This interview was conducted in March of 2026.
On February 28, the United States dropped bombs on Iran that led to the death of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Although there has been significant pushback against a potential war in Iran, Southern Utah University film professor Jahanara Saleh, who grew up in Iran, said some Iranians see the bombings as a road to revolution.
“The IRGC itself threatens to bomb and kill its own people on a daily basis,” Saleh said. “So I think…the people of Iran are seeing this war as a way to help them get rid of the regime so they can actually achieve the uprising that started in January.”
Uprisings at the start of the year against the Iranian government were unsuccessful, but Saleh said the Iranian people have been frustrated with the government for a long time.
“President Trump had come in at some point and said ‘keep protesting, help is on the way,’” she said. “And he had said that in the beginning of January, so the Iranian people, I guess, were actually very happy and hoping for help from the American government to come and help them not be slaughtered by their own regime.”
Saleh was born during the revolution in 1979 against the Shah government. The revolution was bloody and led to thousands of deaths before the implementation of the Islamic Republic.
“That’s how I grew up during the Iranian Iraq War. Imagine how horrible things must be for a nation to ask for war,” Saleh said. “The people are celebrating getting bombed.”
In a press release, Sen. John Curtis said he did not vote to limit President Trump’s power over bombing Iran because the country poses an imminent threat.
“We want the president to be able to respond to an imminent threat,” said Curtis. “We want the president to be able to cut off a threat before it becomes imminent.”
Saleh said members of the Iranian government pose more of a threat than the actual Iranian people.
“Do they ever really come and attack America? No, but the terrorist groups do,” Saleh said. “Yes, those people who do support Ayatollah Khamenei or that regime they very much do support terrorism. So yes, I do believe, in a way, they are a threat.”
Instead, Saleh said the threat of the Iranian government against its own people is a cause for concern.
“The real threat here is not America bombing Iran, as strange as that may seem,” she said. “The threat is the Iranian government bombing and killing its own people and making it seem like America’s bombing residential areas.”
Saleh said the situation is complicated and people should keep an open mind about the evolving situation.
“I feel like there’s a lot of protests going on about ‘no war with Iran,’ and I understand, of course, where that comes from. Like I said, nobody wants this,” said Saleh. “I wouldn’t really call it the war against Iran. I’m calling it a war against the regime.”
As for her hopes for a potential uprising against the current Iranian government, Saleh wants Iranian women to regain their rights and for people to live freely.
“I think the Iranian people have been held hostage by this regime for too long,” she said.
Some protesters argue peaceful protests against the government are still a viable option for Iran. Saleh disagrees.
“It was impossible, I think, because we’ve tried,” said Saleh. “(The government) shoot people in the street, they imprison them, they’re just executing people left and right. So people have been trying for decades to stop this regime and they have not been able to.”
Although it’s unsure if there will be a transition of power after the death of Khamenei, Saleh is hopeful.
“This is the closest we’ve come to actually being able to overthrow the government…whether it’s going to happen or not, I don’t know,” said Saleh. “In war, there’s always casualties. And I even hate saying something like that, but we’ve been dying anyway. And this is just making it easier for the next generation to live.”
Author: Hannah Clove
Photo: Majdi Mohammed, AP News
Editor: Payson Davis
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