Regime change in Iran is the only option

OPINION:

Three years ago, former President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton said, “I don’t think we’re going to have real peace and security in the Middle East until the regime of the ayatollahs is replaced, not just because of their threat on nuclear weapons, but because of their continued support for terrorism.”

Toppling the theocratic regime in Tehran has become more critical as Iran nears the ability to produce and launch nuclear weapons against Israel and possibly the United States.

Preemption is better than reaction after an attack, especially when one’s enemies repeatedly assert their intentions. The Obama and Biden administrations have tried to pacify, mollify and, in sending billions of dollars of unfrozen assets to Iran, effectively subsidize the regime.

The Biden-Harris administration is reportedly in active discussion with Israel about how to respond to this clear and present danger that it helped create. President Biden and former President Barack Obama before him have cautioned — even pressured — Israel not to widen the war by attacking Iran’s nuclear sites. Amid pressure from the United States, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly agreed not to strike oil or nuclear targets in Iran.

It is Iran that seeks to widen the war by continuing on a path that could potentially result in their use of nuclear weapons.

Iran apparently senses a moment of American weakness and indecision and exploits it on several levels. According to a report on extremism by George Washington University, Iran has operatives in the U.S. who are spreading anti-Israel hate and propaganda on college campuses and cozying up to U.S. officials.

The New York Post published pictures of Iranian-born imam Mohammad Ali Elahi with Vice President Kamala Harris and former Secretary of State John Kerry. The newspaper reports that Mr. Elahi, who leads the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, “served as head of the Iranian Navy’s political-ideological office during the 1980s” and has praised the regime, saying he would die for the cause.

More people should be paying attention, though the national media aren’t.

At a pro-Lebanon rally last week in Dearborn, Michigan, MEMRI.org reported a crowd cheering “Death to Israel” in support of Hezbollah’s attacks.

Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said, “We want people across the globe to have the values we advocate for in Dearborn.”

Apparently referring to Jews in Israel and the Holocaust, community leader Osama Siblani said: “We will take you back to Poland. We are Americans, and America is changing — look at the universities.”

As is said with illness, early detection is key to a cure. We are long past early detection when it comes to Iran, whose leaders are not hiding but proclaiming their intentions while claiming a religious mandate to accomplish their goals.

Preemptive and retaliatory attacks against Israel’s and our enemies are nothing new. In April 1981, the Israeli air force attacked Syrian forces in Lebanon to prevent the Syrians from taking the Sannin ridge.

On April 15, 1986, President Ronald Reagan ordered airstrikes on Libya in retaliation for the West Berlin dance club bombing 10 days earlier, which he blamed on Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. The strike effectively neutralized Gadhafi’s support of terrorism.

History proves weakness invites aggression by other nations and terrorist entities. Iranian elections, which have been fixed by the regime with opponents murdered or jailed, have shown large numbers of Iranians oppose being ruled by the ayatollahs.

U.S. policy, whether overt or covert and in cooperation with Israel and even Saudi Arabia, which fears the Iranian government, should be the replacement of the religious fundamentalists with democratically elected leaders. Anything short of that will lead to consequences no one except Iran claims to want.

• Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book, “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America” (Humanix Books).