Transcription
Welcome back to Axis of Truth on JNS. I'm Emily Shrader, and today we're uncovering some of the most explosive stories of the moment. And it all starts with Israel's bold strategy to topple the Islamic Republic. A move that could reshape the Middle East as we know it. But that's not all. We've also got today an exclusive interview with Katherine Perez Shakam, a dear friend of mine and a Jewish journalist who infiltrated the heart of the Islamic Republic of Iran, gaining access to key regime figures, including Kasamsmani and even Ayati himself. She's now at the center of a fierce smear campaign by the Islamic regime. And she's here to set the record straight. What did she learn about how the regime fully operates, and why are they so desperate to silence her? Stay tuned as we dive deep into these critical developments. You won't want to miss this.
But before we get to that, we need to address the growing narrative about the starvation in Gaza. Now, since the last phase of the Gaza war, we've seen a well-coordinated effort across social media and media accusing Israel of intentional starvation. Now, let me be clear. The situation in Gaza is untenable, and there is immense suffering. But the accusations that it is intentional, or that it's genocide, or that Israel is shooting Palestinians who are simply seeking aid, are propaganda pushed openly by Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. On July 20th, Hamas and the global Muslim Brotherhood movement called for a PR campaign smearing Israel over starvation. But Israel has not placed any limit on aid entering Gaza since May 19th. Over 4,500 trucks have entered, and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, GHF, has delivered 95 million meals. Israel approves every truck that agencies coordinate. It isn't Israel's job to provide aid, but it doesn't block it either. So, why are deliveries lagging? Because the UN and World Food Program refused to work with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and the IDF, demanding instead that Hamas's blue police provide security for the trucks, something Israel rightly rejected, given Hamas has been looting for months. Meanwhile, over 950 trucks sat undelivered on the Gaza side all week. According to the UN's own data, 85% of their trucks have been intercepted either by looters or by Hamas itself.
Now, Muhammad al-Matuk, a Gazan child with muscular dystrophy, was plastered across the New York Times, The Guardian, and more as a symbol of this starvation. His condition is medical, not starvation. Another case, Osama Alvakab, a child with cystic fibrosis who isn't even in Gaza. He's in Italy for treatment. Yet, his photo was used to claim that he's a victim of this starvation campaign. The situation in Gaza is difficult, which is why this week, Israel facilitated airdrops of food, organized humanitarian corridors for these aid trucks, including the UN's, and has even implemented humanitarian pauses in fighting. But on the ground, mobs and gangs of Gazans at aid points have led to looting, to stampedes, to Gazans attacking each other. Yet, Hamas's health ministry claims that every death is Israel targeting aid seekers, even while eyewitnesses and video footage shows otherwise. Now, tell me, does this look safe to you? Media coverage is equally dishonest and disproportionate. We hear 24/7 outrage about Gaza, but silence on the 600,000 Sudanese facing starvation, or the 226,000 people in Yemen who have died from starvation, including 85,000 children. In fact, some activists and outlets have even used Yemen starvation photos and passed them off as Gaza. In Syria, the media is ignoring the ongoing massacre of the Druze, and there is no concern over how the Syrian regime has cut off all water and electricity to the Druze. The double standards here are striking. War is awful, and I'm glad that Israel is stepping in to do more. But to report the situation in Gaza as intentional is simply journalistic malpractice. You can raise awareness for a problem without spreading blood libel.
And now on to our headlines this week from the Middle East, or at least concerning it. We're going to stretch that a bit this week because this next one is so ridiculous. France to recognize the state of Palestine. Once again, we see that France is capitulating to terrorists. French President Emanuel Macron has officially announced that France will recognize Palestine as a state come this September. And maybe most absurdly, thinks that this move will be conducive to peace. Citing the need for an immediate ceasefire, as well as the issue of humanitarian aid and the remaining hostages, Macron claimed that the move would advance peace in the region. In reality, of course, it would do the opposite and embolden Hamas and make a ceasefire even less likely. What reason does Hamas have to negotiate with Macron rewarding them a state in the first place? Luckily, that's kind of exactly the rhetoric that we saw from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Senator Lindsey Graham, who actually called out the misguided French thinking, which Secretary Rubio stated explicitly, uh, that the move is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th. Unless this is what Macron had in mind. Don't think so.
