MMN Editor

Nolte: Here’s more proof the Disney Grooming Syndicate abuses the publicly owned airwaves as its own personal left-wing super PAC.
The post Nolte: Disney’s ‘The View’ Chooses No Candidates over Booking Republicans appeared first on Breitbart.

Author Wynton Hall reveals in his new book Code Red: The Left, the Right, China, and the Race to Control AI that the worship of artificial intelligence as a literal deity is not science fiction. It is already happening, complete with IRS-registered churches, robot priests, and AI confessionals.
The post ‘CODE RED’: Yes, People Are Already Worshipping AI as a Deity appeared first on Breitbart.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon issued an optimistic viewpoint on Middle East peace, weeks into the war with Iran.

Trump said top U.S. negotiators and their Iranian counterparts have been engaged in “very, very strong talks,” but Tehran has denied that claim.

Imminent Signs Of 82nd Airborne Deployment As Tehran Appoints Larijani Successor, Cuts Gas Flows To Turkey

Summary

Commander of the 82nd Airborne Division Maj Gen Brandon Tegtmeier and his “command element” being sent to Middle East, Fox reports.

Backchannel diplomacy vs skepticism: Abbas Araghchi reportedly signaled openness to negotiations with the US via envoy Steve Witkoff, but Israel has appeared cool on deal prospects or offramp.

Heavy exchange of fire and testing red lines: Iran continues missile and drone waves targeting Israel and US bases, amid reports of overnight airstrikes on military and gas infrastructure near Isfahan.

Iran reshuffles its security leadership, appointing Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr: he’s a former IRGC commander and replaces the assassinated Ali Larijani.

Iran halts natural gas exports to Turkey: follows last week’s Israeli strike on the massive South Pars gas field.

*  *  *

Signs Growing of 82nd Airborne Division Deployment

Amid speculation that President Trump could seek to force open the Strait of Hormuz by some kind of ultra high risk Kharg Island takeover operation, Fox chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin has posted the following:

Fox News has learned that the Commander of the 82nd Airborne Division Maj Gen Brandon Tegtmeier and his “command element,” members of his headquarters staff, have been ordered to deploy to the Middle East as the Pentagon and White House weigh whether to send the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East for possible land operations.

It was only on Monday that the NYT began reporting Pentagon was seriously weighing whether to send the elite 82nd Airborne. This would be a sure sign of escalation into potential ‘ground operations’.

Iran & Israel Trade Blows Despite US Promoting Backchannel Talks

Despite the White House touting backchannel interactions with the Iranians as basis for some kind of peaceful offramp, Israel and Iran intensified direct and regional strikes, in continued escalation of the war. The Israeli military said it had “completed a wave of extensive strikes targeting production sites” across Iran, including in Isfahan, following overnight reports that gas facilities were hit, triggering fears of potential Iranian retaliation on Gulf energy and infrastructure sites – which doesn’t appear to have happened yet.

Iran has kept up its attacks on Israel, launching at least eight overnight missile waves, including reports of cluster munitions as well as new cutting-edge warheads and projectiles. Impacts were reported across Tel Aviv, causing heavy building damage and multiple casualties, as well as with sirens sounding from the Judean Foothills to Eilat. One strike marked a shift in capability, per the NY Times: “One of the Iranian missiles that hit Tel Aviv carried a warhead of around 100 kilograms… This missile was ‘something we have not yet encountered in the war,'” said Col. Miki David.

A 100-kg warhead was used on the Iranian missile that slammed into Tel Aviv early this morning. Significant damage was caused to a residential area. pic.twitter.com/ujkuJpxUVO
— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) March 24, 2026
Iran Halts NatGas Exports to Turkey

More energy flows impact and blowback as Iran has halted natural gas exports to Turkey following last week’s Israeli strike on the massive South Pars gas field, according to regional sources and Bloomberg. Turkey sourced roughly 14% of its gas from Iran last year, per industry data, but continues to rely on Russia and Azerbaijan as primary suppliers while drawing on existing reserves. Ankara has not initially confirmed or commented.

The South Pars field, part of the world’s largest natural gas reserve, sits at the core of Iran’s energy system, underpinning both domestic supply and export flows. Per Middle East Eye: “Data from Turkey’s Energy Market Regulatory Authority suggests that the country imports around 13 percent of its gas needs annually, roughly 7 billion cubic metres (bcm), from Iran.”

