Iranian American Rep. Ansari: ‘We need an off-ramp quickly’ to end Iran war

[0:00] The Islamic Republic is a barbaric, corrupt regime that has murdered, imprisoned, and terrorized its own people for decades. [0:07] As the daughter of Iranian immigrants who fled this regime, I know personally what its violence means. [0:12] At the same time, as an American congresswoman who swore an oath to the United States Constitution, [0:18] I am deeply concerned by President Trump's decision to launch an illegal war, [0:23] because it is in fact illegal, against Iran without congressional authorization [0:27] and without presenting a clear plan to the American people. [0:32] That was Arizona Representative Yasemin Ansari, the first Iranian-American Democrat in Congress. [0:38] The Iranian regime has persecuted members of her own family. [0:42] We sat down for a conversation about her complicated feelings about the war [0:47] and her hopes and fears for Iran's future. [0:50] So let's go back. February 28th, the war starts. [0:57] What were you thinking? How did you hear? [0:59] What was your reaction? [0:59] What was your reaction? [0:59] What was your first reaction? [1:00] It was a weird feeling, a feeling of something you knew was going to happen, [1:05] but the uncertainty of what comes next was quite heavy. [1:11] And I immediately called my parents, and I knew it was like 2 or 3 a.m. for them in Phoenix, [1:16] but I called them, and the next few days were really tough, [1:20] and the first week or two, honestly, were very, very heavy. [1:23] I think a lot of pressure from the standpoint of, you know, [1:30] somebody who's grown up with wanting to see change in Iran, positive change, [1:35] a better future for the people of Iran. [1:38] But in my role as a U.S. Congresswoman, knowing very well what we're dealing with [1:43] in a President Donald Trump, and knowing that there is no plan or clear objectives [1:49] for what the war is about, I had a lot of anxiety and mixed feelings. [1:55] And your parents, I mean, they effectively fled the... [2:00] Regime. [2:02] I mean, your dad was here as a student, couldn't go back. [2:05] Your mom left. [2:06] You know, my mom was 16 or 17 years old when she was forced to flee. [2:10] Women were losing their rights, and so my grandfather had been supportive of the monarchy [2:15] before it fell, and so he was briefly imprisoned, [2:18] and that's when they decided to send my mom here by herself. [2:21] Stories I've heard are that she was extremely depressed, you know, lost a ton of weight, [2:26] was here by herself, living with a family. [2:29] And, you know, they've gone... [2:31] They've gone back over the years, but especially as I've gotten more into politics, [2:35] pretty much 18 years old onward, the possibility of going back diminishes. [2:39] And what was their reaction when they heard that Ayatollah Khamenei had been killed? [2:46] I think everybody's reaction, including my parents, to that news is joyful. [2:53] Not a classic joyful, right, because you're talking about somebody's death, [2:57] but there's a feeling of hope that comes with it. [3:00] Maybe now something can happen. [3:02] Maybe now, you know, this is the beginning of the end. [3:05] I think immediately they are worried about, you know, [3:08] their concerns have always been Iran, like, balkanizing, essentially, [3:13] and the borders of the country changing because there are so many different ethnicities [3:18] and groups and not all, you know, good actors and interests around Iran, [3:24] but also that it could become a failed state. [3:26] And if this isn't managed carefully, a country of 90 million people could very well fall into civil war. [3:32] And I think that has been their concern from the beginning, and my concern as well. [3:35] This is obviously a very challenging time. [3:39] There's a war going on, but is there a hope that at the end of this that what comes next will be better? [3:45] This has actually caused a lot of internal strife within the community. [3:51] A lot of families, you know, my own family at the Thanksgiving dinner table, [3:55] there were a lot of debates about whether or not people should be hopeful, what the right thing is to do. [4:01] Mm-hmm. [4:02] I will say... [4:03] There are many people who are, you know, who feel that there was no other way to weaken this regime [4:12] than outside military intervention. [4:15] You know, the people don't have the weapons, the regime has the weapons, [4:18] and they will happily massacre as many people as they can to stay in power. [4:24] Then I think there's another camp, and I think that camp of folks, you know, feels that... [4:30] They really actually do believe that Donald Trump... [4:34] Maybe he has a good plan here and has positive intentions. [4:38] And that's real. [4:39] I don't agree with that. [4:42] There's another camp that I think is very anti-war and believes that bombs are not gonna free people. [4:49] You know, there's people who are within the diaspora and Iranians who just who want something... [4:57] hopeful to hold onto and are trying to now steer this in the right direction. [5:03] We're already in this war. [5:04] Mm-hmm. [5:04] So what can be done? And I've been thinking a lot about that. Ultimately, I do think we need an off-ramp quickly to the war. [5:12] We need to de-escalate. I just want to see the best for Iranian people who have had to live under this regime for the last 47 years. [5:21] Our thanks to Congresswoman Ansari.