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Chapter 2656 The Price (Third Update, Please Subscribe)

Basra, Iraq.

Under the sunlight, rows of Iranian fighter jets and transport planes were neatly parked on the runway, their fuselages reflecting the sunlight.

In front of those planes, the fleeing pilots and their families became the focus of all the shots.

Their smiles and their tears became the focus of the world's attention.

The “victorious escape” carried out by hundreds of Iranian pilots and their families shocked the world.

This news, like a thunderclap in summer, stirred up a storm globally, receiving widespread coverage worldwide. It also revealed the truth about the upheaval in Iran—what was happening there was completely different from what the outside world imagined.

What is the real truth?

Inside the US embassy lounge, after the question was asked, someone answered in a resolute tone.

"That guy was never chosen by the Iranians!"

Tom Wilson took a sip of coffee, still sticking to his point of view, and said:
"He merely exploited the contradictions between various factions in Iran to usurp the fruits of victory."

Prior to this, media outlets in many Western countries claimed that the changes in Tehran were the choice of the people.

At most, some right-wing Western media outlets claimed that "the changes in Tehran were a Moscow conspiracy orchestrated by the KGB."

However, the prevailing view remains that it was the Iranian people's own choice.

However, the escape of these pilots completely exposed this lie, or rather, the lie fabricated by the Western media.

This allowed everyone to see the truth of the matter. At least to some extent, the truth was thus revealed to the people.

No sooner had he finished speaking than someone said:

"Do those liberals who are now shouting for a king, those who are not on the left in the West, now regret their choice?"

Before the religious leader returned, they all tried to use his influence to incite the people, hoping to gain his support so that they could take power themselves after his return.

They all compromised and yielded, and in the end, they were all dumbfounded. In the midst of this compromise and yielding, that guy had actually seized power—it was utterly absurd!

After he finished speaking, the lounge fell silent, with only the air conditioner in the office humming.

Baghdad summers are hot, and it's the hottest time of day right now. While the air conditioning in the room can make it incredibly cool, it can't dispel the restlessness in people's hearts.

In the lounge, people were drinking coffee or cola, sitting on sofas or soft chairs. On the coffee table in the middle, several newspapers with headlines about the escape were spread out.

The embassy staff sat together, seemingly chatting, but their tone was filled with anger or dissatisfaction.

"It's unbelievable that more than 150 planes and thousands of people fled en masse. In human history, only the fall of Saigon can compare to this."

Tom Wilson pushed up his glasses, then glanced at the photos of the escaped planes and pilots in the newspaper, his tone tinged with schadenfreude.

“That’s different. The Saigon escape happened before the fall of Saigon. But these Iranian pilots are escaping after the cleric seized power,”

That's why this is so dramatic, or rather, so shocking.

Although Wilson was an official at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, he was also keeping an eye on Iran, but he never expected such a dramatic turn of events.

"This is not dramatic; it is an inevitable result of the new regime's rule."

Jack Harper, sitting opposite him, put down his coffee cup, the bottom of which made a slight sound as it tapped against the table.

Having just been transferred from Tehran, he has a more direct understanding of the atmosphere of terror in Iran, and said:
"You can't even imagine how cruel that leader was after he came to power. In just a few months, he not only wiped out all those who opposed him, but he also slaughtered all his left-wing allies who had supported him."

"Massacre?"

The young librarian, Lewis, gasped, his eyes filled with disbelief, and asked:

"What did they do? Was it a massacre?"

"No, they even set up courts. They tried those people. But what happened? They didn't allow those people to defend themselves, they just read out the verdict. Yes, that's in accordance with the law, but God knows... there's no such thing as law, it's just reading out the verdict."

When Jack mentioned these things, his face showed sarcasm, but even more so, anger:
"There were too many people being executed, and the prisons simply couldn't hold them all, so they dealt with them in the most brutal way."

Divide the prisoners into groups of six, load them directly onto forklifts, and take them to an open field in the suburbs for mass execution—do you know how that's done?

Jack gestured with his arm to indicate the forklift and explained:
“That’s it. They hang three nooses on one side and put them around their necks. Then a forklift lifts them up—you see, that’s modern, efficient hanging.”

