Nima Nematollahi ✌🏽

Yoda: “Heeded my words not, did you? Pass on what you have learned. Strength. Mastery. But weakness, folly, failure also. Yes, failure most of all. The greatest teacher, failure is. Luke, we are what they grow beyond. That is the true burden of all masters.”

I echo UN Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Türk's statement on Iran and join him in calling on the Iranian authorities to halt executions, release those arbitrarily detained, and restore internet access immediately. ohchr.org/en/press-relea… The use of national security charges to silence dissent, coerced confessions as the basis for executions, and the targeting of ethnic and religious minorities are patterns I have documented throughout my mandate — and they are continuing despite the ceasefire, as fragile as it is. At least 21 executions have been announced by the State since the conflict began, but the ongoing shutdown gives me serious concern that further executions may be taking place without our knowledge. I am concerned for Narges Mohammadi, whose health is reportedly deteriorating in detention, and for Nasrin Sotoudeh, whose whereabouts remain unknown. Authorities have also reportedly seized the assets of hundreds of citizens — including 400 Iranians living abroad — labelling them 'traitors to the homeland’.The 61-day internet shutdown, the longest ever recorded, has caused severe economic losses, disrupted education and healthcare, and left people unable to access safety information during active hostilities — allowing the State to monopolise the narrative and making it impossible to grasp the full human rights situation inside the country.

An #ncga Senate committee voted today to ban kids under age 14 from using social media. The bill would also require social media users who are age 14 or 15 to get a parent's consent to create an account. wunc.org/politics/2026-… #ncpol

Join me on May 7 at @FMBCCharlotte for #MeckMIN’s annual Community Leader Awards Breakfast. We take this moment to honor individuals in Mecklenburg Co. who are helping build a more just, compassionate & unified community. 🔗 meckmin.org/event-details/… #interfaith #UnityInDiversity

A must-read by @BahaiUS: “A Common Endeavor: Realizing the Promise of America”—a public letter to all who care about the future of the United States. It offers a vision rooted in unity, justice & our shared responsibility to build a more cohesive society. acommonendeavor.org

@RepSarahElfreth @janschakowsky Thank you, congresswoman. 🙏🏽

Since 1979, the Baha’i community in Iran has faced persistent persecution for their religious beliefs – with the Iranian government preventing them from holding government positions or even attending university. I’ve joined @janschakowsky’s resolution condemning Iran’s state-sponsored persecution of the Baha’i minority and continued violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Everyone deserves the right to practice their religion with dignity, safety, and tolerance regardless of where they live.

“Say: no man can attain his true station except through his justice. No power can exist except through unity. No welfare and no well-being can be attained except through consultation.” — Bahá’u’lláh, from a Tablet, translated from the Arabic #Bahai

Congratulations to Dr. @NazilaGhanea, @UN_SPExperts on freedom of religion or belief, on this important volume. A timely contribution bringing legal, ethical & faith perspectives into constructive dialogue on religion, rights & human dignity. upeace.org/wp-content/upl… #FoRB

Together with UN human rights experts, I call on Iranian authorities to disclose the fate and whereabouts of those detained, disappeared or killed following the nationwide protests—and to halt all executions linked to the demonstrations. The vast majority of those detained or killed are ordinary people, including children, from all provinces and diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, as well as Afghan nationals. They include lawyers who sought to represent protesters, medical professionals who treated the wounded, journalists, writers, artists and human rights defenders. In recent weeks, Bahai's have also reportedly faced increased incitement and detention. The discrepancy between official figures and grassroots estimates only deepens the anguish of families searching for their loved ones. In the absence of transparency, a devastating narrative starts to take shape—with unverified reports of burial sites and secret executions emerging, and weeks of internet restrictions continuing to obstruct any independent verification of what is happening on the ground. When a state refuses to account for the whereabouts of its people, others will fill that void — and the picture that emerges will define this period in Iran's history. ohchr.org/en/press-relea…

Grateful to @queencitynerve for publishing this #MeckMIN op-ed. Growing up in Charlotte, I’ve seen the power of connection across faiths. An important reminder during Interfaith Harmony Month: building bridges starts close to home. qcnerve.com/mecklenburg-in… #Interfaith #cltpol

#GDTBATH 🐏

@avidseries a post-partisan, spiritual-rationalist 🤷🏻‍♂️

@Tyre_94 This starting 5 is special.

