Containment is no longer viable. Appeasement is no longer defensible. The Islamic Republic must be dismantled through comprehensive pressure: strategic, economic, informational, and ideological.
It must be acknowledged clearly that the Trump administration confronted the Iranian regime with a direct and uncompromising strategy. It offered the Islamic Republic a stark choice—abandon its nuclear ambitions and regional destabilization or face sustained and escalating pressure. After withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal, the first Trump administration left a window open for diplomacy.
The regime responded not with dialogue but with escalation. It attacked shipping lanes, armed its regional proxies, intensified uranium enrichment, and ultimately revealed its true intentions: confrontation, not compromise.
That moment now takes on renewed urgency. In April and October of 2024, Iran launched direct missile strikes against Israeli territory, crossing a dangerous threshold by acting overtly rather than through its usual proxies. On June 13, Israel initiated Operation Rising Lion, striking key nuclear and military installations across Iran—including Natanz, Fordow, and IRGC command centers. High-ranking IRGC officials and nuclear scientists were eliminated in coordinated precision strikes.
In response, Iran launched Operation True Promise III, firing nearly 100 missiles into Israeli territory. Civilian neighborhoods in Tel Aviv were among the targets. Dozens were injured. Air raid sirens and intercepted warheads lit up the sky in what was the most direct and dangerous escalation between the two countries to date.
This was not merely a military exchange—it was an ideological flashpoint. The regime in Tehran has made clear it will risk war, civilian lives, and economic collapse to preserve its revolutionary project. It is no longer a theoretical threat—it is an active and destabilizing force that must be dismantled.
Israel Must Be Defended—Unapologetically
Israel’s actions are not aggressive—they are self-defensive. Its airstrikes are a response to existential threats, not acts of conquest. Supporting Israel is not only about an alliance but also a principle. In defending its citizens, Israel is defending a vision of the Middle East that is built on coexistence, technology, and prosperity—not on martyrdom and missiles.
Tel Aviv was not attacked because of anything relating to Palestine but because it exists. Iran’s regime does not seek compromise; it seeks annihilation. To support Israel now is to take a stand against that ideology and against those who use civilians as both targets and shields.
A Regime That Devours Its Own
Inside Iran, the regime sustains itself by devouring the hopes of its own people. The killing of Mahsa Amini in 2022 was not an isolated incident—it was a spark that revealed the full brutality of a system built on fear and repression. Young women who dared to uncover their hair were beaten in the streets. Students were dragged from classrooms. Protesters vanished into black-site prisons. Entire ethnic communities were targeted as a means of collective punishment.
And while families ration food and children study by candlelight, the regime’s inner circle dines behind palace walls, shielded by private guards and foreign assets. They chant defiance at the West while their sons buy condos in Vancouver and their daughters wear Chanel in London. This is not governance—it is parasitism.
Containment Has Failed—Dismantlement Is the Only Path Forward
For decades, Western policy toward Iran has been rooted in a logic of containment and deterrence. That strategy has failed. Tehran has exploited diplomacy, evaded sanctions, and continued enriching uranium. Each restraint was interpreted as a weakness. Each delay is an opportunity.
It is no longer enough to contain the regime. It must be structurally and strategically dismantled—its tools of repression broken, its propaganda discredited, and its regional influence undone.
This means a sustained, multifaceted strategy: military pressure where necessary, targeted cyber and financial operations to paralyze the IRGC and state-controlled industries, and constant exposure of the regime’s corruption, brutality, and lies.
Support the Iranian People, Not Their Oppressors
The Iranian people are not the enemy—they are the regime’s first and longest-suffering victims. From the Green Movement in 2009 to the massive protests of 2022–2023, Iranians have consistently shown a yearning for change, dignity, and freedom. But they face one of the most repressive intelligence and security systems in the world.
Supporting them now requires more than rhetoric. It requires infrastructure, encrypted communications, satellite internet access, media platforms for dissident voices, and logistical support for organizing. Western governments and civil society groups should expand their aid to these domestic movements and shine a light on the regime’s crimes. Liberation will not be gifted from the outside. But it can help create the conditions for a popular groundswell.
Beyond the Islamic Republic
Removing the Islamic Republic is not about imposing regime change from abroad. It is about clearing the way for the Iranian people to define their future.
A post-theocratic Iran could be a regional economic engine—a place where young Iranians are free to build, create, and connect with the world. Imagine a future where Iranian scientists collaborate globally, where Iranian entrepreneurs launch AI start-ups, and where the Persian voice returns to the world stage not as a threat but as a partner. That future is not only possible but also deeply desired by millions inside the country.
The events of June 2025 mark a point of no return. The regime in Tehran has chosen escalation, terror, and war. Containment is no longer viable. Appeasement is no longer defensible. The Islamic Republic must be dismantled not through invasion but through comprehensive pressure: strategic, economic, informational, and ideological.
To support Israel is to stand against tyranny. To support Iranians is to stand for freedom. The future of the Middle East depends on whether we have the courage to stop managing the Iranian threat—and finally end it.
About the Author: Ahmed Charai
Ahmed Charai is the Chairman and CEO of World Herald Tribune, Inc., and the publisher of the Jerusalem Strategic Tribune, TV Abraham, and Radio Abraham. He serves on the boards of several prominent institutions, including the Atlantic Council, the Center for the National Interest, the Foreign Policy Research Institute, and the International Crisis Group. He is also an International Councilor and a member of the Advisory Board at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Image: Vadim Litovchenko / Shutterstock.com.
