P.Karami

The people of Iran are under a total communication blackout imposed by the ruling regime. When a government cuts off communication in the middle of war, it is clear it is not protecting its citizens. #iran #InternetBlackoutIran

⚠️ Update: #Iran is entering Nowruz, the Persian New Year, in digital darkness, as the internet blackout continues into day 21 after 480 hours. With international connectivity cut and domestic service limited, many families are unable to contact loved ones when it's most needed.

An Iranian today wants to stand outside three suffocating fences: the "Third World," the "Middle East"—not as a geography, but as the backward cultural stereotype people like @vali_Nasr instantly evoke—and the "Ummah" club. We have every right to reject these imposed caricatures and demand to be a disciplined, developed NATION. Yet, the moment we do, Nasr and his ilk reflexively label it "wanting to be white." The reality is that Nasr and parts of the Western Left crave an Iran that is Arabized and "Pakistanized"—a chaotic landscape of dishdashas and sandals that fits their aesthetic of "authentic" misery. They cannot tolerate an orderly, nationally disciplined Iran because they associate the rule of law exclusively with the West. Their problem isn't skin tone; it is a fundamental aversion to any reality where Ahura Mazda (Light) triumphs over Ahriman (Darkness). They preach the virtues of "tradition" for us while safely enjoying the protections of Western legal systems for themselves. Nasr’s claim that Iranian support for Israel is a quest for "whiteness" is a total non-sequitur. It ignores that Jews were historically the primary victims of white supremacy, and it conveniently overlooks that the actual "white" academic elite in Harvard and Europe are the loudest voices for Gaza. There is zero causal link; there is only Nasr's hollow, racialized preconception. Iran is an ancient nation that refuses to be a prop in your performative lectures. Vali Nasr is a performative liar, less concerned with the truth than with his own diminishing role in misleading academia. We aren't begging for whiteness; we are demanding the dignity to define ourselves beyond your outdated orientalist tropes.

@elonmusk Dear Elon, In these critical days, the people of Iran need internet access. Please help them stay connected as they struggle to reclaim their country from the rule of the mullahs. Stand with the Iranian people. Iran will not forget its friends.