Anyway, now on to Iran. And things haven't been going well for the mullahs since their spanking from Israel last month. The state is facing crippling sanctions. But that's not all. Iran's capital is rapidly running out of water, reaching day zero in Tehran. The regime has declared an emergency public holiday to force conservation, shutting down government offices and banning non-essential uses like car washing. Pressure in homes already dropping, and officials warned that the supply could fail entirely in the coming days. The Islamic regime president, Raisi, stated that the energy crisis is even worse than the regime had previously revealed. Now, reports show that their reservoirs have dropped to dangerous levels, in some cases less than 20% capacity. And if that water runs out completely, critical services like hospitals, fire control, and basic sanitation will simply shut down. But what's interesting is that the Iranian people seem to know exactly who to blame for this issue. Social media has been flooded with outrage over years of government mismanagement. From overbuilt dams to illegal wells to a total failure to modernize Iran's aging water system. Meanwhile, the regime spent billions on Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, and not a drop on fixing the country's internal crisis. The irony of all this is that water technology and infrastructure is one of Israel's unique strengths and something that the Israeli government would love to assist a free Iran with. So, here's hoping that that will be the reality in the next year.
Now, moving on to a different topic related to Iran. What might go down as the most strategically botched ceasefire in recent history. After a devastating 12-day conflict that shattered Iran's nuclear program and killed hundreds of regime personnel, Israel was poised to finish the job. Now, intel reports coming out now say Jerusalem was preparing a final phase to bring down the Islamic regime in Iran until President Trump slammed the brakes. Now, instead of supporting the momentum for freedom for regime change, Trump pulled a classic Trump move. Loud tweets about "Make Iran Great Again" and regime change, but unfortunately no follow-through. Well, Israel got it right that regime change must indeed come from within Iran. The US could have and should have stood firmly behind that goal and supported the Iranian people by letting Israel take care of Khamenei and, of course, others. Israel had already erased most of the regime's nuclear scientists, destroyed enrichment facilities, and neutralized about 80% of their missile launchers. It was working, and unfortunately, Trump stopped it. Now, for a man who claims to make countries great again, he just gave the mullahs another chance to survive.
And now I want to turn to my guest for today, who has quite a remarkable story. Katherine Perezam is a French Jew and a former regime insider who went undercover in the Islamic Republic of Iran as a journalist, even gaining direct access to regime officials, meeting Kasimsulmani and the Ayatollah himself. Now, since the Iran-Israel war, she's become the subject of public speculation about her ties to intelligence, with Islamic regime officials desperate to pin anything on Mossad. Her name has resurfaced as a topic in the Iranian media as regime officials make wild claims accusing her of being a Mossad agent. So, we've decided to speak to her about all of these rumors. Katherine Perez Shaka, my dear friend, welcome to the show.
My pleasure.
Now, you're one of the very few Western women, let alone Jewish women, who not only gained access to the Islamic Republic's inner sanctum, but actually met and spoke with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and, of course, met Qassem Soleimani. What did you see behind the curtain of this regime? I mean, who did you meet? What were those encounters like? And what did they really reveal to you about how this regime really operates?
