Voice of Emirates – Under the weight of oppression and poverty that the Iranian people endure, a stark paradox emerges, described as “the people’s nightmare and the elite’s dream.” Recent developments and investigative leaks have revealed a widening gap between the Iranian regime’s ideological slogans and the reality of the lives of its officials’ children. While slogans of “Death to America” resound from pulpits in Tehran, thousands of the leaders’ children enjoy lives of luxury in the heart of the “Great Satan,” as well as in Europe and Canada.
Hostage state and the interests of power
In an analytical reading of this situation, Iranian political analyst Mohammad Rahmanifar told (Voice of Emirates): “The ruling power doesn’t think about the people; it only thinks about itself. In its view, the people are nothing more than hostages.” Rahmanifar believes that the current regime doesn’t represent a state in the political sense, but rather a hegemonic system that exploits the country’s resources to achieve narrow ideological and financial goals. He adds that this behavior reveals a profound ideological falsehood; when slogans clash with personal interests, the elite always prioritize their own.
In this context, he cites George Orwell’s novel “Animal Farm,” asserting that it perfectly embodies the reality of the Iranian regime in all its details, where slogans are outwardly equal, while the “pigs” enjoy exclusive privileges inwardly.
4,000 sons of the regime in the land of Satan
Leaked official figures reveal the scale of this phenomenon. In June 2022, Morteza Mirian, head of the Revolutionary Guard’s ground operations division, announced that approximately 4,000 children of regime officials were currently living in the United States, Europe, and Canada. These individuals, known within Iran as “Aghazadeh” (sons of the elite), possess assets and citizenship in the very countries their parents call for burning. This structural contradiction sparked widespread social media campaigns, particularly after the bloody crackdown on the January 2026 protests, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 30,000 people. These campaigns also aimed to identify the children of officials studying at prestigious international universities, having plundered public resources. Meanwhile, ordinary citizens are prevented from transferring even small sums abroad due to stringent exchange regulations.
“Well-being” list above ideology
The list of those residing abroad includes prominent figures such as the daughters of former President Hassan Rouhani (Azadeh and Tanaaz), who live in the United States and Austria, respectively; Sina Ardeshir Larijani, who resides in Canada; and Naeimeh Eshraghi, granddaughter of Ayatollah Khomeini. The list also includes the children of former ministers and current officials, such as the daughter of Tehran Mayor Ali Reza Zakani, who lives in Switzerland, and the children of leaders who historically participated in the 1979 takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran.
Firm US measures and arrests
As US military operations against Iran escalated in April 2026, Washington began punitive measures targeting the families of Iranian officials. On April 11, the US State Department announced the revocation of green cards and the detention of the family of Seyed Issa Hashemi and his wife, Maryam Tahmasbi, pending their deportation. Ironically, Tahmasbi is the daughter of Masoumeh Ebtekar, who was the spokesperson for the students who took American hostages in 1979. The measures also extended to relatives of the late General Qassem Soleimani; his niece, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, and her daughter were arrested in Los Angeles after their permanent residency was revoked. The State Department described Soleimani Afshar as an “outspoken supporter of a totalitarian terrorist regime” while enjoying the privileges of living in a Western democracy.
These developments indicate that the “American Dream” is no longer a safe haven for the children of the Iranian elite. Western capitals have begun responding to activists’ demands to revoke the residency permits of these individuals, considering their presence a betrayal of the sacrifices of millions of Iranians suffering under a regime that sells slogans to its people while buying luxury for its own children in “enemy lands.”
