Iran is bleeding – and the West must act now
As death tolls soar and protests spread nationwide, Western hesitation risks abandoning a historic chance to break the Islamic Republic
We are in the midst of a crime against humanity. The demonic slaughter of Iranian citizens, with a death toll that far exceeds 10,000 according to some estimates, is horrifying even by the brutal standards of the Islamic Republic. People are being gunned down in the streets, and hospitals and mortuaries are overflowing with bodies. Cities are literally being drenched in the blood of innocents.
Yet even these horrors have not quenched the spirit of Iranians or dimmed their hope for liberation. To see millions of them marching despite the threat of death is to be in the presence of true strength and profound courage. These people are the bravest on earth right now.
Ali Khamenei has clearly gambled that he can ride out this storm by a crackdown of maximum severity, using the IRGC to crush his population. Thus far, there are no signs of defection within the multilayered and extensive security apparatus he has built. In addition, while there have been words of condemnation and threats of intervention from Western leaders, there is, as yet, no external military intervention against the regime. Khamenei’s gamble ultimately centres around one man: the currently unpredictable US President.
Trump has repeatedly warned he could attack Iran. In his most recent post on Truth Social, the President has said that ‘help is on its way’ and that Iran’s ‘killers and abusers’ will ‘pay a big price’ for their actions. So far, these are just words, but could they translate into actions?
The past form suggests that they could and that Trump’s threats are far from idle. He was the president who blew up the JCPOA, correctly perceiving that it was a deeply flawed instrument of US foreign policy. It was Trump who assassinated the Quds Force chief, Qassem Solemani, in 2020 and launched Operation Midnight Hammer in 2025, using the US Air Force to attack three nuclear sites.
If Trump is to genuinely help the counter-revolutionary movement sweeping Iran, there are a number of actions he could take. The first priority is to pierce the veil that the Islamic Republic has placed on its population, using technology to restore internet and phone connectivity in the country and keep Iran’s population in contact with the West. This might involve flooding the country with the Starlink terminals, which are banned by the Iranian government. However it is done, the world must know the full extent of how Khamenei is engaging in mass murder.
Secondly, western governments must unite in proscribing the IRGC, the hated instrument of terror that is being used to butcher thousands. Some governments have already woken up to the danger, including Australia, Canada and the USA, and it is no longer acceptable for the UK to make excuses and procrastinate. There must also be a concerted attempt to sanction all entities and individuals involved in the current bloodbath, exposing them before the world and freezing their assets. Murderers must know there is a price to be paid for their dastardly crimes.
Third, the US also has an attractive range of Iranian military targets it could hit. They include the bases, weapons supplies and command centres of the IRGC, as well as Iran’s conventional military assets and nuclear facilities. They could also hit economic targets in Iran, such as the oil and gas facilities, in order to deliver a short, sharp blow to the regime.
It is true that this would invite an Iranian military response, either against US bases in the region or even against Israel. But Iran’s leaders will also be cautious not to over-provoke the ‘Great Satan’ and invite even greater military pressure. Continued military attacks may inspire the one thing needed by the revolutionaries, namely a series of defections within Iran’s security structure.
Fourthly, the West should support the Iranian opposition. Right now, the most influential figure is surely Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former Shah. Pahlavi is distrusted by many Iranians who associate him with the notoriously repressive regime of his father. He has traditionally lacked a support base in Iran, a factor made worse by the fact that he has spent the last 45 years living in the USA.
Yet as these protests have expanded, Pahlavi’s influence appears to have grown. His calls for the streets to be filled are being heeded, and his tweets have got millions of likes and views. If the opposition to Khamenei unites around a figure like Pahlavi, whether from pragmatism or ideological commitment, it will only strengthen the movement to unseat the regime and free the population. The West should certainly embrace Pahlavi as the ‘government in waiting’.
Right now, the Iranian people are showing a level of courage, defiance and determination that should inspire us all. They deserve the full backing of the West.
- Jeremy Havardi is a freelance journalist and author
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