In a week, it will be the anniversary of October 7, when terrorist groups within the Shia Crescent committed crimes against humanity in Israel, brutally slaughtering 1,200 people. Perhaps in the history of Iran, the Arab invasions (between 632 and 654 CE), the Mongol invasion (1219), or the rise of the Shia clerics (1979) are painful and well-remembered events.
But for the people of Israel, witnessing such a horrific and agonizing scene after the Holocaust (between 1941 and 1945) was unimaginable.
From the very beginning, when the Shia cleric in Iran pursued power and wealth, we can refer to Khomeini’s 1961 speech, where, like Nasser’s soldier, he spoke out against the Shah and brought up the name of Israel. From the day the Shah of Iran recognized Israel de facto until the winter of 1979, roughly 18 and a half years, the Shia cleric engaged in terrorist network-building and training terrorists.
Khomeini’s book, Velayat-e Faqih, was published in Beirut in 1970. His entire destructive ideology was built on enmity towards Israel and the US. After gaining power in Iran, the Shia clerics committed every atrocity against Israel and America. Every year, hundreds of innocent and defenseless Israelis were killed by the Islamic Republic’s terrorist network.
Vague US policy
Washington lacked a clear and informed policy towards the Islamic Republic, often turning a blind eye to many realities. It mistakenly believed that the so-called reformists were different from the hardliners. However, these same reformists, in the summer of 2000 – one year before 9/11 – awarded an honorary doctorate to Hassan Nasrallah at Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran.
NASRALLAH WAS the very person who ridiculed Iran’s ancient civilization, referring to these Islamic terrorist networks as the “Islamic civilization.” Yet Iran, before the rise of Islam, was an empire. Nasrallah is the one who called Khomeini and Khamenei, the first and second supreme leaders of Iran, the mad and bloodthirsty executioners, the descendants of the Prophet of Islam. Of course, all these words were said in exchange for money, and there was never any real difference between reformists and hardliners in the advancement of Islamic terrorism.
Khomeini later formed a transnational terrorist network, which, according to mafia-style propaganda, was named the “Resistance Front.” Khamenei expanded it, and Hezbollah became the main center of its terrorist operations.
Whenever any terrorist branch, like the Houthis, Hamas, or the Popular Mobilization Forces, needed help, Hezbollah was there to assist. Even during Rafsanjani’s era (1993), in Sudan, Hezbollah, the Quds Force, and Al-Qaeda formed an unholy triangle, and Iran became a training ground and sanctuary for Islamic terrorists, eventually leading to the events of September 11, 2001. Yet again, the US failed to grasp the reality on the ground, clinging to the deceptive smiles of the reformists, a mere mirage.
Years passed, and Khamenei installed an electronic countdown clock for the destruction of Israel in Iranian cities. The air force commander of the IRGC posed in front of the flags of the terrorist network, but global media continued to claim that the Islamic Republic was not behind the events.
However, after one year, the fog of confusion has cleared, and it has become evident that the source of all these crimes and wickedness is the Velayat-e Faqih regime’s treasury in Tehran. For this reason, the Israeli people have realized that the people of Iran are friends, supporters, and sympathizers of Israel, and that the Islamic Republic is an occupier of Iran and has nothing to do with Iran’s history and civilization.
Islamic Republic of terror
AFTER A year of pain and suffering endured by the people of Israel, the Middle East has also realized that in all criminal acts, the Quds Force, the IRGC, and the Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic stood alongside these terrorist groups against the Jewish state. As long as this regime remains, such heartbreaking scenes will repeat. Perhaps after destroying the Islamic Republic’s terrorist arms, Israel will also confront the root cause to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, or else it will pose a threat to all of humanity.
Yet Israel, with persistence, strong leadership, accurate intelligence, and patriotic motivation, has risen to destroy the Islamic Republic’s transnational terrorist network. While both the US and Europe did not stand by its side, it has now become clear after a year that their paper tiger has collapsed one by one as autumn begins, and within months, Hezbollah has been relegated to the dustbin of history.
Now, the world is awaiting the end of the story. Certainly, according to the judgment of history, this arduous journey will continue, and this soggy cardboard network will fall. Khamenei is gradually losing the ability to rebuild and activate Hamas and Hezbollah. Though Hezbollah, a criminal mafia organization involved in everything from drug trafficking to gambling and human and arms smuggling, has no more strength to rebuild.
The Middle East has also realized that wherever the Islamic Republic set foot, nothing but destruction, devastation, explosions, and terror followed. Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran... all were consumed in the flames of the Shia cleric’s savagery. But the Middle East is awaiting a rebirth, and Israel’s name will shine as the greatest power in the region. The future of Iran, after the collapse of the clerical regime, is a rebirth.
The terrorist republic of Khomeini in Tehran was formed in the presence of Yasser Arafat. Its members were trained in Palestinian terrorist camps. However, the future of the Middle East will shine brighter in the friendship between Iran and Israel.
Iran in troubled waters
Nowadays, Iran’s regime finds itsrself in a precarious situation, uncertain of how to proceed. Even now that Israel has launched an aerial attack in Lebanon and eliminated Nasrallah, Iran’s regime, despite being under immense pressure, lacks the capability to engage Israel in warfare.
Khamenei is terrified of engaging in a war with Israel. He knows that the Iranian people are not supporting him. The younger generation, in particular, has celebrated the deaths of Islamic terrorists like Haniyeh and Nasrallah. The Quds Force, the MOIS, and the IRGC are nothing but a group of brainwashed, unskilled thugs.
If Khamenei engages in war with Israel, he will lose, and his outlaw regime will collapse. He prefers to remain dishonored and discredited, hiding in a corner, issuing empty threats, but avoiding a direct conflict with Israel. He is fully aware that Jerusalem would destroy his missile and nuclear facilities. In the end, Khamenei is merely a delusional, wild and cowardly mullah.
Finally, the puppet of Khamenei, Nasrallah, was eliminated on the 27th of September, and surely Khamenei will die and Israel will remain proudly standing. Khamenei’s destructive policies (the head of the octopus in Tehran) wouldn’t go anywhere.
The removal of Hamas and Hezbollah is a great victory for Israel. The paper tiger and spider’s web of the Shi’ite Islamic caliphate collapsed. The world of the 21st century will be a safer place after the abolition of Islamic terrorists.
The writer is a counterterrorism analyst and Middle East studies researcher based in Washington, with a particular focus on Iran and ethnic conflicts in the region. His new book is The Black Shabbat, published in the US. You can follow him at erfanfard.com and on X @EQFARD.