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Furious Iranians slam 'biased' BBC as British left support Islamist regime amid uprising
Jan 3, 2026
Furious Iranians have slammed the "biased" BBC for its coverage while protests grip the nation, an Iranian journalist told GB News.Mani Barsharzad told the People's Channel: "There is a bias there because it doesn't fit the narrative. The narrative, which they want to say is 'it is their own culture'. "'If the Islamic Republic is oppressive, it's because the people want that.' But this is not the reality. "Do you know what do Iranian people call the BBC? Iranian people in Iran have a big campaign calling BBC 'Ayatollah BBC'. "When Ismail Haniyeh was killed by Israel in Tehran, the BBC journalist said he was a moderate."How is a person who designed the October 7 attack attacks - how is a person who is literally a leader of a terrorist group a 'moderate'?"WATCH THE INTERVIEW IN FULL ABOVE
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0:00
Five days of deadly protests in Iran against the Islamist regime which has had the country in its grip for nearly half a century
0:08
Give the latest bout of hope the Mullahs could finally fall Khamenei's regime has led a brutal crackdown, killing seven of the protesters who spilled out onto the streets furious at the soaring cost of living
0:21
Yet just as events highlight the repressive nature of the regime, the unholy alliance of the left and the Islamists rears its ugly head again
0:29
The regime which has financed Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthi rebels, sowing chaos across the Middle East, has allowed millions of child marriages
0:37
and seen Iranian women covered up and demoted to second-class citizens, is finding quiet yet strong support from the British left
0:46
Iranian economist Manny Basharsad, who came to the UK just a year ago
0:50
says it's been infuriating to listen to the privileged Brits who whisper to him their support for the murderous regime
0:57
He joins me now. You're here in Britain while your country seems to be up in flames. What's going on
1:06
It's an interesting story. The protest in Iran has started from the most conservative
1:11
part of the Persian society, which is the bazaar, which is the market. The businesses
1:15
are protesting now. But one thing is fundamentally different this time. It's not about what they
1:20
do not want, which is the Islamic tyranny or what Sir Roger Scruton, one of my favourite
1:25
philosophers of all time called the tyranny of evil mullahs but they're
1:29
saying what they want which is bringing back the monarchy more than ten cities
1:34
now have joined the protests and the Islamic Republic as always as it is its
1:39
habit started killing the protesters because of one simple reason you should
1:43
understand the mindset of the Islamic Republic they think what do they call
1:48
the leader in Iran Valley of factory what does Valley of family mean it's not
1:54
prime minister, it's not king, it's the representative of Allah on earth. Which
2:00
means that if you attack this government, if you're against this government, you're
2:04
not just the opposition, you are against Islam, you are against God, and we know
2:10
well what does the text say about those who are infidels, those who are against
2:15
the regime. You have the permission to kill them with any amount of violence
2:19
that you want. But one thing this time is different. You have Donald Trump in
2:24
United States and Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel. Both of them know the nature of
2:31
Islamic Republic. Joe Biden didn't know that. I don't think he knows that
2:36
Barack Obama for sure didn't know what does the Islamic Republic stands for
2:41
It's an ideology which is based to destroy the West. From the first days of
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Islamic Revolution what did the revolutionaries do? They occupied the US embassy. Till now in my country we don't have US embassy. We have British embassy
2:59
we don't have US embassy. And do you know what did they name? The street which the
3:04
British Embassy is based on? Bobby Sands Street, a member of IRA, is the name of
3:10
the street which the British Embassy is based on. So you have a regime which
3:14
fundamentally hates the West, fundamentally hates the freedoms that exist in a normal
3:20
society. On the other side, we have people who are tired of that. This is what is fundamentally
3:27
different about Iran. This is what Ayaan Hirsi Ali wrote three years ago in Unheard. She said
3:33
I think Iran is unique. Why did she say that? Because when women burned their hijabs in
3:38
Iran their brothers joined them their fathers joined them in the protest and the new generation
3:44
the best estimates that we got is more than 50 percent of the new generation in Iran the Gen Z
3:50
doesn't believe in Islam doesn't believe in that ideology why is that could you give us a little
3:57
bit more about of history about the Iranian culture because the the general populace in Iran
