2 min readNew DelhiMar 3, 2026 08:26 PM IST
The death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a joint military strike by the United States and Israel drew mixed reactions across Iran on Saturday. After his killing, Iran launched retaliatory strikes across countries in the Middle East. Now, Iranian-born actor Mandana Karimi, who lives in India, has announced her intention to leave the country and return to Iran.
While talking to Bollywood Hungama, Mandana said, “What I see for Iran is a free Iran where women can do whatever they want, wear whatever they want, whatever university they want to go and study. I see Iran which has a great relationship with Middle East that we are not a threat to people. But we are a nation that builds the Middle East… The moment they announce that this regime is gone, I will go.”
She continued, “Anyway, my bags are packed, and I am leaving India as well. That is the plan because I feel I am breaking up with India. It is very difficult for me because I came to India when I was really young. India has given me everything: my modelling career, my acting career, the love that I got, and the friends that I have. But I feel I don’t have a voice in India.”
Mandana Karimi also revealed that she lost a lot of friends in Mumbai as she joined protests aganist the current regime in Iran. “In these past two months, I have never felt so homesick and lonely in Bombay. I have a lot of friends here, but unfortunately, I went to protests, and I was talking about Iran so openly that I lost a lot of ‘so-called’ friends. I feel India has betrayed me in a way. India has given me what it was supposed to give, and now it’s time to move on, and hopefully I am going to move to Iran.”
