Forum

Warning: Graphic information is contained in this article. If the brutal truth triggers you, stop reading now. 

Bits and pieces of information are seeping out of the war-torn battleground called Iran, and it’s not pretty. The media is tight-lipped, especially the liberal outlets, but we got the story. Buckle up!

Whenever images of smoke rising over Tehran flash across the screens, whether from Israeli airstrikes or internal sabotage, people in the West instinctively wonder: Why aren’t Iranians seizing the chance to overthrow their regime? Which is a good question, but few know the answer.

To start off with, if you believe what the media has been feeding you, then you are about to get a wake-up call that will knock your shoes off.

America has been taught that flag burning, rioting, and mayhem are uncomfortable to watch, but obviously thousands of protesters get away with massive destruction, damage, and even bodily harm to others. But this is not the case in Iran.

Here is a prime example: In Britain, you might be arrested for saying something provocative about an immigrant group, but you’ll be booked, processed, and released with your medication in hand. In the US most times you won’t even be arrested, and if you are, you will be greeted by a line of high-powered lawyers with fat wallets and greasy smiles ready to ‘spring you’ in only a few minutes.

But in Iran, you will be blindfolded, hustled into an unmarked car, and never see daylight again, all for the crime of voicing dissent, but it doesn’t stop there. You will be tortured in the most horrible manner until you give up the names of your children, parents, and neighbors. If you survive, which is unlikely, you will be butchered in front of your spouse and kids, knowing they will be next.

The destruction in Iran doesn’t mean the people have been liberated; it just means they now have no place to live, and if suspected of crimes against the state, they will die a mutilated death.

After the recent 12-day Israeli bombing campaign, there was widespread speculation that Iran’s “terrorocracy” had been fatally wounded. Did the collapse of missile factories and military offices finally crack the regime’s iron grip on the helpless population? No.

Many Western observers fantasized that Iranians would rise up en masse to topple the clerics. But neither Israel nor the United States actually intended to engineer regime change. Their goals were strictly military: destroy nuclear infrastructure, neutralize rocket threats, and send a clear deterrent message.

Yes, Iran’s leaders woke up terrified when the bombs fell. But fear doesn’t always translate into mass defection or revolution. In fact, it often triggers an even more savage crackdown, public executions, mass surveillance, ruthless rooting out of “collaborators” and televised torture of suspected traitors.

Some insist the Iranian people are simply waiting for the right leader, like Reza Pahlavi, son of the late Shah, to step in. His media appearances and claims of coordination with dissident security forces fuel the impression that the regime is on the verge of collapse. But it’s naive to assume that every Iranian who resents the mullahs yearns for the return of monarchy.

Memories of SAVAK secret police and brutal repression under the Shah’s father linger. Even Iranians who dream of freedom may balk at replacing one strongman with another, especially one who has spent decades abroad giving interviews about how ready he is to rule.

There is no such thing as a garage-built DIY Plug-N-Play revolution. A revolution must be built from the ground up. History is full of examples: from generals rising through the ranks during a crucible of war to Syria’s al-Julani consolidating power among rival factions through relentless combat. Authentic leadership is earned in shared struggle, not staged from afar.

The uncomfortable reality is what well-protected and overweight Americans must face. Iran remains an extreme danger, particularly to its own people, and this threat is still spreading throughout the world.

The West wants Iran to transform itself into a stable, secular, pro-Western state. Many Iranians want the same thing: a life without hijab police, secret trials, torture chambers, and economic ruin.

The media conveniently submerges these truths:

• Fear is rational. They can’t gamble their family’s lives on promises of help that may never materialize.
• Change must be indigenous. No outside force can drop a new government onto Tehran.
• Unity is elusive. Even those who loathe the regime disagree on what comes next and who should lead it.

Western audiences like tidy narratives: good guys, bad guys, and heroic uprisings. Iran defies all that. The people’s silence doesn’t mean they love their rulers; it means they understand the cost of failure better than Americans do. A decision to be free is one only Iranians can make, and a steep price must be paid.

In his speeches, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has repeatedly stressed that Israel has no quarrel with the Iranian people themselves. The conflict is with the regime that calls for Israel’s destruction. But neither Israel nor America can engineer the destiny of 80 million people.

No revolution is inevitable. No dynasty has a divine claim to return. If the Iranian people want to bury the mullahs’ rule, it must be because they themselves have decided the risk is worth the price. And if they choose new leadership, it will have to be leadership forged not on YouTube or TikTok, but in the hard, dangerous work of organizing on Iranian soil. They must commit their lives to the revolution, be prepared to shed blood, and expect to do so.

Final Word: If you believe what the media has been force-feeding you, then you have placed your faith in a fairy tale. Wake Up!