4:02
isn't as pious as other parts of the Middle East, are they? No, they are not
4:07
If you go to the streets of Tehran, most of the people are not wearing a hijab
4:12
But there is a punishment for not wearing a hijab. Why is that happening? You should go back to Persian culture
4:18
Before 1979, you have seen the pictures, I'm sure, in Twitter on X
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It's like a Western country because that was the nature of the Iranian culture
4:29
You have a culture which from thousands of years ago, likes wine, likes happiness. Omar Khayyam, which Mr Fitzgerald was the best translator of Omar Khayyam
4:39
has a poet, has a poem which says, drink wine, that's life's eternity. Drink wine, that's what
4:46
life gives to you. This is the Persian culture. It likes happiness, it likes music, it likes dancing
4:53
and suddenly a revolution happens with what the Shah of Iran called the unholy alliance of the
5:01
leftists and the Islamists. They allied together and they did the revolution. But you may have one
5:08
question. How did the atheist, communist, leftists, were in a group, were in unity with the Islamists
5:16
One simple question, one simple answer. Their hatred of the West was more than their hatred
5:25
of each other. When the revolution happened in Iran, we all know the law was mandatory hijab
5:32
The law of mandatory hijab was introduced. Who supported the law of mandatory hijab? You wouldn't
5:37
believe this. Iranian feminists like Zahra Rahnavart, like Huma Natiq, they defended mandatory hijab
5:44
because they thought hijab is a tool to resist against the West. That's what you should need to
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understand about the feminists at the time, about the Islamists at the time, and it hasn't changed
5:56
Guardian the foreign minister of the terrorist regime of Iran has written an article for Guardian You can believe this stuff Because Foucault is the most cited social scientist
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He's cited more than Sigmund Freud. He's cited more than Milton Friedman
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He's the most cited social scientist. He went to Iran one year before the revolution
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And what did he say? He's a gay man. He's an atheist. He's a postmodern leftist intellectual
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He said Iran is a hope in a hopeless world. and then someone may ask him Mr. Foucault wasn't that Karl Marx who said religion is the opium of
6:34
the masses he answered Karl Marx said in the next line that religion is the spirit of a spiritualist
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world that was his argument to defend the Islamic revolution and after the Islamic revolution
6:46
happened he couldn't go back to Iran because of the obvious reasons the LGBTQ for Palestine
6:51
cannot go to Palestine because they would be killed by the regime which they supported
6:58
What a lot of people in the West believe sometimes when they look at some of the horrific regimes
7:03
that you have in the Middle East is that the people of those countries think that way that they support it and I think with the conversation we're having now you're outlying that actually it
7:11
can happen in countries like Iran where the people don't really support a regime like that
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You've also pointed to the fact that in the West, Western and Western philosophers, political activists actually cheer on Islamic regimes
7:25
And since you came to Britain, you found out that there is kind of a lingering support among British socialists for a regime like Iran's
7:35
Again, it's an unfortunate thing that I experienced because of one simple reason
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Highly educated people, educated from Oxford, from Cambridge. When I said I'm Iranian, their first reaction was, oh we support what the regime is doing
7:48
Their picture of the Iranian regime is a regime which supports the Palestinian cause
7:54
which they are true about that. But what they forget is the reason we have the massacre
8:01
the reason that the massacre happened on October the 7th, the reason that we have this disaster in
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Gaza is because of Islamic Republic. Because the Islamic Republic is, I call them, the J.P. Morgan
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of terrorism in middle east they financed hezbollah they financed hamas when the october 7th happened
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they celebrated in tehran the regime celebrated that in tehran because that was a civilization
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our victory you can call the islamic republic nazis without ammunition because if they had
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ammunition if they had enough resources they would be like nazis worldwide now that they don't have
