Iran’s Theocratic Regime: The Real Obstacle to Middle East Peace

By Paul Vallas

March 5th,2026

Iran under the Ayatollahs is an authoritarian theocratic regime that imposes strict Islamic law, including mandatory veiling, and severely restricts basic freedoms while brutally repressing dissent, particularly against women and minorities. It is the leading state sponsor of international terrorism, and major threat to regional stability, Israel’s security, and American interests in the Middle East. Trump’s decision to use force against the regime falls within a long pattern of presidents exercising their authority under the War Powers Resolution for limited military actions without prior, explicit congressional authorization. 

A Brutal Medieval Theocratic State

Based on findings from human rights organizations, United Nations bodies, and investigative reporting, the Islamic Republic of Iran operates as a brutal **theocracy** that employs medieval-style punishments and systemic repression in a modern state. Documented abuses include corporal punishment, public executions, torture, and violent crackdowns on peaceful protesters demanding basic rights.[

Women in Iran face far‑reaching, state‑enforced restrictions on dress, movement, and daily life, enforced by “morality police” and an expanding surveillance apparatus targeting those who defy compulsory hijab laws. Religious minorities such as Baháʼís endure discrimination, arbitrary arrests, and imprisonment, while ethnic minorities have been subjected to lethal force and structural repression. One of the regime’s most notorious crimes was the 1988 mass execution of thousands of political prisoners following sham proceedings, an atrocity widely documented by human rights groups and historians.

The authorities routinely invoke vague religiously framed charges such as Moharebeh (“waging war against God”) and “sowing corruption on earth” to imprison and execute dissidents. Since 1979, Iran’s clerical rulers have crushed multiple nationwide uprisings with lethal force; during the 2022–2023 protests sparked by the death in custody of 22‑year‑old Mahsa Amini over alleged hijab violations, at least several hundred protesters were killed and thousands were arrested. Human rights monitors estimate that by late 2023, at least around 500–550 people had been killed in those protests, including dozens of children, and more than 14,000 detained, while warning that the real toll may be higher because of censorship and intimidation of families.

The Major Sponsor of State Terrorism  

Iran is consistently designated by the U.S. State Department as the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, using the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps–Qods Force (IRGC‑QF) and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) to arm, fund, and direct proxy groups across the region. Through this network, Tehran exports violence, undermines fragile states, and targets U.S., Israeli, and Arab interests well beyond its borders.

Hezbollah in Lebanon is Iran’s premier proxy, and U.S. officials have publicly estimated that Tehran provides Hezbollah alone with roughly 700 million dollars annually. Iran also channels about 100 million dollars per year to Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other Palestinian terrorist groups, while supporting militias in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, bringing its total terror support budget to nearly one billion dollars annually.

For years Iran has waged a shadow war against Israel using these surrogates, and senior U.S. counterterrorism officials have underscored that this financing and training infrastructure is central to Hamas’s ability to carry out large‑scale attacks that devastate both Israelis and Palestinians.

Since coming to power, the Iranian regime has been implicated in terrorist plots and attacks in over 40 countries including over 360 targeted assassinations. They’ve been involved in the deaths by some estimates, over 1,000 U.S. service members and citizens in the Middle East.

The Primary Obstacle to Middle East Peace  

The Middle East’s conflicts are complex, but Iran’s revolutionary project stands out as a central obstacle to any durable peace architecture in the region. Iran seeks regional dominance and the rollback of American influence; in that strategy, Israel’s existence and its potential normalization with key Arab states are strategic targets.

The Hamas attack on Israel fits into Iran’s broader asymmetric campaign against both Israel and the United States, executed in large part through proxies designed to derail diplomacy and embolden rejectionist forces. Tehran has been especially determined to sabotage efforts to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, because a robust Saudi‑Israeli partnership—embedded in wider Arab normalization—would reshape the region’s security and economic landscape in ways that isolate Iran. Many Arab governments, particularly in the Gulf, now explicitly describe Iran’s ambitions and its missile and proxy networks as more threatening to their security than Israel, a stance reflected in their growing quiet or open cooperation with Jerusalem.

It is not accidental that major escalations by Iran’s proxies have coincided with periods when Israel and key Arab states have moved closer to normalization. Iran’s willingness to launch and direct missile and drone attacks against neighboring countries underscores that its leadership is prepared to risk wider regional war rather than accept a security architecture that marginalizes its revolutionary regime. This posture makes Iran the enduring spoiler of the broader peace vision embodied in successive normalization initiatives and the evolving Abraham Accords framework.

