Holly Dagris

My name's Holly Dagris.

I am a senior fellow at the D.C.-based think tank, the Washington Institute, a curator of the Iranist newsletter on Substack.

I'm also Iranian-American and spent my formative years in Iran.

I mean, I know it's a controversial topic right now, but I was cheering for Iran.

But you felt complicated about it.

Or no.

I think there's just complex feelings right now because of everything that's happened from January, starting with the unprecedented massacre of anti-regime protesters to the war itself.

But, you know, there was a time when Team Medli, as we call them, or the national team in Persian, used to unite Iranians from Tehran to Tehranjales.

And I grew up

in L.A.

before moving to Iran.

And I remember the 1998 World Cup when the U.S.

and Iran played, and Iranians were dancing on the street in Westwood Boulevard in Los Angeles.

And I remember my cousins telling me it was the first time Iranians in Iran were dancing on the street, which was an act of defiance in its own and such a shock at the time.

Mm-hmm.

And then years later, of course, I would live in Iran and actually take part in two of those celebrations for two different World Cups.

So, you know, there's a lot of feelings there.

Throughout this war, what we've really struggled with is getting a pulse on the Iranian people, as you noted.

And that was because there was a state-imposed internet blackout.

It was the fifth iteration and the longest globally, according to...