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have enough ammunition now that the inflation is more than 50 percent now that there is economic
8:43
troubles they still say we want to destroy the west they still say we want to destroy israel
8:48
in central tehran you have a square called palestine square there is a big banner which
8:54
is a countdown this is the term countdown till the destruction of israel they don't have any
9:00
guns right now they don't have any resources and then they have the ambition of destroying the west
9:05
destroying Israel, destroying the United Kingdom, after the Juma prayer, each Juma prayer in Tehran
9:11
the regime says death to Israel, death to America, death to England. That's the mindset you are
9:18
dealing with. But the left only sees one part, which is being anti-West, being anti-imperialism
9:27
They do not understand. The regime itself is imperialist. The regime itself is against
9:34
gay rights, LGBTQ rights, against human rights. This is something that it's so tragic
9:44
I can't even think about that happening. If I give a little bit of a picture to our viewers. So in your article you've written
9:53
between 2017 and 2022, so that's only five years, there were 184 child marriages
9:58
so of girls under 15 in Iran. It's legal there for 50-year-old men to marry 10-year-old girls
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And this is well known. Women are second-class citizens in your country
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but you, since coming to Britain, you've had people on the left openly say to you
10:15
that they support the Islamic regime there. They're blind to that fact
10:20
They're blind to the fact which a 50-year-old man in Iran cannot drink a 9-year-old wine but can marry a 9-year-old child
10:26
They're blind to this fact because of Western Derangement Syndrome. I describe Western Derangement Syndrome as the idea that any regime which is against the West
10:36
automatically gains the moral high ground. It doesn't matter if nine-year-olds can get married
10:42
It doesn't matter if gay people would be killed in that regime
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The only thing that matters for the leftists is that they fight against capitalism
10:51
They fight against the West. And that is the same case in Iran
10:54
they are against the west and it is enough for the leftist to support them and then any other thing
11:01
they find it as useless details it's their own culture let them live like that okay when it comes
11:08
to a barbaric culture like the islamic republic you say let them have their own culture but when
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it comes to western culture it suddenly becomes racist it suddenly becomes colonialist why these
11:22
double standards exist. I can't understand this. I have an explanation which is the..
11:27
When you lay this out to people, how do they respond? Do they take in the point that you've
11:31
made or are they just totally dismissive? No, they try to label me as, no, you are just
11:37
a supporter of the United Kingdom, a supporter of the US, a supporter of Western civilization
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You're financed by CIA. You don't need to be financed by CIA and Mossad to understand
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these really simple things and they can't call me racist they can't call me
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Islamophobe because I lived my whole life in that country I experienced
11:57
this I experienced walking with my girlfriend with the fear of the morality
12:00
police arresting us I experienced the fear of drinking alcohol and the risk of going blind because if you drink alcohol in Iran it illegal so you can have normal production of alcohol there is the illegal production of alcohol in
12:14
basements and so many people more than 50 people a year go blind because of the
12:19
low quality of the alcohol. I live this experience so no one can label me as
12:24
racist, as fascist, as Islamophobe, as white supremacist, because I live what it
12:33
is their dream. Their dream is a country like Iran. It recognizes Palestine, it
12:39
supports Hamas, it supports all the terrorist groups, it has a good
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relationship with the East, with China, with Russia, the economic system, there is a
12:48
a socialist system this is the utopia for them and a lot of the um coverage if the minimal coverage
12:57
has been in the bbc and other organizations like that has focused on the fact that it's the cost
13:02
of living which iranians are protesting whereas when i speak to people like you you normally
13:08
mention the repression of the regime and the islamic system so as someone who is iranian who
13:14
who has lived there his whole life. What is getting people so riled up over there
13:19
