An Irish man who was wrongly imprisoned in Iran for seven months has described the brutality of the country's current regime as "terrible".
Bernard Phelan was held in Iran after being accused of providing information to an enemy country in 2022.
Mr Phelan said that he was happy to see people protesting against the regime.
Protests began in Iran late last month in response to soaring prices, before turning against the clerical rulers who have governed since the Islamic Revolution.
Iranians, who are struggling to make ends meet, have grown increasingly resentful of the powerful Revolutionary Guards, whose business interests, including oil and gas, construction and telecommunications, are worth billions of euro.
"In one sense, I'm happy that the Iranian people are out in the street against the regime, but the brutality of the regime is terrible," Mr Phelan said on RTÉ’s News at One.
"People are scared because people are being put in prison for any excuse, and that could mean anything.
"The death penalty was used so much last year, and used more this year. People are very afraid."
He said he felt that the ongoing protests were different to the ones that have taken place in the past.
"I was in Iran in 2022, when I was arrested in October. But in September, I saw them and was mixed in with demonstrations in the city of Tabriz, and they were pretty violent then," he said.
"These look even worse. The public are burning cars and burning public buildings."
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Mr Phelan added that it was hard to know what change would come about in Iran if the current regime were overthrown.
"I don't know what's going to happen. The Revolutionary Guard who arrested me are very, very powerful," he said.
"Whether they want to relinquish any of their power ... would you put in a puppet leader?
"I think there will be a change if the supreme leader goes," he added.
After spending over 200 days in captivity, Mr Phelan was left with significant health issues, but said that his recovery is going well.
"I had a stroke at the end of August last year, which the doctors have said is due to post-traumatic stress disorder," he said.
"But I'm recovering well. I was able to drive a car yesterday, first time since August. So, I'm positive about the situation."
Despite his ordeal, Mr Phelan said he would like to return to Iran at some point in the future.
"I have many friends in Iran, and it is a fantastic country, culturally, historically, and intellectually," he said.
"They have great potential, if they get rid of the regime that's squeezing them."
