The conversation happening among Iranian-Americans right now isn't what the media would have you believe. There's a growing pushback against the idea that the diaspora speaks with one voice — and new polling suggests that when asked whether they support the war, Iranian-Americans are about evenly split.
That's the argument from Mad Ali Shakad, an Iranian teacher and visible voice on social media who joined Novara Media for a conversation about what's really happening in the diaspora. His central claim: Western outlets have selectively platformed pro-war voices while marginalizing anti-war ones, creating an image of consensus that doesn't actually exist.
The Reality of Diaspora Polarization
The polling data from the National Iranian-American Council suggests Iranian-Americans are roughly evenly split on whether they support the war — a finding that contradicts what you'd see on most major news outlets. Shakad argues this split is natural: like all diasporas, Iranians have diverse opinions. But certain segments get disproportionate coverage.
"Unfortunately, if you are in a position where your country has a contentious relationship with America, certain segments of the diaspora are highlighted," Shakad said. "The people who support regime change war are put in the forefront. They're always interviewed. They're supposed to be representative of all of us."
When polling shows an even split — and now that more anti-war voices are speaking out — Shakad says he's getting messages from Iranians in Iran themselves saying they supported precision strikes, decapitation strikes, one or two days of action — not ten days of continuous bombing.
"They always platform selectively the people who support the narrative of empire of war," he said. "The rare anti-war voice is always a cartoonish caricature."
Media's Selective Platforming
Shakad points to Piers Morgan's show as an example. On one side sits Ali Kab — what Shakad characterizes as a cartoonish pro-war person. On the other sits Muhammad Mahdi, who Shakad says is essentially a government spokesperson. The problem: neither represents an actual anti-war voice.
"This is an open challenge to Piers," Shakad said. "If you're serious about anti-war Iranian voices, bring a credible humanist, left-leaning anti-war voice, not just some government lackey."
He argues this pattern creates a false image designed to suggest the entire diaspora supports the war — what he describes as gaslighting.
"So if you're an American and you say, 'You know what? I didn't know about Iran a month ago. I used to think it was Iran and Iraq, but now I'm against the war,' they will tell you: look at all these Iranians in America who support the war."
Who is Backing the War?
The interviews and protests we've seen — including celebrations in Vancouver and prominent Iranian-American talking heads like Massie Alenad backing the war — represent one side of a divided community. Shakad argues this isn't representative.
"People are saying, 'Whoa, we didn't support this.' I'm getting messages from Iran. We supported precision strikes. We supported decapitation strikes. We supported one or two days, not 10 days, not oil raining in from the sky."
He says anti-war voices are being doxed — their addresses posted online, receiving death threats, facing defamation lawsuits and potential demonetization.
"They're suffocating the anti-war voices," he said. "We haven't seen them represented anywhere. Not on Piers Morgan, not on the media. They want to create this faux consensus for war when it does not exist."
Shakad predicts that if polling were conducted again today — rather than in the run-up to the war — the split might be 70-30 instead of 50-50, with more people pulled toward supporting the government.
The Far-Right Turn
When asked about his characterization of the Palivist movement as fascist, Shakad clarifies he's using a colloquial sense: far-right movements with racial purity rhetoric. His supporters, he says, include figures like Jason Reza Gorod — who has claimed Iran was a "white Aryan nation" and actually helped found the alt-right alongside Richard Spencer.
"They will say things like, Arab Iranians are not real Iranians," Shakad explained. "They claim they're a democratic movement but what they say is death to three polluters — Mahas leftists."
Shakad notes that in Persian communities, especially among Kurds and Arabs, there's been a shift: the 2023 protests started as a leftist movement with feminist and labor union support. Now it's become something more hardline.
"The people in the Pathi movement are mostly hard right," he said. "So ethnic minorities, women, feminists, labor unionists, leftists — they're pulling their support back."
He points to a broader pattern: Western media plays this game astutely with diaspora movements. Just as with Israeli communities, there's an English-language presentation of coexistence and liberalism while the native-language messaging is considerably harder.
"When you look in the Persian — and thankfully auto translates becoming a thing now on many social media platforms — you see the type of rhetoric," he said. "One guy said: 'Many right-wingers in the west don't support the current war. It's important that we reach them.' They say, 'Why should white men die for Israel or for this brown country?'"
Critics might note that Shakad's characterization relies heavily on his own interpretation of online rhetoric and translation from social media posts — not peer-reviewed analysis. The polling data he cites was conducted in the run-up to the war, before the full scope of bombing became clear.
"They want to create this image that the entire Iranian diaspora supports the war. It's to gaslight you."
Bottom Line
The strongest thread running through Shakad's argument is the documented split among Iranian-Americans — a 50-50 division that's been obscured by selective media coverage favoring pro-war voices. His vulnerability lies in his reliance on anecdotal evidence and social media translations rather than comprehensive polling or academic sources. The war continues to escalate, and watching how that split evolves will be essential to understanding whether his prediction of a 70-30 divide holds true. </think>