Since Sep 2022, we have seen people take to the streets globally to protest the oppressive Iranian regime. But how clear is it what Iranians are fighting for versus what Western media is narrating? And does the West understand the difference between solidarity and intervention? After the death of 22 year old Kurdish woman, Mahsa Zhina Amini, many Iranians have fought for an end to the Islamic Republic. They’re tired of the rampant corruption, the economic mismanagement, high inflation, water shortage, and 40 years of repression and systematic human rights violations. Iranians want a free, secular, democratic society and a political infrastructure that protects and guarantees it. But this isn’t the clear story Western media portrays of Iran–or any Middle Eastern country. Instead, we’re fed dichotomies like “free vs. oppressed” and “civilized vs. fanatical”. This leaves Iranians and many others as victims and with little to no agency. Reform is no longer enough in Iran today, and Iranian people are asking for support–not saviors. Will the international community listen–or will they continue to dehumanize this country as they have many others?