An Iranian-American lawyer and TikToker hit out at the Islamic Republic’s regime and its cheerleaders advocating for a war with Israel, arguing that everyday Iranians only “want peace.”
Elica Le Bon, a British-born, American-educated attorney boasting more than 300,000 followers across the various social media platforms, released a video on TikTok Sunday carrying a powerful anti-war message that has gone viral, drawing more than a million views.
“Hi, Iranian woman here,” Le Bon says at the start of the clip. “It’s become very apparent that you haven’t been listening to anything that we’ve had to say for the past two years, but I was wondering if you could just lend me a few minutes of your time in this ungodly hour to hear us now.”
Le Bon, who has used her online clout to combat Iranian propaganda and disinformation in recent years, blasted supporters of the Tehran regime for backing the historic drone and missile attack on Israel Saturday by arguing that it was an act of self-defense following an Israeli strike on an Iranian embassy complex in Syria.
“In what capacity have you distorted the story to make the Islamic Republic the victim?” Le Bon incredulously wondered.
Le Bon drew a distinction between the nation of Iran and its ruling regime, insisting that what the hardliner theocratic government does “is not a reflection of the Iranian people.”
“We’ve been clear about what we want, which is peace,” she proclaimed.
The influencer further took pro-Tehran commenters to task for turning a blind eye to the mass protests led by Iranian women demanding reforms who are being jailed and killed for their activism, only to come out in full force to support the attack on Israel.
“When we were screaming that they were killing Iranian women for not wearing a hijab, where were you?” Le Bon demanded. “When they were lynching Iranian men from cranes for protesting, where were you? When we were explaining that it’s a terrorist occupying force, where were you?”
“But all of a sudden everyone’s graduated from Instagram school of law to say that it’s a violation of international law and Iran has the right to defend itself,” she seethed.
Le Bon went on to argue that far from being a victim, the Islamic Republic of Iran was the aggressor responsible for creating “terror proxies,” including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen, for the sole purpose of fostering regional instability.
“Did you think they were there to instigate a system of public schooling and education, to feed the poor, house the unhoused? What did you think that they were there for?” she sarcastically remarked.
Le Bon also bristled at Iran’s claim that the Israeli bombing of its compound in Damascus on April 1 was an act of war, pointing out that it came after Hamas launched a murderous attack on Israel on Oct. 7, and that Hezbollah has been firing rockets into northern Israel “on a near daily basis.”
“Iranians don’t want war with Israel. We want peace with Israel. Iranian people inside of Iran have come out and said this over, and over and over again,” Le Bon said.
The Israeli government was said to be mulling a retaliation for Saturday’s Iranian barrage that saw more than 300 drones and missiles rain down on its territory, leaving a 7-year-old girl seriously injured.
Israel’s European allies urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet to show restraint and avoid escalating the conflict further amid the ongoing war with Hamas.
