Progressive activists were noticeably silent as Iran brutally cracked down on its own citizens, and one Iranian-born actress called out the lack of outrage.
Nazanin Boniadi, a British actress born in Tehran, spoke with CNN’s Jake Tapper about the left’s silence in the face of Iran’s human rights violations before the U.S. and Israel began the military strikes against the Islamic Republic.
“For people who care about international law as I do, I’m getting plenty of messages from colleagues in entertainment and saying, ‘I’m so sorry in this moment, what’s happening to your people.’ Thank you, but where were you a few weeks ago, when tens of thousands of Iranians were being killed by their own regime?” the “Rings of Power” actress asked during an interview on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper” Wednesday.
Iran’s reality isn’t black and white.
Even under foreign firepower, the regime continues cracking down on its own people while indiscriminately attacking its neighbors.
Last time on @TheLeadCNN with @jaketapper we discussed civilians celebrating the fall of some tormentors and… pic.twitter.com/ODCqM1qXtv
— Nazanin Boniadi (@NazaninBoniadi) March 5, 2026
“This is a regime that has been violating international law for decades,” Boniadi said as Tapper agreed that he had not “really heard a ton” from international progressive activists.
“I mean, if any other country did that, I think there’d be a huge hue and cry and huge marches in the streets. Iran does it, and there really isn’t that result in the progressive community. What do you make of that?” the host asked.
“Look, in 1979, progressives world over, including in Iran, were all too willing to sacrifice women‘s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and every other basic human rights at the altar of anti-imperialism. Are we going to do the same in this moment? Are we really caring more about whose hands are on the trigger, or are we going to care about human lives, civilian lives?” Boniadi replied.
“This is a regime that has violated human rights,” continued the 45-year-old actress who fled Iran to England with her family following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
“International law has wreaked havoc on the region, domestic oppression, transnational repression, hostage diplomacy, destabilizing the region. And now, it’s killing fellow Muslims in neighboring countries. Where is your outrage? Where are the college campuses?” she demanded.
Boniadi has been a longtime critic of the regime in Iran and has vocally supported protesters.
For 47 years, the people of Iran have yearned for justice, freedom, peace, and prosperity—and have paid for it with their blood.
If your outrage at Iranian lives lost began only today, but you were silent as the regime slaughtered thousands of its own people in recent weeks,…
— Nazanin Boniadi (@NazaninBoniadi) February 28, 2026
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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