‘Where were you when we were shot?’: Iranian activist who lost her eye slams Kamala Harris for opposing US strikes

An Iranian activist who lost an eye after being shot by security forces during the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests has sharply criticised former US vice president Kamala Harris for condemning recent US-Israeli strikes on Iran, accusing Western politicians of ignoring the suffering of ordinary Iranians under the regime.Mersedeh Shahinkar, an Iranian activist now living in California, said many Iranians feel abandoned by Western leaders who call for peaceful reform but fail to support the country’s pro-democracy movement.Speaking to the California Post, Shahinkar said activists repeatedly tried democratic methods to push for change but were met with brutal crackdowns.“For many years, we tried peaceful and democratic ways to demand change, or at least reform,” she said.

She added that those were the same methods Western politicians often urge protesters to adopt.“The same methods that some members of the Democratic Party and leftists are now teaching us. But I ask them: Where were you?”

Anger over response to recent unrest

Shahinkar pointed to large protests earlier this year in Iran, claiming thousands were killed during a crackdown on demonstrations across hundreds of cities.“Where were you when more than 30,000 people were slaughtered in early 2026, when millions of people went to peaceful protests with their children in 300 cities across Iran?” she said.

According to Shahinkar, members of the Iranian diaspora had tried to draw attention to the protests online and appealed to several US political figures.

“Since January 8, we in the Iranian diaspora have left thousands of comments and messages on their accounts,” she said, referring to Kamala Harris as well as former US presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama.“We respectfully begged them to raise their voices for innocent children and young people whose internet access was cut off by the regime.”She said those appeals largely went unanswered. “They did not even say a word of sympathy to maintain their mask of humanity.”

‘No war’ slogans criticised

Addressing Western anti-war messaging, Shahinkar said slogans such as “No War” overlook the violence faced by Iranians under the Islamic Republic.“Yes, ‘No War’ is a good slogan. No one loves war in the world,” she said.“But where were you when we were shot in our eyes and faces? When they lashed us, harassed us, and tortured us?”She argued that repeated peaceful protests have only led to harsher repression, mass killings and executions.Shahinkar also warned about the dangers of an Iranian regime armed with advanced weapons.“Imagine the brutality we have endured from a regime that opens fire with live ammunition on its own unarmed youth,” she said.“If such a regime obtains nuclear weapons or long-range missiles, what would it do to you and to other countries in the world?”“For many Iranians, what is happening now is not seen as war — but as rescue.”

What Kamala Harris said

Harris recently criticised President Donald Trump over the US-Israeli strikes on Iran while speaking during a book tour event in Madison, Wisconsin, on March 1.She described the operation as an unauthorised “war of choice” and accused Trump of risking American lives without congressional approval.“In the last 48 hours Donald Trump has dragged America into a war that we don’t want,” Harris said.She added that she opposed a regime-change war in Iran and called the operation a “dangerous and unnecessary gamble” with US troops.At the same time, Harris said Iran must never be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons and stressed that US troops deserve leadership marked by “steadiness and discipline.”Harris also questioned Trump’s claim that the strikes had “completely and totally obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities, citing intelligence assessments suggesting the attacks may have only set back Iran’s nuclear programme by months or a few years.

Masih Alinejad’s criticism

Earlier, Iranian-American activist Masih Alinejad also criticised Harris in a sharply worded post on X, accusing her of speaking out against the strikes while remaining silent during mass killings in Iran.“Who are you? No, honestly. Who are you?” Alinejad wrote.“A Democrat who built a career talking about women’s rights, yet stayed silent when more than 30,000 people were massacred. Now suddenly you’ve found your voice?”Alinejad argued that Western politicians frequently speak about human rights but fail to stand with Iranians when protests are violently suppressed.