16×9-liveblog-apache-down

U.S. Launches New Strikes Against Iran

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Iran

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Protest

Revolution

On Tuesday, President Trump announced that America has achieved a form of regime change in Iran. 
To a certain extent, that is correct. President Trump has already announced that the war has effectively been won. From an American perspective, he&#8217;s right; the war has been won —on the military level. Iran has done minimal damage by any sort of standard to American forces and interests.
Meanwhile, Iran itself has been pummeled to dust. The ballistic missile program has basically been destroyed. Their nuclear facilities have been pounded again. Their drone program has been blown up. The only thing Iran can do at this point is harass people.
They can harass their neighbors with occasional missile and drone strikes. They can disrupt some shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
We&#8217;re not done yet, as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has made clear, saying:
<blockquote>And that&#8217;s why we see ourselves as part of this negotiation as well. We negotiate with bombs. You have a choice. As we loiter over the top of Tehran, as the president talked about, about your future, the president has made it clear that you will not have a nuclear weapon. The War Department agrees. Our job is to ensure that. 
And so we&#8217;re keeping our hand on that throttle as long as it&#8217;s hard as is necessary to ensure the interests of the United States of America are achieved on that battlefield. This is not Iraq and Afghanistan. This is not a president who&#8217;s interested in vague end states. He&#8217;s been very clear with us about what we need to accomplish, creating the conditions for them never to have a nuclear capability. And that&#8217;s exactly what we&#8217;re doing in historic fashion.</blockquote>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2395-sub?elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974957" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-300x50.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-768x128.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1536x256.webp 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-2048x341.webp 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
What would victory look like for the United States? There are two types of victory here: political victory and actual victory.
We may already have an actual victory. Let&#8217;s say that Iran ends up falling in the next couple of years; that victory will belong to President Trump, because we will have weakened all of the foundations upon which the Iranian regime stands, in the same way that the fall of the Soviet Union belonged to President Reagan.
It won&#8217;t be a political victory because you need an exclamation point for a political victory, some way to say we didn&#8217;t just win; Iran also lost.
Where is Iran right now? Did they totally lose? On the one hand, we can make the argument that simply to survive would be the regime winning, that survival amounts to not losing. 
 
Israel and America&#8217;s other regional allies would have to continue to exercise overwatch of the regime to ensure they don&#8217;t renew their missile, drone, and nuclear programs.
But we do have to ask: Is not losing really a victory for Iran? It might be for the moment, but not for long, because Iran would remain isolated, throttled, and devoid of basic resources. Remember, before this war, there were already millions of people in the streets protesting the regime; the rial was running at 0.00001 to a dollar, and they had so little water that they were moving millions of people out of Tehran. They were actually evacuating their own capital.
Can this regime continue to limp along on that basis for many more years?
The question becomes whether or not President Trump can force the Iranians into a deal that achieves political victory, a good end state that he can go home and brag about. Despite members of the media and Democratic politicians saying they don&#8217;t actually believe that President Trump has been talking to Iran, it has now been confirmed that there are negotiations between the two countries indirectly.
What kind of concessions are they actually making? The devil remains in the details. President Trump said yesterday that Iran has agreed we will never have a nuclear weapon. But if they had to retain a nuclear program that could easily be turned toward weapons development, that&#8217;s not good enough. Will they retain enriched uranium? We&#8217;ll have to find out. President Trump has made clear that, in his view, they must never have a nuclear weapon.
President Trump has apparently released a list of demands: All existing nuclear capabilities will be dismantled — which I assume means all of their nuclear plans — a commitment that Iran will never strive to obtain nuclear weapons, which would have to be enforceable; no material will ever be enriched on Iranian soil; all enriched material would be handed it over to the IAEA in a short-term timetable to be defined between the parties; Natanz and Fordo would be decommissioned and also destroyed. The IAEA would have full access to all information within Iran&#8217;s borders. Iran would completely abandon its terror proxy network. Iran would stop financing and arming proxies in the region. The Strait of Hormuz would remain open, would be a free maritime zone; no one would block it.
As for the missile program, according to the talking points put out by the administration, there would be a decision at a later period, but they would have to limit the quantity and the range, and future use of missiles would have to be for self-defense purposes only.
In return for all of that, theoretically, Iran would have sanctions lifted and receive assistance in developing a civilian nuclear program in Bushehr. Basically, we would build them low-level nuclear programs for energy, and the threat of snapback sanctions would be removed.
I have a question: Does it sound like Iran is ready to do any of that? I have some very, very serious doubts.
At the same time, President Trump does not want to leave the rest of the region subject to the whims of the mullahs. President Trump&#8217;s strongest support for continued action, at this point, is coming from the Saudis, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/24/us/politics/saudi-prince-iran-trump.html">The New York Times</a>:
<blockquote>In recent days, Mr. Trump has given more serious consideration to a military operation to seize Kharg Island, the hub of Iran&#8217;s oil infrastructure. Such an operation with airborne armed forces or an amphibious assault by Marines would be immensely dangerous. But Prince Mohammed has advocated ground operations in his conversations with Mr. Trump, according to people briefed by American officials.</blockquote>
I actually agree with Mohammed bin Salman&#8217;s assessment here. If America were to grab control of Kharg Island, the actual capacity of Iran to survive — even midterm — drops dramatically.
What comes next? The answer, as it has always been, is in the hands of the Iranian government. Remember, Iran could have, at any time for 50 years, reintegrated into the world economy by ending its global ambitions, its support for terrorism, and its nuclear program. They have not done that.
Maybe they&#8217;re willing to moderate now. I doubt it, but there are still plenty of levers left for the United States to pull. President Trump has already shown a high willingness to do just that.
The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/iran-war-us-israel-news-updates-2026?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqfGcgDfKBEWhIxvwC5oIzLdgAB61kcrWruScWSEPgDmDl58AWAUM0ls&amp;gaa_sig=ussC2AZQMvBhhzrltb90YvkjDqf3AIQnMr5GiMux8VVsd05MyjHAdj-cQm7pMbigC61x2AT6u1daMqiTYdUcww%3D%3D&amp;gaa_ts=69c42828&amp;utm_source=chatgpt.com">reported</a> yesterday:
<blockquote>The Pentagon is planning to deploy about 3000 soldiers from the Army&#8217;s elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East to support operations against Iran, according to two U.S. officials, with a written order expected in the coming hours. Officials cautioned that a decision for boots on the ground in Iran has not been made, but deploying the 82nd opens the door to President Trump for several strategic options.</blockquote>
Special operations, limited in duration; this is not the kind of “quagmire boots on the ground” stuff people were talking about. We&#8217;re not talking about 100,000 troops occupying Iran indefinitely. At most, we are talking about a ground operation to take away territory used to target the Strait of Hormuz, to take away the island.
That&#8217;s probably what we are talking about here.

