U.S. should empower the Iranian people, denying the regime regrouping time By Carla Sands – Wednesday, August 26, 2026 OPINION: For more than four decades, the regime in Tehran has fueled terrorism, destabilized the Middle East through proxy militias, pursued nuclear weapons capability and brutally oppressed its own people. Successive American administrations tried diplomacy, sanctions and accommodation. None has fundamentally altered Tehran’s behavior. By confronting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and refusing to accept the regime’s long-held assumption that it can threaten American interests without consequence, President Trump has changed the strategic landscape. Still, military action alone does not guarantee lasting political victory. The recent weakening of the regime has created a historic strategic opportunity. Continuing the maximum pressure campaign, the United States should embrace a political strategy that empowers the Iranian people, denying the regime tim...
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How Can Iran Be Stopped?
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By Hassan Mahmoudi
The United States recently announced that it has designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO). There were varied opinions about this development.
Some have argued there will be an escalation of tension between the United States and Iran because of the Trump administration’s decision to designate the IRGC. However, this may not be the case at all when we consider past events and how Iran responds to different kinds of pressures and policies.
History teaches us some lessons on this phenomenon.
The Mullahs were completely passive during past Iranian dictatorships. The people cried for freedom and a better lifestyle several times. The most significant example was the 1979 popular uprising, which led to the removal of the last Pahlavi King in 1979.
Iran’s behavior, when former President Barack Obama was in office, was appalling, especially considering how lightly the administration dealt with the regime. The Obama administration, desperate to get Iran to agree to a nuclear deal, appeased the Iranian regime to no end. It gave a number of concessions, far more than it should have done, and it promised that Iran would become more moderate as a result. However, this moderation never materialized and the regime, in fact, became emboldened. The regime realized that the Obama administration was going to ignore its acts of belligerence and it treated this silence as a green light to continue, confirmation that it was not going to be challenged. Looking further back, the Iranian regime responded the same way during Iraq War. When the U.S. ignored or brushed aside Iran’s malign behavior, this is when its behavior worsened. After 2003, Iran was rather prudent in its actions because it was concerned the U.S. would seek regime change in Iran. However, when it became clear that this was not what the United States was pursuing, the regime’s behavior escalated. It carried out a series of assassinations and put its own military personnel in Iraq.
As time went on, it became obvious that no one was going to hold Iran responsible for its actions, so it continued to become more and more belligerent. So much so, that it started up a proxy war. The IRGC undertook major operations to train, organize and arm a number of militias that went on to target the U.S. Army. Even despite these attacks on U.S. military, Iran was still given the silent treatment. The U.S. knew that Iran was behind the attacks but it also feared an even bigger escalation, so its response was not as aggressive as it could have been. Treating Iran lightly to generate moderation, like what we are witnessing in Europe, will never work because moderation within the regime is a complete myth. The regime’s survival depends on the spread of chaos and fundamentalism. The only way to deal with the Iranian regime is with firmness and no hint of weakness.
The Iranian people and their organized resistance are the only internal elements to complete this historical lesson as far as the mullahs’ fears are concerned. There should be ongoing maximum pressure on the mullahs to force better behavior and their removal from power. The Resistance Units are well organized to mobilize the youth and the people. “The ultimate solution for getting rid of the mullahs’ religious fascism in Iran is changing this illegitimate regime at the hands of the Iranian people and Resistance.” Says the National Resistance of Iran’s President-Elect, Maryam Rajavi in response to U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo’s declaration in Cairo on Feb. 5, 2019.
Members of Resistance Units, also in the country’s capital, mounted posters of Maryam Rajavi on public places’ to protest to the Mullahs’ dictatorship and show signs and symbols of unity.
In Western Azerbaijan Province, Northwest Iran, members of Resistance Units set fire to and destroy a Khamenei poster and two of Basij Headquarters Main Gates.
In Sistan & Baluchistan Province, southeast Iran, members of Resistance Unit set fire to a poster near a Basij base affiliated to the terrorist-designated IRGC.
In the city of Ardabil, also northwest Iran, members of Resistance Unit, were able to paint over a large poster of the IRGC Basij, sending a message to the regime’s units.
Written by Shamsi Saadati Paris, France – On Saturday, May 17, 2025, an influential international conference convened in Paris, uniting parliamentarians and prominent political figures from a wide array of countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Malta, Switzerland, Romania, Portugal, and the Netherlands. The central theme of the gathering was the urgent need for a new, decisive international policy towards Iran, with a strong emphasis on supporting democratic change and recognizing the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) as a viable alternative to the current regime. The event served as a significant platform for global lawmakers to voice their concerns over the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran, the regime’s escalating domestic repression, its destabilizing regional activities, and its persistent pursuit of a nuclear program. A recurring call throughout the conference was for Western governments to adopt a firmer stance, including the ...
By Reza Hoseani Iran’s economic crisis is no longer just a headline — it has become part of everyday life. Skyrocketing prices, the continuous collapse of the national currency, and shrinking household purchasing power are now affecting nearly every segment of society. But an important question remains: Are these hardships truly the direct result of war and external pressure, or are they rooted in domestic economic policies and political decisions? While state media repeatedly blame regional tensions and foreign conflicts for inflation and market instability, many economists argue that the current crisis is driven far more by internal policymaking than by war itself. War as a Cover for Internal Economic Failure For years, whenever Iran’s economy entered a deeper phase of crisis, official narratives pointed to external enemies and international tensions. However, economic experts say the immediate impact of war rarely causes inflation on this scale in such a sho...
By Reza Hoseani Is Washington’s economic fury more effective than military warfare? An examination of the United States’ new sanctions targeting the IRGC’s financial lifelines and their impact on Iran’s explosive social environment. Amid the regime’s paralyzing deadlock between war and restraint, Washington has made its choice unmistakably clear: an all-out economic war instead of a large-scale military war. This choice is not the product of moderation. Rather, it reflects an understanding that economic pressure may be more lethal to the regime, less costly for the West, and more socially acceptable to the Iranian people than military intervention. 1. From “Maximum Pressure” to “Economic Fury”: The IRGC’s Lifelines in the Crosshairs In recent months, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has escalated economic pressure through two new initiatives. First came what has been described as Operation Economic Fury, announced by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. He stated explicitly ...
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