Iran Wants Him Arrested. He's Going Back Anyway.

The writer-director Jafar Panahi’s new film, It Was Just an Accident, is the second Iranian film ever nominated for multiple Oscars. Panahi is in the United States for the awards season, but soon after, he plans to return to Iran, where he may well be arrested. His co-writer on the film was recently jailed after signing a letter objecting to the deadly crackdown on protests in Iran. Panahi, who also signed the letter, has been sentenced to one year in prison in absentia. His lawyer has said they plan to appeal the sentence. But Panahi doesn’t seem afraid. (He made It Was Just an Accident in secret, as he has in the past with other films.) Even with the crackdown in Iran and violence against protesters here in the U.S., he says he still has reason to hope: “I see a greater future. I see from above.” --- Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you

You can listen to Iran Wants Him Arrested. He's Going Back Anyway. online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Iran Wants Him Arrested. He's Going Back Anyway. is an episode from Radio Atlantic by The Atlantic.

This episode is 29:22 long.

This episode was published on Feb 12, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Radio Atlantic when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.