Democratic candidate for US Senate Abdul El-Sayed waits to speak to the press about rising gas prices outside a gas station in Detroit, Michigan, US, Sept. 22, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for US Senate in Michigan, refused to condemn Iran’s authoritarian, Islamist government and stand with anti-regime protesters after an Iranian American college student criticized the far-left progressive over his previous comments sympathizing with supporters of the regime.

The exchange took place at a University of Michigan town hall on Wednesday. Iman Dashti, a Michigan student who identified himself as Persian, told El-Sayed that members of his family had suffered under the Iranian government.

“My cousin was hunted in the streets of Iran by the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] because her hijab wasn’t on right,” Dashti told the candidate. He also said that his uncle was targeted and handed a death sentence by the Iranian regime.

Dashti then condemned El-Sayed over leaked audio in which the candidate had declined to comment on the death of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying there were people in the city of Dearborn who were mourning him.

El-Sayed’s remarks were reported in March by the Washington Free Beacon, which obtained audio of a private campaign call held one day after Khamenei’s death. According to the recording, El-Sayed warned his staff that reporters might ask whether the US-Israeli strike was justified and advised against engaging with the question.

“There are a lot of people in Dearborn who are sad today, so, like, I just don’t want to comment on Khamenei at all,” El-Sayed said in the leaked audio.

Dearborn is home to one of the largest Arab American communities in the US. According to the 2020 Census, 54.5% of the city’s residents reported Middle Eastern or North African ancestry.

Dashti repudiated El-Sayed for remaining silent on the nationwide anti-government protests that erupted in Iran earlier this year and the regime’s violent crackdown to stop the unrest.

The student asked El-Sayed if he would condemn those who held vigils in commemoration of Khamenei and pressed the nominee on whether he was “unequivocally against the IRGC.”

“That silence had a gaping hole in our community,” Dashti told El-Sayed.

El-Sayed sidestepped the question, drawing a distinction between supporting democratic movements inside Iran and supporting American military intervention to overthrow the Iranian government. He argued that the US has too often intervened in foreign affairs, saying that although he might disapprove of foreign governments, the US should not undertake any “regime change” projects.

“One can disagree with the governance of a foreign country. One can stand in solidarity with freedom and democracy movements,” El-Sayed said.

“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.”

“I will always stand for and with democratic movements always,” he continued. “But I also don’t believe that we were in the right to go to war to topple the government of Iran.”

Dashti pressed him again, asking El-Sayed, “You stand with us?”

El-Sayed again avoided expressing unequivocal support for the anti-regime efforts, stating that he broadly backs “movements for freedom and democracy,” while arguing that political change must come from Iranians themselves.

“I want freedom and democracy for the people of Iran, no question,” El-Sayed said. “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 nationwide protests, which began with a shopkeepers’ strike in Tehran on Dec. 28, initially reflected public anger over the soaring cost of living, a deepening economic crisis, and the rial — Iran’s currency — plummeting to record lows amid renewed economic sanctions. However, the demonstrations quickly swelled into a broader anti-government movement calling for the collapse of the country’s Islamist, authoritarian system.

For nearly two weeks, widespread demonstrations shook the Islamist regime, with violent clashes between protesters and security forces drawing international attention and increasing pressure on the government to refrain from using violence against peaceful demonstrators.

As regime forces intensified their crackdown on protesters and opposition figures in an effort to maintain control, the government imposed a nationwide internet blackout that cut millions of Iranians off from independent reporting and severely disrupted access to information from outside the country.

According to several reports and Western officials, the regime killed tens of thousands of people during the crackdown, primarily over Jan. 8-9, arrested tens of thousands more, and perpetrated atrocities such as rape, security raids on hospitals, the abduction of wounded protesters, pressure on medical staff, extortion of families seeking the return of victims’ bodies, forced signatures on falsified death certificates, and restrictions on public funeral ceremonies.

El-Sayed’s campaign said after Wednesday’s event that he condemns “government anti-free speech violence” and supports democratic movements.

His spokesperson, Roxie Richner, also reiterated that El-Sayed opposes American spending on “regime change wars that take our service members’ lives, waste our tax dollars, and raise our prices.” Richner added that the candidate “believes American taxpayer dollars are best spent here at home to invest in infrastructure, education and healthcare.”

El-Sayed’s measured response to Iran is notable given his forceful repudiation of Israel’s military conduct in Gaza targeting the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

El-Sayed, a physician and former Wayne County health official, has accused Israel of genocide and apartheid, called it a “rogue state,” and argued that its government and the Hamas terrorist organization are both “evil.” He has also questioned US support for maintaining Israel as a specifically Jewish state.

El-Sayed has campaigned alongside left-wing political streamer Hasan Piker, who endorsed his candidacy and appeared with him at events in Michigan. During one such appearance, El-Sayed denounced the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and accused it of influencing lawmakers to support the war against Iran.

El-Sayed won Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary in August and is now running against Republican nominee Mike Rogers for the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. The contest has attracted national attention as Democrats seek to defend the seat.