00:00Donald Trump saying that nothing is off the table regarding this situation in Iran.
00:04Let's show you images coming in to us here at France 34 from New York,
00:08where there is a special Security Council meeting on Iran that has been called.
00:13We'll be keeping an eye on developments there.
00:15Our correspondent Jessica Lenzuri heading to the premises to observe,
00:20and of course she'll be bringing us the latest as it develops.
00:23So that's a special meeting at the UN on the issue of Iran.
00:27And let's broaden our view of the situation and bring in Aida Tavakoli,
00:33who is co-founder of We Are Iranian Students, joining us live.
00:36Aida, thank you very much for being with us here at France 24.
00:38We appreciate your time.
00:40Donald Trump has been told that the crackdown is easing.
00:43I wonder whether you are hearing the same or a different story.
00:49Thank you for having me.
00:51Well, no one is hearing from Iran because there has been a shutdown.
00:57And we know that when the shutdown happens in Iran,
01:02this is the way the regime uses just to unleash its cruelty
01:07and commit crimes against the civilians unarmed.
01:12So there is no way that Donald Trump has heard this news,
01:17and there is no way that the Islamic regime has stopped the killing.
01:20The very few testimonies that we have is that it's way worse than we could ever imagine,
01:29which even makes us scared of the moment the Internet will come back
01:34and we will discover how deep the trauma is going to be.
01:41It's a very, very scary moment for Iranian people,
01:46and the international community is clearly abandoning any kinds of value
01:54that once made our world a free world.
01:59So it's very disappointing.
02:02Aida, what would you want the international community to do?
02:04Can you be clear on that and tell us what you think should happen?
02:07Well, thank you for asking.
02:12The international community has a responsibility since 2005
02:18to protect the civilians against genocide, against crimes, against humanity.
02:26And they have a responsibility to intervene and protect the civilians
02:32if this happens within their own states.
02:36So the Security Council reunited, they should vote for a resolution
02:43for a collective action against the Islamic regime
02:47and to protect the civilians in Iran.
02:51They should mandate a special committee of human rights
02:55that could go there and document what happened during those 12 days.
03:00That could also bring help to the civilian people.
03:04They should also reestablish the Internet through, for example, Starlink satellites.
03:11This is, we know, because of the many uprisings that happened
03:17throughout those 47 years that putting light on what is happening in Iran
03:23is an efficient way to restrain the repression.
03:27During the Women's Life Freedom Uprising, for nine months, people were in the streets
03:32and more than 600 people were killed.
03:36But it was really, really far from the numbers that we hear now within a few days.
03:43So the blackout is the most dangerous tool the regime is using right now.
03:48This is the most urgent measure that we should take.
03:52The G7, the ministers of foreign affairs of the G7 just declared that they call the regime
04:02to exercise some restraint in the violence.
04:06What does that mean?
04:07Does that mean that they should use violence but not too much?
04:11And they say that if this continues, then they will take some restrictive actions.
04:19Okay, so how many days should that continue?
04:22How many more people should die before the G7 thinks of some restrictive actions?
04:28This is a moment of huge gravity, of huge responsibility of the international community.
04:38And Donald Trump did not step back because of the postponing of the execution of Erfant.
04:47We all know that the human rights issue is not Donald Trump's issue.
04:52What is happening geopolitically is very complex and everyone wants a bit of the cake, if I may say.
05:01But the truth is that the Iranian people have been rising for decades now against the Islamic regime.
05:10Their demand is very clear.
05:11This is a democratic, secular country that they want and they share our values.
05:17They have been fighting non-violently for so many years, unarmed, and they are being victim of a slaughter.
05:25So those are crimes against humanity.
05:29And if there is any way the international community can help, they should use it.
05:38There are diplomatic ways, there are targeted sanctions, the United Nations can vote for a resolution, they can have a coalition to send help.
05:51There are many means of pressure against the Islamic regime.
05:56And just changing the strategy from one day to another, this is the highest form of cruelty for a civilian society that has been inspiring the whole world.
06:13With its values, with the courage, with its political project, we should really take into account the momentum that this civil society is opening for our world.
06:30Not just for Iran, but for the Middle East and for the entire world.
06:34Ada, I need to stop you there.
06:35Thank you very much indeed for joining us here in France 24.
06:38We can feel, we can almost taste the anger that you're feeling, and that is understandable.
06:43I can't imagine what you're going through because I've never been through what you are living, what your family is living, what your friends are living, what your country is living right now.
06:52Ada Tavakoli, co-founder of We Are Iranian Students.
06:56Thank you for joining us here on France 24.
06:58We hope to speak to you again soon.
06:59Thank you once more.
07:02Ada there with her very clear message to the international community that more must be done to help the people of Iran.
07:08Do you want to see who is in the Middle East?
07:32Do you want to hear them?
07:33There we are.
07:33There we are.
07:34There we are.
07:35There we are.
