The tyranny of the Ayatollahs, subjugation of women, and the lack of political freedom in Iran disturb and engage the world. These serious problems deserve attention, but they are neither the only issues that define the Islamic Republic nor unique in a world of numerous oppressive governments. Focusing on Iran’s domestic policies, much of which a hostile press distorts, and ignoring a brave Iran, a nation that has placed itself in difficulties to help the oppressed Palestinians in their struggle with the “democratic” and genocidal Israel, sidetracks a key component of the mechanism that liberates the world from those who destroy it. The world villains are Netanyahu’s Israel and Trump’s United States. Their antagonists, by default, serve in the world’s salvation.
The descriptions we receive of the Islamic Republic are incomplete, do not add up to the accepted conclusions, and have derailed the proper approach to a misguided country. If those who actively favor toppling the Iranian government are sincere, they would not support sanctions. Sanctions harm the Iranian people and have given its government an excuse to throttle opposition during the decades of aggression by Israel and the United States. Sanctions are counterproductive and hypocritical.
Imposed on Iran since the 1979 taking of US hostages at the American embassy in Tehran, sanctions have restricted Iran’s ability to access frozen assets, estimated at $100 billion, and obtain capital from credit markets. They have disrupted revenues from oil sales, and hindered imports of vital materials. Result has been stagnation of GDP, collapse of the national currency (42,000 Iranian rials for one dollar,
GDP Trading Economics from World Bank
and increases of inflation (rate at 48.6 percent) and unemployment (7.8% to 8.3%).
Those who vehemently criticize the Iranian government, including its exiled detractors, do not consider that relief from sanctions is the fastest and best way to liberate its women and turn dissent into satisfaction. No sanctions leads to a strong economy, increased production, increased jobs, increased want for women to enter the work force, increased need to entertain a cooperative population. Women will gain financial power (women have their own bank accounts in Iran), which translates into political power. A thriving economy will be Iran’s industrial revolution, and the present intention of having an affluent country that features egalitarianism and rural-biased populism will be forced to pacify the demands of the women and the population and lessen the need for an Islamic government that gives identity to a few and suppresses the identity of the masses. By imposing sanctions, the United States and its allies show their true intention ─ prevent the desirable ─ an irresponsible behavior doomed to failure, another “we had to kill them in order to save them.”
Reviewing some of the charges leveled against the mullahs, and placing in proper perspective the Islamic Republic’s foreign policies, and we conclude; “Iran has already shown it can contribute to the world’s salvation.” One problem, a catch-22; the two nations causing the world’s problems, the United States and Israel, are the nations Iran contends are militarily suppressing Iran, with the world’s assistance.
The December Demonstration
Presentation of the December 2025 demonstrations as a massive uprising by the Iranian people for freedom and a massive killing of the Iranian people by the Iranian government had elements of truth in an incomplete story. Human Rights Watch reports,
The protests began on 28 December 2025, after a sharp collapse of Iran’s currency. This happened amid soaring inflation, state mismanagement of essential services, and worsening living conditions. The protests started with shopkeepers in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar going on strike and closing shops.
This was not initially a “human rights” demonstration, not a plea for freedom in a repressive atmosphere. Collapse of the Iranian rial, soaring inflation, particularly in food prices, and widespread shortages triggered the widespread demonstrations. Internal and external forces took advantage of the initial demonstrations to strike out against a faltering government, which responded forcibly to attacks on police stations and institutions.
The government’s response to the protests was a frightful and sickening display of a lack of dutiful engagement by a repressive government with its repressed citizens. Any killing of peaceful citizens is outrageous; using the dead by inflating their numbers to gain political high ground is equally outrageous. Assuredly, several thousand Iranians were killed, not all innocents and not all civilians. Demonstrators attacked police stations and military installations. Tens of thousands of Iranians were not killed; that is not possible in 19 days of turmoil, where the only weapons are rifles and handguns, and not mass destruction armaments. In almost 1000 days of Israel’s intentional genocide of the Gazan people by a large military force that used shelling, bombing, tanks, and rapid fire automatic weapons, about 100,000 Gazans have been killed, an average of 100/day.
Rightful uproar to the murder of Iranians by their government; congressional silence to the genocide of the Palestinian people. And the nations that condemn the Iranian government oblige by massacring the same Iranian people, daily continue to murder Gazans, and add new victims — Lebanese.
