Since the founding of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979, its regime has operated with one unshakable and unwavering ideological mission: to defy, destabilize and ultimately destroy the influence and presence of the United States and its allies, especially Israel. This is not speculation. It is in the slogans shouted in their streets, in the sermons delivered by their clerics, and in the laws enshrined in their constitution.
Iran's constitution explicitly declares its goal to export the Islamic Revolution beyond its borders. Jihad is not merely permitted -- it is prescribed.
The preamble states:
"The Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps... will be responsible not only for guarding and preserving the frontiers of the country but also for fulfilling the ideological mission of jihad in God's way; that is, extending the sovereignty of God's law throughout the world."
Article 11, based on the Quranic verse 21:92, declares:
"All Muslims form a single nation and the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran is required to base its overall politics on the merging and unity of the Muslim nations. It must continuously strive to achieve the political, economic, and cultural unity of the Islamic world."
Article 152 states that Iran's foreign policy is based on "the rejection of all forms of domination, both the exertion of it and submission to it," and on the defense of the rights of all Muslims.
In short, nothing Western, thank you.
As Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said, "When you chant 'Death to America!' it is not just a slogan – it is a policy." The Iranian regime was birthed through hatred of America and anti-Western rage, and over four decades later, that hatred has not only endured — it has intensified. This is the all-important truth that too many U.S. leaders, across both parties, have failed to internalize. Their failure to understand this fundamental reality has made America more vulnerable, not less.
From President Jimmy Carter's indecisive handling of the Iran hostage crisis to President Barack Obama's disastrous JCPOA "nuclear deal," the U.S. has repeatedly tried to rehabilitate and "normalize" Iran's terrorist regime. Each attempt was met not with gratitude or moderation from Iran, but with increased hostility and aggression.
Carter offered silence and diplomacy during Iran's holding American citizens as hostages; in return, he received humiliation. Obama offered billions of dollars in sanctions relief, secret pallets of cash, and a weak agreement that let Iran maintain its nuclear infrastructure and promised it the ability to acquire nuclear weapons -- "not on my watch" but, conveniently, after his "watch," in October 2025.
What did Iran do with this windfall of billions in cash and at least $100 billion in unfrozen assets received during Obama's term? They funneled the money into Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, the regime's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and a sprawling regional terror network. Iran enriched uranium and built long-range ballistic missiles -- some with a range far beyond what is needed to attack Israel. Iran expanded its influence in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and Venezuela -- all while promising America's destruction with renewed fervor.
As President Donald Trump takes on the challenge of confronting America's enemies once again, he has shown a willingness to offer Iran a peaceful path forward. Despite years of Iranian hostility and terrorism, Trump is offering a new deal.
If you think that such regimes -- which include Vladimir Putin's Russia and Xi Jinping's China -- would express gratitude or at least restraint towards the U.S., you would be wrong. Instead, Khamenei launched a vicious tirade against America and Israel, calling for the destruction of the Jewish state and publicly denouncing Trump by name. Khamenei wrote on May 17:
"Some of the remarks made during the US President's trip to the region aren't even worth a response at all. The level of those remarks is so low that they are a source of shame for the American nation."
He later added:
"Trump said he wants to use power for peace. He's lying."
Even as Trump offers Iran's mullahs a lifeline, in return they spit venom. Like Russia's and China's, Iran's is not a regime seeking peace.
The dangerous reality is that while the United States continues to dangle olive branches, Iran continues to rebuild its air defense systems and enlarge up its ballistic missile arsenal for future attacks.
In 2024, U.S. authorities exposed a chilling plot orchestrated by Iran to assassinate Trump. Let that sink in: Khamenei's regime did not just threaten Trump rhetorically -- it mobilized actual assets to try to murder him. Iran also plotted to assassinate former senior US officials, and at least one journalist in New York. Iran's bloodlust is not bound by international law, diplomatic norms or any kind of human decency -- even for its own citizens, whom it unhesitatingly imprisons, tortures and executes. Once someone is on Iran's hit list -- whether a general, a diplomat, a president or even a novelist -- they stay, with the mullah hovering for an opportunity to murder them. Iran's hit list is not likely to expire with time or term limits. This ideological intractability should terrify every American.
Iran's is not a normal regime with the conventional foreign policy goals of building a prosperous state, at peace with its neighbors, for the benefit of its citizens. Iran is run by a fanatical, revolutionary regime built on the bones of jihad and "martyrdom." The Iranian regime's foreign policy is its religion, and this religion, as an obligation, preaches the destruction of America (here and here, here and here).
Every Friday, in mosques across Iran, state-paid imams whip the faithful are into a frenzy with sermons calling for America's downfall (such as here and here). Every year, the regime holds "Quds Day" rallies, where hundreds of thousands pour into the streets to burn American and Israeli flags, chanting for the annihilation of Western civilization. Khamenei does not hide this hate. It is institutional. It is public. It is proud.
The willingness of many American foreign policy elites to believe that everyone can be "brought in from the cold" is what continues to place the U.S. in constant danger. The cruel fact is that the China, Russia and Iran have different goals than the United States. The US and Trump want peace and prosperity. China, Russia and Iran do not give a flying lawbook about their citizens; they want conquest. How many more decades must we endure chants of "Death to America" before we believe them? How many plots must we foil before we stop offering peace to those who seek our destruction?
We are not victims of Iran's deception; we are victims of our own delusions. For 45 years, we have watched this regime assault our embassies, kill our soldiers, kidnap our citizens, destabilize our allies, and defy every international norm. Yet, every time a new U.S. president takes office, the same tired fantasy sprouts up: "This time, it will be different." No, it will not. The regime has not changed. We keep forgetting, and keep hoping that if we are nice enough or bribe them enough, or if they bribe us enough, they will give up their dreams of an Islamist empire.
Iran's nuclear program is not peaceful. It never was. Iran possesses enough highly enriched uranium to build at least six nuclear warheads within a matter of weeks -- if it has not already built them. Iran has accelerated the installation of advanced centrifuges and reduced its cooperation with international inspectors. Iran's leaders do not fear international law or diplomatic pressure -- they exploit it. They sign agreements only to buy time. They talk peace while they arm for war.
America, and especially Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and all Congress need to wake up and acknowledge that the U.S. cannot find peace through isolationism, and that Iran, Russia and China will not be America's partners in peace.
It is time to stop pretending that negotiations, sanctions relief and promises of prosperity can undo the ideology of regimes that exist to destroy everything America stands for. The US would benefit from adopting a policy grounded in deterrence, and — if necessary — preemptive military action. Such a policy, at least regarding Iran, would only be strengthened by working hand-in-hand with America's strongest and most reliable ally in the Middle East, Israel, which has long warned the West about Iran's true intentions. Such a policy would include putting military options firmly back on the table — not as a bluff, but as an actually credible threat.
The era of appeasement needs to end. If appeasement worked, that would be great. Unfortunately, as we have seen from Emperor Montezuma on, it does not. The cost of continued delusion is high.
We are now in the fifth decade of waiting, pleading, hoping and praying for Iran to reform. Oh, please. No more olive branches. No more photo-ops. No more dreams of a kinder, gentler Islamic Republic. This regime, Mr. President, will always seek your death and that of your America. Every day that we pretend otherwise is a day we give America's enemies more time to prepare their war machines for the next strike. The time for illusions is over.
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, is a political scientist, Harvard-educated analyst, and board member of Harvard International Review. He has authored several books on the US foreign policy. He can be reached at dr.rafizadeh@post.harvard.edu
