At a University of Michigan town hall, Persian student Iman Dashti pressed Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed over leaked remarks on Khamenei and his stance on the IRGC. El-Sayed said he supports Iran’s freedom and democracy movements but opposes U.S.-led regime change.
The leaked audio, from earlier this year, captured El-Sayed saying he did not want to comment on Khamenei’s death because many people in Dearborn were sad. Dashti said his cousin was hunted by the IRGC in Iran over her hijab and alleged his uncle was sentenced to death and given 50 lashes under Iran’s government.
Campaign spokesperson Roxie Richner said El-Sayed condemns government anti-free-speech violence and opposes U.S. spending on regime-change wars. El-Sayed won Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary in August and is running against Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers for the seat of retiring Sen. Gary Peters.
