Undefeated

I think — though I’m not sure — that Yazdani himself has never said he won’t wrestle at 86kg anymore — that seems to have come from the national team coaches. All he’s said is that, after his surgery, his doctor advised him not to cut weight anymore. I still believe Yazdani plans to stay at 86kg, at least for the upcoming Olympics. Honestly, my confusion mostly comes from Yazdani’s usual vague way of speaking. He always has this cautious self-censorship — which seems like a contagious condition a lot of people have caught. The only Iranian wrestler I know who actually says things you can make sense of is Amir Mohammad Yazdani. The rest of them just stick to the same old clichés every time they talk.

That’s right. Thanks for pointing that out — I realized I’d translated it wrong. The correct translation (which was done by James Ross back in 1890 and I found it here) is: Which, of course, is part of a longer sentence. The full sentence is:

If the U.S. really wants to take meaningful action to pressure the Islamic Republic, it should identify all Iranians who have previously collaborated with the regime — as well as their children who are now living in the U.S. — and kick them out of the country, hard. Some of them might be speaking out against the regime now, but only because it serves their own interests. That shouldn’t be the measure. Anyone who was even for a moment a cog in that machine of repression and killing should be deported straight back to Iran. It wouldn’t even be hard — the FBI and other U.S. security agencies are more than capable of identifying them. That’s what real sanctions look like — not punishing ordinary citizens, who actually oppose the regime.

The issue isn’t about lifting sanctions. In fact, we fully support the harshest sanctions — but against the Islamic Republic itself and its top officials, not these ridiculous sanctions that don’t hurt the regime at all and only target ordinary people. If the sanctions were actually effective, the U.S. wouldn’t even need to talk about bombing right now. Sanctions need to be targeted, not random and indiscriminate. I’ve said before in previous comments: their children actively collaborate with their regime-connected parents. Western governments are hypocritical. For example, when the Islamic Republic shot down a civilian passenger plane over Tehran and everyone on board died, Trudeau went and lit candles with the Iranian community. But in that same Canada, they gave an award for “Top Entrepreneur” to the son of a regime official who stole billions and fled to Canada with his family — all because he “created jobs” by investing stolen money in Canada. I’m not making this up — you can look up his name yourself: Ardavan Khavari. What I’m saying is: why is your government handing out green cards to the children of terrorists? Aren’t you trying to put pressure on the regime leaders? If their families were actually in Iran, experiencing the effects of the sanctions firsthand, then the regime would feel the pressure. But when none of them are even living in Iran, what kind of pressure are these sanctions putting on them? Absolutely none.

There are plenty of declarations like that in the world. What I know is this: they’re bringing their corruption and cruelty with them to the West. A lot of people in Iran hold deep grudges against these families. It’s possible that by the time we gain the operational power to act against these traitors, the current rulers of Iran will already be dead. When that day comes, we’ll go after their children. And if their children are gone too, we’ll go after their grandchildren. I hope, when that day comes, your children or grandchildren aren’t standing beside them. You have the chance to prevent that danger now. For the safety of your own kids, don’t let the children of regime agents and Islamic Republic loyalists into your country.

The internet was completely shut down in the early days of the war in Iran by the Islamic Republic. They claimed Israel was using internet towers to control drones. After the ceasefire, they gradually started restoring access. The modem I have just fully connected today—it was barely getting a signal the past few days.

No. Because they don’t even work in Iran. Their developers are based in Europe and Canada. And even the ones who are still in Iran and work for military-affiliated institutions have access to supercomputers, ultra-fast internet, and tools that let them bypass these sanctions completely—so restrictions like this don’t affect them at all. And let me show you yet another example of this bizarre contradiction. Ensieh Khazali was the former Vice President of Iran under Raisi—the man known as “the Butcher” for his brutal role in executing political dissidents. She’s also the daughter of one of the highest-ranking ayatollahs in Iran. Ensieh is one of the figures behind Iran’s internet censorship policies. Because of people like her, Iranians have no direct access to platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Telegram, X (Twitter), or even YouTube. If they want to use them, they have to pay for a VPN. Now guess what Ensieh’s son does for a living? He runs a VPN company in Canada! Here’s her Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ensieh_Khazali And here’s a picture of her son, who sells VPNs from Canada to Iranians trying to get around the censorship he and his family helped create: https://techna.news/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image-2.jpg https://rooziato.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image_750x_631b112a452c7.jpg See what kind of corrupt business they’re running? And yet people are still willing to give them green cards and say things like “you can’t blame the children for the actions of their parents.” Seriously? They’re all in this together. When someone asked Ensieh what her son is doing in Canada, she replied: “He’s helping export the Islamic Revolution to the West.”

