U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed was offered a “layup” during a town hall Wednesday at the University of Michigan when he was asked to condemn Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and the Democrat blew it.
A student, Iman Dashti, who said he was Persian, confronted El-Sayed over Iran, stating that his family has suffered persecution at the hands of the Iranian regime.
“My cousin was hunted in the streets of Iran by the IRGC because her hijab wasn’t on right,” Dashti said, adding that his uncle was sentenced to death and received 50 lashes by the Iranian government.
Dashti questioned El-Sayed for saying earlier this year that he did not want to comment on the death of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei because “there are a lot of people in Dearborn who are sad today.”
🚨 UPDATE: In a SHOCKING incident, a young Iranian-American tells MI Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed that his family was hunted and k*lled by the Islamists in Iran — and asks Abdul to CONDEMN the IRGC…
…Abdul refused IN HIS FACE.
“WE’RE DYING.”
“You said you didn’t want to…
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 24, 2026
“That silence had a gaping hole in our community,” Dashti continued. “I want to ask if you regret that silence. I want to ask if you renounce the people that held vigils that supported this terrorist for all the stuff that he has done. I want to ask if you stand unequivocable against the Islamic Republic of Iran that killed 50,000 protestors? I haven’t heard anything from you about the protesters, Abdul. Please!”
El-Sayed did not offer any condemnation, opting to give a typical political word salad about freedom and democracy, while criticizing the decision to “go in and take out the leadership of a foreign government.”
“You still haven’t said it,” the student pleaded. “We’re dying!”
“I want to be careful,” El-Sayed replied, after claiming he would always stand with movements for freedom and democracy.
Dashti would appear later on Fox News’ “The Will Cain Show” to say, “I could not have given him an easier layup.”
“I could not have given him an easier layup.”
University of Michigan student Iman Dashti joins @WillCainShow after confronting Abdul El-Sayed with a direct question: “I wanted to ask if you stand unequivocally against the IRGC?”
But El-Sayed dodged answering his question.… https://t.co/1ntt7DT7f5 pic.twitter.com/XsZNCSaJxA
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 24, 2026
As for dodging his question, the student said of El-Sayed: “I think it has something to do with the fact that a lot of his supporters are very supportive of the IRGC. They love the Iranian regime, and he doesn’t want to alienate them. He has an extreme base that just agrees with these horrible, horrible ideas that the majority of Americans don’t believe in.”
Here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story, as seen on X:
Probably the greatest ad for Mike Rogers! This guy just showed again his true colors.
— Andrew 🇺🇸🍊 (@_AndrewMaga) September 24, 2026
Nobody asked Abdul El-Sayed to give a dissertation on American foreign policy. An Iranian-American looked him in the eye, told him what the IRGC did to his family, and asked him to condemn the regime responsible.
He couldn’t do it.
You can oppose regime-change wars and still…
— Vincent A. (@approachitsmart) September 24, 2026
Abdul is representing same ideology as IRGC, of course he won’t condemn it! This young man nailed it and exposed him!
— LibertyCrew (@LibCrew) September 24, 2026
Thank you, Will, for having @dashti_iman. This isn’t just about the Iranian. The issue is the extremely dangerous hypocrisy and dishonesty of people like him, who want to do to US exactly what they did to Iran. I hope the American people see this and wake up before it’s too late.
— Ida Turan 🇮🇷 (@iranidaturan) September 25, 2026
Abdul El Sayed just punted on his Sister Souljah moment.
Sister Souljah bemoaned mused we needed a week of Blacks killing Whites. Bill Clinton condemned her at the same meeting. Thus was born the political tactic of a candidate denouncing an extremist to signal moderation.
— Daniel Coyne (@DrDanMO) September 24, 2026
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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