The report concludes that “A sharp drop in Iranian gas flows to Turkey following Israel’s strike on the South Pars gas field and Tehran’s retaliatory attacks across the Gulf has raised energy security concerns. But analysts say Ankara will likely be able to cushion the blow.

⚡️Sky above Tel Aviv pic.twitter.com/skgWXTOWZ4
— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) March 24, 2026
New National Security Chief (former IRGC), Ongoing Retaliation on Gulf

Iran has continued to signal resilience, downplaying threats to its grid and stating damaged infrastructure could be quickly rebuilt, even as a gas pipeline at Khorramshahr was hit apparently without disruption. Saudi Arabia said it “intercepted and destroyed” more than a dozen drones in its east, while the UAE reported intercepting five ballistic missiles and 17 drones in a single day, bringing totals since the war began to hundreds of missiles and more than 1,800 drones. Bahrain said another facility was set ablaze “as a result of Iranian aggression.”

Tehran has reportedly simultaneously struck US bases, and Gulf states including Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, while warning any attack on its energy network will trigger region-wide blackouts. Northern Iraq has continued to see drone threats. “The entire region will go dark” – Iranian leadership has threatened. Meanwhile, Iran has reshuffled its security leadership, appointing Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr to replace the assassinated Ali Larijani, underscoring wartime consolidation at the top. Zolghadr is a former Revolutionary Guards commander.
Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr in 2013, via Wiki Commons

Status of Diplomacy

Lebanon has declared the Iranian ambassador persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country by Sunday, after an Iranian ballistic missile fell on Lebanese territory. This appears also a way to pressure Hezbollah, given the Lebanese state has long wanted the Tehran-linked group to lay down is arms so war doesn’t engulf the whole country.

Both Pakistan and Qatar have stepped up mediation efforts, with chatter that Islamabad could play host to future Iranian and US talks. Despite the rumors of ongoing backchannel communications, and President Trump himself insisting Sunday into Monday this is happening, there’s as yet no clear evidence that Tehran and Washington are actually dialoguing. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has told Al Jazeera that Islamabad is ready to host talks between the US and Iran: “If the parties desire, Islamabad is always willing to host talks,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said. Andrabi’s comment came a day after Trump put on hold, for a period five days, his threat to bomb Iranian power plants.

WSJ meanwhile writes, “Foreign ministers from Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan gathered before dawn Thursday in Riyadh for talks aimed at finding a diplomatic off-ramp to the war in Iran.” The report continues, “But there was one big problem, according to Arab officials involved in the discussions: finding a counterpart in Iran to negotiate with. Earlier that week, Israel killed Iran’s national security chief, Ali Larijani, who had been considered a viable partner who could engage with the West.”

USAF B-52s began to carry out Iran strike missions yesterday using 2,000 pound JDAM guided bombs.
Indicates that the BUFFs are finally carrying out bombing runs over Iran. pic.twitter.com/tzcJQc6LLp
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) March 23, 2026
And Bloomberg’s assessment: “Fighting between the US-Israeli alliance and Iran raged unabated, even as President Donald Trump claimed talks are under way to end the conflict.” The report then notes no observable cooling or offramp in the tit-for-tat exchanges of fire:

Iran carried out overnight missile and drone attacks on the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv, Eilat and Dimona, as well as on US bases in the Middle East. Israel launched a wave of strikes in western and central Iran, including Tehran, with Defense Minister Israel Katz saying the campaign would continue “at full intensity.”

Israel is Cool on Prospect of a Deal

Reports out of regional and Israeli media claim Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi quietly signaled to US envoy Steve Witkoff that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has agreed to negotiations, while Iranian officials said they have received US proposals via intermediaries and are reviewing them. However, Tehran keeps threatening and delivering more ‘retaliatory’ action, perceiving that it has the long-term strategic leverage given the Strait of Hormuz crisis and Trump seeming to issue forth dictates on a back foot.

Israeli officials have by and large dismissed the prospects of a deal, warning the chances of agreement are “very small” and stressing that US force deployments and joint operational planning remain unchanged. 

More Regional Spillover: Caspian & Lebanon

The Kremlin has newly warned that any expansion into the Caspian Sea would be viewed “extremely negatively” after Israeli strikes reportedly targeted Iranian naval assets there. Meanwhile, a parallel ground war in Lebanon is accelerating. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz signaled a long-term buffer zone and mass displacement, stating, “Hundreds of thousands… will not return south of the Litani River until security is guaranteed.”

