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Poet and refugee advocate Roya Hakakian talks about how words can help create change in Iran
Roya Hakakian is a poet, author, journalist and advocate for refugees. Every one of these roles is an offshoot of her own life experience as a child and teenager in pre- and post-revolutionary Iran and as an immigrant to the United States. Her poetry appears in many anthologies around the world, her books take a candid look at life under Iran’s fundamentalist Islamic regime and her documentaries tackle important issues like underage children in wars around the world. In our interview, we discuss what people can do to support the current uprising in Iran and the role poetry can play in revolutions.
These must be emotional times for you and the entire Iranian immigrant community. How are you holding up?
It is very exciting and also, as you can imagine, gut-wrenching to watch teenagers, children, and other people perform these great acts of courage and then suffer as a result of it. So, it’s a heroic time and, like all heroic times, whether in history or in epic stories that we read, it’s always associated with a great deal of tragedy too. And all of that is on full display. I wrote a memoir whose last chapter is called “1984.” It’s the last year I was in Iran, and I was describing what Iran had become and how the entire society was divided between two people—the regime and their allies, and then us, which were the ordinary citizens. I thought it was amazing how much time had passed, and yet nothing had changed in that division I described in that chapter. The circumstances, the frustrations, the inequalities, the injustices are the very issues that have brought a new generation of Iranians onto the street.
Iran once had a thriving Jewish population. Do you have any memories of what it was like to be a Jew in Iran before the revolution?
I was 12 years old when the revolution took place, and all my memories at the time before were happy childhood memories—going to the synagogue with my father. We lived within walking distance of a synagogue. I didn’t experience the sort of things that my father had talked about growing up, of the severe antisemitism that he had experienced as a child in a small village in central Iran. And I didn’t experience the sort of things my mother talked about. And she grew up in Hamadan, which is where the tomb of Esther and Mordechai are. The ’60s and the ’70s were the golden time of religious egalitarianism in Iran. And then came the revolution, and things quickly changed. And, you know, it wasn’t so much the ordinary citizens who were being antisemitic, but the regime gave a leg up to Shiite Muslims. So it wasn’t that Jews were barred from anything; it was that it was far more advantageous for you to be a Shiite Muslim.
You have been in danger from Iranian operatives in the United States. I think of Salman Rushdie, who refused to let threats intimidate him, but he ended up severely injured. Is this something you worry about?
The answer is yes for a variety of reasons, one of which is that the FBI came to my house a couple of years ago, warning that they had spotted my name on a list because of the work I do and the books I published, especially my memoir and the second book, which was about a series of murders that Iran had orchestrated in Europe. But I think what’s important, and something that What I hope to bring to the attention of the broader public in America is that everyone is in danger, that if the Iranian regime has gathered enough influence to go after the dissidents that they don’t like in the United States, then we become only the primary targets and everybody else will follow. And I’m incredibly concerned about that.
You recently testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. What was your message? Also, what should the United States be doing to help the protesters in Iran?
My main message was that this movement that began in Iran in September is the most serious movement that Iran has seen in 40-plus years. Immediately a few senators afterward told me, “Oh, Iran has protests all the time, and the regime always suppresses them.” Well, this one has already proven to be different. It has certain qualities that none of the other protests in the past have had. This is a deeply secular movement; it’s a movement that demands the separation of government and religion. And none of the previous movements had these overtones.
For the past 20 years, we’ve only been interested in Iran from a nuclear perspective, and everything else has been in the shadows. Who are Iranians? What do they want? How are they different? What are their demands? The best thing we can do is to stop looking at Iran as just the nuclear program and begin to widen the perspective and recognize that if something changes in Iran, if these protests succeed, then so much else can follow.
Among your many identities are writer and poet. What is the role poetry can play in revolutions?
I became interested in the Iranian revolution in 1979 through poetry. Poetry was the language of that revolution, which in many ways, is why some of those poets who were so devoted to the uprising against the former Shah became far less popular in the aftermath of the 1979 revolution. Revolutions begin with certain social demands, but what fuels them, what keeps them going, is the power of the rhetoric poets and writers pour into them. That’s what literature has always been for me—a tool for grand ideas and grand expressions and, possibly, a tool for changing society for the better.
What do you plan on discussing at the Z3 conference?
I want to talk about my own journey back to defining myself as a Jewish person after leaving Iran and coming to the US. It wasn’t my issue, antisemitism wasn’t my issue, Jewish identity wasn’t my issue because I was a writer. I didn’t have to think about these things. Over the years, have rediscovered my own relationship with Judaism. That is basically what I want to talk about.