US-POLITICS-SECURITY-TRUMP-MULLIN

What Does Victory Over Iran Look Like?

Ben Shapiro

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Donald Trump

Middle East

Opinion

Pete Hegseth

Saudi Arabia

Strait of Hormuz

Trump Administration

According to the New York Times, a former newspaper, American forces are in deep trouble in Iran as the wily Iranians continue to attack our bombs with their leaders. According to the Times Middle East Bureau Chief, Omar Jihad Mohammed Jihad Jihad Mohammed, wave after wave of American bomb and missile attacks have been repelled by an Iron Dome of Iranian leaders, so that the weapons explode harmlessly against their bodies, destroying nothing but the Iranian Army, Air Force, Navy, missiles, drones, radar and, of course, the Iranian leaders, who are more than willing to sacrifice their lives to protect those Iranian people they haven’t yet murdered themselves.
In an exclusive interview at an undisclosed location, the New York Times’s Middle East reporter Omar Jihad Mohammed Fatwa Mohammed interviewed Iran’s Chief of Police Fatwa Mohammed Jihad Omar Mamdani, who said, “We have the Americans exactly where we want them since…” and while he was unable to finish his sentence because he was assassinated by Israeli Defense Forces, he was immediately replaced by his younger subordinate Allahu Akbar Mohammed Tucker Jihad Jihad Mohammed, who said, “As my predecessor was about to explain…” but he was unable to finish his sentence because he was assassinated by Israeli Defense Forces.
According to either Iranian officials or CNN reporters — it’s difficult to tell the difference — Iran continues to stymie American attacks so that the only thing keeping the American war effort alive is the fact that the French have refused to join the fight, so there’s no one who’ll surrender for us.
And now, the Iranians have achieved a “stunning moral victory,” according to CNN Chief Middle East Correspondent Vladimir Mohammed Jihad Death-to-America Carlson Mohammed Fatwa. In a move reflecting the enduring strength of the Iranian regime, the nation has replaced the fifteen levels of leadership who were wiped out by American and Israeli attacks by appointing as their new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, a one-legged homosexual who’s in a coma.
President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Mohammed Jinping Fatwa Bernie Sanders Jihad celebrated the appointment of Khamenei, saying, “This is a tremendous leap forward for Iranian Diversity Equity and Inclusion. By selecting an unconscious handicapped gay man to ruthlessly oppress their people, Iran has installed an Ayatollah who looks exactly like the sort of person for whom Hollywood has been making movies. We hope this will encourage more people to become one-legged comatose homosexuals so we can begin to fill up our theaters. Otherwise, there’ll be no one there to see it when Nicole Kidman finally manages to move her face again.”
American branches of the organization Queers for Palestine also celebrated the appointment of the gay Ayatollah, with queer house parties across the nation at which they honored Islamic tradition by climbing up to the rooftops and hurling themselves to their deaths. As Queer for Palestine leader Anatole Preposterous announced to his fellow queers, “Iran has struck a blow against the homophobic splat,” although I’m not sure if that was the last word in the sentence or just the sound he made when he hit the pavement.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/hosts/andrew-klavan?elementPosition=6&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Hosts&amp;rowType=Hosts+Portrait+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974735 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-1024x171.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-1024x171.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-300x50.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-768x128.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-1536x256.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now.jpg 1800w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
The organization Feminists for Palestine was also pleased by the Ayatollah’s appointment. FFP President Sally Ann Preposterous (no relation), said, “Although we’re disappointed Iran has not yet elevated a woman to leadership, as feminists, we feel that a homosexual in a coma will at least represent people who hate women without thinking, which is what feminism is all about.”
As for the new Ayatollah, though he has not yet been able to issue a statement of his own, the regime has released some of the old messages he posted on the website Sleeping-Gay-Amputees-dot-Com, which include such remarks as, “Must have good sense of humor,” and “If you like my picture, swipe right.”
Meanwhile, according to PBS Middle East Reporter Mohammed Mamdani Jihad Tucker Tucker Fatwa Jihad, Global financial markets continue to reel at the plucky Iranian attacks on the Strait of Hormuz. PBS interviewed surviving Iranian Naval Commander Mohammed Jihad Fuentes Fatwa Carlson, who said, “We will continue to attack shipping here until…,” but he was unable to finish his sentence because he was assassinated by Israeli Defense Forces.
* * *
This excerpt is taken from the opening satirical monologue of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Andrew Klavan Show</a>.”
Andrew Klavan is the host of “The Andrew Klavan Show” at The Daily Wire. Klavan is the bestselling author of numerous books, including the Cameron Winter Mystery series. The fifth installment, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/After-That-Cameron-Winter-Mysteries/dp/1613166869/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3EGZUC370LG46&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Y_NI0mDOKeowShheDQTVx5NH-fAeimJoCD56_T0Acpl8C0mup7uJf-nGGSRLEItaaekoDnvS2vWLMa4Zd2UBXQ8Y-g-P502jOWz-Y8IX3ZQsdlO7WMLrg1xIhNoKmjCorSWUR4C2l_RbiZ7apJ1MfPzGOrrEf7AdAXX6xwnJRVP_XqUfWuMuVthTWscaU3P4vgmS86-96n-721enHfX12CFQWTajqFbVnrsDkexfUf4.6_gTH6h1Bb9Pn375QdF_VAVZSayDvjQBBKGXE-MTiFo&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=klavan&amp;qid=1754049918&amp;sprefix=%2Caps%2C80&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">After That, The Dark,</a> is NOW AVAILABLE. Follow him on X: <a href="https://x.com/andrewklavan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@andrewklavan</a>.
The views expressed in this satirical piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

