As an Iranian-born Christian who endured the horrors of prison and persecution for my faith, I carry the scars of the Islamic Republic’s brutality etched into my soul. This week’s anniversary of the arrest, beating, and murder of Masah Amini unavoidably triggers many traumas I fear that I will always bear.
In 2009, I was arrested and sentenced to death by hanging simply for converting to Christianity, a “crime” in the Islamic Republic called “apostacy.” Thank God I was saved, but in nine months of imprisonment, I suffered tremendous physical and psychological hardships, witnessing rape, torture, and the execution of innocents like my dear friend and cellmate Shirin Alamhooli, whose body was never returned to her family.
Shirin, like Mahsa Amini, was a young Kurdish woman. Her crime? Daring to dream of freedom. So when I think of Mahsa Amini’s murder, it’s not as a distant observer, but as a sister in suffering. Mahsa, was a vibrant 22-year-old Kurdish woman, arrested in September 2022 by the so-called “morality police” for an improperly worn hijab. She was beaten into a coma and died days later in custody. Her murder wasn’t an isolated incident—it was just another example of the regime’s savage war on women, on dignity, on humanity itself. And three years later, her story remains a blazing torch, illuminating the unyielding evil of the ayatollahs and demanding justice.
Why does Mahsa’s murder still echo so powerfully today? Because the savagery hasn’t stopped; it has only intensified. The Islamic Republic continues to execute protesters, journalists, and dissidents at a horrifying rate—over 800 hangings in the past year alone, many for vague charges like “enmity against God” or “corruption on earth.” Women are still dragged from the streets for defying mandatory hijab laws, raped in detention centers, and poisoned in schools for daring to seek education.
The regime’s “Woman, Life, Freedom” crackdown lingers like a poison in the air, with underground resistance simmering despite the bullets and beatings. Just last month, reports emerged of another young woman, Armita Geravand, collapsing after a confrontation with “morality” enforcers—echoing Mahsa’s fate. And just last week, I received the horrifying news of a close Christian friend in Iran being mysteriously killed. The traumas are as real to me today as the open wounds on my husband’s body were after he was tortured by the regime, from which he ultimately died.
These are not anomalies; they are the regime’s very blueprint for exerting control. Brainwashed from childhood to chant “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” Iranians are hostages in their own land. The ayatollahs fund global terrorism through proxies like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, exporting their hatred while starving their people. In the once thriving nation of my birth, simple things like water and electricity are scarce.
Mahsa’s death ignited uprisings where women burned their hijabs and men faced gunfire, proving that the spirit of freedom endures. Mahsa’s murder is relevant still because it remains an open wound that needs healing. As the regime’s grip weakens, it clings on through instilling fear, brutalizing any resistance, and foreign appeasement.
The savagery of the Islamic Republic knows no bounds. This is a regime that hijacked a proud Persian civilization in 1979, imposing Sharia law that treats women as property and minorities as expendable. I lived it: in Evin Prison I saw political prisoners tortured, Christians like me branded filthy apostates, and Kurds like Mahsa marginalized and murdered. Beyond Iran’s borders, the ayatollahs arm terrorists who slaughter innocents, from Israeli civilians to American troops. They pursue nuclear weapons not for energy, but for domination, the tools to carry out their intent to wipe Israel off the map. Their ideology is a cancer, spreading antisemitism, misogyny, and Islamic extremism worldwide.
Negotiations? I’ve seen their deception firsthand—they smile at diplomats while funneling billions into chaos in Syria, Yemen, and Gaza. Appeasement only emboldens them, as it did under Obama and Biden, allowing them to rebuild and repress. The regime isn’t reformable; it’s rotten to its core, built on lies and blood. Snapback sanctions cannot come too soon, or be too harsh. The regime must be crippled.
The only solution to end this nightmare is to bring down the ayatollahs—regime change, swift and decisive. Iranians aren’t calling for tweaks or talks; they’re demanding the end of this evil theocracy. Maximum pressure works: under President Trump, crippling sanctions buckled their economy, sparking protests that exposed their fragility. Today, with their air defenses crippled, the economy crumbling, and not even water or electricity in many places, the time is ripe.
It's essential to support the Iranian people—amplify their voices, strengthen their resistance, and isolate the mullahs globally. No invasions needed; starve their coffers, disrupt their propaganda, and let the uprising flourish. God gave me a dream in prison: the ayatollahs had a chance to repent, but they’ve chosen destruction. Now, it’s time for justice.
This isn’t just Iran’s fight—it’s in America’s vital interest. The Islamic Republic is America’s sworn enemy, funding attacks on U.S. soil, against Americans, and our allies. Their “Death to America” isn’t rhetoric; it’s policy, manifested in cyberattacks, assassinations, and nuclear threats. A nuclear-armed Iran would destabilize the Middle East, empower terrorists, and endanger global security. It’s a goal from which they will not back down, no matter how beaten or how much they beat Iranians.
Regime change eliminates this threat, opening the door to a stable partner in Iran—a nation of 85 million educated, pro-Western people eager for trade, peace, and alliance with Israel and the U.S. Regime change aligns with American values of liberty and human rights, preventing the spread of extremism that could flood our shores. As an American citizen, I urge: don’t negotiate with scorpions. Stand with Iranians, apply unrelenting pressure, and watch a new Persia rise.
Freedom for Iran means security for the world. In God’s name, in memory of Mahsa, Shirin, and countless other victims of the regime, now is the time to end the ayatollahs’ reign forever.
Marziyeh Amirizadeh is an Iranian American who immigrated to the US after being sentenced to death in Iran for the crime of converting to Christianity. She endured months of mental and physical hardships and intense interrogation. She is author of two books (the latest, A Love Journey with God), public speaker, and columnist. She has shared her inspiring story throughout the United States and around the world, to bring awareness about the ongoing human rights violations and persecution of women and religious minorities in Iran, www.MarzisJourney.com.
Marzi also is the founder and president of NEW PERSIA whose mission is to be the voice of persecuted Christians and oppressed women under Islam, expose the lies of the Iranian Islamic regime, and restore the relationships between Persians, Jews, and Christians. www.NewPersia.org.