By Laurence F. Sanford

What kind of a country would call for the death of another country or the death of a people? Iran is such a country.

“Death to America” was first coined by North Korea during the Korean War, but Ayatollah (honorific title for high-ranking Shia clergy) Ruhollah Khomeini, who founded the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979, took the phrase to a new level.

Khomeini decreed “Death to America the Great Satan” and “Death to Israel the Little Satan” as the foundation of his policies to rid Iran of American influence and eliminate Israel since it is a Jewish state occupying supposedly Islamic land. In fact, present-day Israel has been occupied by people of the Jewish faith for thousands of years, well before even Islam was founded in the seventh century AD.

Mohammad Reza Shah, the last Iranian monarch, was overthrown by Muslim clerics led by Khomeini because the mullahs saw their power eroding with the Shah’s modernization of society. Ironically, now, because of the totalitarian mullah misrule of 40 years, only 40% of Iran’s population identifies as Muslim, even though 98% of the population is listed as Muslim.

One of Kohmeini’s first actions upon assuming power was the takeover of the American embassy in Tehran. Fifty-two Americans were held hostages from November 4, 1979, until January 20, 1981, the day before President Ronald Reagan assumed office from President Jimmy Carter.

The Iran-Iraq War began in September 1980 with Iraq invading Iran over territorial disputes and over fear of militant Iranian Shia Islam infecting Iraq’s Arab Shia population. The war ended in August 1988 with an estimated one million to two million casualties and no significant changes in territory.

Now, Iran is on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons. Possibly, Iran already has the atomic bomb but is not announcing it. Iran is supporting proxy entities (Ring of Resistance) that surround Israel for the purpose of eliminating it. The proxies are Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The elimination of Israel is but the first step toward the elimination of Western Civilization in the Islamic quest for world domination.

Iran is a terror state:

• Hamas in Gaza has received millions of dollars in military equipment and training from Iran. Hamas is the Sunni offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood and is dedicated to the elimination of Israel. The Sunnis and Shias will kill each other over Islamic doctrine but will unite in killing infidels. The phrase “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” is applicable here.
• Hezbollah has the largest military force in Lebanon. With over 100,000 missiles aimed at Israel, Hezbollah receives $700 million a year from Iran. Thousands of rockets have been fired at Israel since October 7, 2023.
• The Houthis in Yemen are Shia fighting against the Sunni central government. They control most of northern Yemen, including the capital city of Sanaa. Bordering the Red Sea, the Houthis have fired rockets into Israel and have attacked shipping transiting to and from the Suez Canal. The U.S. Navy has not been able to stop the shipping attacks despite bombing missile sites.
• In Iraq and Syria, American forces are under continual attack from forces allied with Iran.
• Russia is being supplied with Iranian drones and missiles in support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• The United States election process is under Iranian cyberattacks. Most recently, Trump’s election campaign emails were hacked by Iranians, and a Pakistani with Iranian connections was arrested for attempting to assassinate Trump. At the University of Houston, Palestinian protests were supported by Iranian organizations. A number of high-ranking individuals in the U.S. government are sympathetic to Iranian interests.
• Canada’s McGill University has seen Iranians, in conjunction with Russians, foment social media in support of pro-Hamas, anti-Israel protests.

Summary

Iran, in partnership with Russia and China, seeks to end America and Western Civilization.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian affirmed that “Tehran’s dedication to destroying Israel” is rooted in the fundamental policies of the Islamic Republic. Also rooted in these fundamental policies is “Death to America.”

Iran will have an atomic bomb. Unless the United States is prepared to declare total war, bombing will not eradicate the program. What about eradicating North Korea’s nuclear program? What about Pakistan’s Muslim bomb?

The Shariah laws of Iran are anathema to the Western concepts of equality among men and women and to individual freedoms of speech, religion, clothing, eating, and pursuit of happiness. Under Shariah law, women die because they do not wear the hijab properly, homosexuals are hung or thrown from rooftops, and non-Muslims (infidels) are persecuted for their religion.

Action

“Peace Through Strength” was appropriate during the Cold War with the Soviet Union and is appropriate now in the wars being waged against the United States by China, Russia, and Iran. The United States needs to recognize the Marxist and Islamic unrestricted warfare that is being waged.

Reciprocity should be the foundation of American foreign policy.

• Iran is fomenting social unrest in the U.S. The U.S. should reciprocate.
• Gray zone (non-kinetic) actions on social media, the Internet, and the Iranian diaspora should be dramatically increased. Iranian airwaves and the Internet should be flooded through satellite broadcasting.
• If Iran wages kinetic action against the U.S., the U.S. should respond disproportionately — that is, it should respond harder.
  
• End U.S. financing of Palestinian entities such as Hamas and the PLO through the UN and other agencies. They hate America, and money will not buy their friendship.
• The U.S. should demand the end of the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA), whose sole purpose of existence is enabling Palestinians to hate and strive for the elimination of Israel and the West.
• Support allies and those who oppose Iran and its proxies.
• Provide Israel with the military tools needed to win and end the Hamas war.
• Lead a coalition to end Houthi attacks on international shipping. Why aren’t Egypt and Saudi Arabia engaged in stopping the Houthis?

U.S. military effectiveness is declining due to DEI, poor leadership, and lack of adequate funding. A national consensus is needed to rebuild our forces.

Laurence F. Sanford is a senior analyst at the American Security Council Foundation.