Showing mercy to the wicked is an injustice to the righteous. ‌- Saadi Shirazi

Well, this is exactly a sign of the U.S. government's hypocrisy. I didn’t know about the Gold Card program you mentioned. But yes, it opens the door for terrorists—at least their children—to immigrate to the U.S. And when the children of terrorists come to America, they don’t just bring money with them—they bring their dangerous ideologies too.

But why is it that people who are open-minded enough to separate the children of the Islamic Republic’s rulers from their parents don’t actually separate ordinary Iranian people from the rulers of Iran? When the U.S. imposes sanctions on Iran, it acts as if Iran’s government is like that of Switzerland or Finland—governments that might change their stance for the sake of their people's well-being! The leaders of the Islamic Republic couldn’t care less that someone like me, a programmer living in Iran, can’t access many of the services I need for my work because of these sanctions. When I freelance for a company outside Iran, I can’t receive my payment directly due to sanctions. I have to use middleman companies that take a big chunk of my earnings as fees—because Iranians can’t use PayPal, Visa cards, or other banking services. On top of that, I can’t download many software tools and apps because their servers have blacklisted Iran. And that’s just one of dozens of restrictions these sanctions impose on us—yet they don’t hurt the regime’s top officials at all. Why would some Ayatollahs, who doesn’t even know how to create a Gmail account, care that I, a developer, can’t connect to Gradle servers to compile my software and am forced to either use a VPN (which kills my internet speed) or switch to Maven instead? These issues don’t matter to the Americans who support sanctions against Iran—but when it comes to the families and children of the Islamic Republic’s rulers, suddenly they all become human rights advocates!

That’s true. But even the Germans didn’t overthrow Hitler themselves—just like the Russians didn’t overthrow Stalin. I had a German friend who once told me that his father was still a supporter of Hitler years after he was gone. Probably only people who’ve lived under regimes like Nazi Germany or Stalin’s USSR can truly understand that the chances of overthrowing the Islamic Republic without outside help are close to zero. I’ve read a lot of books about life under dictatorships, but I can honestly say that none of those regimes were as dangerous as the Islamic Republic. The reason? The supporters of this regime have something the others didn’t: deep religious fanaticism and a twisted interpretation of Islam where Khamenei is seen as being above even God. And then there’s the fact that the children and families of top Islamic Republic officials are living in the U.S.—which totally contradicts America’s supposed goal of pressuring the regime. For example, Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, one of Khamenei’s top advisors, a relative of his, and one of the most dangerous figures in the regime—his daughter lives in New York!

Even the people that the Islamic Republic presents as “nuclear scientists” — and some of whom were killed by Israel in this conflict — are, in reality, not nuclear scientists at all. Most of them don’t do any scientific or research-based work. They’re involved in operational or logistical tasks related to Iran’s nuclear programs or affiliated projects. Just because someone has a degree in physics and works with the Islamic Republic doesn’t make them a nuclear scientist. Many of these individuals haven’t published a single scientific paper in any reputable physics journal or related field. The Islamic Republic calls a bunch of loyal operatives “nuclear scientists” simply to gain public sympathy and rally people behind them.

About the bombing of the nuclear sites , Trump had pushed Khamenei into a corner, close to collapse, and then made a deal with them: We’ll bomb your nuclear sites, and you, in order to maintain your authority among your domestic supporters, will carry out a symbolic attack on our military base in Qatar — a completely controlled and limited strike. In the end, I believe all three — Israel, the U.S., and the Islamic Republic — achieved their goals. Israel eliminated senior IRGC commanders and, with U.S. help, at least temporarily got rid of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpiles. Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic used the crisis to unify the country internally for the first time in a long while. They arrested many political opponents under the pretext of “collaboration with Israel,” and doubled the price of essential goods and staples in the country. Even the deaths of military commanders didn’t actually harm the regime. Those commanders weren’t experts — in Iran, senior military positions are handed out based on loyalty to Khamenei (and in my opinion, to Putin), not based on any real military skill or experience. They’re just a bunch of unqualified, loyal enforcers. The regime easily replaced them with other loyalists. Over the course of just two weeks, prices of basic goods like eggs, groceries, everything doubled in Iran. The result of the war: all the governments profited — and ordinary people paid the price.

