President Trump's decision to be a partner in Israel's war with Iran has generated a wide range of opinions.

But even people who vehemently oppose our involvement in the conflict agree that assassinated

Supreme Leader Ali Hamine was bad news for his own people, presiding over a corrupt and

repressive regime for decades.

From KERA in Dallas, this is Think.

I'm Chris Boyd.

The thing is, the Iranian revolution that overthrew the monarchy in 1979 promised a more democratic, moderate government free from Western interventions, with a free press and an economy built to deliver economic justice to broad segments of the population.

We know that hasn't happened.

My guest is here to share stories of the Iranians who have not stopped fighting

for that kind of society despite the personal costs. Yegana Torbati is a correspondent for the New

York Times who covers Iran. Together with Bozogmer Sarafedin, she is author of the new book's

Stolen Revolution, Betrayal and Hope in Modern Iran. Yegana, welcome to think.

Thank you so much for having me, Chris.

Will you start by reminding us what life was like for most Iranians when it was a monarchy

under the control of the last Shah? You know, of course, Iran today is a country of tens of millions of people with very diverse

experiences.

And I think that was also the case before the revolution.

So it's hard to kind of paint with a broad brush.

But I think at that time, you know, Iran's economy was growing.

But there was a distinct sense that there was maybe one portion of society that was benefiting from that, and that the Shah was kind of seen in that era as being highly dependent on the West, and in particular, the United United States and was kind of orienting his

government and his country towards kind of Western interests. And there was also, of course,

a great deal of repression, especially kind of in the last two decades of the Shah's rule. And I think

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