Since its inception, the current Iranian regime has not been built on peace, but on the sword. From the very first day of their 1979 revolution, the Ayatollahs established a theocracy whose core mission was not just to govern, but to export its revolution across the world and impose its radical Shia Islamist doctrine on others. The regime's founding ideology is built on conquering people and lands through terror, deception and force.
The revolutionary slogans of the regime are not about coexistence or mutual respect; they are about domination, erasing enemies, and building an empire under the flag of the Supreme Leader. The Islamic Republic of Iran's constitution actually mandates exporting the revolution. Spreading its ideology beyond its borders is not an option, it is a structural principle of the state itself. The regime has never sought to win influence by persuasion or diplomacy, but through nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, and global assassinations.
Today, Iran's revolutionary ambitions are cloaked in a modern arsenal of advanced weaponry and covert operations. While the regime continues to brandish religious slogans and revolutionary rhetoric, its true instrument of influence is violence. The regime uses its nuclear weapons program and ballistic missiles as both a shield and a spear — a way to protect its power domestically and threaten its adversaries abroad. It funds and arms militias across the Middle East — Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, the militias in Iraq — and deploys them as extensions of its will. It carries out assassinations and terror attacks across continents, sending its operatives to strike against Jews, Christians, dissidents, and Western officials.
For the Ayatollahs, peace is not a divine goal; it is a temporary illusion to be exploited -- before the next strike. The regime views every confrontation not as an end but as a step toward a greater conflict that it believes will fulfill its revolutionary and apocalyptic vision.
The West must not fall into the dangerous delusion that the regime has become rational, restrained, or pragmatic -- one of the most perilous illusions in international politics today.
Iran's regime is already plotting its next war: 2,000 missiles pointed at Israel to swarm it all at once and overwhelm its interceptors.
The country's president has openly declared that its nuclear weapons program will continue at warp speed. Iran is refusing to cooperate with international inspectors, leaving the world uncertain about the fate of large quantities of enriched uranium that have mysteriously disappeared from declared facilities. No one truly knows where this material is or how close the regime is to achieving a weaponized form of it.
Behind closed doors, Tehran continues to strengthen its partnerships with dangerous, anti-Western states — China, Russia and North Korea. Each of these countries continues to provide either direct support, technical assistance, economic or political cover to Tehran's ambitions. China fuels Iran's economy by purchasing its oil despite international sanctions. Together, they form a protective shield that enables the Iranian regime to pursue its nuclear dream, its destiny.
The Supreme Leader and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps most likely see missiles and nuclear weapons as divine tools that will allow them to destroy the state of Israel, which they have openly vowed to wipe off the map. Achieving that goal would fulfill one of the regime's long-standing prophecies: the destruction of Israel, the "Little Satan," and the creation of a world order led by the Shia clerical system. The regime does not hide this vision.
The regime's targets will not be limited to Israel or the Gulf states. Europe and the United States, the "Great Satan," are in its crosshairs. Amir Hayat-Moqaddam, a member of Iran parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, recently boasted that Iran's ballistic missiles can hit European capitals and American cities. The regime recently issued threats, warning the West that its enemies should be afraid of Iran's growing missile power. These statements are not mere bluster; they are a window into the mindset of a leadership that sees confrontation as inevitable and perhaps even desirable. The Islamic Republic's rulers are not content just with survival; they want victory — one achieved through intimidation, terror, and eventual destruction of their perceived enemies.
In the meantime, while preparing for a larger confrontation, the regime has already begun reactivating its global terror networks in Australia, Germany and Greece. The regime's agents are already working to assassinate and terrorize Jews, Christians, and Western targets across the world. A foiled plot was recently foiled to assassinate Israel's ambassador in Mexico, underscoring the global reach of Iran's Quds Force and its intelligence apparatus. Israel's intelligence agency, the Mossad, has identified operatives connected to Iranian networks behind multiple terror attacks and plots against Jewish individuals and institutions. These incidents, not isolated, are coordinated campaigns aimed at spreading fear, creating chaos, and sending a message that Iran's enemies are never beyond its reach. Western intelligence agencies should assume that Tehran is planning more — and more sophisticated — assassination attempts, possibly targeting top officials in Israel and, as several years ago, in the United States. The regime understands that once former officials leave office and are private citizens again, their security is weaker.
There needs to be an unmistakable ultimatum delivered to the regime: either it halts its nuclear program, dismantles its ballistic missile program, and ends its global assassination and terror operations — or it will face a new military campaign. The West cannot allow Tehran once again to buy time, deceive inspectors, and hide behind diplomatic jargon. Economic and political pressure alone will fail if not accompanied by credible enforcement. President Trump's approach of cutting off all financial lifelines, including secondary sanctions, to the regime remains one of the most effective strategies. Every dollar that flows into Tehran through oil sales or trade is a dollar that funds missiles and militias.
The Chinese Communist Party must be held accountable for purchasing Iranian oil: they are directly violating international sanctions and empowering the regime to finance its military and nuclear projects.
Europe must also stop treating the regime as a legitimate diplomatic partner. Iranian consulates and embassies across European capitals have often been used as centers for intelligence gathering and operational planning. Many of the regime's terror plots have been conceived or coordinated from within these diplomatic compounds. The European Union should immediately close Iranian consulates and expel their staff. Diplomatic immunity must not be allowed to shield assassins and plotters from justice. If Europe continues to provide Tehran with the privilege of diplomacy, it will continue to suffer the consequences of the regime's duplicity.
The Iranian regime is not reforming; it is regrouping. It is not moderating; it is militarizing. The West cannot afford to fall asleep while Tehran quietly prepares for the next great war. The stakes are higher than ever — for Israel, for Europe, for the United States, and for every nation that values stability and peace. If the West does not keep pressure on the regime, the next conflict will not just be another regional flare-up. It will be catastrophic.
The Iranian regime interprets silence as weakness and hesitation as surrender. To prevent another devastating war, the West must sustain military and economic pressure, and act before the regime's ambitions create a reality that it will be dark and costly to reverse. Tehran is plotting its next war. The only way to prevent it is to confront the regime now, with unity, strength and resolve.
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
