War with Iran: Day 20

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Welcome to Nightline.

This is a special edition, war with Iran.

I'm Judu Chang.

On this episode, Reza Farahan,

the outspoken Shaz of Sunset Star.

Hello, we're Persian.

I'm about 98.7 percent finer than any Persian man I've ever seen.

And the good thing about me is I'm very, very humble.

Opening up about his career in reality TV.

If I can show people that we are so similar to other cultures

just by being ourselves, that it would help.

How he's juggled his multiple identities.

It's like I have the trifecta of problematic titles under my belt.

And his thoughts on the war as a refugee of the Iranian Revolution.

For us, it felt like pure evil had been eliminated.

Plus, an American F-35 stealth fighter believed to have been hit

during a combat mission over Iran.

The Pentagon confirming the plane made an emergency landing

at a US base in the region.

We have news on the pilot's condition.

This while fierce attacks continue across the Middle East targeting

gas and oil facilities and sending prices spiking in America

and around the globe.

James Longman reports from the region.

While the conflict in Iran continues to rage on,

we will shift focus each day to this single topic.

War with Iran, nightline special coverage continues.

This is day 20.

Stay with us after the break.

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Welcome back.

Reality star Reza Farahan brings his half-Muslim, half-Jewish,

but full throttle personality to the screen.

Winning over viewers who he believes see themselves

in his story.

He left Iran as a boy and later immigrated to the US

where he says things also felt pretty hostile.

Farahan shared his thoughts on the Iran War

with ABC's Jacqueline Lee.

To us, he was 10 times worse than Osama Bin Laden,

the equivalent of someone like Hitler,

who has destroyed the country, killed so many people,

and sponsors terrorism globally.

For us, it felt like pure evil had been eliminated.

Persian-born Reza Farahan, weighing in

on the assassination of Iran's late Ayatollah Hamani.

It was a moment to celebrate all of those people

whose families lost protesters in January

when there were uprisings in Iran.

I don't know that many Americans were watching the videos

of those parents burying their children.

There were upwards of 50,000 protesters killed.

The Shaws of Sunset reality TV star

best known for his outspoken personality

and razor sharp wit.

The stomach, its plot, the legs, juicy,

and the good thing about me is I'm very, very humble.

Now stepping into a far more sober spotlight,

chronicling his journey from child refugee

of the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

To coming of age as a half-Muslim, half-Jewish gay teen,

navigating identity, family, and belonging

in 1980s, California.

In his new book, Memoirs of a Gay Shah,

my story of family, fame, and becoming a king.

What are your thoughts on the war with Iran?

I wouldn't consider it a war with Iran.

I would consider it a rescue mission

for the people in Iran.

I know many Persian-Iranian Democrats

who are so thrilled that the prospect of a free Iran

is something that they're allowing themselves

to dream about.

52-year-old Reza calls his journey

the fulfillment of the American dream,

an immigrant success story, decades in the making.

Nine seasons on Bravo's Shaws of Sunset

turns the luxury real estate agent

into a breakout personality, cultural figure, and fan favorite.

Set among a tight-knit circle of affluent friends

in Los Angeles, the show showcased

the flamboyant lives of some children

of Iranian refugees in a way America hadn't seen before.

There was very little that I saw of people from Iran

or Persians on TV unless they were representing a dictator

or a terrorist.

You'd never seen Persians just in their natural habitat

doing their thing before.

We are about family, food, community,

and it started to build bridges immediately.

Against the backdrop of Iran's Islamic legal code,

where same-sex relationships are criminalized

and punishable up to death.

He says his focus on the show was LGBTQ plus visibility

and challenging misconceptions.

I said to my mom, if this show gives me two minutes

to be on TV and show other young gay Middle Eastern kids

that their families can love them, their friends can accept them,

and that they have a place in this society and community,

that's what I want to do because I actually

came up with people that took their own lives

and aren't here today because they weren't accepted.

Married to his husband, Adam Neely, for over a decade,

he's proud to represent the Middle Eastern LGBTQ plus community.

But long before the stability he knows today,

his life here began during a vacation to America

he never returned home from.

And then little rumblings of a revolution started

and everyone back home kept saying,

extend your vacation, things are really chaotic.

Just hang out in America for a little while longer

and a little while turned into a long while

and that turned into a full-blown revolution

and we never went back.

The 1979 Iranian Revolution toppled the U.S.-backed government,

established in Islamic Republic and set the stage

for the 444-day Iran hostage crisis

when 52 Americans were held captive.

The Shah's arrival in Egypt complicates efforts

to free the hostages.

I would watch the news with my parents

and everywhere we went,

even when they were dropping me off at nursery school,

people were siding them like,

are you related to those people

that are holding the U.S. hostages?

It was a very, very hostile time to be here.

While he says his mixed identities made him feel

like an outsider in both Persian and in American spaces,

he said he is deeply grateful for the opportunities

he and his family have had.

