Two 19-year-olds, born thousands of miles apart, had their futures stolen by the same organization. First Lt. Tyler James Feehan, Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad, Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, and Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton were the four U.S. service members killed by the IRGC in the Middle East. Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, at just 19 years old, was the youngest of them. While we honor and pay respect to all four fallen service members, Isabella’s death hurts differently.Around the same time Isabella was killed, Iranian authorities executed Erfan Esfandiari. He was also 19 years old. Saleh Mohammadi, a member of Iran’s national wrestling team, was executed by the Islamic Republic in March. He was 19 years old as well. According to Amnesty International, “In the first few months of the year, Iranian authorities executed at least two individuals who were under 18 at the time of their alleged offenses, and several more 18-year-olds were put to death for charges linked to the January protests.”
The Islamic Republic is a regime that kills children. The IRGC bears responsibility for the deaths of four U.S. service members, as well as Erfan Esfandiari, Saleh Mohammadi, and many others. In Isfahan alone, at least a dozen protesters were sentenced to death following the January uprising, with some already executed and others facing imminent execution. Across the country, more than 100 political prisoners remain on death row.
