Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Michigan, refused to condemn Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps during a Wednesday town hall event.
Iman Dashti, a student wearing a “Michigan Persians” sweatshirt and a cross necklace, noted to the Muslim socialist candidate that his family has been targeted by the IRGC.
Dashti told El-Sayed that his cousin was “hunted in the streets” because her “hijab wasn’t on right,” while his uncle was sentenced to death by the government of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and received 50 lashes.
“You can imagine our surprise as Persians, our sadness when we heard you, Abdul, a leaked audio tape of you saying that you didn’t want to comment on Supreme Leader Khamenei’s death, and that people in Dearborn were sad when he died,” Dashti continued.
“And I just have a simple question, Abdul,” he added. “I want to ask if you regret that silence. I want to ask if you renounce the people that held vigils, that supported this terrorist for all the stuff that he’s done.”
“I wanted to ask if you stand unequivocally against the IRGC, against the Islamic Republic of Iran that has killed 50,000 protesters?” Dashti asked.
This is insane. A young Iranian-American describes how his family has been hunted by the IRGC, cites tens of thousands of protesters reportedly killed by the regime, and asks Abdul one simple question: Will you condemn the IRGC?
Abdul refuses. pic.twitter.com/zJprDlQuXd
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) September 24, 2026
El-Sayed did not directly answer the question.
“What I will tell you is this: For too long and too often, when we think about our role in the world, we have turned ourselves into the world’s policemen,” he told Dashti.
“And I think what we all want, what we all need, is more democracy, more freedom in the world, but also an understanding of what we actually can and should do with respect to that,” El-Sayed continued, asserting that interfering with foreign affairs is often driven by American corporate interests, especially from the energy sector.
“One can disagree with the governance of a foreign country. One can stand in solidarity with freedom and democracy movements. But my worry is when one decides that we are going to go in and take out the leadership of a foreign government.”
Dashti once more pressed El-Sayed to condemn the IRGC, and the candidate once more answered indirectly.
“I will always stand, like I told you, I will always stand with movements for freedom and democracy,” he remarked.
The social media page Democrats for Mike Rogers, the Republican nominee who is running against El-Sayed for the U.S. Senate seat, reacted negatively to the comments.
Abdul can’t even condemn the IRGC, a group that murdered an estimated 40,000 Iranian civilians in the last year alone.
Abdul can’t condemn Hamas, the IRGC, the Houthis, or the enemies of America.
We deserve better. pic.twitter.com/sgPzbpkpUD
— Democrats For Mike Rogers (@DemsForMike) September 24, 2026
“Abdul can’t even condemn the IRGC, a group that murdered an estimated 40,000 Iranian civilians in the last year alone,” the page said.
“Abdul can’t condemn Hamas, the IRGC, the Houthis, or the enemies of America,” it added.
“We deserve better.”
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