Kourosh Sehati was expelled from the university in 1999 for his political activities and his help in organizing the democratic student protests against the Iranian government.

He spent about three years in prison and escaped in 2004. He now works as a journalist at Iran International TV Channel, based in London.

Mr. Sehati, how is the situation for journalists in Iran at the moment?

Do you keep reporting?

And what risks are they taking?

As soon as the protests began, the security forces called dozens of journalists in Iran and told them not to cover or tweet about the protests.

They threatened to arrest the journalists.

Some journalists report on social media while in hiding.

Iranian journalists working for Persian-language media outside of Iran are also pressured by the Iranian government whenever there is an uprising.

For example, they contact the journalists' families and threaten them.

Are there still ways to spread uncensored information?

The government has filtered Instagram and Whatsapp.

Youtube, Facebook and Telegram were previously banned.

Nevertheless, some journalists and demonstrators manage to circumvent censorship and broadcast voices and videos.

Some people also send us voice messages and tell us what is happening on site.

But overall the number of videos we receive from Iran has decreased.

Tiktok is the only social media app that isn't filtered, but some people don't use it because it's a Chinese product.

Currently, Persian-language media plays a very important role outside of Iran.

They report on the protests and Iranian citizens follow them.

Opposition groups in exile also use these media to send their messages to Iranians.

Estimate how many journalists were arrested?

The regime has so far arrested at least 20 journalists in different cities.

It looks like more will be arrested in the next few days.

Thousands of protesters, students and human rights activists were also arrested.

At least 83 people have been killed during the protests so far.

Is the protest different from previous ones?

Will it be supported by broader sections of society this time?

This protest is not just a protest, it is an uprising by the Iranians against the government.

The last major protests, in 2017 and 2019, were more about inflation and the high cost of living, and were sparked by the working class in smaller towns.

However, people were quick to chant political slogans against the government.

The current uprising emanated from the Kurdish cities of Iran, since Mahsa Amini was an Iranian Kurd, and also from the big middle-class cities.

During the protest, the working class joined the middle class.

University students and other groups will join them.

Now it is a multi-class uprising and the main goal is to overthrow the government.

The main slogan of the movement is: woman, life, freedom.

Do you have any hope that the regime will actually be overthrown?

I cannot predict what the outcome will be, but Iran will never go back to before this uprising.

The government cannot survive long.

How to support Iranian citizens and journalists?

The goal of the Islamic Republic is to arrest and kill people in order to continue its totalitarian and anti-democratic government.

The world needs to know what exactly is going on in Iran.

The Iranian people have been supported by the free world and prominent figures so far.

You must continue this support.

One way is to give Iranians Internet access like Starlink.

And the protests in support of the Iranians must continue outside of Iran.

The free world must also impose tougher sanctions on Islamic Republic leaders who kill innocent protesters.