Video purports to show large Israeli strike on Southern Lebanon overnight – an apparent hit on a gas station:

⚡️Israeli strike on Southern Lebanon tonight. Strike on Gas Station pic.twitter.com/5r0teCUZ6n
— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) March 24, 2026
Israel has already destroyed key infrastructure, with Katz confirming, “All five bridges over the Litani… have been blown up,” as forces move to control the area. There are over 1,000 dead and more than a million displaced in Lebanon, with much of Israel’s north also still under emergency evacuation orders, given Hezbollah rocket fire there. At least two Lebanese died in the last day due to Israeli strikes Bshamoun.

Tyler Durden
Tue, 03/24/2026 – 12:25

Former counterterrorism official Joe Kent sparred with conservative radio host and Fox News personality Mark Levin on his syndicated radio show Monday, denying leak allegations, breaking with the Trump administration over Iran, and saying Israel “forced President Trump into this war.” “I never leaked any classified information,” Kent said, as Levin pressed him on reports he was under investigation by the FBI for leaking. Three sources familiar with the matter have told Fox News the FBI probe into Kent predated his resignation. Kent also disputed the administration’s case for the conflict with Iran, saying “there was no imminent threat coming from Iran against Americans.”Kent resigned March 17 as director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), issuing a public letter claiming the U.S. entered the conflict due to “pressure from Israel,” a position he has since defended in multiple media appearances.Kent maintained that U.S. intelligence did not support the administration’s justification for military action in Iran, asserting “we had no intelligence that said that Iran was working to develop a nuclear weapon,” a claim that runs counter to assessments publicly cited by top administration officials.Kent’s resignation makes him the highest-ranking figure in the Trump administration to step down over the Iran war, a rare instance of open dissent from a senior national security official. His assertions put him at odds with top intelligence and defense officials who have said Iran posed an immediate threat.INSIDE JOE KENT’S ABRUPT FALL AS GOP BACKLASH GROWS OVER ANTISEMITISM ACCUSATIONS, FBI PROBE”Joe Kent’s self-aggrandizing resignation letter and recent comments are riddled with lies. Most egregious are Kent’s false claims that the largest state sponsor of terrorism somehow did not pose a threat to the United States and that Israel forced the President into launching Operation Epic Fury,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital. “As Commander-in-Chief, President Trump took decisive action based on strong evidence which showed that the terrorist Iranian regime posed an imminent threat and was preparing to strike Americans first.”Levin, a staunch advocate of the U.S. alliance with Israel and host of weekend program “Life, Liberty and Levin” on Fox, repeatedly challenged Kent’s claims throughout the roughly 22-minute interview, turning what began as a policy discussion into a pointed back-and-forth over intelligence, Israel and Trump’s decision-making. Levin rejected Kent’s assertion that Israel drove the U.S. into war, calling it “conspiratorial” and pushing back on the idea that a foreign government could dictate American military action.”Why do you create a conspiratorial notion that Israel dragged the powerful Donald Trump into war?” Levin asked on his radio show, “The Mark Levin Show.” “Do you have no respect for Donald Trump’s agency that he has the capacity to make these decisions himself?”Kent responded, “I believe that he was influenced by a media echo chamber and by the Israelis.”Kent also argued that “the Israelis forced President Trump into this war,” a claim Levin repeatedly pushed back on during the exchange. Kent elsewhere described the decision as influenced by Israeli pressure.Kent maintained that “there was no intelligence that said that Iran was working to develop a nuclear weapon.”As director of the NCTC, Kent would have had access to high-level intelligence assessments, including threat reporting and interagency analysis used to brief senior policymakers. Administration officials have told Fox News he was not included in discussions surrounding the Iran conflict known as Operation Epic Fury. Levin countered, saying, “The president agrees with his own conclusions. The CIA director says you’re wrong.”Asked Wednesday during a Senate hearing if he disagreed with Kent’s assessment that Iran did not pose an imminent threat, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said he did. “I think Iran has been a constant threat to the United States for an extended period of time and posed an immediate threat at this time,” Ratcliffe said. Levin also questioned Kent’s credibility, telling him, “I hope when you tell me you haven’t leaked that you are telling me the truth.”Kent also indicated that efforts to investigate potential foreign links to the killing of Charlie Kirk and the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, were not fully carried out.GABBARD SIDESTEPS IRAN ‘IMMINENT THREAT’ CLAIM UNDER SENATE GRILLING”What I know is that there were foreign leads that we didn’t get a chance to look into. From my vantage point at the National Counterterrorism Center, that was not thoroughly looked into,” Kent said, referring to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.In other interviews, Kent has pointed to social media posts made before the attack and suggested authorities should examine whether any individuals had prior knowledge or made threats ahead of the violence.Levin pressed Kent on whether he was suggesting a specific country, including Israel, may have been involved, but Kent stopped short of naming any nation, saying only that potential foreign links should be investigated.On Thomas Matthew Crooks and the attempted assassination of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, Kent said: “We should investigate to see if there’s any linkage, particularly between Iran and the Iranian agent who was convicted for plotting an assassination attempt against President Trump.”Kent pointed to the case of Asif Merchant, a man convicted in federal court for attempting to orchestrate a political assassination plot tied to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.Endorsed by Trump in two unsuccessful congressional campaigns, Kent rose to MAGA stardom in large part on opposition to “endless wars” after the death of his wife Shannon Kent in a suicide bombing in Syria in 2019.Kent could not be reached for comment. Tulsi Gabbard, the director of National Intelligence, has not publicly weighed in on Kent’s claims and largely has deferred to the president’s assessment of the Iran threat in recent public appearances. It’s not clear who has taken on Kent’s duties as director of the NCTC. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence and Israeli embassy could not immediately be reached for comment. 

