztal said, “so that it doesn’t keep getting the money to rebuild its forces to pay the Basij or the IRGC.”

Both analysts warned that Iran’s leadership is entering what they described as its most dangerous phase, amid mass violence at home and the potential for war abraod.

“A showdown of some kind” is coming, Misztal said, and “the next showdown will be the last one."