Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed faced a tense exchange Wednesday after an Iranian-American student confronted him over his past comments about Iran and repeatedly pressed him to say whether he stood with Iranians opposing the country’s government.
The exchange unfolded during a town hall at the University of Michigan, where student Iman Dashti identified himself as Persian and described what he said his own family had endured under Iran’s government.
“My cousin was hunted in the streets of Iran by the IRGC because her hijab wasn’t on right,” Dashti said.
Dashti also alleged that his uncle had been sentenced to death and received 50 lashes under the Iranian government.
He then turned to comments El-Sayed made earlier this year after the death of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In leaked audio, El-Sayed said he did not want to comment because “there are a lot of people in Dearborn who are sad today.”
Dashti told the candidate the response had left many Iranian-Americans frustrated.
“That silence had a gaping hole in our community,” Dashti told El-Sayed Wednesday.
He asked whether El-Sayed regretted staying quiet, whether he would condemn people who held vigils supporting Khamenei and whether he stood “unequivocally against the IRGC” and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
El-Sayed responded by saying Americans can support democratic movements abroad while opposing U.S.-led efforts to overthrow foreign governments.
“One can disagree with the governance of a foreign country. One can stand in solidarity with freedom and democracy movements,” El-Sayed said.
He then rejected the idea that Washington should be responsible for regime change in Iran.
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“I will always stand for and with democratic movements always,” El-Sayed said. “But I also don’t believe that we were in the right to go to war to topple the government of Iran. It was not our responsibility to do. It is the responsibility of the people of Iran to decide what their leadership should look like.”
Dashti was not finished.
“You stand with us?” he asked.
“I will always stand with movements for freedom and democracy,” El-Sayed responded.
Abdul El-Sayed again emphasized that he opposes U.S.-led regime change.
“We should not be in the business of regime change,” he said.
He added moments later, “I want freedom and democracy for the people of Iran, no question. But I want that to be done by the people of Iran, coming together as a community to decide how to create democratic change in their society.”
The exchange quickly became one of the most closely watched moments from El-Sayed’s “Students vs. Billionaires” town hall.
El-Sayed won Michigan‘s Democratic Senate primary in August and is running against Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers for the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters.
His campaign later defended his response, saying he supports democratic movements while opposing U.S. involvement in foreign regime-change wars.
“As he noted in his response, Abdul will always stand with movements for freedom and democracy, and he condemns government anti-free speech violence,” Roxie Richner, El-Sayed’s campaign spokesperson, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
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“Abdul has also been clear that the United States should not be in the business of spending our tax dollars abroad on regime change wars that take our service members’ lives, waste our tax dollars and raise our prices. He believes American taxpayer dollars are best spent here at home to invest in infrastructure, education and healthcare.”
El-Sayed also used the event to criticize President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
“Donald Trump and JD Vance can’t seem to keep my name out their mouth,” El-Sayed said. “They don’t really know how to say it, though, which is fine, because I believe in teaching opportunities.”
He also made a forward-looking comment about the 2028 presidential race while discussing public health policy.
“I’m looking forward to working with the next Democratic president when she takes office in 2029,” El-Sayed said.
He did not identify a specific potential candidate.
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[ H/T Trending Politics ]