A resurfaced post by Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy discussing the people Democrats “care about most” is sparking social media outrage from conservatives, making the case it points to their priorities in the current fight on Department of Homeland Security funding. In the clip, posted on Monday night by the conservative influencer account End Wokeness, MSNBC host Chris Hayes asked Murphy in 2024 about negotiations between Democrats and Republicans happening at the time about a border security bill. Hayes pressed Murphy on why Democrats were pushing to get funding for Ukraine instead of pushing for a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, as the party had done in the past.”Well, I mean, Chris, that’s been a failed play for 20 years,” Murphy replied. “So you are right that that has been the Democratic strategy for 30 years, maybe, and it has failed to deliver for the people we care about most, the undocumented Americans that are in this country.”TRUMP DEMANDS SAVE AMERICA ACT BE TIED TO DHS FUNDING AMID AIRPORT CHAOSConservatives quickly picked up on the clip and argued it’s emblematic of why Democrats haven’t been motivated to end the DHS shutdown that they voted for in February in opposition to ICE, even as concerns about national security during the war with Iran linger. “This has absolutely proven to be true and never more than this week,” Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, posted on X. “Senate Democrats have allowed 260,000 American workers to be used as political pawns so that they could protect criminal aliens that invaded our nation. Sick stuff.””Treachery,” Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk posted on X.LIZ PEEK: VOTERS TELL CONGRESS ‘DO YOUR JOB’ AND END THE DHS SHOWDOWN”He really said it,” Fox News contributor Guy Benson posted on X.”And this guy is going to run for President…,” former White House press secretary and Fox News contributor Ari Fleischer posted on X.”Bookmarked for later this year!” White House deputy chief of staff James Blair posted on X.”He accidentally said the truth out loud,” Congressman Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., posted on X.Fox News Digital reached out to Murphy’s office for comment.Fox News Digital’s Hannah Panreck contributed to this report

