If there was a textbook on how repressive regimes cement their grip on power, the updated edition would have a heavy focus on what is currently unfolding in Iran. Not because the regime brutally crushed mass protests but because this is what gives a regime immortality. And we handed them the elixir.
US President Donald Trump told protesters that “help is on the way.” This, we can only believe, made them feel more emboldened to march in their droves against the repressive Islamic regime. Reporting in this publication and others mentioned time and again how “this time it felt different.”
And for a while, it did.
Crackdown on protests
But the brutal slaughter has left tens of thousands dead. The exact number is impossible to verify. The regime has made sure of that. Dragged from hospital beds. Beaten in the streets. Shot by security forces. Chest-beating from Washington continued with various threats if killings happened. They still happened, but with less ceremony. Massacres in the streets.
Jews praised Trump. Even liberal Israelis I know praised Trump for his ability to bring relative calm in Gaza and return the hostages. When hostage families gave their thanks for getting their loved ones back, Trump was regularly top of the list, in Hebrew and in English. Jews had his ear. Jews had goodwill with this president. This was not a situation where Jewish voices were irrelevant.
But those with his ear on matters of war and peace? Even the chance to free one of the oldest and most beautiful civilizations on earth wasn’t enough to make them act.
Reports confirm that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Trump to delay the strike. His reason? Israel wasn’t ready to defend itself from retaliation. And the Iranian supreme leader’s order was clear: Crush them by any means necessary.
How this may end
Now Washington and Tehran are talking. Or ready to talk. Or talking about talking. But diplomatic talks for what exactly? Is this monstrous regime going to step down through negotiations? We all know the answer to that.
And here is the cruel part. Trump did not just fail to deliver on his promise. His inaction may have handed the regime exactly what it needed. The protests have been crushed. The internet shutdowns worked. The regime is consolidating. If there was a textbook on how repressive regimes cement their power, this would be the chapter on how the world handed them exactly what they needed.
Recent reporting indicates IDF officials have been in Washington discussing military options. I sincerely hope this piece is out of date by the time you finish reading it. I am happy to be wrong about how this ends.
But if I am not… Jews owe a 2,500-year debt to Cyrus the Great. And right now, we are not paying it.
The writer manages social media output for The Jerusalem Post.