And this is a big lie, that it's because of cost of living. It's because of affordability crisis
13:26
They should answer one simple question. If it's because of economics, why people in the streets
13:31
The most conservative part of the society, the bazaar, is saying, God save the king
13:37
They're saying Javid Shah, which means God save the king. Why they're saying this
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Why they're saying death to Khamenei? Why they're saying, this is a slogan in Iran
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No to Gaza, no to Lebanon, I will give my life for Iran
13:55
They're not tired of the economic situation only. They are tired of the anti-Western ideology
14:01
of the Islamic Republic. They're tired of their taxpayer money going to finance terrorist groups
14:06
all around the Middle East. They're tired of women mandatory hijab. They're tired of everything. They're tired of that regime
14:14
So why do you think that the BBC won't just say that? Is there a bias there
14:18
It is a bias there. Because it doesn't fit the narrative. The narrative which they want to say is, it is their own culture
14:27
If the Islamic Republic is oppressive, it's because the people want that. But this is not the reality. Do you know what do Iranian people call BBC
14:35
Iranian people in Iran have a big campaign calling BBC Ayatollah BBC
14:40
because so many people in BBC when Ismail Haniyeh was killed by Israel in Tehran
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the BBC journalist, BBC Persian journalist said he was a moderate. He was a moderate
14:53
How a person who designed October 7th attacks, how a person who's literally a leader of a terrorist
14:59
group is a moderate. Everyone was shocked by that and anytime these protests happen they try to say
15:06
it's because of economic reasons. People are protesting against the cost of living crisis
15:10
No, they're not. When they're saying we want back the monarchy, it means that they want a regime
15:16
change. But most of the BBC Persian ysts, most of the people who go there, who talk there
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are the reformers. The people who try to say we want to reform the Islamic Republic
15:29
But as Henry Kissinger understood this really, really well, he said an Iranian reformer is one
15:35
an Iranian hardliner who's run out of ammunition. Because the idea of reform is a lie in a theocracy
15:44
Because theocracy is designed not to reform. It's a religious regime and its principles
15:50
are sacred. And you do not change sacred principles because of popular vote
15:58
When we talk about what the Iranian people want next, you've mentioned that they want to return
16:03
to the monarchy and in the last bout of protests Reza Pahlavi did a speech to the Iranian people he
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said he's ready to take back power if and when the time comes why is it that the Iranians are
16:15
so loyal to him why don't they want a democracy? This is an important point what Reza Pahlavi is
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saying is if I gained the power there would be free elections and people can choose between
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constitutional monarchy and a republic and both systems are democratic one is with a constitutional
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monarch which is the Pahlavi dynasty and the second one is a republic that's what he's offering
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so even so many Iranian republicans Iranian democrats who hate the Islamic regime are not
16:51
supporting the crown prince Reza Pahlavi because they know the only chance for democracy in Iran
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is when Pahlavi comes back. And for a bit of context for GB News audience, Reza Pahlavi had
17:04
a meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu in 2023. Last year, 2025, he came to England, he met with Nigel
17:10
Farage, David Cameron, and Boris Johnson. It's quite a wide change. And what monarchy means for
17:17
Iranians is normality. Normal relations with the West, good economic policy, free market capitalism
17:26
before the 1979 revolution, Iran was what so many people look at Dubai like
17:33
Iran was like that. Abaddon, so many people from the United Kingdom went to Abaddon to work
17:39
There was big money there. The other thing is, for example, in the 70s
17:43
when the UK had an energy crisis which introduced three days work week
17:48
Baker from the Treasury went to St. Maurice to have negotiations with Shah
17:53
to ask Shah for some funds. This was the economic situation in Iran
17:58
And now you're facing with a regime, which when they gained power 45 years ago one dollar was equal to seven tommons Now one dollar is equal to 145 tommons They destroyed the value of money
18:15
That's the thing. In the recent days, in one single day, the value of real compared to dollar was decreased by 25%
18:26