Jack's explanation left everyone speechless; they couldn't even imagine what it would look like.
They even unconsciously gestured with their phones, then felt a chill run down their spines and a wave of fear washed over them.

Such a scene is truly horrifying. And what's even more horrifying is that they actually used a forklift, an ordinary piece of machinery, as an execution tool.

"My God, this, this, this is simply unimaginable."

Seeing the shocked looks on his colleagues' faces, Jack continued.

"There are other even more unbelievable things, because there are so many people who oppose him, and most of them are high school students, college students, and recent graduates, a significant portion of whom are women. You know, those women don't want to wear veils; they just didn't want the king before, not that they wanted to become subservient to men again and wear veils again."

Therefore, they became enemies of that country.

The room fell silent instantly, broken only by the faint hum of the air conditioner. Everyone turned to look at Jack, and Lewis even asked, somewhat uncertainly.

"You mean many of those executed were women?"

Jack nodded, then silently took a drag of his cigarette and said.

"Yes, and the vast majority of them did it simply because they didn't want to wear veils. They thought it was still the era of the king, so they wanted to fight for their rights, and what happened? They were put on forklifts instead."

"What? This is absolutely insane."

"Yes, it's insane, absolutely insane."

"What's even more outrageous is yet to come."

Jack's voice was filled with barely suppressed anger, and perhaps because he was so angry, even his voice and the fingers holding the cigarette were trembling.

"Because Iranian law forbids the execution of virgins... But many of those prisoners were girls still in school who had never experienced anything like this. Guess what the cleric did?"

No one responded; all eyes were fixed on Jack, their gazes filled with unease.

"He directly ordered that before the executions, jailers should be sent to deal with the girls' problem first, and then the executions should be carried out."

Jack spoke through gritted teeth, his fingers trembling as he held the cigarette between his fingers, a result of his anger.

"He could do such a heinous thing without batting an eye; it's a disgrace to human civilization!"

"My God..."

Mark couldn't help but let out a low growl, his face showing disgust. The anger on the faces of the others was equally difficult to conceal.

Disgust, anger, hostility—all sorts of emotions were evident on their faces.

What they are hearing now is far beyond their imagination, or rather, beyond the bottom line of human morality.

For a moment, they didn't even know what words to use to curse those damned guys!
"Damn it! Is Washington's silence just a way to put such a devil in power?"

The unexpected remark made the people in the lounge frown even more.

Yes, if Washington had intervened back then, Iran wouldn't be in its current predicament.

King Pahlavi could not possibly lose his country.

But it's too late to say anything now.

"When talking about this, we can't help but mention the French."

Robert, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke, saying in a sarcastic tone:
"They were the ones who escorted that madman back to Iran, with their planes and their men."

Those Frenchmen lost Lebanon themselves, couldn't even manage the situation there, yet they still daydream about replacing the United States' influence in the Persian Gulf.

The results of it?
They personally sent such a madman back to Iran, and what did they get in return? Nothing. This madman wanted neither the West nor the East.

That's what the French do.

"This is very French."

Tom chuckled, shook his head, and said:
"Aside from raising the white flag and surrendering, they have been jumping back and forth between the East and the West, and over the years, they have hardly made any correct choices."

It's fair to say that there's a consensus on satirizing France. In fact, when it comes to the US's flawed decision-making, dragging France into the mix is ​​a valid point.

At least there's that clown from France as a contrast. America isn't that bad.

Everyone shrugged helplessly. Mark spread his hands, his tone full of sarcasm:
"What more can you ask of France? Their foreign policy has always been chaotic and has never had any long-term plans. They always try to take shortcuts, but in the end, they often end up with nothing, just like now."

"That's why France has fallen to its current state."

"Yes, it seems that no one can think of France except as a clown."

"No, there's also the Eiffel Tower and the women of Paris."

"You're right. Meeting a Parisian woman under the Eiffel Tower—that's the essence of France."

After the sarcastic, utterly devoid of sympathy, the atmosphere in the room grew heavy again. Mark's smile faded, and he asked seriously:
"Leaving France aside, what's happening in Iran now? With so many pilots and officers fleeing, how will Tehran react?"

They can't possibly pretend nothing happened, can they?

(End of this chapter)