President Trump, you told the world that if Iran "shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters," America would "come to their rescue."
You added, that you're "locked and loaded and ready to go."
Mr. President . . .
—They are shooting.
—They are killing.
—They stormed a hospital and dragged wounded protesters from their beds.
—A 15-year-old boy lies dead in Hafshajan.
The Iranian people took you at your word.
Now they're waiting to see if America's 47th commander in chief is a man of action — or just another politician making promises he won’t keep.
I believe you meant what you said.
I've known Iran’s democratic resistance long enough to tell you exactly what action is needed — and what isn't.
Let me be direct.
—You don't need to spend a dime.
—You don't need to send a single American soldier.
—You don't need to fire a single shot.
The Iranian people aren't asking for any of that.
They have something most oppressed populations don't have, an organized, disciplined, battle-tested resistance movement that has been fighting this regime for over 40 years.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran, led by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, has paid for its legitimacy in blood. Of its membership, 120,000 have been executed by Iran's regime.
In a single summer in 1988, the mullahs massacred 30,000 political prisoners, most of them members and supporters of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran.
The men who signed those death warrants are still in power.
One of them, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, now heads the judiciary and is demanding "decisive action" against today's protesters.
This is who we're dealing with. Medieval butchers in clerical robes.
And yet, for four decades, Western governments have appeased them.
They've paid ransom for hostages — turning kidnapping into a profitable industry for Tehran. They've chased the fantasy of "moderates" who never materialized.
They've treated the IRGC as a legitimate military force instead of the terrorist organization it is. The result? A regime that has grown bolder, more brutal, and more dangerous with each passing year.
Mr. President, you broke with that failed approach in your first term.
Maximum pressure worked.
The regime was on the ropes.
Then the pressure eased, and they caught their breath.
Now they're killing again, and the Iranian people are rising again.
This is the moment to finish what you started.
The real fight is between the Iranian people and Khamenei. Period.
Reza Pahlavi is not an opposition leader.
He has no organization inside Iran.
He has no track record of resistance.
He has admitted to "bilateral contacts" with the IRGC.
His "initiatives" have collapsed 14 times.
And here's what should tell you everything: the regime itself promotes him.
IRGC agents have been caught infiltrating protests with instructions to chant his name.
Manipulated videos with fake audio have flooded social media, trying to make it look like Iranians want their Shah back.
They don't.
They overthrew that dynasty 47 years ago, and they’re not going back.
Their slogan is clear, "Death to the oppressor, be it Shah or Leader."
No crown. No turban. Democracy.
The Pahlavi distraction serves one purpose: regime survival.
If the mullahs can convince the world that Iran's only choices are theocracy or monarchy, they neutralize the real threat — an organized democratic movement with roots inside the country and a clear plan for the future.
This writer has attended gatherings of the Iranian Resistance.
I've met survivors of Evin Prison.
I've spoken with families who lost everything to this regime and kept fighting anyway.
These are not terrorists — despite what Tehran's lobbyists spent years trying to make Washington believe.
These are freedom fighters.
And their Resistance Units are organizing protests in over 110 cities right now, as I write these words.
Mr. President, here's what they’re asking for, and it's the cheapest victory in American foreign policy history.
Recognize their right to fight back.
That's it.
Formally recognize the legitimate, God-given right of the Iranian people and their organized resistance to overthrow this barbaric regime.
No boots on the ground.
No billions in aid.
No weapons shipments. Just words — backed by the moral and political authorities of the United States of America.
Intensify sanctions until the regime cannot pay its executioners.
Support international legal action against officials who have committed crimes against humanity. And make clear — publicly, unambiguously, that America stands with the Iranian people’s right to change their government.
—This isn't about Iran alone.
—This regime is the single greatest source of instability in the Mideast.
—It funds Hezbollah.
—It arms the Houthis.
—It props up militias in Iraq.
—It pursued nuclear weapons while lying to the world.
Removing this regime doesn’t just free 85 million Iranians, it transforms the security of an entire region and eliminates a threat that has menaced American interests for nearly half a century.
The Iranian people have chosen dignity over fear:
—They're burying their children and returning to the streets the next morning.
—They're not waiting for permission.
—They're asking for recognition.
Mr. President, you said you’re locked and loaded.
The American people are watching. The Iranian people are bleeding.
Show them, show the world, that when Donald Trump makes a promise, he keeps it.
The time for action is now.
Ivan Sascha Sheehan is a professor of Public and International affairs and the associate dean of the College of Public Affairs at the University of Baltimore. The views expressed are the author's own. Follow on X @ProfSheehan. Read more of Ivan Sascha Sheehan's reports — here.
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