TOPSHOT-IRAN-DEFENCE

Iranian Leaders: We Have The Americans Exactly Where We Want Them

Andrew Klavan

Bernie Sanders

Humor

Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

Satire

Tucker Carlson

Don&#8217;t fall for the propaganda: Iran is losing. They are getting scorched. 
One by one, the leaders of the Islamic Republic are being eliminated. Generals, security chiefs, regime powerbrokers. All gone. The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei, was dead on day one.
No biggie, right? The regime had a backup plan. They proclaimed his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, an impotent, likely gay, half-idiot mullah, as his successor. Even his daddy didn&#8217;t want that to happen.
The problem is, he has not been seen in weeks, and he may be in a coma.
Meanwhile, Iran&#8217;s command structure is shattered. The missile capacity has been slashed by 90%. Whatever is left of the regime is throwing a temper tantrum like a toddler.
So the real question isn&#8217;t why Iran is losing. The real question is why so many people in the West are pretending they aren&#8217;t.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2389-breaking-iran-s-next-leader-killed?elementPosition=0&amp;row=6&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974957" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-300x50.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-768x128.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1536x256.webp 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-2048x341.webp 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
Ali Larijani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, was poised to step in as the new leader. He was walking around Tehran just a couple of days ago.
Last night, Larijani, who you might remember from such banger tweets as “Our leaders have been, and still are, among the people. But your leaders? On Epstein&#8217;s island!”, is no longer among the people, among any people.
Because he&#8217;s dead.
He was killed last night in an Israeli airstrike. In addition, Reza Soleimani, the head of the Basij — the internal Iranian force dedicated to murdering protesters and quashing dissent — was killed by Israel last night, along with other top members of the Basij.
And now, individual Basij checkpoints in Tehran are being struck with Israeli drones. In fact, according to the IDF intelligence head, Major General Shlomi Binder, “Their command structure is shattered; their capability stripped down to the bone. What you&#8217;re seeing launch now is whatever scraps they can still push out. That&#8217;s their ceiling.”
The United States has so severely degraded Iran&#8217;s missile capabilities that the government has been firing off, in rather desultory fashion, individual missiles, like a kid whose tantrum is ending but is still kind of sporadically kicking as he tires himself out and goes down for a nap.
On day one of this war, Iran launched 350 missiles. Today, they are down to barely double digits. Their ballistic missile capacity has been reduced by upward of 90%. How about drone launches? Same story: 800 drone launches day one, down to 75 on day 15, and even fewer yesterday. Their ballistic missile factories have been destroyed, their drone factories have been destroyed, and their nuclear facilities have been destroyed or heavily damaged.
Don&#8217;t believe me? Ask Muhanad Seloom, writing for — wait for it — Al Jazeera.
Yup. There&#8217;s a gigantic piece in Al Jazeera, Qatar&#8217;s propaganda outlet, titled “<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2026/3/16/the-us-israeli-strategy-against-iran-is-working-here-is-why?utm_source=chatgpt.com">The US-Israeli strategy against Iran is working. Here is why</a>,” accurately explaining the toll this war has now taken on Iran. Remember, Qatar is a half-ally to Iran. That alone should tell you just where things stand for the Iranians. 
The Qataris, who play both sides, are now pretty clearly taking America&#8217;s side.
The article points out:
<blockquote>The picture is not one of US failure. It is one of systematic, phased degradation of a threat the previous administrations allowed to grow for four decades. &#8230; The campaign has moved through two distinct phases. The first suppressed Iran&#8217;s air defenses, decapitated its command and control, integrated its missile and drone launch infrastructure.
By March 2, US Central Command announced local air superiority over western Iran and Tehran, achieved without the confirmed loss of a single American or Israeli combat aircraft. The second phase, now underway, targets Iran&#8217;s defense industrial base, missile production facilities, dual use research centers, and the underground complexes where remaining stockpiles are stored. This is not an aimless bombing. It is a methodical campaign to ensure that what has been destroyed cannot be rebuilt.</blockquote>
What about the Strait of Hormuz? We keep hearing about that.
The chances of President Trump allowing the Strait to remain permanently closed are zero. That is not going to happen. And leaving Iran in total control of the Strait, just because Iran has a few drones and the capacity to fire them from the shoreline, is, shall we say, a short-term problem.
Soon, the Iranian government will have much larger problems, because it feels as though all of this is a prelude to action by the Iranian people themselves. President Trump noted that Iranians will soon head out into the streets when they feel more secure.
He said yesterday, “So the women had 250,000, even 500,000 people protesting a year ago, and they shot women right through the middle of the forehead with snipers. And they didn&#8217;t have to do many. About ten went down, bleeding profusely and 250 to 500,000 women went running in the other direction because they can be brave. But they’re not stupid and they have no guns. And they have snipers in buildings specifically for this reason. So a woman goes down, falling, bleeding from the head, and it doesn&#8217;t take long for that to spread. And when that spreads, that crowd dispenses. And nobody else has been able to do that to the extent that these people. These people are violent. They killed a minimum, two weeks ago, 32,000 people. And they put out a notice two days ago, ‘If you protest, if you protest, you will be shot and killed.’”
Something is going to change. The time is coming. Chief rivals to the Iranian people are being individually eliminated. Right now, the Iranian people have the Americans and the Israelis actually flying air cover for them. Yes, of course, they&#8217;re going to have to brave death to take on the regime. They’ve done it before.
But last time they did it, no help was on the way. Then, President Trump said help is on the way.
And then President Trump acted.
What happens next will be in the Iranian people’s hands.

US Using UK Military Bases For Defensive Strikes Against Iran

Don’t Believe The Propaganda: The Mullahs Are Losing

Don't Believe The Propaganda: The Mullahs Are Losing

Israel

Qatar

U.S. Military

The Israeli military said Tuesday that a targeted overnight strike killed Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) referred to Larijani as the “effective” leader of Iran since the war began.
Larijani was a close adviser of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed last month. He was responsible for Iran&#8217;s military response to the joint U.S.-Israeli operation launched on February 28. The IDF also accused Larijani of overseeing the regime&#8217;s violent crackdown on anti-government protests.
“Throughout the years, Larijani was considered one of the most veteran and senior figures within the Iranian regime leadership, and was a close associate of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei,” the IDF <a href="https://x.com/IDF/status/2033861461596930479">said</a> in a social media post. “During the most recent wave of protests against the Iranian terror regime, Larijani personally oversaw the massacre that was carried out against Iranian protestors.”
Iran has not commented on the status of Larijani, but a <a href="https://x.com/alilarijani_ir/status/2033840853370683829">statement</a> honoring Iranian navy “martyrs” was posted to Larijani&#8217;s X account shortly before the IDF said he had been killed. 
Last week, Larijani <a href="https://x.com/alilarijani_ir/status/2031323351952568569">threatened</a> President Donald Trump after the president warned Iran he would strike the country harder if it blocked oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.  
“The Ashura-loving nation of Iran does not fear your paper threats,” Larijani posted on social media. “ Even those greater than you could not eliminate the Iranian nation. Watch out for yourself—lest you be eliminated!”
In January, the Treasury Department <a href="https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/01/u-s-sanctions-to-support-the-courageous-people-of-iran">sanctioned</a> Larijani over Iran’s response to the anti-government protests. 
In a separate strike, the IDF said it killed Gholamreza Soleimani, the commander of the Basij Resistance Force, a paramilitary unit under Iran&#8217;s Revolutionary Guard Corps. 
“Yesterday, the IDF targeted &amp; eliminated Gholamreza Soleimani, who operated as commander of the Basij unit for the past 6 years,” the IDF <a href="https://x.com/IDF/status/2033827283341824256">said</a>. “Under Soleimani, the Basij unit led the main repression operations in Iran, employing severe violence, widespread arrests, and the use of force against civilian demonstrators.”
Soleimani was heavily involved in the crackdown on protesters that killed thousands of Iranians. 
An Israeli official told Fox News that the U.S. military was involved in the strikes targeting Soleimani. 
“This was a joint U.S. and Israeli effort,” the official <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/us-iran-israel-war-latest-march-17">said</a>. &#8220;A strike in Tehran targeted the Basij commander and around a dozen others, including the most senior figures in the Basij forces—people with a lot of blood on their hands.&#8221;
The Basij unit has been <a href="https://www.state.gov/bureau-of-near-eastern-affairs/report-to-congress-on-list-of-persons-who-are-responsible-for-or-complicit-in-certain-human-rights-abuses-in-iran">sanctioned</a> by the State Department for human rights abuses in Iran. The group has also been accused of recruiting child soldiers.

