America's Great Game: The View from Inside Iran
Part 3 of 3: Torn between a bad ruler and no ruler at all
This is Part 3 of a short series on Iran, China, Israel and the American “pivot to Asia,” as revealed by the recent 12-day war on Iran prosecuted jointly by the U.S. and Israeli states. Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here. This is the final part.
We looked at the U.S. perspective — the role of Gen. Kurilla, current but soon-to-retire CENTCOM commander; the long-desired military change of focus to Asia (read, China) by U.S. planners, including President Obama; and in broad strokes, the centuries-long attempt by the West to dominate the globe.
We’ve also compared the U.S. and Israeli perspectives — does one control the other or are they partners in what each does, equally and willingly sharing the deeds and results?
Today we’ll look briefly at Iran from inside the country.
Israel and Iran: Mirrors and Opposites
There’s no question the war was launched without provocation. The stated justification was a kind of pre-crime attack, trying to kill a country before it does an undesired deed — in this case, develop nuclear weapons. The unstated reason was a desire to send Iran the way of Libya and Syria, into the “failed state” bin, where it could pose no threat to Israel’s regional rule.
It’s also true that a) Iran had no nuclear weapons, and b) no weapons program. We know this because before the Israeli attack, Iran was in full compliance with the tough inspection regime under the UN Non-Proliferation Treaty (or NPT). At the same time Israel, which does have nuclear weapons and has had for decades, ignores the NPT with impunity.
In that sense, Israel and Iran are vastly different. Israel is far more aggressive: it’s bombing or has bombed at least six of its neighbors so far — Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Iran — and is widely considered a regional destabilizing force.
In contrast, Iran has been far less actively aggressive, though not altogether quiet via its proxies. Iran has also been cautious in its military posture and also its conduct of the war, showing a restraint that has sparked some criticism from its defenders. Israel seems to bomb its neighbors Hello.
Yet in one important way Israel and Iran are mirrors. Each is a theocratic state — a throwback to an almost Medieval adherence to “God” in a post-Enlightenment, highly secular world. And not just God-bothering. In each of these states, as with similar cults elsewhere (the U.S. for one; India for another), “God” is an easy excuse for heavy social control, something most people don’t like.
The Israeli war strategy, in fact, was conditioned on this: It thought that if it destabilized the government enough, Iranians would rise against their religious kings, and do the work of destabilization themselves.
That didn’t happen. But it still doesn’t mean that Iranians are a satisfied lot. What’s printed below is an illustration of that.
‘Bad government is survivable. No government is not.’
Consider this comment passed on by Twitterer Cyrus Janssen. The commenter doesn’t speak for all Iranians, but its certain he speaks for many.
An Iranian man left this comment on my YouTube channel. It's the single best explanation I've ever heard on the future of #Iran 👇
As an Iranian, I can tell you the situation is no longer just political—it's existential. We are trapped between two collapsing structures: one internal, one external. On one hand, we face a deeply dysfunctional government, led by the Supreme Leader and the Islamic Republic’s unelected institutions.
Decades of economic mismanagement, suppression of dissent, and brutal ideological control have alienated multiple generations. No one believes in reform anymore—because every attempt has either been co-opted or crushed.
But here's the paradox: We are also terrified of regime collapse—because we've watched the aftermath of Western intervention in countries like Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Afghanistan.
Each was promised freedom; each descended into chaos, civil war, or foreign occupation. So no, we don't trust the U.S. or Israel. Not because we support our regime—but because we know how imperial powers treat ‘liberated’ nations in the Middle East.
Freedom, in their language, often means vacuum, fire, and permanent instability. Right now, many Iranians live with three truths at once: The Islamic Republic is morally and politically bankrupt. The alternatives offered by foreign actors are not liberation—they’re collapse. A bad government is survivable. No government is not. We are not silent because we agree.
We are cautious because we’ve learned—too well—what happens when superpowers decide to "help." In a sentence: Iran is a nation held hostage by its own regime, but haunted by the fate of its neighbors. We are stuck in a house we hate, surrounded by fires we fear more.
‘Iran’s people will never forget or forgive’
The last thing to consider is the unifying effect of unprovoked foreign attack. From this opinion piece in the Middle East Eye:
The Iranian people will never forgive or forget US-Israeli attacks
…While Iranians hold a broad diversity of political views, the underlying consensus is shaped by the importance of defending their homeland. Iran is a deeply rooted ancient civilisation, of which every single Iranian is a repository and walking memory.
Iranians may detest their ruling elite, and rightly so - at least they did, until a gang of thieves intent on stealing Palestinian lands began bombing their homeland too. Iranians aren’t siding with their government; they are taking possession of their homeland. The sovereignty of nations belongs to nations themselves, not to the transient rulers who control them today and are gone tomorrow. …
The attack has rendered the government irrelevant. Iranian people are now in charge of their homeland - and Israel will never see the end of this. Whatever the ruling Islamic Republic does to defend itself has nothing to do with the will and determination of the Iranian people.
Iran’s people will never forget or forgive any foreign power for invading their homeland, destroying its infrastructure, and slaughtering innocent civilians. The Iranian people will come after Israel not with bombs or missiles, but with their long memories, steely determination, and utter contempt for its murderous military machinery.
There are no pure white-hats in the Middle East, just better and worse, flawed beauty and genocide. Iranians seem to understand that better than most. If anything, the 12-day war has melded Iran the way foreign wars always do. Too bad the Israelis didn’t see this on June 12.