When I was naturalized as a U.S. citizen,

it was one of the greatest days of my life

because had I stayed in Iran,

I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt

that I wouldn't be here, I would not be living.

They would have killed me for being out,

being loud, being gay,

some combination thereof.

These days, Reza has a new Bravo reality show,

the Valley Persian style.

Why are you dressed like you're going

to a Halloween party later?

This is my farming outfit.

Reuniting him with fellow Shaws of Sunset Alums,

MJ and Gigi.

You're getting hot with me.

I'm not getting hot with you.

Why are you guys heated?

You guys never fight.

This is how see I'll go by the way.

As for returning to his homeland,

some things he says are worth waiting to see.

I definitely dream to go and visit Iran,

but I don't need to be the first one to go there.

Maybe to be on the 17th or 18th flight

of tourists that go in and come back,

I want to make sure gay people aren't killed upon arrival.

I want to make sure like we're good, good, right?

I don't need to test the water.

What do you think young Reza would think looking at you now?

Oh my god, let me see the picture.

This little boy right here, I would tell him

that I'm going to make him really proud.

I think he would be very proud of me.

Our thanks to Jacqueline coming up,

stunning news from Iran,

a U.S. stealth fighter hit during a combat mission.

We have news on the pilot after the break.

From 30 for 30, podcast.

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Welcome back, sobering news from the war.

For the first time, a U.S. F-35 stealth fighter jet

believed to have been hit while on a combat mission over Iran.

The $100 million plane making an emergency landing

at a U.S. base.

Our chief international correspondent, James Longman, is in Iraq.

Tonight, for the first time since the war in Iran began,

a U.S. stealth fighter jet is believed

to have been hit by enemy fire.

Tonight, sources tell ABC News and Air Force F-35 stealth fighter

was flying a combat mission over Iran when it was hit.

Sources say the pilot is in a stable condition tonight,

after landing at a U.S. base in the region.

The incident raises immediate questions

about how a U.S. stealth fighter, nearly invisible to radar,

could have been hit by hostile fire potentially

by the Iranians.

An urgent investigation is now underway.

And tonight amid the shock over global oil prices

and gas prices in the United States,

Iran is intensifying its attacks on major energy facilities

across this region, fueling even more uncertainty.

Smoke billowing from Israel's largest oil refinery

after it was hit by Iranian missile debris

in video circulating online.

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait hit yet again.

Iran's retaliation comes after Israel bombed its section

of the world's largest gas field.

Overnight, President Trump denied any knowledge

of Israel's decision to strike it,

but an Israeli source tells ABC News, quote,

all Israeli targets in Iran are aligned with the United States.

The President was pressed today

if he spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu

about that Israeli attack.

I told him, don't do that, and he won't do that.

We didn't discuss.

You know, we do, we're independent,

we get along great, it's coordinated,

but on occasion he'll do something

and if I don't like it.

And so we're not doing that anymore.

Late today, Netanyahu said Israel would stop striking Iran's

oil infrastructure at President Trump's request.

And just two days after a top U.S. intelligence official

resigned, saying there was no immediate threat from Iran.

Today, Netanyahu denied Israel

pressured the U.S. into this war.

That is that Israel somehow dragged the U.S.

into a conflict with Iran.

Does anyone really think that someone can tell President Trump

what to do?

Come on.

Tonight, the escalating attacks

are rattling global oil prices in the U.S.

A gallon of gas has skyrocketed 97 cents

since the President launched the war.

It's now averaging $3.91 a gallon.

The President today vowed to do

what it takes to lower oil prices,

again calling the war a quote,

excursion to stop Iran.

The President suggested he thought gas prices

would have been even worse.

I wanted to put out that fire.

And I said, you know, if I do that,

oil prices would go up.

The economy would go down a little bit.

I feel it would be worse.

Much worse, actually.

I thought there was a chance it could be much worse.

It's not bad.

And it's going to be over with pretty soon.

And tonight, in an effort to secure

the straight of Hormuz,

the U.S. destroyed multiple Iranian Navy ships,

saying they were threatening international shipping.

And in another sign of this widening conflict

in Lebanon tonight,

the horrific moment caught on camera

and Israeli air strike exploded just feet away

from Russia today, correspondent.

RT posting this video,

the journalist suffered shrapnel wounds.

RT claims Israel fired on the reporter's vehicle on purpose.

Israel claims it was targeting a bridge

in the South, used by Hezbollah.

Our thanks to James.

Join us tomorrow for another special edition

of Nightline War with Iran.

Our show was born during the Iran hostage crisis in 1979.

We were there then.

We are still here now.

If you like this podcast,

let us know with a review on Apple podcasts,

Spotify, or wherever you're listening.

Check out, start here for more on the day's news

and of course stick with us for updates

throughout the day on ABC News Live.

We'll be right back here tomorrow.

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