Clerical Government
No point in debating whether Iran’s quasi-clerical government is less or more theocratic and harmful to women than Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. It is difficult to browse through the conflicting reports, events, and discussions that describe the domestic and political situation in Iran and arrive at an objective appraisal of “who is Iran?” The country is male dominated and archaic laws that favor the male population and subordinate the female population reinforce the domination. The Iranian people and its women have spoken and the great majority find the Islamic Republic is not to their liking, most, and not all. One woman, who represents the controlling side, succinctly expressed another view, “We don’t want our children growing up to be like Britney Spears.”
Iran is a problem, a problem to its citizens. The United States and Israel are greater problems; they are a problem to all humanity, including their own citizens. In its operations in the external geopolitical system, which affects all the world peoples, Iran displays different and admirable characteristics. Despite the deceitful propaganda from its adversaries, Iran has been prominent and courageous in the battle against Israel’s expansion and oppression of the Palestinians. The mullahs have been fervent in combating al-Qaeda and ISIS terrorist activities. In Iraq, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) coordinated with Iran Major General, Qasem Soleimani, recaptured Tikrit from ISIS and started the counteroffensive that eventually defeated ISIS in Iraq. The country that nurtured the growth of ISIS brutally assassinated the man who played a leading role in the defeat of ISIS.
The Islamic Republic has not started wars against others, has not sought to expand its territory, has not engaged in international terrorist activities, and has worked positively to resolve disputes. Displaced from the rhetoric and warfare is Iran’s sympathy to America’s plight in the 9/11 tragedy. At the Tokyo donors’ conference in January 2002, the Iranians showed willingness to create a new Afghanistan by pledging $560 million worth of assistance, which is a large amount for a not-fully-developed country, and almost equal to the amount that the United States pledged at the same conference. After the Northern Alliance’s significant role in driving the Taliban out of Kabul in November 2001, the alliance demanded 60 percent of the portfolios in an interim government and blocked agreement with other opposition groups. According to the U.S. envoy to Afghanistan, Richard Dobbins, Iran played a “decisive role” in persuading the Northern Alliance delegation to compromise its demands.
Unable to show proof, the Iran bashers accuse the Islamic Republic of controlling Hamas and Hezbollah, from which the terrorism charges flow, manipulating surrogates for Iran’s ambitions, without explaining how this control manifests itself and what benefits Iran receives by having these “proxies.” Hamas and Hezbollah have definite grievances against Israel, with sufficient burials of their relatives to display these grievances. Do they need Iran to prod them to counter Israel? Iraq’s government has the United States’ support. Do they need to cower to Iran?
Can Tehran have provided much military equipment to a hapless Hamas, which has displayed few weapons, except homemade rockets that are more flying bullets than explosive missiles, and possibly some ineffective Fajr 3 (43 kilometers) and Fajr 5 (72 kilometers) rockets with which to combat Israel? Where are the anti-tank weapons, grenades, and automatic firing arms? Since the invasion of Gaza, Hamas has not fought major battles or inflicted damage on the Israeli military or Israeli territory.
Same with Hezbollah. Where are all the rockets and missiles and weaponry to counter Israel’s offensive? Where are the multitudes of Hezbollah soldiers, trained by Iran, and fully equipped with defensive arms supplied by Iran?
Expansion and hegemony
It is natural that Iran, bordering on Iraq and spiritually attached to Iraq’s Shia population, would be and should be involved in the commercial, economic, and political future of Iraq. Iran wants a stable and affluent Iraq that is friendly and promotes trade. There is no evidence or reason for accusations that Iran is a destabilizing and expansionist nation. Why would it be – there are no external resources or land masses that would be helpful to Iran’s economy. Iran has not invaded any nation and its few sea and drone attacks on others are reactions from a perception that others have colluded in harming the Islamic Republic and its allies. Ayatollah Khomeini’s vision of expanding his social ideology never got anywhere and died with him. Subsequent leaders have been forced to reach out to defend their interests and those of their friends, but none of these leaders has pursued an expansionist philosophy or wants the burden that accompanies the task ─ enough problems at home.
Greatest menace to peace in the Middle East
Being classified as the greatest menace to peace assumes there is peace in the Middle East. Is there peace and has there been since the words Middle East entered the lexicon? The conflagrations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria would have existed without the presence of Islamic Iran, and the former two wars would not have occurred without the United States interference in those nations. Is the Islamic Republic responsible for Israel’s continuous wars with its neighbors, and with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and the Emirates battles with their own citizens and their military engagements in South Yemen and North Africa? Despite constant disagreeable happenings between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Iran has sought reconciliation. The Iranian embassy in Riyadh reopened on June 6, 2023, and the Saudi embassy in Iran reopened on August 9, 2023. In August 2023, Iran and Saudi Arabia both applied to join BRICS. Iran joined in 2024 while the Saudi Kingdom has not fully formalized its participation.