IRAQ-IRAN-PARLIAMENT-DIPLOMACY

Israel Takes Out Iran’s ‘Effective Leader’ In Overnight Strike

Operation Epic Fury

President Donald Trump brushed off threats from a senior Iranian official Saturday night as the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran continues to escalate.
In a <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-dismisses-threats-from-iran-security-chief/">phone interview</a>, Trump dismissed comments made earlier in the day by Ali Larijani, who <a href="https://x.com/alilarijani_ir/status/2030377176902586444">warned</a> on social media that the American president would “pay the price” for the ongoing U.S.–Israeli military campaign against Iran.
“I have no idea what he&#8217;s talking about, who he is. I couldn&#8217;t care less,” Trump said when asked about the threat, adding that Larijani had “already been defeated.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
In a phone interview with <a href="https://twitter.com/costareports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@costareports</a> late Saturday evening, President Trump dismissed threats from Iran’s top national security official, Ali Larijani. Trump said he “couldn’t care less” about Larijani and said he continues to push Iranian leaders to surrender amid ongoing… <a href="https://t.co/7ulZ4jugLA">pic.twitter.com/7ulZ4jugLA</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/2030706021912789185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and a longtime confidant of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has become one of the most prominent Iranian officials since Khamenei was killed in a Feb. 28 airstrike that triggered the current war.
Trump used the interview to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/unlike-his-predecessors-trump-declares-endgame-for-tehran">reiterate</a> his confidence in the military campaign, saying U.S. strikes have devastated Iran’s military capabilities and will continue as Washington demands what he called Iran’s “unconditional surrender.”
“It’s been incredible, the job we’ve done,” Trump said. “The missiles are blown to smithereens. They’re down to very few. The drones are blown. The factories are being blown up as we speak. The Navy is gone; it’s at the bottom of the sea.”
According to <a href="https://x.com/CENTCOM/status/2030118409883541979">U.S. Central Command</a>, more than 3,000 Iranian targets have been struck since the start of the war, and at least 43 Iranian naval vessels were damaged or destroyed in the first week of U.S. strikes.
Trump also claimed Iran’s regional ambitions had collapsed under the pressure of the campaign.
“He intended to take over the Middle East and he’s conceded and surrendered to all of those countries because of me,” Trump said of Larijani.
The exchange comes amid growing uncertainty inside Iran’s leadership structure following Khamenei’s death. The country is currently being overseen by an interim three-person governing council that includes President Masoud Pezeshkian.
On Saturday, Pezeshkian released a video message apologizing to neighboring countries that had been struck by Iranian missiles during the conflict, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-calls-beat-to-hell-irans-bluff-warns-regime-losers-the-real-pain-begins-now?author=Drew+Berkemeyer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Calls+%E2%80%98Beat+To+Hell%E2%80%99+Iran%E2%80%99s+Bluff+%E2%80%94+Warns+Regime+%E2%80%98LOSERS%E2%80%99+The+Real+Pain+Begins+Nowhttps://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-calls-beat-to-hell-irans-bluff-warns-regime-losers-the-real-pain-begins-now?author=Drew+Berkemeyer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Calls+%E2%80%98Beat+To+Hell%E2%80%99+Iran%E2%80%99s+Bluff+%E2%80%94+Warns+Regime+%E2%80%98LOSERS%E2%80%99+The+Real+Pain+Begins+Now">saying</a> Tehran would halt attacks on regional states unless they were attacked first.
However, the Iranian president later appeared to walk back that statement in a <a href="https://x.com/drpezeshkian/status/2030275836335579579">follow-up post</a>, asserting that Iran had only targeted U.S. military installations and bases in the region. “We have not attacked our friendly and neighboring countries,” Pezeshkian wrote. “Rather, we have targeted U.S. military bases, facilities, and installations in the region.”
The mixed messaging from Tehran highlights the increasingly fragmented nature of Iran’s leadership since Khamenei’s death, with different officials appearing to send conflicting signals about both the scope of Iran’s attacks and the regime’s willingness to escalate further. While Pezeshkian’s initial apology suggested Tehran may be attempting to calm tensions with neighboring Gulf states, Larijani’s threat toward Trump and Pezeshkian’s subsequent backpedaling underscore the continued hardline rhetoric coming from elements of Iran’s national security establishment.
The dispute also reflects a broader information battle between Washington and Tehran as both sides seek to shape perceptions of the conflict’s trajectory. Trump has repeatedly portrayed the campaign as a decisive blow to Iran’s military power, pointing to the destruction of missile stockpiles, naval vessels, and weapons factories; Iranian leaders, meanwhile, have attempted to frame their missile strikes as targeted responses against American military installations rather than broader regional attacks — a claim that has been disputed by regional officials and Western intelligence assessments.
For Trump, dismissing Larijani’s threat outright appears to be part of a broader strategy to project confidence and momentum as the conflict enters its second week. The president has repeatedly argued that Iran’s leadership is weakened and that continued pressure will eventually force Tehran to capitulate to U.S. demands.

