Lebanese Model Calls for Regime Change in Iran

"As a Lebanese woman, I want to thank all Iranians who support the Lebanese people's revolt against the corrupt political class that rules Lebanon.

“Unfortunately, this ruling class is supported by the Iranian regime. The path to liberate Beirut passes by the change of regime in Tehran!"

This is the message posted on Twitter by Daniella Semaan, the Lebanese model and wife of football star Cesc Fabregas. She joined the chorus of Iranians in cyberspace expressing sadness and solidarity with the people of Beirut, in the aftermath of last Tuesday’s explosion, which has claimed at least 200 lives.  

No Stranger to Conflict and Exposure

Semaan emigrated to London at a young age. Her first husband was an Arab property magnate named Eli Taktouk, who proclaimed that he had chosen “the most beautiful Arab woman” as his wife, and the couple had two children, Maria and Joseph, before separating suddenly in 2011 after Semaan met Fabregas.

During the messy divorce proceedings that followed, it emerged that Fabregas was behind a Barcelona company that had previously placed an offer on Taktouk’s Belgravia flat. Despite Taktouk’s efforts to block the sale, the UK Court of Appeal threw out his application and he was forced to sell the property – a stone’s throw from London’s Buckingham Palace – in order to raise a £1.4million lump sum for Semaan so that she could buy a new home.  

In 2015 Taktouk attempted to sue Semaan for allegedly orchestrating the sale of the family home at a cut price. This was thrown out by the High Court, and in July this year, Taktouk was jailed for seven months for having obstructed a court investigation into his assets, failing to disclose bank statements and breaking a court orders by buying plane tickets.

Meanwhile, the relationship between Fabregas, a former Arsenal star then preparing for his move to Barcelona, continued to flourish and the pair had three children together. Like other couples in the footballing world the pair are near-constantly in the spotlight. It is, therefore, known that Fabregas is interested in the Persian language, while Semaan has a solid grasp of Persian and sometimes posts in Persian online as well as in English and Arabic.

Acid Critiques of Hezbollah, Iran and the Lebanese Government

Based on her Twitter activity Semaan has a clear interest in women’s rights and social and political events in Lebanon. On many occasions she has been explicit in her denunciation of Lebanese Hezbollah.

Since the Beirut explosion, Semaan’s political posts online have intensified. When Emmanuel Macron visited Lebanon last week to survey the damage from the disaster and address the people of Beirut, she began writing from the early hours about protesters in the capital blocking the French president’s way and alerting him to alleged systemic corruption in the Lebanese government.

"Thank you," she wrote to Emmanuel Macron. "But we do not have a government. We have aggressors, warriors, militants, criminals, and thieves."

It’s not the first time Semaan has railed against the Lebanese government either. Two months ago, she made headlines with a tweet castigating members of the Lebanese parliament. Using the hashtag #You_are_but_chaos, she wrote: “You’ve ruled for 30 years, spent 320 billion dollars that suffice to build 15 states and you did not build a single factory. No one is stupider than you except for those who defend and cheer for you.”

In an interview with the same website, Daniella Semaan has described herself as a "proud Lebanese", a "mother loyal to five children" and a "proud woman" who could not remain silent in the face of the "lies of the Lebanese political mafia".

She has also taken aim at Iran’s influence in the region in the past. In a tweet in March this year, she deployed six images juxtaposing the rubble and ruins of Syria, Iraq and Yemen – under the heading “Countries Iran has entered” – with images of the glittering, modern skyscrapers of Kuwait, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, under the heading “Countries that didn’t let Iran enter”. “Hassan Nasrallah,” she wrote, addressing the Secretary-General of Hezbollah. "Look at this picture a moment.”

Semaan’s strident political messages and her efforts to empower Lebanese women in recent years have made her a popular figure in the country. Her message of thanks and call to action to Iranians follows in this vein. Her pinned tweet, from June 2020, could be interpreted as a note of caution to both Lebanese and Iranian citizens: "Living with the wrong people is the biggest mistake."