‘Violence begets violence’
There are steps the US government could take to protect dissidents, in and outside the country, according to Razavi, the Princeton scholar.
For starters, the US could provide asylum to those seeking political safety. But that would mean reversing course on Trump’s hardline immigration restrictions, which include a ban on Iranians entering the US.
Razavi said US politicians should also curb the Islamophobic rhetoric that has proliferated since the war began.
Representative Andy Ogles, for instance, recently posted that “Muslims don’t belong in American society”. Another lawmaker, Representative Randy Fine, also published a string of Islamophobic remarks, calling to “deport them ALL”.
The “escalated vitriol” surrounding the war raises the possibility of violence and vigilantism, according to Razavi. She pointed to an example that unfolded right across the US border, in Canada.
On March 16, two people were charged with the murder of Iranian dissident Masood Masjoody in British Columbia. The two suspects in the case had reportedly been in a dispute with Masjoody, who accused them of loyalty to the Khamenei government.
“The more we don’t trust each other and the more we think so-and-so is working as an agent of the government or so-and-so is going to use violence against us, the more we’re actually going to create the conditions of violence,” Razavi said.
She added that she fears the war will ultimately not make Iranians in the US or elsewhere safer.
“If we truly believe in the wellbeing of Iranians, whether abroad or at home, war is not going to lead us in that path,” Razavi said. “It’s only leading to more violence because violence begets violence.”
Farahanipour likewise believes a protracted war could potentially benefit the existing Iranian government: “As the first supreme leader said, war is always a blessing for this regime.”
He believes that the US should withdraw from Iran and allow change to come from within.
“They should let the Iranian people take over their own future,” Farahanipour said.
Recently, Farahanipour said his seven-year-old son, Damavand, asked if they could visit Iran together. The child is named for Iran’s highest peak, which Farahanipour hopes to one day show him.
But Farahanipour believes safety in and from Iran remains a distant prospect. “I don’t think so,” Farahanipour told his son. “I don’t think that’s going to happen soon.”