Donald Trump/Iran

Trump Shrugs Off Iranian Threat Amid Escalating War: ‘I Couldn’t Care Less’

Global Politics

World

President Donald Trump said on Friday that he won&#8217;t require Iran&#8217;s next leader to be committed to democratic rule, adding that he&#8217;s more concerned about the future ruler committing to peace and stability in the region.
Trump, who said on Thursday that he wants to be involved in the process of choosing Iran&#8217;s next leader, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/06/politics/trump-interview-iran-cuba-dana-bash">told</a> CNN host Dana Bash that he&#8217;s optimistic about the country&#8217;s future leadership. The president said he believes the leader should be &#8220;fair and just,&#8221; adding that he&#8217;s open to the Middle East country putting a &#8220;religious&#8221; leader in power.
&#8220;I mean, it depends on who the person is. I don’t mind religious leaders. I deal with a lot of religious leaders and they are fantastic,” Trump told Bash.
He then laid out what he would expect of Iran&#8217;s next leader.
&#8220;I’m saying there has to be a leader that’s going to be fair and just, do a great job, treat the United States and Israel well, and treat the other countries in the Middle East — they’re all our partners,&#8221; he added.
Trump touted his relationship with countries in the Middle East, saying that his relationship with most of them has flourished.
&#8220;And I became very friendly with all those countries. That’s why they’re all fighting for us,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Before I got involved, we didn’t even speak to UAE and Saudi Arabia. You know, (President Joe) Biden shut [them] out. Biden and (President Barack) Obama shut Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, he shut them all out. They were all going to go to China, and I got involved in a very short period of time that became my friends.&#8221;
The joint U.S.-Israeli military operation launched last weekend has taken out most of Iran&#8217;s top leadership, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. U.S. forces have also decimated the regime&#8217;s navy, military assets, and nuclear infrastructure. The Trump administration has been careful about how much information it releases on its plans for &#8220;Operation Epic Fury&#8221; and whether U.S. forces would be used to push for regime change.
Trump&#8217;s comments on Thursday were the clearest hint yet that the United States could have a major role in setting up Iran&#8217;s next government. After the remaining Iranian leaders reportedly selected Khamenei&#8217;s son, Mojtaba, to take over, Trump <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/03/05/iran-leader-trump-khamenei">told</a> Axios that the appointment was &#8220;unacceptable.&#8221;
&#8220;We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” Trump said. &#8220;They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is a lightweight.&#8221;
Trump added that any Iranian leader who would just continue the policies of the now crumbling regime would force the United States back into a war in &#8220;five years.&#8221; Radical Muslim leaders, including Iran&#8217;s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reportedly lobbied for Mojtaba to get the appointment.
Trump has expressed support for the Iranians who took to the streets in recent months to protest the regime. After announcing &#8220;Operation Epic Fury&#8221; last Saturday, Trump urged Iranians to take control of their authoritarian government once the dust settles after America&#8217;s major military operation.
&#8220;To the great proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Stay sheltered. Don&#8217;t leave your home. It&#8217;s very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.&#8221;

Trump Lays Out Conditions For Next Iranian Leader

Well, by now you’ve all heard the news. Shortly after the recent American bombing of Iran began, Secretary of State Marco Rubio came running into the Oval Office to tell President Trump: “The Ayatollah has been hit by Israeli missiles.”
President Trump said, “Khamenei?”
And Rubio said, “About five or six.”
So ended the life of the Supreme Leader of Iran. The Washington Post immediately ran an obituary for him that stated, and I quote, “With his bushy white beard and easy smile, Ayatollah Khamenei cut an avuncular figure… He was known to be fond of Persian poetry and classic Western novels, especially Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables.”
Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, Oh, Klavan, you marvelous, merry-making merchant of mirth, what a sparkling comedic imagination you must have to dream up a fantastical and absurd newspaper that would stock its obituary of a monster of mass murder and oppression with a description of his avuncular figure and sophisticated literary tastes. 
You must be saying: Oh, how we held our bellies and laughed hardy-har-har when you pretended that a well-respected journalistic institution like the Washington Post, which only recently fired 300 of the 800 people working in their newsroom, would nonetheless have kept on staff the sort of human-shaped but worm-souled font of scatological moral corruption who would spew such flattery at the corpse of a man who murdered tens of thousands of his own citizens, not to mention thousands of Americans. 
You’re probably thinking: Oh, Bravo and Five stars, you Klavan of Klavans, for inventing an implausible yet biting political satire of the Post worthy of Juvenal himself, if Juvenal had allowed his imagination to run amok, making him a Juvenal delinquent, ha ha ha.
But no, I am not making this up.
The Washington Post, where democracy dies in an ethical darkness so complete that even the fires of hell would be a welcome source of illumination, actually honored the Ayatollah with a description of his bushy white beard and avuncular smile that might have made their readers think, Oh no, now that the Ayatollah is dead, who will fly around the world on Christmas Eve to deliver toys to all the good little children?
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/hosts/andrew-klavan?elementPosition=6&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Hosts&amp;rowType=Hosts+Portrait+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974735 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-1024x171.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-1024x171.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-300x50.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-768x128.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-1536x256.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now.jpg 1800w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
And the Washington Post was not the only outlet that lamented the death of a tyrant whose personality was, in fact, greatly improved by his being blown to smithereens. Tucker Carlson was outraged that a man he called “the Pope of Shia Islam” had been killed by Jews, those wascals. After all, why are we making an alliance with wascally Jews, when we could be friends with an actual Pope like the Ayatollah?  What have the Jews ever contributed to society besides the Old and New Testaments, modern physics, the great old Hollywood that spread American values around the world, countless technological and medical breakthroughs, including a cure for polio, and all the really good Christmas Carols? 
Tucker was especially angry that Donald Trump had celebrated the death of Pope Ayatollah. Trump claimed the Santa-like Shiite Pope had tried to have him assassinated. But no. Carlson, citing anonymous sources close to Candace Owens’s imagination, revealed for the first time that the intelligence proving the Shiite Pope had tried to kill our president was unreliable because it had come from Israel, if by Israel you mean the FBI, where maybe the I stands for Israel, I’m not really sure.
But really, many prominent Jews have also come out against the killing of Khamenei, including Chuck Schumer and Bill Kristol, who were strongly in favor of killing Khamenei until Donald Trump actually helped do it, whereupon they changed their minds so fast that their brains ricocheted off the inside of their heads and flew out their ears, leaving them so brainless that they were reduced to being Chuck Schumer and Bill Kristol.
But you know, maybe these people have a point. As good Christians, we should restrain our celebratory guffaws at the admittedly hilarious image of the Ayatollah being particlized by his Israeli enemies, and only emit those occasional snorts or snickers that we find impossible to suppress as we wag our fingers at the Israeli Air Force and sternly say to them, “Boo-yah, you friends of humankind!”
* * *
This excerpt is taken from the opening satirical monologue of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Andrew Klavan Show</a>.”
Andrew Klavan is the host of “The Andrew Klavan Show” at The Daily Wire. Klavan is the bestselling author of numerous books, including the Cameron Winter Mystery series. The fifth installment, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/After-That-Cameron-Winter-Mysteries/dp/1613166869/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3EGZUC370LG46&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Y_NI0mDOKeowShheDQTVx5NH-fAeimJoCD56_T0Acpl8C0mup7uJf-nGGSRLEItaaekoDnvS2vWLMa4Zd2UBXQ8Y-g-P502jOWz-Y8IX3ZQsdlO7WMLrg1xIhNoKmjCorSWUR4C2l_RbiZ7apJ1MfPzGOrrEf7AdAXX6xwnJRVP_XqUfWuMuVthTWscaU3P4vgmS86-96n-721enHfX12CFQWTajqFbVnrsDkexfUf4.6_gTH6h1Bb9Pn375QdF_VAVZSayDvjQBBKGXE-MTiFo&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=klavan&amp;qid=1754049918&amp;sprefix=%2Caps%2C80&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">After That, The Dark,</a> is NOW AVAILABLE. Follow him on X: <a href="https://x.com/andrewklavan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@andrewklavan</a>.
The views expressed in this satirical piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Santa Claus Aya

