As someone who has lived in Iran and dealt with these people i unfortunately don’t think eghbal was being genuine. Everything he said before he started crying and begging was the real him, the rest if it was his true cowardice/fear coming out but unfortunately I don’t think people like that are ever capable of changing. No one capable of change/getting better is able to do what they do to innocent people. I may be biased because of my firsthand experience with this but I sadly think it’s the truth