“Iran was like a prison”

It’s about 200 miles as the crow flies from Ali Rezaei Majd’s home in Lorestan, Iran, to Iraqi Kurdistan. Through the mountains, though, the journey is more like 350 to 400 miles. Majd walked the entire way, alone.

Majd, 29, is a Christian convert and anti-regime activist who fled Iran in recent weeks. The regime targeted him after he recorded livestream videos condemning the government. After a friend warned him that the secret police were on their way to his home, Majd grabbed a few personal items in a small backpack and left.

Now sheltering among Christians in Iraqi Kurdistan, Majd doesn’t regret the U.S.-Israeli airstrikes targeting his home country.

“Actually I am happy,” he told me. “And the other Iranians are happy. Because your government is killing evil.”

Since the beginning of Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28, U.S. and Israeli strikes have destroyed Iranian warships and military equipment and killed the country’s leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Other top defense and government officials killed in the strikes include Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps; Maj. Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces; Brig. Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh, defense minister; and Adm. Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said that the objectives of the military campaign against Iran include destroying the country’s missile capabilities and preventing it from obtaining nuclear weapons. But he has also called on the Iranian people, who have engaged in widespread anti-regime protests in recent weeks, to take control of their own destiny. Exiled Iranians like Majd say the attacks are an opportunity for their people to rid themselves of decades-long authoritarian rule.

Yuval David, an Israeli American, media commentator, and fellow at the Middle East Forum, noted the Iranian people have fought for democracy, dignity, and freedom since 1979. He explained that many Iranians have lived in fear because the Islamic Republic has maintained power through intimidation. Tens of thousands of protesters have been killed in recent crackdowns, according to some estimates, and tens of thousands more arrested.

“Human rights organizations around the world, including the United Nations, have also documented mass arrests, torture, forced confessions, and executions used as political intimidation,” he said. “Authoritarian regimes survive through terror, and the Islamic Republic has perfected that system.”

Majd, who was born into a Shiite Muslim family but later converted to Christianity, experienced the repression and intimidation firsthand.

“Do you know the rules in Iran?” asked Majd. “Carrying the Gospel or changing your religion: Execution, brother, execution. So you cannot go to a bookshop and ask for a Gospel or Bible. This is like going and asking for drugs.”

Majd, a professional bodybuilder and gym owner, said that growing up in Iran, he was always searching for the truth. As a teenager, he asked imams questions about faith, but their answers did not satisfy him.

While he was still looking for answers, a friend sent him a Persian-language Bible as a gift. “So I started reading the Gospel and I got my answers,” he said. “I found my connection to that book and I just kept reading and reading, and I became a believer after I read that book.”

He found peace and a new direction after turning to Christ, but now he had a new set of earthly problems: Possessing a Bible put his life in danger, he said, so he hid it from everyone, including his family.

Majd had never met a Christian and had never attended a church. “So I was just hiding. I was only dreaming to be in a church with other believers, praying with the people. I was alone. I was living with Jesus for a long time, and after this the protests began in Iran.”

In December 2025, he said, Majd led some youths in protest against the regime. They were part of a larger protest movement in the country of Iranians calling for greater freedoms—a movement that sparked a deadly crackdown by government forces.

“They will kill you so easily. Like you are not a human, like you are a rock,” said Majd. “They are shooting at rocks, without any kind of feelings. They just shoot you.” He said he lost several of his best friends who were gunned down by the security forces.

One day, Ali asked his friend to hold the camera. In the livestreamed video, Ali said, “I am an Iranian living in Iran. I don’t like this regime. I don’t trust my supreme leader. And as an Iranian, I want to send my message to all around the world. We don’t need this government.”

Ali said his friend was shocked and could not believe what he had just heard. “My friend was looking at me like, ‘What are you doing?’ And I just took my phone,” said Ali. “I didn’t have any plans for after that. You know, it was going to be execution.”

He said he accepted the possibility of death because he believed he would simply go to Jesus. But then, he said, “something inside me was telling me to have courage, my son. Don’t worry about anything. I will protect you.”

The video attracted the attention of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a military branch that answers directly to the supreme leader, the ayatollah. That was when a friend called Majd and told him he had about 10 minutes to run.

“I know what’s going to happen to me if they catch me,” said Ali. “It’s not about execution. OK, they will kill you, but they will destroy your soul before killing you. They will rape you, torture you. They will punish your family. They will do whatever they can do.”

He determined he would leave Iran. But, he said, “Iran was like a prison for me.” By law he was not allowed to possess a passport. Still, he managed to evade authorities for eight days and escaped across the border into Iraqi Kurdistan. “Jesus was protecting me in all my path,” he said.

In Iraq, Majd found his way to a church. “That was like a miracle for me. It was like God gifted me new friends. And I really enjoyed being with these believers.” He said he is now happy in his life with his Christian friends and looking for ways to continue working for the people of Iran.

American protests against the strikes baffle him. “All Persians are celebrating this war,” he said. “They feel like waking up after a long time, a horrible nightmare.”

Majd sees the regime’s weakness as an opportunity for change.

“Before the United States started attacking, we didn’t have a chance. But now we have a chance. Now we can fight with that enemy,” he said. “We have hope right now to get our freedom.”