What happens when mass violence erupts — and the world barely notices?

On a special episode of Breaking Battlegrounds, author and Iranian-born writer Roya Hakakian delivered a testimony so raw, so devastating, that even seasoned observers of the region were left shaken. Fighting back tears, she described what has unfolded inside Iran over the past two weeks as nothing short of a historic atrocity — one whose scale and speed rival some of the darkest chapters of the twentieth century.

“This is the equivalent of a 9/11 or an October 7th in modern Iranian history,” Hakakian said. “And the fact that the world hasn’t registered it is an additional pain.”

A Crackdown Unlike Anything Before

Iran’s regime has long been brutal. But Hakakian emphasized that what is happening now stands apart — even by the regime’s own horrific standards.

The reports emerging from inside the country describe thousands killed in a matter of days. The violence, she explained, is not only widespread but intentionally theatrical — designed to terrorize the population into silence.

In cities like Mashhad, eyewitnesses report security forces beheading teenagers in public. In another chilling account, sanitation workers were allegedly warned not to clean blood from the streets — so the evidence of violence would remain visible, seared into public memory.

“They want the blood to be there,” Hakakian said, “so people can remember how brutal the crackdown was.”

Comparisons the World Doesn’t Want to Hear

Hakakian did not reach for historical comparisons lightly. Having studied genocides and mass killings, she said the speed, severity, and coordination of Iran’s crackdown reminded her most of Rwanda.

“In terms of speed and violence,” she explained, “it compares only to what happened in Rwanda.”

That comparison alone should have set off alarms across international institutions, media outlets, and foreign ministries. Instead, much of the news has been suppressed, drowned out, or ignored.

The Silence Is Its Own Injustice

Perhaps the most devastating part of Hakakian’s testimony was not only the violence itself — but the global indifference to it.

She described the surreal pain of watching a catastrophe unfold while the world moves on, as if nothing extraordinary is happening.

“It’s as if 9/11 happened and no one cared,” she said.

For Iranians inside the country — and for those in exile watching helplessly — that silence compounds the trauma. It signals to the regime that there will be no consequences, no accountability, and no urgency.

A Moment That Demands Recognition

Hakakian was clear: what has occurred in Iran is not merely repression. It is a serious crime against humanity.

And history has shown that silence in moments like this is never neutral.

The question she left listeners with was stark: if the world refuses to acknowledge what is happening now, what message does that send — not only to the Iranian people, but to every authoritarian regime watching closely?

Transcript

Chuck Warren: Roya, this is Chuck. So how brutal is this crackdown? I mean, Sam and I and Shay has been following, Shay’s following more but I’m on it all the time.

Sam Stone: And the news is being suppressed at this point too. Unbelievable.

Chuck Warren: And it’s being suppressed. What do your sources tell you how brutal is this crackdown? What does our audience need to know?

Roya Hakakian: Okay, so I’m on your show as a writer and an expert, but I have to make a confession. I have tears in my eyes and I’m trying very hard not to break down and cry. And I don’t have this emotional reaction only because I’m, you know, I was born and raised in Iran. I have this emotional reaction because what happened in Iran in, you know, in the past two weeks, is the equivalent of a 9-11 or an October 7th in the history of modern Iran.

And the fact that the world hasn’t registered the enormous proportions of what took place is as if 9-11 happened and no one cared or no one do. Which is, by the way, an additional pain in addition to the tragedy that people have experienced. So it I am you know the news that’s trickling out is horrific. It can only be compared to cases of genocide throughout the twentieth century. I happen to have read a certain amount about what happened in Rwanda but in terms of speed and severity and violence with which they carried out the several thousand killings in a span of three or four days in my humble estimation, it compares only to what happened in Rwanda.

I hear reports of people in Mashhad, which is a large city in Iran, having witnessed the security forces behead teenagers. I hear reports of people saying that the security forces warned the street trash collectors and sweepers not to clean the blood off the ground because they want the blood to be there so people can remember how brutal the crackdown was and make sure that they remain terrified.

These are things that even in the 47 years of this regime, which has always been brutal,they they have a special place because they are even more so than the regime has ever been. So I I’m just baffled dumbfounded speechless at the fact that people aren’t recognizing the degree to which a serious crime against humanity, to say the least, has occurred in Iran.

Listen to the full episode of Breaking Battlegrounds anywhere you stream your podcasts!