Oh, how long do you have? Um, look, I mean, like you said, I've met with, um, you know, Khamenei, Soleimani, Raisi. I mean, I've done an interview for Russia Today. Um, I've met, I've met a few others. I don't remember the names. All I would say is that when a list of, um, dead commanders, uh, from the IRGC was published, there were a few names. I was just like, "Oh, yeah, I remember you." Because the pictures were attached to that. So, I was like, "I've seen you before." Uh, but look, it's, I mean, there are many, and so I don't remember everybody. Uh, I remember meeting the, the speaker, um, for parliament, I think, Larijani. I bumped, literally physically bumped into, um, at the time, it was President Rouhani, and I was at the, it was in Tehran, in the conference hall, and it was, I think it was on the first day, so right after Khamenei had his speech, and Khaled Meshaal was just screaming "Death to Israel, Death to America," which was like super uncomfortable for me being 10 meters away from the guy. Um, and someone was actually, because, you know, you had earphones, and someone was like, "Do you want me to translate?" I was like, "No, I think I got that one." It was pretty, it was pretty fine for me. I mean, I could understand. It was in Arabic, so that was fine. Um, and then I was just talking to somebody and backing up as he was advancing towards me, and I just bumped into Rouhani, and that, that angered a lot of his, uh, bodyguards, but then he, he took it on the chin, and he was actually laughing with me, telling me, "Are you okay?" And I was just like, "I'm fine. I try to survive this one." Um, and then interestingly enough, and that was literally minutes after that, it was, uh, there was a break, and you had loads of journalists, and there was, and Manoto TV, of course, and, you know, I had my, my little, um, my little tag with my pictures and my name, and they had kept the name Perez, which I was like, "Oops, let me turn it around." And the guy from Manoto was just like, "Would you like to do a recorded interview?" I was like, "Nope, I'm okay. I'm going to stay here." Um, but look, from what they've told me, um, and it's, it all revolves around the same things. It's just how could they, you know, what, what, what is it that they mean when they say "Death to Israel"? And look, across the board, uh, even though the language differed slightly, what, what they mean is the sons, sons and daughters of Jacob. And that scares me because initially I thought, okay, so they're just after us Jews. I mean, you know, never mind Israel, but they want everybody to be dead. And then I thought about it, and I had a discussion with Nader Talebzadeh, who is literally, first of all, the one that got me in. So, thank you. Um, and also the, the, the chief propagandist of the regime. He has now passed away. Okay. I have nothing to do with it. And, um, he explained to me, it's all right. He explained to me that actually it was the Judeo-Christian world. So, it's not just us. Okay. We are the first ones to take it, people, but not the last. And as you know, Emily, there's a very famous saying that, you know, they come first after the Saturday people, that's us. And then the Sunday people. So, I think we're getting to the Sunday people, unfortunately. And this is not funny. And I think you could see that being played out in Syria. And so, I have a few words for, um, the Pope, who seems to be quite busy with Gaza, which is fine. If only he could extend his worries, his worries to the rest of the world, including Christians and his flock, that would be fantastic. And if he stopped peddling, um, some kind of Islamo-fascist propaganda, it would be wonderful to have someone who has such an office to actually utilize his office for good and use his reason, if he has any left, and actually spread the word. And by that, I mean, don't kill people. Just try, try to do that, just for a week. Let us breathe a little bit. Um, and also condemn, uh, genocide. Just an idea. But, you know, this is just me. But look, beyond that, um, they pretty much explain how this whole ideology functions in terms of how it's been augmented, spread, how indoctrination works. And that, that was exactly why I got in there in the first place. I wasn't there to find nuclear codes. Okay. Uh, I mean, I've done, I've done well, but I'm not that, that clever. Um, and I think that others have done the job better than me. Uh, what I wanted to do is really truly understand, understand, and also try to see if I could use their words against them and hopefully tell the world what they were after. Unfortunately, I have done so. Not many people have listened beyond our lovely diaspora and Israel itself. Uh, the world doesn't seem to want to catch up. And I think it's, it's a tragedy. It's a tragedy for them because look, we are aware. We have been aware for centuries, if not more than that, um, to the risk of, well, I mean, what happens when lies are being spread and spread worldwide? Um, we also know how to fight. We have withstood more than just the Islamic Republic of Iran. We have withstood many, many other tyrants and dictatorships and genocidal maniacs and whatever. I mean, name it. We have done it and survived it. We will do it again. Um, but I think that the world has more to lose than us in that they're actually losing their conscience and morality and, um, the very God that they worship, which is multiculturalism. So, um, it's not working for you.
Now, since the October 7th war, you've become the subject of kind of a bizarre smear campaign by the Islamic Republic and its affiliates, accusing you of being a Mossad spy, orchestrating regime collapse, etc. Even former Foreign Minister Javad Zarif publicly mentioned you. So, let's set the record straight. I'm going to ask you straight up. Have you, are you, or have you ever been affiliated with the Mossad or any other intelligence agency?