The Washington Post Writes A Christmas Card To The Ayatollah

Santa Claus

Washington Post

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he would be “involved” in selecting the next leader of Iran following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a U.S.-Israeli strike. 
In an interview with Axios, Trump said Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late supreme leader and widely seen as a likely successor, would be &#8220;unacceptable.&#8221;  
“They are wasting their time. Khamenei&#8217;s son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/03/05/iran-leader-trump-khamenei">told</a> Axios on Thursday. &#8220;Khamenei&#8217;s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran.&#8221;
Trump said that if Iran selects a hardliner like Mojtaba Khamenei, the United States could be back at war with Iran &#8220;in five years.&#8221;
On Friday, Trump demanded &#8220;unconditional surrender&#8221; from the Iranian regime, saying that the United States and its allies would work to rebuild Iran economically after the selection of an &#8220;acceptable&#8221; and &#8220;great&#8221; leader.
&#8220;There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER! After that, and the selection of a GREAT &amp; ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before. IRAN WILL HAVE A GREAT FUTURE. “MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!),&#8221; Trump said.
Trump&#8217;s post comes after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that &#8220;some countries have begun mediation efforts&#8221; over the conflict. &#8220;Mediation should address those who underestimated the Iranian people and ignited this conflict,&#8221; he said on Friday.
Asked by the New York Times about Trump’s comments about being involved in the process to find a new leader, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/us/politics/trump-iran-leader.html">said</a> the president wants U.S. input to help avoid repeated conflict.  
“The president stated: ‘We want to be involved in the process of choosing the person who is going to lead Iran into the future, so we don’t have to go back every five years and do this again and again,” she said. “Somebody that’s going to be great for the people, great for the country.’”
In a separate <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/wants-iran-leadership-structure-gone-preference-good-leader-rcna262039">interview</a> with NBC, Trump said he has a few names in mind for possible leaders and insisted the U.S. military was being careful to ensure those individuals were not killed during the strikes. 
&#8220;We want to go in and clean out everything,&#8221; Trump said. “We want them to have a good leader. We have some people who I think would do a good job.” 
Trump acknowledged he had joked about Iranian officials asking him who should be their next leader, a remark he said was “only being a little sarcastic.”
Trump administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, have repeatedly said the United States military operation is not intended as a nation-building or &#8220;regime change war&#8221; and is focused on taking out Iranian military capabilities rather than governing the country.
Trump also referenced American involvement in Venezuela&#8217;s leadership transition, saying he played a role in supporting Delcy Rodriguez after U.S. forces captured dictator Nicolás Maduro.

Former President Donald Trump Holds Rally In Florence, Arizona

Trump Vows U.S. Role In Iran’s Next Leader — Then Drops A MAGA-Style Line

Executive

Politics

Venezuela

We are on day three of President Trump&#8217;s military operation in Iran.
It&#8217;s the most courageous military decision of my lifetime, and we are kicking a**. The United States military and the Israeli military, working in tandem, are kicking the hell out of the Iranian government.
How is Iran planning to fight back? They have friends. They&#8217;re counting on pathetic, mewling Europeans and the ridiculous, sad sack Democrats who just hate Trump and don&#8217;t care about America winning.
But most of all, they&#8217;re counting on vicious, parasitical horseshoe right-wing isolationists to somehow convince the president to leave the battlefield. (If you wish to follow a movement led by closeted and not-so-closeted homosexuals, then I guess you could do that. Or perhaps these people are worth ignoring, because President Trump&#8217;s strength here has truly exposed the peddlers of horsesh*t on all sides).
Typically, there are a few reasons why you pursue military actions directed at the top of a regime. One is that there&#8217;s a direct attack from that regime upon you.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2378-sub?elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974957 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-300x50.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-768x128.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1536x256.webp 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-2048x341.webp 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
Did Iran attack us? The answer is that since 1979, the number of American deaths that have been caused by Iran and by its proxy terrorist groups amounts to at least 1,000 dead, plus a couple of attempted assassinations on the president of the United States.
We are talking about military personnel. We are talking about diplomats. If you include Afghanistan, where Iran was shipping IEDs into Afghanistan to help the Taliban, you&#8217;re talking about at least 1,500 deaths.
But if you go all the way back to 1979, when the ayatollahs took over during the Iranian Revolution, the first thing that students did was to take American hostages at the embassy and hold them for over 400 days. Then, in 1983, the Iranian-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah attacked the U.S. embassy and the Marine barracks in Lebanon. The total dead in those two attacks alone: 258.
Moving forward to 1988, the harassment of American shipping in the waterways around Iran led the United States to sink the entire Iranian navy in Operation Praying Mantis. Then, throughout the 1990s, Iran pursued a nuclear weapon. They began spreading their terror tentacles all over the Middle East by building up their terror proxy groups.
The United States at that point had a dual containment policy toward Iran and Iraq, because Iraq was run by the tyrant Saddam Hussein, and Iran was being run by the ayatollahs. They hated one another. They engaged in a decade-long war in the 1980s in which hundreds of thousands of people were killed. The United States&#8217; policy was to keep both of those contained.
It was only semi-successful. In 1996, the bombing of the Khobar Towers by the Iranian-supported Hezbollah in Saudi Arabia killed 19 Americans. In 2000, the bombing of the USS Cole off of Yemen by Al-Qaeda, supported largely by Iran, killed 17, and then, of course, from 2003 to 2011, after the breakdown of the Iraqi government after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, Iranian-backed militias took over large swaths of Iraq, or at least resisted American rule of Iraq, and killed somewhere between 600 and 1100 American soldiers.
Meanwhile, Iran was seeking nuclear weapons, spreading its terror tentacles to Lebanon, to Syria, to Gaza, which culminated on October 7, 2023, when Hamas, an Iranian-sponsored terror group, killed 1,200 Israeli citizens, took 250 hostage, and prompted a seven-front war on Israel, which ended with Israel basically destroying many of the proxy arms of the Iranian government.
All of that finally culminated with President Trump in 2025. You&#8217;ll recall the 12-day war when there was a direct attack by the Israelis on the Iranians following multiple rounds of missiles shot by Iran directly at Israel. Israel went in to try to take out their nuclear facilities as well as their ballistic missile facilities. In 12 days, Israel established air dominance and virtually destroyed the entire air defense system of Iran. At the end, President Trump authorized Operation Midnight Hammer to strike the Fordow nuclear facility and take out their nuclear weapons.
Since 1979, Iran has been unendingly, unceasingly antagonistic toward the United States and its allies, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain.
Iran is a threat to civilization. This is a point that President Trump made, declaring, “They have waged war against civilization itself.”
One of the beautiful things about being an isolationist is that you always get the counterfactual on your side. You always get to say a military intervention “went wrong.” But there are many counterfactuals in which actual preemptive war-making might have stopped true genocidal intent. There are so many instances of this throughout history that it boggles the mind.
Whether you&#8217;re talking about the rise of the Russian revolutionaries in the aftermath of the fall of the czar in 1917, what would have happened if the West had had the courage to stop the rise of the Bolsheviks in Russia? A totally different map for an entire century; World War II doesn&#8217;t happen. What would have happened if the West had had the strength to stop the rearmament of Hitler? What would have happened if the West had taken out Osama bin Laden in the aftermath of the USS Cole instead of ignoring the threat?
A targeted action can provide a serious upside and limited downside. That is the counterfactual that we should be looking at right now. The only counterfactual is not Iraq or Vietnam. Sometimes there are other counterfactuals to examine as well.
That is what President Trump was saying yesterday. He said that the goal here is to ensure security for generations.
Trump is stepping into the breach. He is smartly recognizing opportunity when it arises, and he is taking strong steps to protect America&#8217;s future and not only the future of our allies, but the future of the globe.
That’s because if the United States does nothing after the president draws a red line, if Iran continues to rebuild its facilities, if Iran continues to act as the linkage, both in terms of oil and weaponry between China and Russia, the chances that America&#8217;s enemies go on the offensive are so much higher than if they look at America and realize you don&#8217;t screw around with the president of the United States.
Step one in this process was to prevent the external threats from the regime, and decapitating the regime is a great way to do that. The second step is the replacement of the regime. It is not the job of the United States to pick the next Iranian government. It&#8217;s up to the Iranian people to pick their leader.
But when we talk about the spread of Islamic radicalism and terrorism, it turns out that Iran exporting its ideology all over the world is a threat that our president understands.
And unlike his predecessors, he acted on it.

