Iran: A Land of Memory and Accountability S. Rouzbeh 2026-04-21 On foreign proxy forces entering Iran and serving its machinery of repression. Foreign Forces and the Contractors of Repression S. Rouzbeh Iran is a land of lions, not a refuge for mercenaries. This is no mere slogan; it distils the history of a land repeatedly subjected to invasion, occupation, destruction and betrayal, yet rising each time, like a phoenix, from its own ashes. Iran has been wounded, but not silenced; it has mourned, but not surrendered. Today, it addresses those who, under different names and an array of flags, have taken their place alongside the machinery of repression. These words are not a threat; they describe what lies ahead. You who have weapons, money and backing today should ask yourselves one question: at the decisive moment of collapse, who will open a parachute for you? The history of this land has shown time and again that, when the balance of power shifts, those who issued the orders know the escape routes better than anyone. On that day, you will be left in a city whose people do not regard you as their own. At that hour, no message will arrive from the centre, and no commander will come to rescue you. You will stand alone before a people whose memory neither forgets nor readily forgives. In the logic of power, you are not partners; you are instruments. You must understand this stark truth: to this structure, you are neither brothers nor comrades in arms. You are expendable manpower, a figure on an expenditure ledger, retained for as long as you are useful and sacrificed in the first political bargain. If you doubt this, look at the list of those this very structure has eliminated. When a regime treats even its closest associates in this way, what will it do to you, an outsider kept in reserve for a day of need? A Borrowed Identity on Foreign Soil You wear a uniform alien to the fabric of this land, and carry a name and a flag that its people see not as signs of security, but as symbols of fear, humiliation and repression. This borrowed identity is a mask that will fall at the first strong gust of change. Those with no roots in this soil will find no shelter in the hearts of its people when the storm comes. Look at recent history, not only the distant past. Look at southern Lebanon: structures that had stood for years with the backing of an outside power suddenly collapsed when that same patron withdrew, leaving those who had relied on it displaced and without protection. Look at Afghanistan: people who had been told for years that they were partners and collaborators found themselves, when the situation changed, on the brink of abandonment and reprisal. Look at the Fatemiyoun and Zainebiyoun: see how people's desperation, poverty, displacement and lack of protection were exploited to sustain a structure that puts its own survival before everything else. This was not a relationship founded on dignity; it was a relationship of use and disposal. These are not merely examples. They are mirrors. Look closely enough, and you may see your own future reflected in them. Bread Stained with Blood Perhaps you will say that you came to earn your bread and make a living. But ask yourselves: can bread stained with the blood of this land's children bring security to your families? Money earned at the price of a nation's hatred and rejection will never become a refuge. True security does not mean walking the streets with a weapon. It means being able to look in the mirror tomorrow without shame at the position you have taken. It means that your child will not one day ask you: when people were beneath the boot of oppression, which side were you standing on? The Last Opening for a Return This piece is not written out of spite; it is a warning informed by understanding. Iran is not a land of forgetting, but a land of memory. Its people do not forget their wounds, yet they distinguish between those who have been deceived and those who have committed crimes. It is not too late. A wrong course must be stopped before the collapse, before every way out has closed. To lean on this wall is to lean on a shadow that will vanish when the balance of power changes. Listen for the sound of its cracking not in the media, but in the heavy silence of the streets and in the eyes of people who no longer regard you as their own. Let the path back towards the truth remain open to you before it is too late. Iran welcomes guests, but not mercenaries. This soil has seen many dark days, yet has always found a way towards the light. And on the day its people reclaim their own destiny, everyone will have to answer for the side of history on which they stood. Pause before the hour of accountability arrives. S. Rouzbeh ✍ Source: https://srouzbeh.com/en/posts/entry-1787872903390-4fe501a0 Please credit the author and link to this edition.