Day out at the BBC’s family festival in Iran

I love me a family festival.

On February 11, 2026, a celebration was thrown for the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The vibe was stellar, according to BBC’s chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet.

“There was a festival air on this public holiday as families marched and meandered in a warm winter’s sun,” she said.

Just one day before, Lyse, BBC Persian listed the weapons used on Iranian protesters the previous month. Machine guns, sniper rifles, assault rifles, shotguns, tear gas, machetes and knives, to list a few. A weapons expert confirmed some of the ammunition used “is intended to defeat structures, vehicles and hardened targets”. Using such a weapon on a human, said this expert, “would be catastrophic”.

At the Islamic Republic’s annual celebration of its subjection of Iran, you said, “Here in Tehran, it feels like a family festival.”

Lyse, Iran International and others reported that Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence officers pressured families of arrested protesters to attend the rally and verify their presence with videos so their relatives “might be released, spared execution or see their sentence reduced”. Nothing brings more joy to a celebration than knowing that my attendance could save a loved one’s life.

Weeks before families “meandered in a warm winter’s sun”, families at protests were treated to “non-standard chemical agents” and reported symptoms including respiratory distress, neurological impairment and cardiovascular instability.

Lyse, I think I saw a man at your family festival holding up a poster of the leader of the 1979 Iranian revolution: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. According to the testimony of a former head of Tehran’s Evin Prison, women were raped before being executed under Khomeini’s regime, since virgins were believed to go to paradise and that’s not where these naughty women deserve to end up.

Lyse Doucet, you asked a “beaming young woman” about the protests. “It is clear that those who rioted, and brought about chaos, had intentions which originated from beyond our borders,” this woman claimed. This puts me in mind of some other outside agents of chaos: those Afghan, Pakistani and Iraqi militias from the likes of Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba who came in to butcher Iranians in their tens of thousands.

Did you know, Lyse, that victims’ families were forced to pay for the bullets that killed their loved ones? A shame to cut into their family festival spending budget. Oh well – at least they were able to make it along, unlike those injured protesters who were shot in the head while in hospital with IV lines and breathing tubes attached to them, as a source told the New York Post.

Ah, but who wants to think about hospital patients being executed when there’s a family festival going on? Let’s ignore reports of Aida Rostami, a doctor who treated protesters in Tehran, going missing after a shift and being found dead with her body showing signs of torture. Forget about surgeon Alireza Golchini being arrested in front of his wife and 11-year-old son, who saw him beaten so badly “they broke his arm, ribs and dragged him out of his home.”

On the same day of your family festival, Lyse, an Iranian teachers’ union confirmed the identities of 200 students killed during the protests, like 14-year-old Sam Sohbatzadeh who worked full-time to support his household (bad economy, you know). Sam was shot in the head on January 8. 15-year-old Ghazal Jangorban was shot in the chest, abdomen and leg on January 9 and died in the hospital where she was born.

I’ve gotta admit, it would be a bit of a bummer to look at those photos of her empty room her mum posted on Instagram, don’t you think?

On January 25, weeks before your family festival, Time reported a death toll of “around 30,000”, citing senior officials of Iran’s Ministry of Health and noting that these figures roughly align with a count gathered by physicians and first responders. Lyse, you note that “at least 6490 protesters were killed”. Your numbers are half an order of magnitude lighter than the other estimates, but you’re right to be conservative. It would be irresponsible of you to print numbers that haven’t been properly verified, which is something I’m sure your media organisation would never do.

I can see why your headline read: “In Tehran, rallies for Iran’s revolution overshadowed by discontent and defiance”. What a shame that such a lovely family festival was ruined by the discontent and defiance of those butchered by the regime whose atrocities you’re minimising.

I hope you enjoyed those fireworks which “flared in a kaleidoscope of brilliant colours”, Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet. It sounds like you had a lovely day out on the job at the BBC.

Pete Malicki is an Australian playwright, producer and business leader. He is not Jewish.