Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Oct 03, 2025

Iranian musicians help out in secret on Israeli singer's new record

Iranian musicians help out in secret on Israeli singer's new record

‘I don’t agree with anything that comes with seeing Iran as our enemy,’ says singer Liraz Charhi

An Israeli singer of Persian heritage is set to release an album she made by working in secret with Iranian musicians, her long-held aspiration for artistic collaboration despite bitter animosity between the two states.

Using encrypted instant-messaging apps like Telegram and by wiring money through third countries, such as the UK and Turkey, Liraz Charhi said she spent months of sleepless nights fearing those who associated would be in danger.

“Technically, it was very difficult” Charhi, 42, said in an interview. “But emotionally, it was much more difficult. I felt night after night that I was doing a bad thing and these people could be arrested.”

The two countries consider each other arch-enemies, clashing at times in recent years, and both governments have arrested people on charges of spying. In May, Iran’s parliament passed a law criminalising different types of cooperation with Israel, including using Israeli software.

Meanwhile, Israel has supported severe US sanctions on Iran that have been blamed for crippling its economy – a policy Charhi condemns even though she is deeply critical of the country’s leadership. “I don’t agree with anything that comes with seeing Iran as our enemy, because I don’t live like that. I do the opposite.”

Charhi, who is also an actress, knows too well how this hostility dominates the narrative of Iran and Israel. In her most recent screen performance, an Israeli-made thriller series called “Tehran” out this month on Apple TV+, she plays a Mossad spy.

She hopes her second Farsi-language album, Zan (meaning “women”), will present a rare sense of unity as it was made with Israelis and Iranians. Released by Glitterbeat Records and out on 13 November, the album is filled with electro-dance tracks that revive and remix a 1970s era remembered for a lively Iranian pop scene.

Music video for Injah

Her parents emigrated to Israel before the end of 1970, at a time when the countries had close ties, including direct flights and strong trade, and around a decade ahead of the 1979 Islamic Revolution that overthrew the last Shah of Iran.

“My parents kinda or struggled to be Israeli while they put their roots behind them. They kept acting Iranian,” she said. “For me, it put a big hole in my heart – a big question mark. Who am I? Where did I come from?”

Growing up speaking Hebrew in school and Farsi at home, Charhi learned about a mid-20th century Iran from her parent’s songs and stories. However, it was only once she moved to Los Angeles as an actor that she learned from the huge American-Iranian community about Iranian culture from the 1970s.

“I recognised something different in the women singers voices. Full of courage, much more feisty,” she said. Both her albums are deeply influenced by this time – a period after her parents had left but before the revolution.

Her first album was named “Naz”, a rebellious soundtrack filled with songs toying with the Farsi expression for “being polite, being a good girl”. The album became a minor hit in Iran, with Charhi seeing videos on social media of Iranian women bopping to her songs. For her next album, she had more ambitious plans.

After contacting several Iranian artists online – singers, composers, players of tradition bağlama stringed instruments – many were excited to collaborate, although some asked not to use their real names. Others expressed initial interest, only to disappear after a couple of months, changing their social media accounts.

One Iranian composer who wrote and sang for tracks in the album said he first heard Charhi’s voice in her Instagram videos. “It shocked me, a girl from Israel with Persian roots … a lot of emotions, energy from her voice and eyes,” said Raman Loveworld, asking to use only his artistic name.

“I know it is dangerous to work on this project,” he said. “But we are just normal people.”

Charhi has never visited the country her parents were born in but managed to meet some of the Iranian artists she worked with when they made trips to Europe. “Wow, that was crazy,” she said.

“My biggest dream was to write Iranian music with Iranians,” she added. “Mission accomplished.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
×