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Rights Groups Say At Least 25 Dead in Iran Protests
A man walks near an anti-US and anti-Israeli billboard displayed on a building in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 4, 2026. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
At least 25 people have been killed in Iran during the first nine days of protests that started in the bazaar of Tehran over the plunging value of the currency and soaring inflation, according to rights groups.
The authorities have acknowledged the economic hardships but accused networks linked to foreign powers of stoking the protests. On Tuesday, Iran‘s police chief vowed to “deal with the last of these rioters.”
The shopkeepers’ protest continued on Tuesday in the bazaar, with about 150 people focusing on economic demands, Iran‘s Fars news agency reported.
The protests have spread to some cities in western and southern Iran but do not match the scale of unrest that swept the nation in 2022-23 over the death of Mahsa Amini, who died in the custody of morality police for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code.
However, even though smaller, these protests have quickly expanded from an economic focus to broader frustrations, with some protesters chanting against the country’s clerical rulers.
MORE THAN 1,000 ARRESTED, RIGHTS GROUPS SAY
Iran also remains under international pressure, with US President Donald Trump threatening on Friday to come to the aid of protesters if security forces fired on them. Iran‘s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed not to “yield to the enemy.”
Hengaw, a Kurdish Iranian rights group, put the death toll at 25, including four under 18. It said more than 1,000 had been arrested. HRANA, a network of rights activists, said at least 29 had been killed, including two law enforcement agents, in addition to 1,203 arrests, as of Jan. 5.
Reuters has not been able to independently verify the numbers. Iranian authorities have not given a death toll for protesters, but have said at least two members of the security services have died and more than a dozen have been injured.
Authorities have attempted to maintain a dual approach to the unrest, saying protests over the economy are legitimate and will be met by dialogue, while meeting some demonstrations with tear gas amid violent street confrontations.
The police chief, Ahmadreza Radan, was quoted on Tuesday by state media as saying they had drawn a distinction between protesters and what he called rioters, the latter facing arrests on site or following identification by intelligence units.
“I pledge that we will deal with the last of these rioters. It is still time for those who were deceived by foreign services to identify themselves and draw on the Islamic Republic’s greatness,” Radan said.
WITNESS REPORTS HEAVY POLICE PRESENCE
Fars said Tuesday’s gathering of shopkeepers on Saadi street in Tehran ended without “expanding the police’s presence.”
Mohammad, 63, a jewelry shop owner in the bazaar, told Reuters there was a heavy presence of riot police and plainclothes security forces inside and around the area.
“They were forcing shopkeepers who were on strike to open their shops. I did not see it myself, but I heard there were clashes outside the bazaar and police fired tear gas,” he told Reuters by phone. He declined to give his family name.
Footage shared on Telegram on Tuesday by Vahid Online, which posts videos of the protests to more than 650,000 followers, appeared to show dozens of security forces on motorbikes patrolling the street and the unidentified person who took the clip can be heard saying the security forces had fired tear gas.
Reuters confirmed that the video was filmed on Saadi street but could not verify the exact date when it was taken.
GOVERNMENT PROMISES REFORMS TO PROTECT PURCHASING POWER
President Masoud Pezeshkian has promised reforms to help stabilize the monetary and banking systems and protect purchasing power.
The government has announced a subsidy reform, removing preferential currency exchange rates for importers in favor of direct transfers to Iranians to boost their purchasing power for essential goods. The measure will come into force on Jan. 10.
The central bank chief was also replaced on Dec. 29.
The rial fell further to 1,489,500 on Tuesday, representing a 4% fall since the protests started.
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Fans Banned From Maccabi Tel Aviv, Real Madrid EuroLeague Game Over Security Concerns
Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv players competing against FC Bayern in the EuroLeague. Photo: IMAGO/speedshot via Reuters Connect
Fans have been banned from attending the EuroLeague match between the Israeli basketball team Maccabi Tel Aviv and their Spanish rivals Real Madrid on Thursday after authorities classified the match as “high risk,” Read Madrid announced on Monday.
“Following a meeting of the State Commission against Violence, Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance in Sport, which declared the game high-risk, Real Madrid is complying with the recommendation made by the National Police,” the team said in a released statement.