The 1992 British pound prices was 16%. And that's a normal day in Iran
18:32
What you call a crisis here is just a normal day of life in the Iranian economy
18:37
And they do that with a purpose because when they print money, they make everyone poorer
18:42
but the estate richer. Milton Friedman said that really well, that inflation is tax without legislation
18:52
Inflation is theft and they are big thieves. And Donald Trump is locked in a war of words today with the regime
18:59
said that if the regime kills any more protesters that he is locked and loaded
19:05
ready to intervene. The regime have hit backs warning him not to. They're saying
19:11
that if they were to then it would let off chaos across the region. The fact
19:16
that they're asking the US president not to intervene does that not say that maybe they're a little bit scared? They are scared after the 12-day
19:27
war with Israel because when the 12-day war was happening the foreign minister
19:32
of Iran and Guardian columnist asked Israel for permission for himself to fly
19:40
that's the power structure they're so weak right now they don't have their
19:45
militias anymore after Assad regime fall Hamas is weak Hezbollah is weak and now
19:53
they're saying to Donald Trump that there would be a big mess in Middle East
19:57
their main reason there is a big messy Middle East is because of the Islamic Republic it's because they finance the terrorist groups there it's because
20:05
their main goal is destabilizing the Middle East and suddenly now they're
20:10
saying to Donald Trump please don't attack us they don't remember Khamenei
20:15
made a prediction I think 12 years ago which he said in 2024 United States would
20:21
ran out of oil. What happened in 2024 and 2025 is Iran ran out of gas, Iran ran out
20:29
of oil, Iran ran out of water. And you should remember this, Iran has the third largest oil
20:38
reserves in the whole planet. And during the 12-day war, which you just mentioned, I think there was this momentum
20:49
growing and I think people started to believe that maybe this could be the end of the regime and it wasn't. Does what's happening right now give you hope? Do you think that there's
20:58
a chance at this time we could overturn them? It gives me hope because of a couple of reasons
21:05
The first one is when the 12-day war happened, there was no protests because of simple reason
21:10
People are scared for their lives. If they go out, maybe there would be a bomb. So, the first one is, now you have the protest. Now you have an Islamic Republic which is weak
21:20
after the 12-day war. They killed all the important military leaders. And the third
21:27
reason is, people are not clear about what they want. It's not only death to Khamenei
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it's we want the crown prince Razal Pahlavi back. These two reasons makes me hopeful
21:39
makes me hopeful for a change. I'm a pessimist and I know that because I have seen all these
21:45
protests in 2023, 2022, 2019. But this one is different. The first one is Iranian people are
21:54
more aware of what they want. The second one is United States has a Republican in the office
22:02
and Republicans know how to deal with terrorism. You do not negotiate with evil, you defeat it
22:12
That's the mindset which I think is going to help Iranians. If the Iranian regime would finally fall after nearly 50 years, what would a new Iran
22:23
look like with its relationship to Britain? A free Iran means there's no money for Hamas
22:30
to buy guns to kill innocent Israelis. It means that there's no Iranian drones for Russians
22:37
to kill innocent Ukrainians. It means that no British national is going to be arrested
22:43
in Iran for the sin of being British national. It means that China wouldn't get discounted
22:50
oil rate from Iran to have unfair competition with UK and US in energy markets. It means
22:57
that the main route of the civilization in Middle East, the Islamic Republic, is not going
23:03
to finance the terrorist groups all around the world, Hamas, Hezbollah. It means that Islamic Center of England, which is an organization operating in London, which
23:15
its money comes from Islamic Republic of Iran, which its manager is chosen by the Supreme
23:20
of Iran wouldn't continue its propaganda in the British United Kingdom. Islamic Center of England has connections with more than 100 charities
23:32
and schools here in London which we are talking about. This means the propaganda
23:37
of the regime would end and Jeremy Corbyn gave a speech to Islamic Center of
23:42
England a couple of years ago which is interesting to mention but then my last
23:47
point is, Iran is the third oil reserve in the world. And if that oil reserve is in the
23:54
hand of terrorist maniacs who want to use that resource to destroy Iran and destroy the West
24:03
I do not think that's in the interest of anybody to continue with
24:09
Great. Thank you so much. Oh, thank you for inviting me
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