Tortured daily by captors who threatened to rape his daughter, Mass still remembers the 39 brutal days he spent in an Iranian jail cell.

Christian convert “Mass”, who did not want to give The Telegraph his full name, was already living dangerously as a journalist under the Islamic Republic regime when he accused the Sept 11 attackers of starting “the third world war”.

He was arrested and thrown in jail.

“It was 39 days but it was non-stop. Two or three people would come into my cell. They would punch me, they would torture me,” the 65-year-old said. He would go on to require four years of treatment for PTSD.

Mass is one of many living in exile – unable to return to his home country for fear of the risk it would pose to his life – who hope the scenes of missiles being traded between the Islamic Republic and Israel could lead to the fall of the “Mullah” regime.

Speaking from his home in London, he said he was initially concerned about the strikes, but soon realised it could actually spell the beginning of the end of his exile in Britain.

He added: “Thinking of my people in that situation, it was very sad news. But later on I came to see it as good news. I firmly believe that given the current pressure from Israel and the international community, the continuation of the regime is no longer possible.”

Now he fears those upholding Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime will cause “considerable damage” to their own people, by hunting down dissidents who criticise it on social media, before they are displaced.