Iranians in London

Five Iranians join host James Reynolds in the Naroon Persian restaurant in central London to share their experiences. In our conversation over dinner, our guests discuss the war, what it’s like to be so far from home, fears for family and friends in Iran and their hopes for the future of the country.

“One of the things we can all relate to is a big sense of survivor’s guilt,” Rahah tells us. “The people you’ve spent all your days with, they’re experiencing that uncertainty and that stress and you’re sat here trying to convince your nervous system that you’re not the one that’s being attacked.”

Many people who have left Iran tend to oppose the regime and it’s difficult to gauge how much support the government has. One Dutch study suggested it’s around 20% of the population and our guests discuss why they decided to leave and what they miss about home.

Presenter: James Reynolds
BBC producers: Lindsay Brown and Angela Sheeran
Boffin Media producer: Richard Hollingham
Editors: Arja Haikonen and Harriet Oliver

A Boffin Media production in partnership with the Outside Source team.

(Photo shows two of our contributors. Credit: BBC)