About the 1979 hostage crisis — I assume you’re referring to the U.S. Embassy incident. You probably know that many of the sanctions the U.S. has imposed on Iran are because of that event. And you likely also know that these sanctions mainly hurt ordinary Iranian people — people who not only had no role in the hostage-taking, but many of whom were actually opposed to those extremists. I have a question for those who still support sanctions on Iranian civilians because of that incident. Do you know this person: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad-Reza_Khatami He was one of the people involved in taking Americans hostage. He has two daughters — Narges and Leila. Narges currently lives in the UK, and Leila lives in the U.S.! And how about this person — do you know her? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masoumeh_Ebtekar She was also one of the hostage-takers. This photo shows her during that time: https://rooziato.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/12788-768x432.jpg And this next one shows her years later, still stepping on the American flag: https://rooziato.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/unnamed-2.jpg Now take a look at this picture — it’s her son. Can you guess where he lives? The United States. https://rooziato.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/no_title__930x510_q85_box-310784390_crop_subsampling-2_upscale-2-768x421.jpg You probably haven’t heard of this person either: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habibollah_Bitaraf He was also involved in taking Americans hostage — one of the more dangerous ones. Now click the link below — it’s his daughter’s page at the Virginia Tech Advanced Research Institute: https://ari.vt.edu/ari_people/hamideh_bitaraf.html If I wanted to list all the hostage-takers and their children who now live in the U.S., it would be a very long list. So now I have a simple question: Why is it that the families and children of the hostage-takers are allowed to live in America — but I, who oppose those hostage-takers, am sanctioned in Iran?

Hi @JimmySpeaks. Sorry I can't quote your post, my internet connection is not good at the moment and the forum doesn't load completely. About the "Death to America", I can understand how hearing this can feel really disturbing and offensive to Americans. Honestly, I feel the same way when I hear "Death to Iran" — and that’s coming from someone who opposes the Iranian government and doesn’t feel any strong sense of nationalism. But the reality is that in Iran, even many of the hardcore supporters of the regime — the ones who chant "Death to America" and join pro-government rallies — usually mean it as a condemnation of U.S. government policies, not as a wish for the death of American people. Even Iran's Supreme Leader has clarified this several times in his speeches. Since this website is about wrestling, maybe I can give a relevant example: many of Iran’s top wrestlers are actually supporters of the Islamic Republic. Most of them come from rural areas, where support for the Ayatollahs is traditionally stronger (urban families are less likely these days to encourage their kids to become wrestlers). These wrestlers' families (I mean top wrestler like Yazdani, Zare,...) probably attend pro-government marches and chant slogans like "Death to America.", but if you look at how those wrestlers interact with American wrestlers at international events, they have great relationships. They love guys like Jordan Burroughs and J'den Cox. Regular Iranian people also generally like Americans — they have warm feelings toward them, even many of those who support the government. If you check out YouTube channels from American travelers who have visited Iran, you’ll notice a common theme: many say Iran was the most hospitable country they’ve ever been to. I’m not trying to exaggerate — like I said, I’m not a nationalist at all. I just wanted to share what I’ve seen and experienced firsthand, and to make it clear that even those who chant "Death to America" or (very foolishly) burn American flags are generally expressing anger toward U.S. government policies, not toward the American people themselves.

People in Iran don’t all think the same — there are a lot of different opinions. But if you divide them into two broad groups, regime supporters and opponents, the opponents are definitely more numerous. The problem is, the supporters have more power because they’re backed by the government. The Ayatollahs have at least three main tools to fool people: 1. Super powerful media. These past couple of days, they’ve been flooding the news with emotional footage — dead little girls, their dolls buried in rubble, that kind of thing — all set to sad music they’ve had ready for moments like this. They also have hundreds of dramatic songs they pair with clips of attacks on Israel, saying, “We’re avenging the children.” 2. Religion. The Ayatollahs twist the Quran to fit their agenda. They pretend to be devout (they’re really not) to win people over. A lot of Iranians are religious, so this still works on some of them. 3. America’s dumb sanctions. These sanctions mostly hurt regular people, not the regime. They’ve caused serious economic pain, and a lot of Iranians resent the U.S. for that. Many think America and Israel are working together against them. On top of that, the regime blames all of its own failures on the sanctions. So yeah — it’s way more complicated than it looks from the outside.

Hello friends, It's 2:30 AM (about twenty minutes ago), and I woke up to the sound of missiles hitting the ground. Several missiles landed in Tehran. Since yesterday, Iran has begun its symbolic attacks on Israel. Some naive people are happy about the Ayatollahs’ attacks on Israel. As usual, the teenagers have fallen for the Islamic Republic’s propaganda. State radio and television are heavily emphasizing the phrase “revenge has been taken.”

