An Iranian youth has reportedly died by suicide after posting a video on social media in which he appealed to US President Donald Trump not to make a deal with Iran's theocratic leadership. In the 10-minute-44-second video, the man, identified by Iranian media as Pouria Hamidi, said his message was intended to highlight what he described as a brutal crackdown on protests in Iran and urged foreign intervention against the country's clerical regime.
Here's the video | Watch
In the video that has gone viral on social media, Hamidi, a resident of Iran's southern port city of Bushehr, said, "If you are watching this, then I'm not around anymore."
In a video posted on his YouTube channel 'PoorY X' on February 5, Hamidi said, "More than 40,000 people were killed, murdered, massacred, which is more than the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Palestine war." Hamidi captioned his video: "This is my sacrifice – please, liberate my country."
Hamidi captioned his video: "This Is My Sacrifice – Please, Free My Country".
'A compromise would be a betrayal of those who died'
In the video, recorded in English, Hamidi directly addressed the US leadership, urging them not to pursue any diplomatic agreement with Tehran. Hamidi said that any agreement with the regime of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would be "a betrayal of all those who died."
"So please, I beg you, do whatever you can to stop this deal," he said.
'Whatever Trump said, we did'
Hamidi said that US President Trump asked Iranians to continue the protests, and we did so; we trusted him. The young man also said that it is impossible to fight armed forces and that the Iranian people cannot win against the Islamic regime without outside support. "The US attack on Iran is our only hope right now. We cannot fight this regime alone. Our people need foreign intervention," Hamidi said.
Hamidi also expressed support for Reza Pahlavi, who is in exile from Iran, saying he is the best option to form an interim government. "You have no idea how desperate our people are right now. I mean, myself, I can't eat. I can't sleep. I can't even cry about it because it's upsetting to be born in a place that has no future, but I hope that the people of my country will finally have a future," Hamidi said.
Hamidi dies by suicide
According to Iran International, Hamidi stated his intention in making the video was to give meaning to his life and that he hoped Iranians would support each other. As the recording ended, he began speaking in Persian, saying, "We Iranians are lonely people, and we have no one, so please support each other. Long live Iran." According to reports, Hamidi committed suicide after sharing the video.
Hamidi's death comes as Iran has intensified its crackdown following recent protests, with thousands arrested. On Saturday, Iran extended the prison sentence of Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, and on Monday, it arrested Hossein Karroubi, son of prominent dissident Mehdi Karroubi. Iran has recently seen widespread protests, the most recent since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
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