Every night, millions of Iranians sit in front of Iran International
Among them are tens of thousands who have lost someone dear —
a mother, a father, a child, an infant, a daughter, a son, a friend —
murdered by the Islamic Republic in streets, in hospitals, in prisons.
They sit hoping to hear their loved one’s name —
introduced with one sentence by Mr. Morad Vaisi.
They wait for these words:
Persian phrase “Farzand-e Iran va Jan-Fadaye Mihan” with English meaning and phonetic pronunciation, used by Morad Veisi to honor Javidnams.
Watch the video below. In a four-hour broadcast, journalist Morād Veisi reads the names of 1,044 Jāvidnāms (جاویدنامها – jāvid-nām-hā) — one by one.
And before each name, he begins with that sentence.
In this four-hour broadcast, Morad Veisi reads the names of 1,044 Javidnams. Before each name, he says “Farzand-e Iran va Jan-Fadaye Mihan,” restoring dignity to those killed. But even in four hours, Morād Veisi could only cover a fraction.
You can read about the meaning of “Javidnam (jāvid-nām)” in my detailed explanation here.
Phrase Break-down:
«فرزند ایران» – farzand-e Irān
farzand means child — but not only in the literal sense.
It means someone who belongs to a land. Someone who comes from it. Someone who is part of it.
A farzand can be young or old.
It can refer to a teenager.
It can refer to a seventy-year-old.
It does not describe age.
It describes belonging.
So when he says farzand-e Irān, he is not speaking of children only. He is saying: this person belonged to Iran.
«جانفدای میهن» – jān-fadā-ye mihan
jān means life or soul.
fadā means sacrifice.
mihan means homeland.
Together, it means:
One who sacrificed their life for the homeland.
Not for a regime.
Not for a ruling ideology.
For mihan — the homeland.
Why this phrasing matters
For decades, the official word for those killed has been «شهید» (shahīd) — martyr — a term heavily framed within the Islamic Republic’s religious and political language.
Many Iranians deeply respect those who died defending Iran in war. That respect remains.
But for families whose loved ones were killed by the state itself, using the state’s vocabulary can feel unbearable. So Mr. Morad Vaisi chose different words. Words that return the dead to the nation — not to the system.
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