I, I wish, Emily. I really wish. I mean, look, if there is a check that got lost in the mail, I'm right here. So, please. This is what I'm going to say. I think that Mossad is truly the, I mean, world-class agency. I think they are wonderful. I am a fan. I'm a great fan. But no, unfortunately, I don't have the badge. I wish I could say. I wish I could say that I did. I wish I could say and claim to my name, um, this great honor. Unfortunately, not the case. But then again, every time that I say this, people say, "Oh, she's humble." No, I'm not humble. I'm just genuinely not on the books. Um, so, listen to me, don't listen to me. It's not going to change a thing. Um, but I'm flattered. I mean, look, if anyone ever thought that I could, I take it. I take it that I'm running with it.
But then again, every time that I say this, people say, "Oh, she's humble." No, I'm not humble. I'm just genuinely not on the books. Um, so, listen to me, don't listen to me. It's not going to change a thing. Um, but I'm flattered. I mean, look, if anyone ever thought that I could, I take it. I take it that I'm running with it.
Now, what is your response to the recent flood of accusations and disinformation campaigns targeting you, some of them very specifically, uh, because you're a woman, absurd on their face, and yet they're being pushed by the regime mouthpieces, even in some cases repeated by Western apologists? Why are they so determined to discredit you now specifically?
Okay. So, I, I look, I've thought about this long and hard, and it's been, what, I think it's been a month now where, you know, it's just the new cycle doesn't want to shift, and it's, it's all about me. Um, it made me laugh at the beginning. Um, then somewhere in the middle, less so, and then now I'm just fed up and I'm like, "Can you move to someone else?" Um, I think it has to do with the fact that I am Western. I can master a pen, you know, just as well as anybody else, but I've been published, so I think that bothers them. I'm also the only Western woman, Jewish woman at that, and they don't like it when Jewish women speak. "Please shut her up," to have gone and survived the regime and actually has things to say from a witness perspective. So, it's not like I've written about it because I've read somewhere about the regime. I actually went. So, it was very much, for me, uh, in the sense that I kept my head where it is. So, that's a victory itself. Um, and that what I have to say is verifiable, and quite often, and I thank them very much for that, by the regime itself. So, it's, it's kind of a, I think it's a first. It's a world premiere for them. It's like they told the truth at last, once, you know, they told the truth, and it's very difficult for them to get out of it now because whenever I speak, um, and obviously I bring sources with me, and things are verifiable again. So, it's not just like I'm spinning or or telling truths that maybe are not fully true. Um, it's just that you could check it. It's, it's data checked all the time. Every time, everything I've said, first of all, went on the record, and second of all, everything that I've said has happened in the way and the order in which I said it would. So, it's difficult for people to kind of dismiss me on the face of me telling the truth. And so, what they're trying to do is smear me and trying to do, you know, some kind of ad hominem attack because, you know, they're thinking, "She's a woman, let's use the oldest trick in the book," and to claim that she's actually of poor virtue. So, again, I'm going to, I'm going to break it down to you people. I don't care. I genuinely, genuinely, I mean, throw them at me. The lies and the whatever and the spins. Um, people who do know me know me and don't believe you. And those who do want to believe, well, I guess, you know, I feel sorry for you.
You know, there's a dangerous and familiar pattern where women, especially those who defect from Islamist movements or or expose extremism, a lot of times they're branded as traitors, liars, foreign spies, or worse. Do you believe that the attacks on you are part of a broader effort to intimidate, uh, female dissidents, and even silence, uh, whistleblowers?
