Regime Changes Go Both Ways
Iran's Relentless Pursuit
The current discourse on commercial media emphasizes that Israel and the USA are “going to war against Iran because they want regime change”. Which wars throughout human history did not involve changing leadership or regimes, kings, emperors, prime ministers or dictators?
Iran has been creating, funding, training, arming and chasing “regime” change via its proxy states and terrorist groups throughout the Middle East for decades.
Pundits banter about the leader of Israel and the USA pressing for regime change in Iran, but they never describe the insidious mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s consistent shouts of not only regime change but calls for the actual annihilation of Israel, America and Jews and “infidels” everywhere in our world. Their actions speak louder than their violent words. Why are we not taking them more seriously?
Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon (Iran’s proxies) prepare for attacks on Israel’s border
Iran has interfered in other countries to effect “regime change” and takeovers by their sponsored terrorizing groups using extreme violence including: kidnapping, IEDs, cyber attacks, torture, unjust imprisonment, executions, bombings, assassinations, political manipulation and trauma based indoctrination and training. Yet, few have raised serious objections or taken action in the west to counter Iran and Iran’s proxies.
On the contrary, the USA has a history of leaders (both political and military) who have chatted slogans like “Bomb, bomb Iran” -John McCain for example, yet done nothing but talk.
President George W.Bush labelled Iran part of “An Axis of Evil” which he identified as the countries of Iran, Iraq and North Korea. Yet, George Bush was cautious and indecisive when it came to taking action, or imposing sanctions that were enforced on Iran. He issued Executive Order 13382, which froze the assets of individuals (the ones they knew) connected to Iran's nuclear program. Trade was halted (no imports or exports from Iran) in 2002. George W. Bush declared Iran was “a threat to world peace” in 2003.
Obama used slick rhetoric but never acted against the Islamic regime in Iran. In fact, when Barack Hussein Obama was President, he approved and even supplied Iran with billions of US dollars and credits. Obama hired Valerie Jarrett and Peter Strzok who both had significant ties to Iran, as advisors in senior positions in his two term administration. They supported Obama’s “Iran Deal”.
As then Treasury Secretary, Jacob Lew, testified before Congress, “the actual amount that Iran would be able to use is about $50 billion of the $150 billion included in the ‘Iran Deal’ of 2015”. Only $50 billion. Over time Iran found other ways to “use” the other $100 billion.
“On July 14, 2015 the United States and its international negotiating partners: the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, and Germany, announced a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action ( JCPOA) to “prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon”.
Weapons inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) carried out inspections under the supervision of the Iranian government. They made annual reports and at times recommended further sanctions against Iran.
While the IAEA was the primary inspection body, the United Nations Security Council also played a role when Iran was found to be in non-compliance with its obligations.
Nevertheless, there have been instances where Iran has limited or restricted IAEA access, especially after the US withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018. These limitations raised concerns about the IAEA's ability to maintain a complete picture of Iran's nuclear program over the past twenty years.
Meanwhile, Iran’s influence and sponsorship of violent terrorist groups in the Middle East and Central Asia expanded.
A STATE SPONSOR OF TERROR
In 1984, Iran was a designated “state sponsor of terror”. Since then, Iran has been directly involved in violence and attacks in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, Bahrain, in Gaza and the West Bank. These were the ones acknowledged officially.
Iran trains and supports Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS/Daesh, the Al Ashtar Brigades, the Houthis, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Saraya al-Mukhtar. The Iranian government is responsible for assassinations and attacks against what it perceives as dissidents or “threats” outside its nation’s territory.
Iran’s agents have attacked in Denmark, France, Austria, Turkey, Argentina, Albania, Israel, and planned assassinations in the United States, including against President Trump and members of his administration.
Once Joseph Biden was installed as President of the United States in 2021, his administration agreed to hand over $6 BILLION as part of a hostage deal with Tehran. In addition, Biden allowed Iran to access an additional $10 BILLION. That is a total of $16 billion to Iran during the first years of the Biden Administration.
During President Biden’s term the United States military and commercial entities have been targeted by Iran and its proxies. These include:
Attacks on U.S. forces and allies: Iran-backed militia groups in Iraq and Syria have conducted numerous attacks on U.S. and coalition facilities and forces, including rocket and drone attacks. CENTCOM reports over 100 attacks on U.S. forces between October 2023 and February 2024, linked to Iranian-backed groups. These attacks intensified following the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Houthi attacks in the Red Sea: Iran's Houthi group in Yemen has launched attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea, seeking to disrupt international trade.
Support for terrorist groups: Iran continues to provide support, including weapons and training, to groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Saraya al-Mukhtar, which have been involved in numerous attacks.
Cyberattacks: Iran has been implicated in cyberattacks against U.S. infrastructure and other targets.
The years of the Biden administration trying to operate with Iran from a position of weakness and hesitancy opened the door for Iran to further its caliphate mission and expand its regime changing and annihilation strategies. The most horrific being the attacks by a group of its proxies against Israel, on October 7, 2023.
The anemic response by the Biden administration to these attacks on Israel, a long standing ally of the USA, and to the capture, torture and murder of American hostages; demonstrated to Iran (and the rest of the world) the lack of will to address the Iranian “problem” or to stand against a growing “Axis of Evil”.
Fortunately, with the election of President Trump in 2024 a distinct shift to “Peace through Strength” emerged. The re-establishment of the alliance with Israel and other strong democracies in the world, as well as an economic policy to strengthen trade as a powerful diplomatic tool, presented a United States which worked for a world cooperating rather than competing or destroying its neighbors. This is a United States that will not put up with bullying in any form.
American hostages were finally returned from a number of countries where they had been unjustly imprisoned.
The US Military is being re-structured and rebuilt. Enemies of the Republic are being identified, arrested and prosecuted.
The foreign policy dictum initially stated in the 1960s is re-surfacing. Non-proliferation and arms control is taken seriously. Iran was warned as early as January 2025, not to finish developing nuclear weapons.
But Iran’s leadership, particularly Ayatollah Ali Khamenei the lifetime Supreme Leader of Iran, are recalcitrant. The Ayatollah is vehemently anti-semitic, anti-Christian, anti-American and anti-west. His repressive and cruel regime continues over the 90 million citizens of Iran. It is merciless toward females.
President Trump and other leaders have invited and urged Iranian leaders to come to the negotiating table. They have reiterated the condition of “no nuclear weapons” and the recognition of Israel’s right to exist as a nation on our planet.
Fereydoon Abbasi, one of Iran's top nuclear scientists, in a recent interview (pictured above) stated:
“We have all the capabilities and know-how for building nuclear weapons. We can build it whenever we decide.”
Abbasi was eliminated last week.
Iran is making no attempt to stop the spread of terrorist actions, missile attacks and build nuclear weapons. In fact, Iran stepped up missile barrages against civilian targets in Israel this past week. Their proxies, the Houthis, escalated their attacks on maritime trade and military vessels in the Red Sea.
The United States President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio consulted with allies and determined the time for action had come.
Iran had rejected all reasonable invitations for negotiation. Perhaps they thought this administration was bluffing.
No more. President Trump and his team are people of action. They mean what they state. Iran tried to play games with both the USA and Israel. FAFO. Shabat Shalom.