US-POLITICS-TRUMP

Trump: The Man Who Stepped Into The Breach

A D.C.-area mosque pledged its loyalty on Sunday to &#8220;Our Leader Shaheed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,&#8221; mourning his &#8220;martyrdom&#8221; after the Iranian dictator was killed in a U.S.-Israeli operation.
The Manassas Mosque is a sponsor, alongside left-wing groups like CodePink and the D.C. chapter of Democratic Socialists of America, of a &#8220;Stop the war on Iran&#8221; march on the White House planned for Monday night.
On its <a href="https://www.instagram.com/manassasmosque/?hl=en">Instagram</a> page, the mosque calls Iran&#8217;s dictator — not America&#8217;s elected representatives — its leader, and demands to &#8220;end US-Zionist aggression.&#8221; The picture was deleted after The Daily Wire captured it.
<div id="attachment_1052149" style="width: 380px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1052149" class="size-large wp-image-1052149" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/HCaZ46IWsAAnrH4-Edited-370x576.jpg" alt="" width="370" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/HCaZ46IWsAAnrH4-Edited-370x576.jpg 370w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/HCaZ46IWsAAnrH4-Edited-193x300.jpg 193w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/HCaZ46IWsAAnrH4-Edited-768x1194.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/HCaZ46IWsAAnrH4-Edited.jpg 922w" sizes=" (max-width: 370px) 100vw, 370px" />Screenshot via Manassas Mosque Instagram</div>
The mosque, about 30 minutes from the Pentagon in D.C.&#8217;s Virginia outskirts, is funded by the Alavi Foundation, which has spent tens of millions of dollars in America. The U.S. government has alleged that the foundation is a front for the Iranian regime.
In 2023, nine GOP congressmen <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/gop-reps-raise-alarm-bells-irans-influence-american-religious-institutions">wrote</a> to the Biden administration&#8217;s attorney general and director of national security, saying that the Manassas mosque received $200,000 from the Alavi Foundation and &#8220;a recent video inside the Mosque showed it is adorned with pictures of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps &#8230; This appears to be part of a network of regime-sponsored mosques acting as agents for a foreign adversary.&#8221;
After the October 2023 Hamas terrorist attack against Israel, the Manassas Mosque issued a newsletter that said, &#8220;We stand firmly with the Palestinian Resistance (Hamas),&#8221; according to <a href="https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/manassas-mosque/">InfluenceWatch</a>.
It has used racial divisions in the U.S. to infiltrate the Left, saying in 2020 that the death of George Floyd &#8220;exposes the facade of freedom and justice for all.&#8221;
In 2009, the then-head of the Alavi Foundation, Farshid Jahedi, was indicted for &#8220;allegedly destroying documents subpoenaed by a grand jury investigating the Alavi Foundation&#8217;s relationship with Bank Melli Iran and the ownership of a Manhattan office building,&#8221; the Department of Justice <a href="https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/nys/pressreleases/May09/Jahedi,%20Farshid%20Indictment%20PR.pdf">said</a>. In 2010, during the Obama administration, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/feds-slap-hand-of-alavis-ex-boss/">only</a> three months in prison and a $3,000 fine on two felony counts. 
<blockquote>
<h1>&#8220;They really have no idea what they&#8217;ve unleashed upon themselves. It is exactly in moments like this that resistance fighter are born.&#8221;</h1>
</blockquote>
The group built a skyscraper at 650 Fifth Avenue in New York using a loan from Iran, and Alavi, for years, used front groups to hide the forbidden relationship, the DOJ said in a 2008 <a href="https://akamai-staging.justice.gov/usao-sdny/programs/victim-witness-services/united-states-v-all-right-title-and-interest-assa-corp-08-civ-10934-rjh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">forfeiture action</a> against the Assa Corp., which the DOJ said was an offshore front group used by Alavi. In 2019, a jury verdict to seize the entire building for violating Iranian sanctions was overturned on appeal.
Its 2025 IRS filing includes <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/237345978/202542879349100704/full">buying land</a> in Virginia. It has also given <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/237345978/download990pdf_11_2021_prefixes_20-27%2F237345978_201803_990PF_2021110319126074">loans</a> for Muslims to study at U.S. colleges, and mortgages to establish new mosques in places like Beaverton, Oregon, and San Diego, California.
The Manassas Mosque&#8217;s imam is Abolfazl Bahram Nahidian, who in 2010 said that Israel was behind 9/11.
His daughter-in-law, Atefeh Rokhvand, has been a major player in high-profile, left-wing-adjacent advocacy against Israel.
A D.C. court ordered Rokhvand and others to pay a rabbi $182,000 for abusing the U.S. court system by attempting to have him prosecuted for &#8220;stalking&#8221; for coming to the Israeli embassy to pray, where they had staked out in a constant protest. A lawyer for Rokhvand previously replied to The Daily Wire&#8217;s questions by implying the rabbi was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/anti-israel-activists-ordered-to-pay-182000-after-falsely-accusing-rabbi-of-stalking">greedy</a>, saying the $182,000 was for &#8220;over-inflated legal fees.&#8221;
Rokhvand was the &#8220;governor&#8221; of the around-the-clock stakeout of former Secretary of State Antony Blinken&#8217;s home, which involved throwing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/soros-prosecutor-wont-shut-down-pro-palestinian-encampment-outside-antony-blinkens-home">fake blood</a> on his vehicle as he returned home. She previously taught third grade at a school affiliated with the mosque, and founded Teachers Against Genocide.
<div id="attachment_881199" style="width: 1210px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-881199" class="size-full wp-image-881199" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/embassy.jpg" alt="Hazami Barmada (center) and Atefeh Rokhvand (right) protesting the Israel embassy / Instagram" width="1200" height="600" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/embassy.jpg 1200w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/embassy-300x150.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/embassy-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/embassy-768x384.jpg 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" />Hazami Barmada (center) and Atefeh Rokhvand (right) protesting the Israeli embassy / Instagram</div>
On Instagram, Rokhvand this week posted a screenshot of a tweet saying, &#8220;they just canonized Kahmenei [sic]. And they really have no idea what they&#8217;ve unleashed upon themselves. It is exactly in moments like this that resistance fighter are born.&#8221;
Radical Islamists in the D.C. area have often used their daughters to embed in local Democrat politics. Several of the 9/11 hijackers worshipped at a different mosque, whose imam was later drone-struck by Barack Obama as a member of Al Qaeda. The daughter of a board member who hired that imam was later elected to the Fairfax County school board, where she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/school-board-member-abrar-omeish-whose-father-led-september-11-hijackers-mosque-opposes-resolution-honoring-victims">opposed</a> a moment of silence honoring the victims of 9/11.
Several members of Congress, in response to The Daily Wire&#8217;s flagging of the mosque aligning with an enemy during wartime, called for members of the mosque to be denaturalized and deported.
&#8220;The enemy is inside the gates,&#8221; Rep. Keith Self (R-TX), a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said.
&#8220;Deport all who refuse to pledge allegiance to the United States of America,&#8221; Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) said.
&#8220;We need to get them the hell out of our country,&#8221; Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) said.
&#8220;Deport them. Now,&#8221; Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) said.

