As Iran faces what many see as a seminal moment in its history, Boniadi spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about trauma and resolve, the risks of global silence and what meaningful solidarity from Hollywood and the international community would actually look like.

How are you feeling personally as you witness what’s happening in Iran right now?

I’m reeling with anguish but also feel a sense of resolve. Most Iranians know someone who has been persecuted, killed, maimed, or unjustly imprisoned by the Islamic Republic regime that has occupied Iran since 1979. We are a traumatized people. Yet nothing in our recent history compares to this moment of reckoning that will define Iran’s future and test the world’s conscience. 

Iranians live under a system that has stripped them of dignity, and dreams. Iran has the highest per-capita execution rate in the world, ranks among the least free countries for journalists, and among the worst globally for gender equality. Protesters have described recent state massacres as a “living hell.” Parents were forced to pay for the bullets that killed their own children to retrieve their bodies.

Imagine the desperation and courage required to take to the streets knowing you may get killed. One young protester told his parents, “If I don’t go, nothing will change.”  

Many people are calling this a pivotal or even historic moment for Iran. Does it feel that way to you?

The current protests are truly unprecedented in both their scope and their ultimate demand. What started on December 28, 2025 as economic protests, quickly snowballed into more than a million Iranians — of every ethnicity, gender and age — reportedly rising up, unified around a singular goal: an end to clerical rule.

While past uprisings have focused on reforms or women’s rights, the chants in this newest wave of protests center on “freedom,” and “death to the dictator” as a rejection of the Islamic Republic’s imposed identity. “Do not fear, we stand united” is a slogan weathered through years of protests. Iranians rise not in the absence of fear, but despite it.

What are you hearing from friends or contacts inside Iran right now?

The regime responded as it always does — with violent repression. Videos and messages poured in detailing the brutal crackdown. Peaceful protesters were met with pellet guns, tear gas and live ammunition. Then came the communications blackout. On January 8th, the regime cut phone lines and internet access.

Since then, only fragments of information received via limited and intermittent Starlink satellite access told of protesters being murdered at close range, even at hospitals where they sought medical care and shelter. Governments secure in their legitimacy and unafraid of the truth do not need to silence their citizens.

One dissident sent me this plea: “If we die for this cause, don’t let it be in vain. Let the world know this regime must end.”  Another wrote: “Who can we call when our own government is committing crimes against us?”  

Hollywood’s response has been relatively muted. Has that surprised or disappointed you?

Hollywood has historically stood up for oppressed peoples. That makes the relative silence from my colleagues especially painful. I can only attribute it to the regime’s success in pushing a narrative that this uprising is somehow manufactured by the U.S. and Israel. As Palestinian writer Rasha Halveh mentioned, “A government that kills its own people, that oppresses its own women, cannot help to liberate my people.”

I encourage our community to heed the calls of our counterparts in Iran. Actresses Tareneh Alidoosti, Hengameh Ghaziani and Katayoun Riahi, among others, have risked their lives to stand with protesters. Rapper Toomaj Salehi continues to advocate for freedom after prison and torture. These are not Western stooges; they are Iranians risking everything.

What would meaningful solidarity actually look like?

The Iranian people cannot dismantle a regime that won’t change peacefully. There are immediate steps to prevent an even greater bloodbath: Targeting and degrading the regime’s machinery of repression — not civilians; restoring internet connectivity; rendering negotiations with the regime moot; strengthening democracy-building institutions focused on Iran. We are urging the West to protect the Iranian people so they can self-determine.

Young people appear to be leading this movement. Why?

Ironically, most of those risking their lives today were born into this fundamentalist system, yet have utterly rejected its indoctrination. Recognizing that the revolution led by their parents and grandparents devastated the country, today’s youth are driving a counter-revolution — chanting “My life for Iran,” singing the pre-1979 national anthem, and waving the Lion and Sun flag. Many openly demand the return of the monarchy and the exiled prince Reza Pahlavi.

Political leaders in the West, including President Trump, have hinted at regime change. What do you believe external governments should — and should not — be doing? Do you think Iran could be another Venezuela?

Iranians believed President Trump when he mentioned help was coming. To retreat now, as the regime imposes silence and martial law, is abandonment. This will only entrench violence, discourage defections, and allow the regime to consolidate power, even as people are sentenced to death without due process.

Trump’s handling of Venezuela reinforced a deep Iranian fear that Western powers ultimately favor expedient deals with authoritarian regimes over real democratic change. Trump’s words emboldened Iranians to risk their lives. Inaction now is itself a choice that will define his legacy. 

Have Western progressives finally woken up to the regime’s brutality?

The West has misread Iran — badly. None of the protest slogans of the past few years have been aimed at the West. They are aimed wholly at the Islamic Republic. It is devastating to witness the denial of Iranians’ lived experience. Human rights, dignity and freedom should never become partisan issues.