The game will be played behind closed doors at the Movistar Arena in Madrid, and the cost of any tickets purchased for the game will be refunded immediately and automatically to the purchaser. Season ticket holders will have their refunds credited toward their renewal for the next season. Maccabi Tel Aviv has not publicly commented on the move.
More than 250 organizations reportedly called for the match to be canceled because of Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip during its war against Hamas terrorists who orchestrated the deadly rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. A protest is scheduled to take place outside of Movistar Arena on Thursday.
A EuroLeague match between Barcelona and Maccabi Tel Aviv at Palau Blaugrana arena on Tuesday will also take place without fans in attendance because of security concerns, it was announced in mid-December.
Several EuroLeague matches in other countries involving Maccabi Tel Aviv have also faced issues in the past. In January last year, a EuroLeague basketball game between Paris and Maccabi Tel Aviv was disrupted by stink bombs. In November, the Turkish team Fenerbahce relocated its home games against Maccabi and the fellow Israeli team Hapoel Tel Aviv from Istanbul to Munich because of security concerns. A game between Dubai and Hapoel Tel Aviv was also played behind closed doors in November in Sarajevo for security reasons.
In September, the Vuelta a Espana cycling race in Spain was repeatedly disrupted by demonstrators protesting Israel’s participation and organizers were forced to cut the race short and cancel the finale in Madrid.
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African Union Calls for Immediate Revocation of Somaliland’s Recognition by Israel
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar meets with Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi on Jan. 6, 2026. Photo: Screenshot
The African Union’s Political Affairs Peace and Security council called on Tuesday for the “immediate revocation” of Israel‘s recognition of Somaliland.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar visited Somaliland on Tuesday on a trip that was denounced by Somalia, 10 days after Israel formally recognized the self-declared republic as an independent and sovereign state.
“The [AU] Council strongly condemns, in the strongest terms, the unilateral recognition of the so-called ‘Republic of Somaliland’ by Israel,” it said in a post on X after a ministerial meeting.
Israel is the only country that has formally recognized Somaliland’s move to break away from Somalia, which described Israel‘s decision on recognition as an “unlawful step” and said Sa’ar’s visit was a “serious violation” of its sovereignty.
In a statement on X, Sa’ar said that he had held talks “on the full range of relations” with Somaliland’s president, Abdirahman Mohammed Abdullah, in the capital Hargeisa.
“We are determined to vigorously advance relations between Israel and Somaliland,” Sa’ar wrote on X, alongside images of him meeting the Somaliland leader at the presidential palace.
Somaliland’s information ministry earlier said on X that Sa’ar was leading a high-level delegation. It gave no further details, but a senior Somaliland official told Reuters before the meeting with the president that the Israeli foreign minister was expected to discuss ways to enhance bilateral ties.
Sa’ar said Abdullah had accepted an invitation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make an official visit to Israel.
Somalia’s foreign ministry said in a statement that Sa’ar’s visit amounted to “unacceptable interference” in its internal affairs.
Abdullah said last month that Somaliland would join the Abraham Accords, a deal brokered by Washington in 2020 that saw Gulf states the United Arab Emirates — a close partner of Somaliland — and Bahrain establish ties with Israel.
In a statement on Facebook, Somaliland’s foreign ministry said: “Somaliland’s president thanked Israel and its citizens for their decision to recognize Somaliland, this will have a big influence on the economy and development of Somaliland.”
STRATEGIC LOCATION
Somaliland, once a British protectorate, has long sought formal recognition as an independent state although it has signed bilateral agreements with various governments on investments and security coordination.
Israel‘s decision to recognize Somaliland follows two years of strained ties with many of its closest partners over the war in Gaza and policies in the West Bank.
Netanyahu has said Israel will pursue cooperation in agriculture, health, technology, and the economy. Following his visit, Sa’ar said “local professionals” from Somaliland’s water sector would visit Israel in the coming months for training.
Somaliland lies in northwestern Somalia, shares land borders with Ethiopia and Djibouti, and sits across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen, from where Iran-backed Houthis have launched missile and drones at Israel since October 2023, when the Gaza war began.
Omar Mahmood, a Somalia analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank, said Israeli engagement was probably driven by Somaliland’s strategic location but that security coordination was possible without Israeli military installations there.
Sa’ar said on Tuesday that mutual recognition and the establishment of diplomatic ties was not directed at anyone.
Somaliland has denied recognition allows for Israel to establish military bases there or for the resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza. Israel has advocated for what Israeli officials describe as voluntary Palestinian migration from Gaza.