That's an Iranian music video that's using humor
to point out a really absurd truth.
Your vote in the U.S. presidential election
could impact their lives more than yours.
The band is called Dasandaz.
And their new song, which is actually a spoof
of an older Iranian song –
♪ Sweet, cute Iranian girl, listen to Black Cat's message ♪
– has one very important message:
The outcome of U.S. presidential elections
has a huge impact on ordinary Iranians' lives in Iran.
But how does this work?
I talked to my friend Esfandyar Batmanghelidj,
who studies the Iranian economy
closer than anyone else I know personally.
First and foremost, I want to ask you,
what was your reaction to this song?
Well, first off, I thought it was brilliant,
really because of how accurate it was.
But this guy gets elected in the U.S.
He doesn't win the popular vote.
The Electoral College makes him president.
And he puts into motion a set of policies
that lead to enormous price increases in Iran.
Here's what he's talking about.
In 2018, Donald Trump withdrew the United States
from the Iran nuclear deal,
signed between world powers and Iran
back when this guy was president.
The deal started a process of lifting
decades of U.S. sanctions, targeting Iran's economy.
In exchange, Iran promised to limit
its nuclear enrichment program.
But then, Trump straight-up violated the deal
and reimposed economic sanctions on Iran.
It was a slap in the face to the U.S.' European allies too,
who really wanted the deal to work.
That sent the Iranian currency crashing.
It lost a ton of value, a ton.
In the 11 months following
when Trump pulled out of that deal,
the price of food in Iran went up 85%.
An exceptional thing can happen
in an election 6,000 miles away,
and that really changes kind of the trajectory
for Iranians of all walks of life.
The Trump administration's sanctions on Iran
have been inhumanely harsh.
They've not only sent food prices soaring,
but they've also denied Iranians access
to lifesaving medical supplies,
shut off avenues for humanitarian aid
and destroyed entire livelihoods.
You know, I think it was a humorous way
to call attention to a very significant thing,
which is that Americans should be aware
that their votes really do count
and in ways that often they can't even fathom.
This extends pretty far back into history too.
Let's rewind to say, President Bill Clinton, a Democrat.
After Americans elected Bill Clinton president,
he passed the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act in 1996,
putting more pressure on Iran's economy.
But then Iran elected a reformist president,
Mohammad Khatami, who wanted better ties with the West.
So some moves were made to dial back sanctions,
sanctions on some pretty Iranian things,
like Persian rugs, caviar, pistachios and dried fruits –
things that you might find in my house.
That was just from Trader Joe's.
There's even a story about how the two were extremely close
to shaking hands at the United Nations.
But then it all fell through.
Soon enough, George Bush, a Republican, is president.
After 9/11, Iran was one of the first countries
to express condolences to the United States.
Iran helped the U.S. oust the Taliban in Afghanistan.
And Iran also expresses interest
in further dialogue with the U.S.
But then, Bush turns around and suddenly labels Iran
as part of the...
axis of evil,
and works with the United Nations
to slap on more sanctions.
I notice a pattern.
And that's the end of their little collab.
In some ways, it torpedoes Iran's reformist presidency.
And soon after, we see the rise
of conservative populist president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Think of him as the Trump of Iran.
Then Obama, a Democrat, wins the 2008 election.
OK, so fast-forward a few years past Ahmadinejad,
and Iran elects a new neoliberal, moderate president,
Hassan Rouhani, who wants to engage with the West again.
And eventually, Iran, Europe, Russia, China and the U.S.
all come together to hammer out
a truly groundbreaking diplomatic agreement
to end decades of tensions and roll back sanctions
that are hurting ordinary Iranians.
But then this guy comes along, rips the deal to shreds
and imposes those sanctions I told you about.
You can imagine how Iranians were thinking
about the future in 2016 – when the economy was growing,
when the country was reintegrating with the world,
when new opportunities were being created, new jobs,
and generally, there was a sense of hope in the air –
to where Iranians are now,
which is in a completely different place.
And you can really draw those sort of pivotal moments
to the election of Donald Trump.
- Iran's moderate president,
who bet his whole presidency on the deal,
now has egg on his face.
And things in Iran now are very bleak.
So look, which president comes to power in the U.S.
has a tremendous impact on ordinary Iranians.
I mean, just on the surface,
one of them wants to reenter the Iran deal,
and the other one, well...
Iran, a terrorist nation like few others.
And that brings us back to the song by Dasandaz.
They're not telling you how to vote or whether to vote,
but they're pointing out how absurd and mind-boggling it is
that your decision at the ballot box and mine
could dramatically alter their lives more than ours.