The Iranian regime is showing the unmistakable signs of internal collapse, and Americans should be paying attention. What many in Washington dismiss as distant turmoil is actually a people rising against a corrupt, murderous theocracy that is losing both control and legitimacy at home. Observers on the ground, including Iranian American journalists, say Tehran’s rulers are acting out of fear, not strength.
One of the clearest indicators of panic is the regime’s recent nationwide internet and cellphone blackouts, a crude but revealing attempt to choke off news and coordination among protesters. Iranian American journalist Karmel Melamed told reporters the shutdowns were designed to stop the world from seeing the chaos and to prevent Iranians from organizing — a confession of weakness dressed up as security. When a government cuts off communication, it admits it can no longer control the narrative or the people.
We are also seeing forced displays of loyalty and the regime’s desperation to stage-manage public opinion, including coerced demonstrations by vulnerable communities. Reports indicate regime security pressured members of Iran’s Jewish community to appear at anti-Israel rallies, with businesses and livelihoods threatened if they refused. That is the behavior of a regime that knows it is running out of legitimacy and will stoop to any cruelty to pretend otherwise.
On the military front, Israeli strikes against regime targets and reported U.S. actions have added pressure to Tehran’s faltering grip. Iranian Americans and dissidents in the diaspora have publicly supported targeted blows to the regime’s military and nuclear infrastructure, seeing it as a way to degrade the ayatollahs’ power and protect the region. This international pressure, combined with internal unrest, could hasten the end of a brutal system that funnels Iranian wealth to terrorists while its own people starve and suffer.
Voices inside the opposition and among exiles are growing louder, calling for a secular, democratic future for Iran and an end to the ayatollahs’ reign. Figures like Reza Pahlavi and grassroots activists have argued for a post-theocratic Iran for years, and journalists who cover the community say hope is spreading among Iranians tired of repression. The possibility of a peaceful transition to freedom is slim but real, and it is both moral and strategic for the West to back those who seek liberty.
As Americans and conservatives we should be unapologetically on the side of the Iranian people, not the mullahs who export terror and misery. Washington must stop equivocation and take concrete steps — support dissident networks, maintain crippling sanctions on the regime’s cronies, and provide moral and informational aid to those risking everything for freedom. Appeasement and moral relativism have no place when a brutal regime is within reach of being pushed aside by its own citizens.
This moment demands clarity and courage from our leaders and from patriots who believe in freedom. Pray for the brave Iranians on the streets, support policy that strengthens their cause, and do not be fooled by regime theatrics or by those who counsel restraint when liberty is on the line. If America stands firm for freedom now, history will judge us kindly for supporting the oppressed against their oppressors.
