Former State Department deputy special envoy Ellie Cohanim told viewers on Fox Report that the collapse of the Iranian regime would amount to a historic defeat for radical Islam — a moment she argued could come during President Trump’s second term. Her blunt assessment put into words what many conservatives have long believed: the clerical tyranny in Tehran is not merely a regional nuisance but a mortal threat to freedom-loving peoples across the Middle East.
The streets of Iran have erupted again since late December, with protests spreading from Tehran’s bazaars to universities and provincial towns as ordinary citizens confront soaring inflation and a collapsing currency. The unrest has prompted harsh reprisals, an internet blackout, and reports of dozens of deaths and thousands of arrests as the regime resorts to the same brutal playbook it has used for decades to silence dissent.
Conservatives should cheer the courage of Iranians who are standing up to a theocratic regime that spends its people’s wealth on proxies, missiles, and oppression. A toppled Tehran would not be an American imperial conquest but a triumph of liberty over a system that exports terror and radical ideology across the globe, a result that would weaken Hezbollah, Hamas proxies, and the Revolutionary Guard’s reach.
Make no mistake: America’s posture matters. The renewed “maximum pressure” approach and clear signals from the Trump administration about willingness to use force have already shaken the regime’s confidence and tightened the economic vise that is fueling these protests. That kind of decisive, unapologetic stance is exactly what breaks the back of regimes that count on international wavering to survive.
It is time for patriots to demand policy that seizes this moment — ramped-up sanctions on the regime and its networks, sanctuary for dissidents, and unambiguous backing for the Iranian people’s right to self-determination. We should support a future Iran that looks more like our allies in the region than like a regime that celebrates terrorism and denies basic human rights to its own citizens.
To hardworking Americans who love freedom: recognize what’s at stake and insist our leaders act like winners, not weaklings. If the Islamic Republic falls, it will be a victory for the brave and persecuted, a blow to the cancer of radical Islam, and a moment for the free world to stand tall and proud with those who risk everything for liberty.