The Big Mistake
The African continent, South America, Latin America, and Eastern Europe are ablaze with wars, insurrections, corrupt governments, terrorist militias, anarchy, and people on the move. Much entanglement of western governments, and, in parts, Israel, with the horrendous activities. No sign of Iran in the mayhem. No sign of Iran in any mayhem, except those that counter the mayhem created by the master duo of making mayhem — Uncle Sam and Zionist Israel. Western government’s don’t care to deal with this reality. The manner in which agencies describe Iran’s external policies are sinister and bewildering. If correctly approached, the Islamic Republic can and will assist the world to resolve foreign and domestic problems. Its little known assistance to an ailing Afghanistan during the American occupation is an example.
Ali-Akbar Salehi, Foreign Affairs Minister of Iran from 2010-2013, claimed, and no reports have contradicted him, “Iran has already invested over $600 million in infrastructural projects in its Southeastern neighbor (Afghanistan).” He adds, “over 3 million Afghan refugees live in Iran, above 300,000 Afghan students are studying at the Iranian schools and over 7,000 Afghan students are studying in the country’s universities.” After the U.S. left Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic sent the Afghan refugees back to their home country.
As in Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic assisted in the re-building of Iraq. On January 2012, the guardian.co.uk reported that “Iran is one of Iraq’s most important regional economic partners, with an annual trade volume between the two sides standing at $8bn to $10b.” Iran’s FARS agency quotes Representative of the Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Nazzem Dabbaq as saying that “the value of the trade ties between Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan region will exceed $4bln this year (2012) thanks to the two sides’ growing cooperation.”
Of course Iran operates for its self-interest. Isn’t that how all nations operate? Nevertheless, the world should not confuse competitive advantage with diabolical meddling and not regard Iran as a troubling factor in the Fertile Crescent, especially when the inhabitants of Mesopotamia consider the United States as the troublemaker in the region. Iran has leverage in Iraq and that cannot be ignored nor easily combated.
Iran has a vital role in reducing the Shi’a/Sunni divide
Using slogans of democracy and freedom as the path to peace and stability, the U.S. in the last ten years has brought neither peace nor stability to the lands between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. One reason – the Shia/Sunni divide, which grows larger each year.
The Sunni/Shia divide, portrayed as a religious conflict, is a social and economic conflict. Caliphs who centralized rule of each of the two Muslim sects no longer exist and Imams exist as spiritual but not as temporal leaders. Differences between the two Muslim groups on Mohammad’s succession, Muslim prayer, and Sunnah/Hadith interpretations incite resentment between Muslim’s extreme religious leaders, but are insufficiently significant for most of the 1.2 billion Muslims, who do not care to waste their time and energy in futile battles. A Muslim is defined by adherence to the five pillars of Islam. Both Sunnis and Shiite follow those principals and are therefore ‘fellow’ Muslims. The masses of Islam are no different than the masses of Protestants who don’t care to whom and how their neighbor prays. Similar to Northern Ireland, where Irish Catholics protested against their second class citizenship and economic persecution by English Protestants, the deprived Shia minorities (majority in Bahrain) in Sunni led nations and the suppressed Sunnis in Shi’a dominated nations legitimately protest their political and economic subservience.
Iran can provide economic benefits to the world
Iran holds the world’s third largest known oil reserves and second largest natural gas reserves. Both can soothe the world’s appetite for energy. Its inefficient and unstable government has been unable to develop these resources or solicit foreign capital for their developments. Why make them more unstable, more opposed to western influence, more inefficient? What can be more absurd in a world of limited resources? Containing a resource rich nation, which serves as a bridge between Arab and Oriental regions, with seaports on the Caspian Sea, Straits of Hormuz, Persian Gulf, and entry to the Indian Ocean, is global sabotage.
Most of all, Iran is the last man standing against criminal and genocidal Israel. Absorb the manner in which an Israel military behaves after invading Lebanon to “protect the homeland.” From Israeli newspaper Haaretz:
Israeli soldiers have been looting significant amounts of civilian property from homes and businesses in southern Lebanon, according to testimonies given to Haaretz by IDF soldiers and commanders stationed inside the country.
Time to recognize that Iran is not a one-dimensional nation, that it might not serve its people well, but can serve the world. Quoting a Londoner, looking up to his wife standing on the roof, “Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water.”