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The Killing Fields of Tehran
Roya Hakakian
13 January, 2026

…To be sure, Iranians—who have repeatedly protested and sacrificed their lives in hopes of overthrowing the regime—required no instructions from abroad to rise up again. Still, Israeli expressions of support, coupled with President Trump’s warnings that the United States is “locked and loaded” and prepared to come to the protesters’ aid, created a sense of safety unlike any other moment in the past. But if unarmed protesters are left alone to face a military that has proven its instinct to slaughter its own people by the thousands, then both Israel and the United States will confirm the very narratives the clerics have long promoted: Western powers speak loudly of solidarity, but will ultimately abandon those who respond to their call to action. As the doctor’s letter read: “If anyone is going to help us, even tomorrow may be too late. READ MORE

FDD Clifford May:Iran’s Islamic rulers are teetering on collapse. Trump must give them a final shove. Supporting the Iranian people is not about imposing a Western system or engineering a revolution. It is about aligning American policy with the clear aspirations of a population that overwhelmingly rejects theocracy. Importantly, Iran’s democratic opposition abroad has spent years developing a detailed, credible plan for the day after the regime’s fall — addressing governance, economic recovery, and relations with the outside world — undercutting claims that collapse would mean chaos.