Dr. Sheila Nazarian on Iran's protest crackdown, executions, and internet blackout
Dr. Sheila Nazarian, a plastic surgeon who fled Iran as a child, warns of the escalating human rights crisis in Iran, where four more protesters face death sentences, including the first woman. She highlights over 650 executions in three months and criticizes American politicians for their perceived inaction, stressing the humanitarian nature of the issue.
Dr. Sheila Nazarian said Wednesday on "America's Newsroom" that actress Elizabeth Banks and other public figures are ignoring what she described as ongoing human rights abuses against women in Iran, including executions tied to recent protests.
"This Elizabeth Banks sitting comfy in a little cushy couch on a podcast with her hair slicked back talking about how could anyone vote for Donald Trump," Nazarian said. "You claim to be a feminist. You claim to be a humanitarian. Where are you when the women need you? You’re a fake. You’re a hypocrite."
Nazarian’s remarks came after Banks said she does not "understand" the 53% of White women who voted for President Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris.
"I don’t understand the 53% of White ladies that didn’t vote for Kamala. What were you thinking?" Banks said in a "Bustle" podcast episode.
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Saleh Mohammadi, left, an Iranian wrestling champion was reportedly executed over protest participation earlier this year. On right, a Tehran billboard showing Supreme Leaders Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Ali Khamenei and newly appointed Mojtaba Khamenei, displayed March 10, 2026. (The Foreign Desk/AFP via Getty Images)
Nazarian, a California-based plastic surgeon who fled Iran as a child, made the remarks during an interview with host Bill Hemmer, who cited reports from human rights groups that Iranian courts had sentenced four more people to death following January protests, including a woman.
The segment focused on both the treatment of women under Iran’s regime and broader reactions in the West. Nazarian framed the issue as a humanitarian crisis, criticizing what she characterized as selective outrage from prominent voices.
"This woman, Beta, is about to be gang-raped and publicly executed, and so are three more women," Nazarian said. "They have been doing this to many young people every single day, one or two public executions."
Nazarian described practices she attributed to the Iranian regime regarding female prisoners facing execution.
"In Iran, this regime, these Islamists, they believe that if a woman is killed and she’s a virgin, she goes to heaven," she said. "So what they do is they will gang-rape her before they execute her."
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Iranian women walk past a mural painting of Iranian flags in Tehran on Nov. 26, 2024. (Atta Kenare/AFP)
"They are killing young people every single day," Nazarian said.
Nazarian also pointed to her family’s experience fleeing Iran, describing the risks they faced under the regime.
"My family escaped Iran on the back of a pickup truck while the Iranian border police was shooting at us," she said. "They had two daughters. They could see this is no future for a girl in Iran."
"Imagine there are millions of people in Iran who knew freedom 47 years ago, and they lost it," Nazarian said.
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In a protest against the regime in Iran on Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Washington, D.C., Iranian American women march with their hair uncovered, refusing strict edicts of the Islamic Republic of Iran that force women to cover their hair. (Fox News Digital)
Hemmer asked about reports that much of Iran had been offline, while some elites retained internet access. Nazarian said her information from inside the country reflects fear of the regime.
"The only things that I’m hearing from Iran is that they don’t want the bombs to stop," she said. "They are more afraid of this regime than they are of the targeted attacks."
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Nazarian reiterated that the situation extends beyond geopolitics and should be viewed through the lens of human rights.
"Iran isn't just a military war or peace in the Middle East or oil stabilization," she said. "This is a humanitarian issue."