The Hornets are good

“The people of Iran are living through a nightmare. This is the worst mass murder in Iran’s contemporary history. Our beautiful country has become a cemetery in which the hopes of our youth are buried.” Watch these powerful and urgent remarks — and a devastating story shared by Dr. Payam Akhavan, former UN legal advisor on war crimes tribunals, former Special Advisor on Genocide to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, and one of the world’s leading international human rights lawyers — speaking at the @UN_HRC. His words are a searing indictment of the violence facing Iranians today — and a warning the world cannot afford to ignore. #IranMassacre

Mr. Payam Akhavan, civil society representative, took the floor at the @UN Human Rights Council during the special session on the deteriorating human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of #Iran. His statement to #SS39 ➡️youtube.com/watch?v=TpeFLm…

خامنه‌ای درس تروریسم علیه ملت ایران را در مکتب نواب صفوی قاتل آموخت. با تروریسم سینما رکس به قدرت رسیدند. با قتلهای زنجیره‌ای و در کشتار جمعی ۱۳۶۸ تروریسم‌اسلامی را به مرتبه دیگری از خونخواری رساندند.کشتار اخیر حتی در این کارنامه ننگین شرم اور ترین نمونه این توحش و تروریسم است.

Day 23 of Iran protests: HRANA reports 4,029 confirmed deaths, 9,049 cases under review, 5,811 severely injured, and 26,015 arrests across 188 cities. Internet shutdown, media pressure, and security clampdown persist. See details in HRANA’s report: ow.ly/Y1XP50XZSK0

@ryangrim @mehdirhasan @VanLathan this discourse is related to a question you asked Prof. Banai. It’s important that Ryan is calling this behavior out, IMHO.

I see that a lot of people got angry this weekend over the interview I did with a woman who recounted her experiences in the protests in Iran. I knew people would disagree with her perspective on some of the questions (she was pro-regime change) and agree on others (she was against bombing) but I was surprised to see people get mad not just at her but also at Drop Site for “platforming” her views. A significant number of people even started saying we were a “Mossad op” doing Zionist propaganda. I don’t even know where to start with that. During the interview, I played footage of armed agitators firing at security services and/or into crowds. Why would a Mossad outlet do that? Just to throw you off the scent? In response, she said that the protesters are all now so angry at the government they might happily go to work for Mossad. That is her own hyperbolic opinion, delivered in response to the footage of armed protesters. Would people have preferred I edit her answer out? That would be deceptive. It’s much better to get a fuller sense of what she believes and what her biases are so viewers can then make judgments about her version of events. I suppose at that point I could have argued with her and said, no, that’s not the case with all protesters, and more to the point if Israel does get its way they will smash Iran into as many small failed warring statelets as they can. But I wasn’t there to debate her. Still, if that’s your critique, that I should have argued with hers how do you go from there to “this is a Mossad news outlet”? I also saw people say that she shouldn’t have been interviewed bc she didn’t see people in security service uniforms firing at the crowd, but rather saw the men on motorcycles. The fact that those motorcycles were still patrolling quiet streets the next day to me suggests they are linked to the state, but more reporting is needed. If they were armed agitators they’d have fled after the shooting. Regardless, it’s worth having her account be public imo. The woman came to us through a trusted intermediary who knew her from her pro-Palestine activism. Her views are fairly common in the diaspora. I’m curious what I’m missing in the criticism and open to hearing what all the anger was about. If people have reasonable critiques that stop short of “you are Mossad” or “you should not have platformed her” I’m open to hearing them.

@Tracking_Power Amplifying authoritarian propaganda while claiming to “track power” is a contradiction that speaks for itself. For over a century, authorities have accused Bahá’ís of espionage to justify repression, without evidence. iranbahaipersecution.bic.org/historical-ove…

A reminder that Baha'i Zionists routinely engage in subversion and treachery against the Islamic Republic.

Since the ceasefire in #Gaza, humanitarians have been working around the clock to reach people with life-saving aid. But progress is fragile. "Emergency response and the transition to early recovery cannot wait for political solutions." More from our spokesperson in Gaza.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. These rights belong to everyone — they are non-negotiable. We all have a role to play in defending them for every person. ohchr.org/en/what-are-hu… — via @UNHumanRights