Holly Dagris

Oh, my God.

He's worried about another internet shutdown.

I think if they were in the business of doing the kind of governance that their people wanted, they wouldn't have had these cyclical anti-regime protests over the years.

But to your point, the truth is, I think they really, after the three months and once they felt comfortable enough with the ceasefire negotiations, they turned the internet back on because they felt safe.

But when I look at the big picture for them, this shutdown and the ones before it is really not a matter of national security, but one about controlling the narrative and also making sure that Iranians' voices aren't heard by the outside world.

At the end of the day, this is an authoritarian government that has...

not had the interests of the Iranian people at heart.

They've been dealing with systemic mismanagement, corruption, and repression for decades, and that's why people have been going to the streets for years.

And I'll quote Iran-based dissident rapper Tumar Salehi when the news emerged that the memorandum of understanding was being finalized.

Iran's freedom has never been dependent on the will of another country.

So this path won't reach a dead end, whether through war, an agreement, or even the support of other countries.

Iran's freedom seekers are still alive, and they'll keep going step by step.