Uh, it would not be the first time. It would not be the first time that I have been embarrassed by a woman, a Jewish woman, too. I think we have in our history quite a few, uh, but that's okay. Um, I'm going to say yes. Yes. I mean, absolutely. You have to remember also that this whole revolution that started in Iran quite a while ago, um, on the back of Mahsa Amini's death, unfortunately, uh, I mean, unfortunately, I'm talking about her death, not the revolution, um, has been carried and continues to be carried by women. And so, you know, they're trying to silence women. And the only way to do it, and unfortunately, this is something that runs deep in the Middle East, is that women can be shamed quite easily. And I don't understand the why. I don't understand how attaching some kind of a sexual label to a woman would silence them on the basis that a male would have to de facto participate in the said activity. And so, I don't know, last time I checked, adultery was also bad for both genders. I mean, this is the one thing that they book don't discriminate against, which is again, doesn't happen very often. Um, so, I don't, I don't quite understand it. And do you know the notion that a woman could show up, a Jewish woman at that, like, uh, and get state secrets in exchange for, doesn't say much about them, but, you know, it's, it's a lie that they have spun. I think they got stuck in it. They don't know what to do. And also, you need to remember that you have different camps in, you know, within the Islamic Republic, and so they're fighting, and so it's a case of who's going to lie better than the other. They're going to try to throw insults and alleged whatever at each other and see what sticks. Unfortunately, again, in order to stick, I would have to respond with care. I'm okay. I'm eating a falafel sandwich like the other one, Stoneberg. Um, I'm okay. I'm
Now, you have warned for years that the Islamic Republic is not only a threat to its own people, but a global threat, particularly to Jewish communities. Can you speak about the regime's long-term activities targeting Jews, both through violent proxies and ideological warfare? I know it's something that you have firsthand, uh, experience from hearing about from regime officials. Does the global Jewish community need to be concerned?
Yes. Yes. Yes, they do. I wish they had listened to me prior to October 7th. I really wish. I look, what is interesting to me, and again, I have written about it, for some reason, it did not, it did not get picked up in the way that it should have. I talked a few years ago, and that was prior to October 7th, which really, really hurts me because, I mean, not not for me, for my name, I don't care about this. I care about the fact that maybe we could have saved people, is that I warned that there would be a one singular event that would really, really hurt not just Israel, but, um, the Jewish diaspora, um, and redefine, I would say, the battle lines. And it did. And when I, back in 2017, spoke at this conference, I mean, he did put a clock on something and he said, "In five years from now," and actually, you have a transcript of the opening speech that he gave during this conference, he did say that something was in the works and that Israel will feel the, you know. You fast forward five years to the dot, and and I've written about it. I've warned, and I was like, "People have asked me, what is going to happen?" I said, "If, if I knew, I would tell you. I don't know." What I do know is that they have planned what would happen after this singular event, and that, you know, the, the level of precision and the indoctrination and the network that they have risen would get activated and would spawn antisemitism, anti-Zionism, ad nauseam, and to, and, and would drown the world, the, the world in, you know, in their lies. And it has happened. We have seen it, and to a degree that scares me because it's one thing to hear about a plan, it's another to see it unfold before your eyes. And I mean, you, you, you have to look at the way that Columbia University, all those Ivy League schools, and a university here in, here in the UK has borne lies after lies, lending themselves in the camp of Islamo-fascists, advocating and rationalizing the death of millions of people, comparing us, and this is, this is something that makes me so angry, to Nazi Germany, trying to appropriate a genocide that was committed against us, trying to appropriate the pain in our history, and trying again to flip it against us and to make us the bad. I mean, the wolf, you know, the, the wolf of the story, the evil of this eternal battle between light and dark. Well, I got news to you for you. You're not on the right side of history. And I'm not saying that the Jewish people own the light, but we kind of sit under it. So, by all means, go and sit with us, but don't, don't, don't, don't try to twist it, and don't try to either shame us or to throw the pain of our ancestors and forefathers by claiming it for yourself and then use it as a weapon against our communities because we're going to stand up for ourselves and each other, and we will fight you to the last one if we have to, but we will. And so, for me, this is quite pathetic from, you know, for the Islamic Republic to be claiming to a truth that it doesn't own, that it can't write, needs a spell.
Now, given what we now know about the regime, what should the West be doing? I mean, what are the options? Are there, uh, possibilities for a peaceful solution for a regime change, and what does that look like?
