Omid Djalili: ‘Iranians will fight to the very end against this regime’

British-Iranian comedian Omid Djalili talks to Caspar Barnes about the brutal protest crackdown – and whether US intervention could usher in a new era for Iran

On a late January afternoon, British-Iranian comedian Omid Djalili arrived at The Independent’s offices wearing a navy blue military-style jacket.

“I’m dressed like Zelensky,” the 60-year-old says, in the playful manner seen in his stand-up comedy and acting roles in blockbuster films including “The Mummy” and “Gladiator”.

More recently, since the start of the protests in Iran, and the deadly crackdown by the Islamic regime, Djalili has been fighting for Iran’s freedom.

Djalili has given over his social media to the “voiceless”, as he describes them, the Iranians stuck in an internet blackout imposed by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Protests had initially been triggered by soaring prices and a collapsing currency but quickly escalated into nationwide demonstrations demanding an end to the government.

Omid Djalili has given over his social media to the voiceless in Iran stuck in an internet blackout imposed by the Islamic Republic (The Independent)

An hour after the internet shutdown began, at around 8pm on 8 January, the regime began firing lethal rounds at protesters.

The internet blackout was an attempt by the Iranian leadership to cover up the massacres that took place across 8-9 January, according to human rights organisations including Amnesty International. As a result, the death toll has been impossible to verify.

According to medical reports collected by The Sunday Times, at least 16,500-18,000 people have died to date.

Djalili references the research of the International Centre for Human Rights (ICHR), a New York-based advocacy group.

The ICHR estimates that, since the start of the protests on 28 December over 43,000 people have been killed by the regime and 350,000 injured – 10,000 of whom have been blinded.

A protester lights a cigarette off a burning poster of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a demonstration in Berlin ((AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi))

The ICHR says that its estimates are based on “investigations, field research, verification of received images and videos, and interviews with multiple sources inside Iran”.

Born in London to Iranian parents, Djalili has only been to Iran twice in his life. Once when he was three and the final time in 1971 when he was just six years old.

Ever since his rise to fame in the mid-1990s with his breakthrough stand-up show “Short, Fat, Kebab Shop Owner’s Son” – which won critical acclaim and led to regular TV and film work – he has remained one of the most recognisable British-Iranians in the UK.

As a result, he has always kept a watchful eye on the country of his parents’ birth, and has been an outspoken voice on human rights abuses in Iran.

“It seems that every time there's an uprising, the people are not just crushed, they’re clobbered and killed,” he says.

Djalili has spoken out about human rights abuses in Iran (PA)

He was particularly moved by the 2022 “Women, Life, Freedom” movement that was sparked by the police killing of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini. Amini had been arrested for failing to wear a hijab properly and died in police custody.

Amini was Kurdish, a minority in Iran that has been historically persecuted. Djalili and his family are followers of the Baha'i faith.

Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Baha’is have faced systematic persecution at the hands of the state. Some Baha’is are blocked from jobs and universities. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, has confiscated properties from Baha’i families.

As tensions continue to simmer between Washington and Tehran, President Donald Trump has ordered a “massive Armada” of US Navy ships off the coast of Iran.

The USS Abraham Lincoln is part of Donald Trump’s ‘massive armada’ in the Middle East (US Navy)

Iran has warned that it will retaliate to any US attack instantly. Trump has said he wants to negotiate with Iran to reach a deal on its nuclear programme.

For Djalili, the time for negotiation with the Iranian regime is over; it is anathema to try to make deals with a regime that massacres its own civilians.

“It's really important that the armada is there right now,” Djalili says, but he believes it's not just for America or Israel to intervene; this is a time when the whole world should be standing up.

He was glad to see Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) placed on the European Union's terrorist list following the deadly crackdown. This will make it more difficult for countries to have any dealings with the regime, he suggests.

Members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) march during the annual military parade (AFP/Getty Images)

When considering previous US military campaigns in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, Djalili recognises that fears around intervention not necessarily leading to democracy are legitimate.

But, “Iranian people are not going to say no if anyone's going to stand up for them,” he says.

Djalili doesn't see himself as a political figure; he says he is merely relaying what he observes from the people of Iran.

From the videos he has seen, he believes exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former Shah, has the support of the Iranian protesters.

If foreign intervention were to come and the regime were toppled, he would welcome Pahlavi as a “custodian of transition” towards a new, democratic government.

Exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former Shah who was toppled in 1979 (AP)

“He seems like a very reasonable, educated person, and his heart is in the right place,” Djalili says.

Being a prominent voice for the Iranian people in Britain does take a toll.

The day Djalili spoke with The Independent, he had driven four hours from Bridport, Dorset, where he had been performing part of his stand-up tour.

Before starting his shows, Djalili goes out to speak with the audience to highlight that this is a very difficult time for Iranians and humanity as a whole. Many are not even aware of what is happening in Iran, or they struggle to believe it.

“People don't believe that security forces in another country can just go up to unarmed civilians and shoot them in the head,” Djalili says.

Djalili explains to his stand-up audiences what is happening in Iran before the shows (Omid Djalili)

Some Iranian friends have called him to suggest that maybe he should be working less. It’s true, sometimes he struggles to balance his day job as a comedian alongside his role fighting for the rights of Iranians.

Trying to be funny when so many terrible things are happening in Iran can feel like a contradiction.

But then he considers those people in Iran who continue to protest in the face of inordinate risks to their lives, and those of their family and loved ones.

“When people are together and we're joyful and we're laughing and we're discussing these things, that is exactly what the regime does not want us to do,” he says. Then Djalili pauses and shifts in his chair defiantly.

“And you know what? I’m going to do it,” he says.