Islamic Republic Still Standing !

The Islamic Republic of Iran is still standing after seventeen days of non-stop aerial warfare. This begs the question, what if the regime and its many supporters refuse to acknowledge defeat? It would appear the United States has not considered this possible outcome. America has fallen into a familiar blinkered assessment of the enemy. Once again, the U.S. has failed to realise that the Shia Islamic sect and its adherents are not your average self-serving opponent, but rather committed believers in their reading of the Koran. They have spent the last 47 years shaping their political challenges into a sophisticated canon of diplomacy and coercion, placing a premium on endurance, shrewd analysis of geopolitical realities, and the psychological manipulation of their adversaries. Their revolution then and now focuses on a regional order of their making. They see the state as a weapon of convenience to further their religious aims in a worldview without a Jewish State, which they have pursued relentlessly, culminating in the current war with the Israel-United States coalition.

The regime wants to export its revolution worldwide and will not accept failure to do so. In their mind, this means an epic struggle against America and the Jewish State, ultimately culminating in the coming of the Mahdi, a messianic figure in Shia theology.

This brings us back to the current war: the Iranian faithful’s policy concept holds that the dispute with the West is not a matter of technical concessions or negotiating outcomes acceptable to both parties, but rather of the nature of a world order under Islamic hegemony. In this mindset, there is no place for compromise, let alone surrender. Only victory and the destruction of its enemies.

If America fails to see the Iranian spirit, it will have failed to achieve its war aims and, more importantly, brought the world to the brink of destruction.