To embark on the path toward sustainable peace in the Middle East, it is essential to confront a fundamental truth: without addressing a crucial first step, peace across the region will remain nothing more than an illusion. This first step lies in directly confronting and ultimately changing the root cause of much of the ongoing conflict, violence, and terrorism — namely, the Islamist regime in Iran.
Over the decades, Iran's regime has embedded itself deeply within the region's crises, stoking unrest and sponsoring terrorism. If the Middle East is to see any genuine peace and stability, a transformation of Iran's regime is essential.
For nearly forty years, the clerical establishment in Iran has perpetuated chaos by hiding behind a network of militias, terror groups and proxies. These groups, fueled by the Iranian regime, have not only sustained violence within the region but have also exported it worldwide. This network of terror has become a vast and complex threat, continuously multiplying and growing in strength and influence. Without addressing the regime at the core, these threats will only intensify, especially when Iran acquires nuclear weapons, which are, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in July, weeks away.
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution orchestrated by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Israel has been regarded as a cancerous tumor to be wiped off the map. The message has been "Death to Israel" and "Death to America." As The Atlantic noted, "When Iran Says Death to Israel, It Means It."
Among all the nations affected by Iran's expansionist and violent ideology, however, only Israel has demonstrated the courage and determination to confront the Iranian regime head-on, recognizing it as the "tumor" that fuels much of the region's instability.
Israel's mission does not stop there. Israel is also fighting Iran's proxies, Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Houthis. This dual approach targets both the root and its extensions — the entire problem — rather than merely containing parts of it.
If Israel's allies would support this courageous mission instead of abandoning Israel, the region could see a quicker resolution to the Iranian threat, benefiting all those under its shadow.
It is crucial to recognize that the core ideological mission of the Iranian regime — using religion as a pretext to seize power by force — is deeply ingrained and is not going to change. For years, Iran's regime has not only been attacking its own citizens, especially women, and it has even been executing children. In the first six months of 2024 alone, "Iranian authorities executed 249 people" and an additional 166 people just in October.
A regime that treats its own people this way is not likely to treat anyone else any better.
The system in Iran was founded on principles aimed at "exporting the revolution" and imposing an Islamist governance structure across other nations. This ideological commitment is even enshrined in Iran's constitution, which states:
"The constitution provides the necessary basis for ensuring the continuation of the revolution at home and abroad. In particular, in the development of international relations, the constitution will strive with other Islamic and popular movements to prepare the way for the formation of a single world community."
This radical ideology, foundational to its governance and ambitions, leaves little room for hope that the regime will self-reform or abandon its aspirations to dominate.
For decades, the Iranian people have yearned for change, courageously rising against the regime time and again. Yet, each time, the regime has met their demands for freedom with brutal crackdowns, deploying force to crush protests, imprisoning, torturing, and even killing those who dared to defy its rule. Iran has also, according to Amnesty International, poisoned thousands of schoolgirls with toxic gas, accompanied by calls for all schools, especially girls' schools, to be closed down.
Sadly, all these brave struggles for liberation often go unnoticed or unmentioned by major global powers. Notably, during significant waves of protests in recent years, the Obama and Biden-Harris administrations remained silent, offering no substantial support to the people risking their lives for freedom. This lack of international support has only emboldened Iran's regime, deepening the disillusionment of those within the country who seek freedom.
Now, Israel — a small but determined state — has taken on the colossal task of tackling what has been a forty-year nightmare of oppression for the people of Iran, the broader region, and even the world. Israel's commitment to confronting Iran is not only monumental but profoundly moral. Iran, its allies and its proxies will stop at nothing to destroy Israel. Israel's stand is therefore a significant moral statement against tyranny and terror. Israel's courage to face this "evil" is precisely what the Iranian regime fears most: it represents a force of resistance that challenges its ideological and military grip on power.
Western powers -- in their rhetoric — frequently champion democracy, human rights and justice. Yet, when it comes to confronting Iran — the root of most of the terrorism and violence in the region — they have shied away from taking bold action. Often, Western countries have chosen to overlook Iran's human rights abuses and advances in military power: they might interfere with profitable trade.
If these Western nations lack the will to fight the Iranian regime directly, then they should, at the very least, provide Israel with the necessary support — economically, militarily and politically. This is not an act of charity: supporting Israel in its mission serves their own interests.
Can the West set aside its hypocrisy long enough to stand with Israel in confronting Iran — this source of terror to them as well? If they cannot summon the nerve to act directly, then the least they can do is back those who do.
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, is a scholar, strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated analyst, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on the US Foreign Policy and Islam. He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu
Harvey Radnor