Season three of Hines On Air opens with host Matt Hines interviewing Al Hobi, an Iranian human rights activist based in Paris with the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which she describes as a parliament-in-exile formed in 1981 to overthrow Iran’s regime and establish an interim government leading to a democratic republic.
Hobi outlines Iran’s recent history from British-installed monarchy, the 1953 CIA/MI6 coup against Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh after oil nationalization, and the Shah’s dictatorship, to the 1979 revolution and Khomeini’s rise, which she says was promoted by Western powers during the Cold War.
She describes escalating repression under the Islamic Republic, including compulsory veiling, formation of the IRGC, mass executions, and attacks on Kurds, and argues the solution is “neither war nor appeasement” but supporting Iranians’ organized resistance to end the regime.