For Mojdeh and her husband, the question of US intervention in Iran is personal.


In early January, they travelled from their home in Washington, DC to Tehran to visit family - expecting a short, routine trip. Instead, protests spread, flights were cancelled and they found themselves stranded in a city that no longer felt predictable.


Life was on pause, Mojdeh said, especially at night, when the internet and even phone networks went dark.


They did not plan to protest. But on the nights of 7 and 8 January, she said, it was impossible to remain uninvolved. If you left your house, you saw it, she said.


Protests erupted across Iran just before the new year, driven by anger over economic hardship and a collapsing currency, but quickly escalated into calls for an end to the Islamic Republic. Days later, security forces responded with deadly force.


The true death toll is difficult to verify, due to an internet blackout in Iran and the lack of independent reporting. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it confirmed more than 6,000 protesters dead, while Norway-based Iran Human Rights said the final toll could exceed 25,000.


US President Donald Trump has repeatedly voiced support for Iranian protesters. On Friday, US and Iranian officials held talks, though expectations remain low. Mojdeh's voice faltered as she described her homeland during the protests: people running, shouting, beaten - scenes that stayed with her long after they managed to leave Iran.


Others share mixed feelings regarding intervention. Shirin, an Iranian-American living in California, still hopes for foreign intervention, arguing that If the international community truly wants to stop the violence and prevent further global instability, action is required.” Meanwhile, Roozbeh Farahanipour stresses that regime change should come from within, voicing concern about the impact of external intervention.


As protests have quieted, repression continues. Iran Human Rights estimates at least 40,000 arrests since the protests began. Activists outside Iran connect with voices within the country that echo a desire for intervention, claiming, we went to the streets. We got killed. There is no other way.


The discussions surrounding US intervention reveal a complex web of grief, fear, and determination among Iranians, illuminating the emotional toll of ongoing chaos and the urgent necessity for change.