The Responsibility of the Iranian People

As the hudna (cease-fire) continues in the Iran-US-Israel war, one can legitimately ask what is the end game? What are the objectives of the various parties to this conflict? As far as we know, no face to face negotiations are occurring at this time. Is there anything the parties can possibly negotiate on and agree on? These questions are not easy to answer. What we do know is that various other nations object in varying degrees to this war: human rights, democracy and justice are of little concern to them. All they care about is their own personal comfort and a reliable source of energy. At least the leading trouble makers in the world, Russia and China (PRC), are honest. They have no interest in human rights, democracy, freedom and other such quaint ideas. The scoundrels are America's so called Article V allies, who depend on an American shield to protect them but otherwise can tolerate no discomfort. They stand ready to drown humanity in a barrel of oil.

When the Soviet Union disappeared on Christmas Day 1991, public philosopher Francis Fukuyama proclaimed the end of history. It was believed, by those followers of the Hegelian dialectic and philosophy of history, that democracy had triumphed and we would be entering a pax americana-world peace-for a long time. It was not to be. Under President Bill Clinton, Amercan foreign policy followed the now popular idea of the victory of democracy over tyranny with a foreign policy based on the principle of liberal hegemony. Its three bases were: democratic peace theory, free trade and support for interntional organizations. All this seemed sound within the context of western civilization, but the whole world was not part of that civilization and trouble was brewing. It was simmering for many years but was overlooked as the East-West conflict overshadowed it. Now it has come into the open as a true clash of civilizations.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has behaved as a rogue state since its creation forty-seven years ago. It has never conformed to internationally accepted norms of behavior. Noteworthy is the seizure of the American embassy in Tehran by "students" and the holding of its staff-American diplomats-as hostages for 444 days. Iran fought a war with Iraq for over eight years with over a million dead on both sides. Iran used internationally banned chemical weapons. More recently in its war with Israel, it has used another internationally banned weapon-cluster bombs- against civilian populations. They have financed and armed proxies, Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houtis which engage in low level but lethal asymmetric warfare in pursuing the aims of the Islamic Republic while denying any responsibility for the murder and mayhem they cause. Iranian agents have even tried to murder an Iranian dissident in Brooklyn, NY, Masih Alinejad. The plot was thwarted and the convicted agents were sentenced to long prison terms. This rogue behavior has been going on since the establishment of the Islamic Republic. Weekly cries for "death to America, death to Israel" make clear what the goals of the Iranian leadership are. Nationwide demonstrations at the end of 2025 and beginning of 2026 led to the massacre of as many as 40,000 Iranians as the authorities used live ammunition against unarmed civilians. Finally,this rogue nation has been busy enriching uranium to produce nuclear weapons for "peaceful purposes". This is what western civilization is dealing with today, very belatedly.

While the hudna continues, Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz, thus affecting the world economy due to oil not reaching consumer nations. American proposals to end the war are responded to in an irrelevant manner with a refusal to discuss their nuclear program. President Trump has declared victory but there is no victory as yet. What does victory in a war mean? It means that the victor has imposed his will on the loser. This has not happened so it is folly to believe that any victory has occurred. At this moment in history, the responsibility of the Iranian people becomes clear. It is their responsibility to overcome forty-seven years of agony and suffering, rise up and put an end to their torturers and tormentors. The Islamic Republic has clearly demonstrated that they will not go peacefully and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has shown the fanaticism with which they will suppport the regime. But other nations have faced these situations and the people have emerged triumphant over brutal tyrants. The Filipino people demonstrated that a murderous dictatorship could crumble powerlessly against "people power". More recently the same scenario unfolded in Communist Romania, one of the most rigid and totalitarian regimes the world has ever seen. The dictator, Ceausescu, fled but could not escape the people's retribution. Now, is the moment for the Iranian people to demonstrate who owns their future: they or the tyrants? A great nation has been destroyed by an anachronistic regime racing to get nuclear weapons and simultaneously racing back to the seventh century. The world stands with the suffering Iranian people. Now is their opportunity to end the long nightmare they have been living and re-enter the modern world. What awaits their ending the tyranny is freedom, democracy, prosperity and most importantly, rejoining civilization. An Americn land invasion of Iran is not in the cards. The Iranian people must act.

Garry S. Sklar

Las Vegas, NV

May 12, 2026