Thanks, friends. Unfortunately, this forum loads very slowly for me. I’m not exactly sure what the problem is. It might be that the forum is hosted on a server that restricts access for Iranian users due to U.S. sanctions. Emojis don’t load for me either, so I can’t use them to react to your posts and show my appreciation. Yes, here in Iran we know that the ayatollahs are extremely deceptive and cowardly, and they avoid real war. But the reason is that they know any real war would inevitably draw the United States into the conflict. In reality, they fear America — not Israel. Another reason the ayatollahs avoid war is that they do not have the full support of the Iranian people. They face significant opposition inside the country — people like me, for whom today, with the killing of military commanders and regime loyalists, has been one of the best days of our lives. So in the event of a real war, there’s a real chance it could spark a civil war, and that would mean the end of the regime. On the other hand, Israel wouldn’t have launched such an attack without U.S. backing either, because the Islamic Republic has the potential to strike Israel from several countries. Southern Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and large parts of Iraq are under the control of Iran’s Quds Force, and the ayatollahs could launch attacks from these regions. Israel has little to no influence in these areas (except for southern Lebanon), so in order to prevent such attacks, it relies on U.S. air power, American influence in the region, and especially intelligence provided by U.S. agencies. It doesn’t really matter whether Trump denies it or confirms it. He’s just as clueless as the ayatollahs in Iran. But like any world leader, he definitely has advisers who tell him exactly what lies to tell. I think it’s time to get rid of the Ayatollahs once and for all. As I’m posting this, the sounds of missile impacts are being heard in Tehran—two loud explosions in quick succession. The internet might be completely cut off soon. For now, goodbye—hoping for freedom.

I was awake last night, reading a book. Around 3:30 AM (near Tehran), I heard the first loud blast. At first, I thought the next-door neighbor was banging something against the ground. I went out into the yard, and then came another sound, and another—several booms in a row. It felt like someone was dropping a massive weight onto the ground. I could feel the vibrations in the walls, and I was getting slightly irritated with the neighbors. I considered everything except the possibility that it could be missile strikes! There’s no doubt the attacks will continue in the coming nights. Israel knows that the Islamic Republic has no real military response capability, and any retaliatory strikes are mostly for propaganda—to deceive the domestic public. Since this morning, state TV and radio have been focused on women and children who were killed in buildings. The head of one hospital said they had received around 50 bodies, more than 35 of them women and children. It's as if Israeli missiles are going house to house looking for women and children, and somehow avoid hitting men! These bastards are unmatched when it comes to manipulating public opinion. The Israeli strikes are still ongoing. They've targeted several cities across Iran. They've bombed military commanders, some nuclear scientists, and nuclear facilities. Of course, ordinary civilians who happened to live near these military and nuclear figures were also killed. What's clear is that these Israeli attacks were carried out with Trump’s approval, and the necessary planning and assessments were made long in advance. The top commanders of the IRGC have all been killed.

One of the Ayatollah's agreements with the US government at the time in the JCPOA was to grant green cards to the Ayatollahs' children. Sources in Iran say that during this secret agreement, several thousand green cards were issued to the children of Ayatollahs and officials of the Islamic Republic (one of the betrayals that the Democrats did to the American and Iranian people). They are now in America, some of them are spying for the Islamic Republic and others are talking sh*t about topics they don't have the slightest knowledge about (Like their Ayatollah fathers) in forums while eating popcorn.

See, the issue is that the Ayatollahs are lying about the Israel's annihilation. I see here that some say that Iran wants to annihilate Israel and some say that it cannot or can. Ayatollahs are lying about this. The presence of Israel (and an enemy in general) in the region helps the Ayatollahs to steal the money they get from the sale of Iranian oil under the pretext of confronting Israel. If there is no Israel, internal pressures on the government will increase. Those missiles that Iran launches are neither to destroy Israel nor even to scare Israel. It is only to deal with internal pressures. How can Ayatollahs be enemies with Israel or America when most of their families and children live in America now?

Every year dozens of Iranians are killed for protesting against the Ayatollahs. Sitting in a free country, what do you understand about strength and bravery? Right now, the government can put me in jail for at least 10 years just because of the content of the previous comment I sent here. You are eating your popcorn and making irrelevant comments.

If it wasn't for the Islamic Republic (the ruling government of Iran), the Arabs and Israel would have made peace long ago. Iranians are neither Arabs nor Muslims (Yes Iran has been a quasi-Islamic country since 1400 years ago but most of Iranians have not prayed even once; and the Ayatollahs just believe in the Khamenei doctrine, not Prophet Muhammad). And Iran not only does not have a common border with Palestine and Israel, but many Iranians do not even know where Israel is exactly. They only know that Israel is somewhere in the Middle East. So why does an Ayatollah from Iran, who is neither an Arab nor an Israeli, neither a Jew nor even a Muslim, involve himself more than any other country in the issue of Palestine and Israel? Despite my terrible English, I think the point is clear.

He medals, we just don't know its color.Will Sidakov be in Tirana?

ٔNot most of them. The difference between you or anyone else who does not live in a Muslim country -like Iran, where I live- and does not want annihilate the state of Israel with muslim people is not in your religion but in your media.