Manassas mosque

Mosque Near Pentagon Labels Iran’s Khamenei As Its ‘Martyred Leader’

General

Islam

U.S.

Virginia

For the first time in 47 years, the Islamic Republic of Iran is leaderless.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — the regime’s 86-year-old supreme dictator — is gone. Eliminated following sustained American and Israeli strikes, his death has shattered the central pillar of Tehran’s theocracy.
The regime hurriedly announced an “Interim Leadership Council” composed of President Masoud Pezeshkian, Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, and Guardian Council cleric Ayatollah Alireza Arafi. But there is no such thing as collective supreme leadership in the Islamic Republic.
The Supreme Leader is not ceremonial. He is the system. Under Iran’s constitution, he controls the armed forces, the judiciary, the intelligence services, the Guardian Council, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He sets ideology, arbitrates factional warfare, and guarantees regime survival.
You cannot divide that authority among three men and expect stability. What you get instead is rivalry, paralysis, and fear.
And fear is spreading rapidly in Tehran.
For years, rumors circulated that Khamenei intended to install his radical son, Mojtaba, as successor — a dynastic maneuver that would have formalized what many believed was already happening behind the scenes.
That does not simplify succession. It makes it far more volatile.
There is no obvious clerical heavyweight waiting in the wings. No consensus candidate. No undisputed center of gravity. The Assembly of Experts — the 88-member body responsible for selecting the next Supreme Leader — now faces a vacuum unprecedented in the Islamic Republic’s history.
When clerics cannot agree, power does not disappear. It shifts.
The most likely beneficiary of sustained instability is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The IRGC already controls major sectors of Iran’s economy, its missile forces, its intelligence networks, and its regional proxy militias. With the clerical hierarchy fractured and no dynastic successor available, the Guards may conclude that preserving the revolution requires sidelining the robes entirely. What began as a theocracy could harden into an overt military dictatorship.
That is why the strategic imperative is clear. If the objective is lasting change rather than temporary disruption, the pressure cannot stop with symbolic decapitation. The United States and Israel must continue dismantling the IRGC’s command structure — not just eliminating those at the top, but degrading leadership layers down the chain of command. Authoritarian systems regenerate from their mid-levels. If that layer survives intact, the regime reconstitutes.
In short, decapitation without systemic degradation is a pause button, not an outcome.
At the same time, a smarter strategy recognizes that not every official inside the Iranian state is a hardened ideologue with blood on his hands. Iran’s bureaucracy is vast. It includes technocrats and administrators who served the system but did not design its crimes.
There is an alternative path.
Preserve those who are not irredeemably compromised. Keep parts of the state machinery intact. Under sustained American and allied pressure, compel them to cooperate with credible Iranian opposition figures — including Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former Shah — to usher in a transition toward a more democratic and representative government. The terms would be simple: you can keep your life and you can keep your money — but only if you facilitate a peaceful transition and stand down from repression. Play ball, or face consequences.
Transitions succeed when they split regimes. They fail when they force everyone inside the system to fight to the death.
This is not Iraq in 2003. But we must also learn from Iraq in 2003. We cannot repeat the mistake of sweeping de-Baathification that stripped hundreds of thousands of Iraqis of their livelihoods overnight and drove many into the insurgency that bloodied Americans and Iraqis for years. A maximalist purge in Iran would risk creating the very instability we seek to prevent.
Totalitarian systems do not reform themselves. They either fracture from within or harden into something worse. As long as the Islamic Republic’s governing architecture survives intact — whether led by a cleric or a general — its core objectives will remain nuclear capability, ballistic missile expansion, regional terror sponsorship, and violent repression at home.
What makes this moment different is that the succession mechanism itself is cracking. The aura of inevitability is gone. Iranians have already taken to the streets celebrating Khamenei’s death. The regime looks vulnerable in a way it has not since 1979.
History has opened a narrow window in Iran.
It could close with the consolidation of a military junta. Or it could open into something transformative.
Mark Dubowitz is chief executive of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where Ben Cohen is a research fellow.

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