Iranian American journalist and activist Masih Alinejad talks to UK Channel 4 about what she’s hearing from inside the country.

MASIH ALINEJAD: A massacre is taking place in Iran. It is a massacre. When I hear from people who have access to Starlink, I can hear it in their voices, in their messages. They are scared, witnessing how people are being killed in front of their eyes. These are people I have never seen scared before, never begging for outside help. These are activists I am in touch with. They’re saying that hour by hour the number of those killed is increasing. You see videos we’re receiving from inside Iran showing how they pile the lifeless bodies of those who have been shot-in the chest, in the heart-on top of each other. The regime has even asked family members to pay money to get the bodies back. People inside Iran are saying-not me-that the regime is using military weapons to control what I no longer call unrest. This is a revolution. For millions of people right now, this is a crucial moment. If they don’t receive help from outside Iran, the regime will continue to slaughter innocent, unarmed people. … Sources inside Iran are telling us it’s thousands who have been killed. Because of the internet blackout, the absolute darkness, verifying information is extremely difficult. But we know the real number is higher than what we are hearing. People are telling us that IRGC members and security forces are targeting people in the heart, blinding them, because they want to create fear. They are targeting teenagers because they know teenagers have no fear. The regime claims the number of protesters has decreased, and that fear and repression are working. That is not accurate. MATT FREI: The regime says the climate of fear is working, at least for now. Do you think that’s true? MASIH ALINEJAD: No. They have guns and bullets. They are using mosques to warn people: if you don’t leave the streets, we will shoot you. They cut electricity to hide their crimes. But what happened? People used the light of their mobile phones. It’s beautiful to see how desperately people want the world to see them in the streets, to see their determination to end this regime. And let me be very clear. When some media hesitate to call this an unprecedented uprising, when leaders of the free world hesitate to speak about the demands of Iranians, that silence helps the regime. President Trump said he would kill those killing innocent protesters. But leaders like the UK prime minister and President Macron are absolutely quiet. That helps the Iranian regime. … Europe must stand with the people of Iran and join the United States in taking strong action. What we want is clear: free and fair elections. But the immediate help is to stop the killing. That is not too much to ask. The Islamic Republic sends assassins to the U.S. and the UK. I survived three assassination plots. What do you expect me to do-negotiate with Ali Khamenei? This regime practices transnational repression. Europeans must be brave enough to act. … The fear is gone. This is not a protest anymore. It is a revolution. People say, Shoot us, we’re not going home. But I never say they can win without help from the free world. This is not charity. Dictators are united-Putin, Maduro, China-more united than the G7. History will judge leaders who had a chance to act and stayed silent.

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