Yeah. Okay. So, I mean, there's two things that we need to, I want to break down here. Look, the first thing would be, what do we do with the Islamic Republic? So, the, the answer should be, destroy it. Uh, I don't mean the people. I don't mean Iranians. I don't want anyone to die. But we need to deconstruct, destroy, and level this ideology that is a cult. It's, it's, um, it's a cult that worships death. Let's be clear. When you have people screaming "Death to Israel, Death to America, Death to Britain, Death to whoever, Death to the apostates," which is basically everyone but them, at some point in time, you have to understand it's a bad idea. Um, I don't understand why they're supporting it, but they do. They at least apologize it and try to rationalize what it is that they say by saying that it's not that bad. Yes, it is. When you say "Death to somebody," it is bad. It's a universe ending. So, think about that for two seconds. Now, why should we do? Well, I came up with an idea that many people, and frankly, the MEK and the Islamic Republic don't seem to like this idea, which I think is, I mean, to me, that it's a great idea, would be to, and I don't advocate for a return of the 1906 constitution. What I'm saying is that the 1980 referendum that gave way to the new constitution that allowed for the rise of the Islamic Republic was actually an act of engineered consent, and therefore, under legal, under international law, is not legal nor receivable. And so, technically speaking, the lovely Queen Farah is still regent, which means that she could very much call for a government in exile and crown her son Reza, the Crown Prince, Shah of Iran, which would, which would de facto put the West into a bit of a pickle because they would have to decide who it, who it is that they support. Do they support the mullahs of Iran or do they support a free Iran under the banner and leadership of the Crown Prince? Now, that would allow for legitimate continuity. It would allow for the sovereignty of Iran, not the Islamic Republic, to regain ground and for discussions to take place as to what happens next. That's all I'm saying. Also, fun, fun fact, it would mean that all the diplomats in all the embassies from the Islamic Republic would not benefit from diplomatic immunity. So, I'm just saying, it's an idea that would be fun.
Now, we do have to wrap up, but I want to ask you, if you have one last message to Zarif, to, and to the Islamic regime, what would it be?
Quit. Go eat a falafel somewhere, but quit. Really, quit.
All right. Thank you, Katherine Perez Shakam. A fascinating story and very, very interesting insight for us today. Thank you for joining us.
My pleasure.
Well, before we wrap up, I want to take you through our weekly good, bad, and ugly from around the world. First things first, we have the good. Kicking things off in Munich this week, Crown Prince of Iran Reza Pahlavi read a historic convention of national cooperation to save Iran, where dissidents, activists, and artists unified around a transition plan once this regime collapses. Now, during the conference, the Crown Prince announced that over 50,000 current or former Iranian military and security officials have signed up on his secure platform to overthrow the Islamic Republic. Now, as someone who is a huge advocate for regime change, I have to say it was amazing to see so many leaders from different communities, even within Iran, uniting around this call for action.
And now, the bad and the ugly. Yes, we're combining them. Uh, that's how disgusting this incident was. Vueling Airlines is under fire this week after more than 50 French Jewish children were forcibly removed from a flight in Valencia, Spain. Now, the children were returning from summer camp, and they were singing some sort of Hebrew chant when the crew allegedly called police to intervene. The Spanish authorities claimed that the group disrupted the safety briefing and mishandled equipment. But multiple witnesses from completely outside the group and outside the community say that this was purely blatant antisemitism and that the children were not doing that. In addition to that, one of the children's counselors was violently arrested on the tarmac in a traumatizing antisemitic scene for these, uh, Jewish youth. Let's take a look. Even more alarming, the flight's captain, it was revealed after the fact, Ivan Chiraa, has been identified as the one who ordered their removal. He's also reportedly posted photos of himself with Palestinian flags in the cockpit, and he was a flight instructor linked to the training of at least two 9/11 hijackers. Yes, you heard that right, the 9/11 hijackers. Now, understandably, Jewish organizations are demanding a full investigation and possibly legal action as well.
And that's a wrap for this week on Axis of Truth. Of course, we'll be back next week with more discussions and stories that impact the world from the Middle East to the West. I'm Emily Schrader. Be sure to follow me on social media, @EmilySchrader or @EmilyInTelAviv. And thank you for watching. See you next week on Axis of Truth, only on JNS.