Shahbod Noori
1/29/2026
In recent weeks, Iran has once again become the stage of a powerful uprising led by its brave youth—young men and women who demand nothing but freedom, dignity, and a future without fear. Armed with nothing but courage, they have stood against one of the most brutal regimes in modern history.
The cost has been devastating.
More than 30,000 have been killed.
Over 300,000 have been injured.
Thousands have been imprisoned.
Millions of families are grieving.
In times like these, every Iranian abroad—especially successful business owners and community leaders—has a moral responsibility to stand with their people. To raise their voices. To speak truth. To defend justice.
Yet what have we witnessed?
Silence.
A heavy, shameful, unforgivable silence.
Across California and beyond, many Iranian-owned businesses that have grown wealthy through the support, loyalty, and trust of the Iranian community have chosen to look away. For years, they benefited from this community. They built their empires on Iranian customers, Iranian networks, and Iranian pride.
But now, when their people are bleeding, they have turned their backs.
They stayed quiet.
Why?
Fear?
Greed?
Secret deals?
Or simply moral bankruptcy?
Even more disturbing is the fact that some of these businesses have openly or quietly supported the Islamic Republic—the very regime responsible for this massacre. A regime that answers peaceful protests with bullets. That arrests teenagers. That terrorizes families. That buries truth.
And still, some choose profit over principle.
They have forgotten one fundamental truth:
The era of indifference is over.
Today, Iranians abroad are more aware, more united, and more powerful than ever. They understand that real power lies in choice—in where we spend our money, whom we support, and whom we reject.
In recent months, we have seen a growing movement of solidarity and boycott. Many Iranians have consciously stopped supporting businesses that remained silent or sided with the regime.
This is not just an economic protest.
It is a moral stand.
A political message.
A collective declaration: We will not forget.
Now is the time to expand this movement.
Now is the time to say clearly:
You cannot profit from our community and abandon us in our darkest hour.
You cannot enjoy the benefits of freedom while ignoring those who are dying for it.
This generation does not forget.
This nation does not negotiate over the blood of its children.
Every store.
Every company.
Every brand.
Every individual who chose silence in this historic moment must understand:
History is watching.
Your silence is being recorded—in the memory of a nation, in the choices of consumers, and in the judgment of future generations.
Today, boycott is not revenge.
It is responsibility.
Responsibility to the fallen.
To the wounded.
To the grieving mothers.
To the future of Iran.
Stand with the people.
Or be erased by them.
History never forgives neutrality in times of injustice.