Since the recent protests in Iran, there have been a plethora of online commentary from various segments of the Western left. Sadly, much of it excludes Iranian voices that do no represent the regime. It is a similar pattern we have seen before, from Syria to Ukraine. It is cynical approach that sees the world as a geopolitical chess game and demands that we automatically side with every state actor which is an enemy of the West or the American Empire over solidarity with the people of that nation.

One can be skeptical about how protests in Iran are going to be used by Western governments to subvert the Iranian government or think they are involved in fomenting unrest. I certainly think, based on history, that the US and Israel will use the protests for their own purposes. I certainly think that it is plausible that there are some agent provocateurs amongst the crowds, as this is a common practice. And US sanctions have definitely led to the economic strife in the country we see today.

But I draw the line at those who say all of the protestors are CIA or Mossad operatives or that they are being duped into protesting. That they are “empire simps,” as one condescending left-identifying writer once put it. This is nothing but orientalist racism dressed up as anti-imperialism.

The Iranians protesting understand their history better than anyone in the West. They know how Britain and the US overthrew the democratically elected, secular government of Mossadegh in 1953 and installed the brutal reign of the Shah. They know how this led to the revolution in 1979. They understand how the US and Israel have continued to meddle in their affairs.

The best we can do is to show our support for their justified rage and to protest our own governments in the West when they threaten airstrikes, war or regime change. To oppose all Western interference. To point out the hypocrisy among those who cheered on Israel as it committed genocide in Gaza or, like JK Rowling, didn’t say a word about the atrocities committed against Palestinians with full support of the West. Even though protesting our government and media may seem minimal, it is the only material leverage we have.

But doing this doesn’t mean we support the oppressive theocratic government in Iran either. Supporting them means listening to them. It means acknowledging their struggle. Giving them respect and dignity by refusing the narrative that they are merely geopolitical pawns, and not human beings with legitimate grievances, hope, and agency.

Just as in Gaza, we do not need to understand every single complexity or nuanced geopolitical issue to stand against state violence and oppression wherever it occurs. Solidarity with them isn’t supporting imperialism. It isn’t supporting American intervention either. It is merely taking a principled approach to universal human rights and universal liberation. And this is something I will never stop championing.

Kenn Maurice Orfanos, January 2026