Loyola University student Sheridan Gorman murdered by Venezuelan illegal alien Jose Medina-Medina
Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich joined Laura Ingraham on Fox News to discuss the tragic and preventable murder of 18-year-old Loyola University student Sheridan Gorman.
Early in the morning on Thursday of last week, Gorman was shot and killed near the Chicago campus by one of Joe Biden’s illegals.
The masked gunman approached a group of students walking in Rogers Park and opened fire, shooting Gorman in the head. She died at the scene.
On Sunday, it was confirmed that the masked gunman who killed Gorman is a 25-year-old illegal alien from Venezuela who entered the US under the Biden Regime. Police took Jose Medina-Medina into custody.
Laura Ingraham: Governor, I’ve run along the lakefront. It’s beautiful. It’s a lot of families, people out there. But a source was telling Fox that this illegal was wearing a mask at 1:30 in the morning, armed. He wasn’t looking for a party. He was looking for a killing.
Rod Blagojevich: Look, it’s a heart-wrenching story, and it’s heartbreaking. I’m a father of two daughters. My two young daughters have walked that very beach that that young girl, Sheridan Gorman, walked, where she died.
And, you know, Pritzker puts out a statement through a spokesperson. He doesn’t say anything himself. And he waits four days.
And the only reason they’re even saying anything is because he’s starting to feel the heat. People have noticed that the governor has been silent on this, when he’s always talking about how bad ICE is and all these other things that he opposes, that really are about enforcing the law.
But he’s out there, and he’s cowardly, and he’s doing what he’s doing behind the scenes through a third party. And what he is is a reflection of what today’s Democratic Party is.
And who are these Democrats?
They’re for open borders. They’re for sanctuary cities. They’re for defund the police. They’re for no cash bail. And all they do is endlessly attack law enforcement and ICE agents. And it leads to the sort of thing that just happened to this young girl. And I think about this young girl, again, as a father myself of two daughters. I think about her just beginning her young adulthood, beautiful young girl, a daughter, a sister. Probably went away for the first time in her life to college, making her parents proud, and this  happens to her.
And it could have easily been avoided if Governor Pritzker and Mayor Johnson did one simple thing: do their jobs. Enforce the law, do their jobs to protect the people.
Laura Ingraham: Rod, you know what I was thinking? All the times we heard Brandon Johnson and Pritzker run to the cameras anytime someone is jostled outside of an ICE facility, or any— right? I mean, jostled, and they’re running to the cameras. ‘Oh, this is an outrage.’
We have a girl dead, and they’re issuing statements through spokespeople generally.
Rod Blagojevich: Yeah, that’s right. And Pritzker’s doing this. He’s— because of his political ambitions, he’s putting together a commission to study the wrongs of ICE agents if and when the Democrats win election, so he can prosecute officers of the law, not illegal immigrants who are criminals.
Laura Ingraham: One of your, one of your friends, I’m sure, and it’s an older woman, will play the soundbite, uh, had a comment about this. Chicago lawmaker, um, how reacted to Sheridan’s murder. Check this out.
Ingraham then played a video of Maria Hadden, a Democrat alderwoman, where she asserts Gorman may have just ‘been in the wrong place at the wrong time’ and that she and her friends might have startled the shooter.
Maria Hadden: The kids were out doing normal, normal things people do in the neighborhood, and it sounds like this might have been a wrong place, wrong time, running into a person who had a gun. They might have startled this person at the end of the pier. We don’t believe there is cause for broader community concern.
Laura Ingraham: 15 seconds, Governor.
Rod Blagojevich: Chicago and Illinois are the wrong place in the wrong time because we got the wrong people leading our state and our city.
Watch:

Former Illinois governor: This could have ‘easily been avoided’ if Pritzker, Johnson did their jobs | Fox News Video https://t.co/6ZVdHfpURI
— Rod Blagojevich (@realBlagojevich) March 24, 2026

The post Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich States the Obvious: Sheridan Gorman’s Murder Was Completely Preventable appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

The vast majority of likely voters believe ballots should be received by Election Day, an Honest Elections Project survey – released ahead of the Supreme Court hearing arguments on the matter – found.
The post Poll: Vast Majority Agree Ballots Should Be Received by Election Day appeared first on Breitbart.

Seemingly unable or unwilling to do agree to what the Islamic regime of Iran had asked of CNN and Sky News “journalists” in order to get permission to operate in the country, on Monday, MS NOW settled for bringing on Sky News international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn who had just left Iran after spending a week in Tehran. After paying lip service to the citizens gunned down by regime in protests earlier in the year, Waghorn insisted the strikes were driving the populous into the arms of the regime.

Waghorn was a feature throughout MS NOW’s Monday programing. That afternoon, Katy Tur questioned him on her eponymous about what he was able to understand via his interactions with average Iranians: “Were you able to talk to anybody who you felt was able to give you an honest opinion? Individuals, regular Iranians, about the war and how they felt about the regime and what they wanted.”

It start his answer, Waghorn tried to suggest that the regime wasn’t really in the business of repressing the media. “It was interesting because you have to ask for permission to film in places, but beyond that, you’re not really kind of controlled in what you can do.”

