Gilda Sahebi critiques Western perspectives on Iran conflict in Freitag article

Gilda Sahebi's article in Freitag argues that Western commentators overlook Iranian voices while framing conflicts in simplistic moral terms. The piece highlights the daily existential threats faced by Tehran residents like Leyla Satrapi, who has lived her entire life under the Islamic Republic. Following a social media post by US President Donald Trump predicting civilizational collapse, Satrapi sent a message quoting an 11th-century verse from Ferdowsi's Shahnameh. The Persian poet's lines lament Iran's potential devastation, transforming it into a den of predators. Sahebi emphasizes that local realities involve not just recent warfare but 44 years of systemic experience. The article appears in the current issue of Freitag, published on Tuesday evening.