Most of the shops on this shopping street in Tehran are closed. Image: keystone
interview
The population of Iran has been under attack from the USA and Israel since the end of February. Human rights activist Neda Amani tells how the war changed the resistance movement in the country – and what Switzerland should do now.
Mar 10, 2026, 6:38 p.mMarch 10, 2026, 6:55 p.m
Ms. Amani, your parents fled Iran for political reasons in the 1980s. The rest of your family still lives there. When did you last hear from them?
Neda Amani: The last time I spoke to them was shortly before the outbreak of war. We haven’t heard from them since. We are incredibly worried. There has been an internet blockage for ten days. However, I am in contact with people in Iran through my work with human rights organizations.
What is it about?
As recently as January, the regime killed thousands of people following protests. We are still coming to terms with these atrocities. Then the war started. The Iranian people don’t deserve this.
To person
Neda Amani (35) is a Swiss-Iranian human rights activist. She was born and raised in Switzerland. She is the founder of the Iranian Youth Association in Switzerland and a member of the Women’s Network for Change (WNC).
Image: zvg
“The Iranian people were already being terrorized by their own regime before the war. Now bombs are falling too.”
What are you hearing from the local Iranian population? How is she?
She’s scared. Even before the war, the Iranian people were terrorized by their own regime on a daily basis – through death sentences, arbitrary arrests and torture. Now bombs are falling too. People are in limbo – somewhere between hope and fear. In addition, a large part of the population lives below or close to the poverty line. Many people can hardly afford the basics due to high inflation and sharp increases in food prices.
How does the population react to the attacks?
We are receiving news that many people don’t dare leave the house. Some leave the city and flee to the villages for safety. The normal population cannot take refuge in bunkers; people are at the mercy of the bombs without protection.
Dark clouds of smoke in the sky over Tehran after Israeli forces hit an oil refinery.Image: keystone
What scares people the most?
I think they know they’re left to their own devices. Because the regime does not protect its own people from attacks. That’s why people in Iran are justifiably afraid for their lives. On the other side are the victims’ families who have not yet recovered from the massacres in January. One should not forget the countless political prisoners in Iranian prisons, a particularly vulnerable group. But almost 90 million people live in Iran, so it is difficult to give a general answer.
“The Iranian people know that the regime did not fall with the death of Ayatollah Khamenei.”
What are the people you are in contact with preparing for now?
At the moment the situation is constantly changing. Just two weeks ago, no one would have thought that Ayatollah Khamenei would die. His death is still incomprehensible for many Iranians. But the Iranian people also know that the regime did not fall with the death of Ayatollah Khamenei.
What is your impression: How did people in Iran and the diaspora react to Khamenei’s death?
There were videos from the country itself that showed people rejoicing over his death. This is not unreasonable considering how he and his regime have acted against their own people. I’m thinking, for example, of the massacre in 1988, when the regime killed thousands of dissidents. Or the uprisings of the past ten years. On the other hand, many opposition figures have hoped to hold Khamenei and other members of the regime accountable for their actions in an international court.
A billboard in Tehran shows the former Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the killed Ali Khamenei and the newly appointed Moschtaba Khamenei.Image: keystone
On Sunday it was announced that Ali Khamenei’s son, Modshtaba Khamenei, had been appointed supreme leader. How do you rate this step?
Moschtaba Khamenei is considered one of the main architects of the repression of the past three decades. With the death of the Ayatollah, the regime has reached its weakest point. I don’t think his appointment can save the regime anymore.
How do you perceive the support of the regime among the Iranian population?
The regime has a certain amount of ideological support. For example among the Revolutionary Guards and their members. With executions and arrests over the past 47 years, it has built up an apparatus of fear and tried to silence every dissenting voice. People cannot express their opinions freely. The regime is waging a psychological war against its own population, but also against its partners in the Middle East and the West.
“The regime is waging a psychological war against its own population.”
Do you hear voices that see the intervention of the USA and Israel as a liberation move?
There are some voices in the diaspora from the monarchist camp who are in favor of the intervention. But I perceive the tenor in the country differently. It goes more in the direction of rejecting war and intervention. Even during the protests, the population never called for intervention or war or demanded weapons and financial support. An intervention always brings with it a dependency.
What exactly does the organized resistance in Iran look like?
The organized resistance is an active force in the country and consists primarily of so-called resistance units of the People’s Mujahideen. These units are armed and have been involved in many protests. They also carry out direct actions against regime facilities or set ayatollah banners on fire to signal resistance. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which was founded in 1981, operates at the international level. He is committed to a democratic transitional government in Iran and has already made a proposal for the composition of such a transitional government, with Maryam Rajavi at its head. The Council has also drawn up a ten-point plan on what a pluralistic republic could look like.
The opposition activist Maryam Rajavi, the elected president of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, in Brussels in September last year.Image: keystone
What is the level of support for such a transitional government among the Iranian population?
It’s difficult to say because traditional opinion polls are impossible. The resistance in Iran takes place underground. The people in the country cannot trust anyone, often not even their own families. It’s like in times of the Gestapo. You can’t just say: “I belong to the Iranian resistance.” Only when the death penalty is abolished and there is an internal upheaval will people be able to express themselves freely. But the resistance organizations are well networked, especially among the families of the victims of this regime – and there are many of them. We also interpret the large participation in the January protests as a sign of support.
“The people in the country can’t trust anyone, often not even their own families.”
Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last Shah of Iran, who lives in exile in America, has also offered himself as the country’s interim ruler. He and his followers are referred to as “monarchists”. How do you feel about this camp?
I completely reject it and perceive it as divisive. The people rose up against the Shah in 1979 precisely because of his authoritarian leadership. At that time there was a one-party system and many ethnic and ethnic groups were discriminated against under the Shah. The son of the former monarch now presents himself as a savior, but he does not distance himself from his father’s actions. And he plans a future Iran without the influence of other ethnic groups.
How did the war change civil society resistance?
The opposition feels that change could now happen. And the many different organizations are trying – even more than before – to do everything they can to be involved in the overthrow of the regime. I also hear that a lot of new people are currently joining the resistance units.
“Switzerland has kept this regime alive with its diplomatic relations.”
How do you perceive the international support for the people of Iran?
Many Western countries pursue a policy of appeasement and do not believe that the regime will be overthrown. This can also be seen in the example of Switzerland: it has kept this regime alive for four decades through its diplomatic relations.
What do you mean by that exactly?
It gave the regime legitimacy by giving it an international stage and sitting at the table with it. Despite the executions, despite the arrests of dissenting voices, despite the oppression of women and all minorities. In its 47 years of existence, the regime has learned how to use democratic tools. It has made the West believe that it is reformable and moderate. At the same time, execution rates rose and the people of Iran were economically exhausted. Since the widespread uprisings in 2022, even those behind the scenes can no longer sugarcoat what is happening in Iran.
Former Iranian President Hassan Rohani and then Swiss President Alain Berset during an official visit to Iran in Bern in 2018. Image: KEYSTONE
How do you think Switzerland should behave?
I currently see the greatest danger for the Iranian people in the fact that their demand for regime change is being betrayed by the West – and diplomatic relations continue as before the war. In this transitional moment, Switzerland and other countries should therefore firstly recognize the democratic alternative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran. And secondly, they should respect the Iranian people’s right to self-determination, including the right to organized resistance.
How do you see the near future? What do you expect?
If these two demands are met, I believe that the Iranian people can liberate themselves.