He echoed the nonsense of CNN senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen, who last week claimed he didn’t have a government minder following him around, despite describing having a translator he described as doing the job of a minder.

“We had a translator. There’s no real government minder who goes with you, and you can operate as much as you want in the area where you’re given permission to film,” Waghorn claimed.

Waghorn did note that “people are reluctant to talk to you,” “But off-camera, they are prepared to share their concerns and their fears.” He added some even shared how they “were resentful of the government.”

 

Sky News’s Dominic Waghorn, a very close ally of the Iranian regime, claims he didn’t have a minder following him around (not true), claims only a small portion of the population is “resentful of the regime” and more are very much supportive of the regime,” and claims the strikes… pic.twitter.com/suqrvn5kc4
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) March 23, 2026
 

“One man said to us off-camera that the leadership, the dictatorship, he called it in Tehran is extreme, and he hopes it goes after the war. Another person said she just really hopes that we can see change in Iran,” he recalled.

Back on MS NOW, Waghorn down played those against the regime as just a small fraction of the population and countered them by suggesting that a much larger segment of the population supported the regime:

So there is that sense of resentment amongst some people. Others though, are very much supportive of the regime of the government, and they feel that their future, I guess, is bound up with the future of the leadership. Some of them are on the payroll, some of them just sort of ideological supporters.

Further, Waghorn proclaimed that that group of regime was supporters was growing larger every day because of the strikes:

Now, there are a lot of Iranians in the middle there, of course, who aren’t necessarily didn’t come out to march but don’t actively support the government. And they, I think, many of them feel that the attacks on their country are not really aimed at the government. They are taking it rather personally, as you would if you feel the house next to you might go up in smoke at any moment, or your children could be killed on the way back from school. And in a sense, I think that is moving a public opinion to support the government and making it easier for the government to retain control.

“So, if anything, I think the air campaign being waged against Iran is strengthening the government there,” he proclaimed.

Hopefully, nothing terrible had happened to those people badmouthing the regime to Waghorn. It’s worth noting that Waghorn was arguably an ally of the regime.

As NewsBusters had previously reported, Waghorn was caught partying at the Iranian Embassy in London at an event to celebrate the regime back in February, when they were known to have been slaughtering protesters. His loyalty paid off in the form of permission to operate in the country during the war and a softball interview with an Iranian official.

The transcript is below. Click “expand” to read:

MS NOW’s Katy Tur Reports
March 23, 2026
2:19:31 p.m. Eastern

(…)

KATY TUR: Were you able to talk to anybody who you felt was able to give you an honest opinion? Individuals, regular Iranians, about the war and how they felt about the regime and what they wanted.

DOMINIC WAGHORN: It was interesting because you have to ask for permission to film in places, but beyond that, you’re not really kind of controlled in what you can do. We had a translator. There’s no real government minder who goes with you, and you can operate as much as you want in the area where you’re given permission to film. So, that was at the site of a airstrike. It was in a market. It was in one of the big funerals that we went to.

And people are reluctant to talk to you. So, the constraint really is that people won’t go on camera to talk to you. But off-camera, they are prepared to share their concerns and their fears. And some of them said that they, you know, they clearly were resentful of the government.

And that resentment led, of course, to massive protests back in January and February that the we saw tens of thousands of Iranians come out on the streets, who were then gunned down by their own security forces.

One man said to us off-camera that the leadership, the dictatorship, he called it in Tehran is extreme, and he hopes it goes after the war. Another person said she just really hopes that we can see change in Iran.

So there is that sense of resentment amongst some people. Others though, are very much supportive of the regime of the government, and they feel that their future, I guess, is bound up with the future of the leadership. Some of them are on the payroll, some of them just sort of ideological supporters.

Now, there are a lot of Iranians in the middle there, of course, who aren’t necessarily didn’t come out to march but don’t actively support the government. And they, I think, many of them feel that the attacks on their country are not really aimed at the government. They are taking it rather personally, as you would if you feel the house next to you might go up in smoke at any moment, or your children could be killed on the way back from school. And in a sense, I think that is moving a public opinion to support the government and making it easier for the government to retain control.

And of course, at a time of war, it’s easier to suppress unrest. So, if anything, I think the air campaign being waged against Iran is strengthening the government there.

(…)