In a speech on February 17, Iranian regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei repeatedly stated that “the enemies of the Iranian nation want to harm this nation through software”
Within this single statement, there are two lies and deceptions:
Firstly, no government in the world has ever sought to harm the Iranian nation. The focus of most Iranians inside the country and their supporters worldwide is to deal a decisive blow to the clerical regime and remove it as an obstacle to Iran’s progress and freedom. Meanwhile, major global powers, rather than supporting the Iranian people, have only engaged in appeasement and deals with the ruling mullahs—ironically preventing the regime’s downfall during various uprisings over the past four decades.
Secondly, it is Khamenei himself who has ordered the filtering of communication tools for the Iranian people—not any foreign government or external force. Beyond the filtering imposed under Khamenei’s rule, the rest of the world enjoys free and open communication, using internet services as needed for work and daily life.
This introduction served as a reference to Khamenei’s particular brand of deceit before addressing the other side of the coin—the reality of the Iranian nation. The truth is that the biggest enemy of the ruling mullahs is none other than most of the Iranian people. These are people who’s right to a normal life has been stripped away by this regime. Those who have the financial means are leaving Iran in large numbers, choosing the harsh realities of refugee life over the humiliation of selling their bodies, poverty, homelessness, and a future devoid of hope.
The destruction of life and hope for the “Iranian nation” by the ruling clerics, led by Khamenei, has led to an unavoidable admission:
“250,000 nurses serve 85 million people, while 3,000 nurses apply for migration each year; Iran is training nurses for the world—for free,” according to the state-run Tasnim News Agency on February 17.
According to this report, “12,000 nurses are trained annually,” but due to government mismanagement, as well as poor administration in universities and hospitals, nurses and doctors reach a breaking point. Years of study, effort, and hope for a future amount to nothing, like water spilled onto a desert:
“Nurses either end up unemployed, switch to other jobs—such as driving for ride-hailing services—or they migrate.”
Clearly, in Iran, nothing is in its rightful place. The root cause of this chaotic state is not governance is occupation.
A combination of incompetence in professional management and an education and healthcare system controlled by a corrupt, rent-seeking regime leads to this outcome:
“Currently, a hospital nurse in Iran earns a fixed salary of 130 million rials, which is about $160. Meanwhile, a nurse in the Persian Gulf region or Oman, which is culturally close to Iran, earns $2,000 per month. In Europe, it’s €3,500, and in the U.S., it’s $6,000.”
Is the brain drain or the forced migration of nurses and doctors any different from forced school dropouts? Both means being uprooted from a normal future and sending down a path of uncertainty.
The “Iranian nation” is also a victim of the ruling mullahs’ all-consuming policies regarding education. The statistics speak volumes: Official figures show a worrying increase in school dropouts, but what is even more alarming is the growing share of girls among them.
According to Iran’s Statistical Center, in the 2022-2023 academic year, among the 12 to 14-year-old population, 3,726,651 students were enrolled in lower secondary education. However, 197,690 students dropped out, including 98,271 boys and 99,723 girls.
State-run media reported in September 2024 that the number of school dropouts among boys and girls had risen to 281,000—an increase of 83,000 compared to the 2022-2023 academic year.
These are the documented realities that expose the real “enemy” of the “Iranian nation”—the force that is burning away the future of its youth.