Freedom, Iran, and the Future of Islam
As the United States attempts to find an accommodation that can fit jihadi Iran into the international order, I want to be clear as a Muslim and Palestinian. The US-Iran war is not simply about oil or trade. It is a fight for the soul of the Islamic world. If you doubt this, simply note all the countries Iran has attacked in its most recent escalations.
Since March, Iran has sent thousands of rockets and drones into the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, and Cyprus. Many of these strikes targeted civilians directly. The IRGC’s proxy militia, Hezbollah, despite being weakened by historic Israeli intelligence operations, has upended the lives of over a million Israeli and Lebanese civilians by using residential neighborhoods as both launchpads and targets. Iran has since tried to use the Lebanon crisis as leverage in negotiations with the US.
After two months of ceasefire, with the US and Israel at apparent odds over the terror threat of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shot down a US Apache helicopter over the Persian Gulf, though thankfully, both pilots miraculously survived. Since then, the US has issued several waves of devastating strikes against Iran with the aim of securing the strategic oil plants on Kharg Island.
Some in the media focus their coverage on gas prices and trade through the Strait of Hormuz. With all of the noise, it is easy to lose sight of the conflict between world-systems that has been raging in our region for 47 years.
As a Palestinian human rights activist born in Jerusalem, a witness to decades of disputes, I have seen in my life that the bitterest conflicts emerge from zero-sum ideologies. Since the Ayatollahs came to power in 1979, the regime has emphasized genocidal chants calling for the destruction of the United States and Israel, which in Iranian state ideology are termed the “Great Satan” and the “Little Satan”.
In pursuit of this goal, the Iranian Ayatollahs, along with their ruthless terror proxies, have destroyed civilizations around the Middle East and are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of US civilians and servicemembers. When their own civilian population rose up for the cause of freedom, the IRGC and the Basij paramilitaries brutally massacred at least 36,500 peaceful demonstrators before ransoming their bodies to family members.
For decades, the Ayatollahs have engaged a strategy of denial, deception, and delay to extort enormous sums from their counterparts, –including catastrophic deals with US presidents Biden and Obama, –while buying time to pursue their nuclear and ballistic missile ambitions. After the initial success of operations Midnight Hammer and Epic Fury, and of this year’s US-Israeli strikes on Iran, the strategic calculus has changed.
After Israel and four of its Arab neighbors achieved diplomatic normalization and peace through the 2020 Abraham Accords, Iran’s years of arming and funding Hamas helped make possible the October 7th, 2023, massacre that left over 1,200 dead and 254 taken hostage. Their goal in doing so was reportedly to restart the cycle of violence anew in hopes that war would break growing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Imagine with me two possibilities. The first is a world where moderate, progressive Arab states embrace modernism and become open to their neighbor, Israel. Tolerance can be taught, technology can be shared, economies can grow intertwined, and everyone will grow stronger and more prosperous together. In this world, Saudi Arabia, host of the two holiest sites in Islam, recognizes Israel, host to the holiest site in Judaism, as a neighbor and ally. In this world, faith is a source of unity instead of conflict.
Imagine now another world, where radical jihadist ideology keeps the Middle East locked in the death spiral of complete destruction without compromise. This is total war, where civilian lives are disposable, and casualties are welcomed when they serve the cause of eroding and destroying Israel and America. The people here live in a perpetual state of fear and suffering through constant warfare, unable to seek opportunity, often starving, and with no hope of freedom. This is the world the Islamic Republic of Iran created, and it is the reality tens of millions have languished under for decades.
There is a glimmer of hope. Despite Iran’s attempts to hold world shipping hostage through Hormuz, and through the rain of missiles and drones they are sending down upon their Arab neighbors, something unexpected is happening. Iran’s belligerence has brought about unprecedented military cooperation between Israel and the Gulf States, even if they are quiet about it. Jordan, once an adversary of the Jewish state, deployed their air force to shoot down ordnance crossing en route to Israeli towns. The paradigm is shifting.
Ultimately, whether in this round or a future one – whether by war or peace, force, persuasion, or people power revolution – to stop the cycle of violence, the Islamic Republic of Iran must be defeated. As long as the Ayatollahs remain capable of projecting power throughout the region, they will continue to sabotage peace, export extremism, and punish those who seek a different future. Only by ending their reign of terror can we create room for a new Middle East where Jews, Christians, and Muslims work together to create common prosperity.