Trump’s Strike and the War Powers Act  

Trump’s decision to strike Iran’s regime assets is consistent with a long history of presidents initiating short‑term military operations under the War Powers Resolution without first obtaining a specific authorization from Congress. The War Powers Resolution requires that a president notify Congress within 48 hours of introducing U.S. forces into hostilities, and it allows such operations to continue for 60 days—with a possible 30‑day withdrawal period—before explicit authorization is required. Administrations of both parties have interpreted this framework to permit limited strikes, raids, and air campaigns while asserting compliance.

President Barack Obama expanded the use of force under the post‑9/11 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), which empowered presidents to target individuals and groups associated with the 2001 attacks or their affiliates across multiple countries. For years, this 2001 AUMF underpinned drone campaigns and other lethal counterterrorism operations in places like Yemen, Somalia, and Pakistan, killing thousands of suspected terrorists and, controversially, some U.S. citizens without new, case‑specific votes by Congress.

In 2011, Obama’s intervention in Libya went beyond any 9/11 connection, as Moammar Gadhafi was not implicated in those attacks, and the administration instead argued that a sustained air war without U.S. ground combat troops did not constitute “hostilities” under the War Powers Resolution. This position effectively sidestepped the 60‑day clock even as U.S. and NATO airpower played a decisive role in regime change and Gadhafi’s eventual overthrow and killing. That Libya campaign, conducted without a direct congressional authorization and contributing to regime collapse, was nevertheless widely hailed in many political and media circles as necessary, humanitarian, or decisive leadership.

The pattern is clear: when presidents from one’s preferred party wield broad war powers, critics often mute their concerns and describe such actions as responsible or inevitable; when a rival president uses similar tools—especially in high‑profile operations—opponents reach for epithets like “king” or “tyrant.” Those condemning Trump for operating under the War Powers framework rarely apply the same scrutiny to George W. Bush, Obama, or Joe Biden for their own extensive uses of force in Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, and beyond.

Concerns that Trump’s actions betray his stated desire to end “forever wars” overlook the reality that the Middle East has become the quintessential forever war largely because of Iran’s revolutionary regime and its network of proxies. Moreover, there is no credible indication that either Trump or Israel intends to deploy large numbers of U.S. ground combat troops into Iran, and modern precedent exists for successful, air‑centric campaigns that avoided ground invasions. President Bill Clinton’s 1999 Operation Allied Force in Serbia, for example, was deliberately conducted as an air campaign from March 24 to June 10, 1999, without the commitment of U.S. ground combat forces, yet it pressured Belgrade into accepting NATO’s terms.

Viewed in this context, Trump has acted within his executive authority under the War Powers framework to confront a brutal, medieval‑minded theocratic regime long recognized for its human rights abuses and for being the leading sponsor of state terrorism. Weakening or toppling that regime would not only free the Iranian people to reclaim their rich Persian heritage but also remove the chief spoiler blocking deeper regional integration and the full realization of the Abraham Accords, which promise to end Israel’s isolation and create a more stable Middle East order.

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Paul Vallas formerly ran the public school systems in Chicago, Philadelphia and the Louisiana Recovery School District. He was a candidate for Mayor of Chicago.

 

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Comments 25

  1. Never understood why Reagan didn’t take care of this before the situation grew as dire as it was. Excellent job to the military, Hegseth, and Rubio. Keep up the good work, and finish this. I see reports of the Kurds invading on the ground. That will help not only civilized society, but the rest of the population of Iran.
    In the U.S., every mullah and mosque supporting Iran is out of business, and deported.

    1. It’s not hard to understand. It was the height of the Cold War and restoring a hollowed-out military and a very weak economy were far greater imperatives than plunging into a Mid East war with a nation of over 80 million.

  3. Thanks for this great column. What would mayor Panic Attacks attempt to write something on the subject look like? Would he use the term racism and condemn our country and president?

  4. Excellent history lesson and synopsis of the current state of affairs.

    At this point, everyone knows the Democrats will oppose EVERYTHING Trump does, even when for the greater world good. Let’s hope this administration can finish the job.

  5. Pamela is right. You have laid out the case for taking action far more clearly than the administration has. This tells me that they do not believe it. You’ve also gone back to the same tired left/right political party bullshit that the oligarchs have used for years now to divide us. Trump has no family fighting this war. Bibi Netanyahu’s kid is drinking and partying in Miami.

    We’ve had former presidents who were warriors. We’ve had former presidents whose own children were sent to war. These days, it’s the ruling class who parties with Epstein, gets inside deals, and controls the media to divide us, keep us arguing while they continue to live their lives of decadence.

    True, Obama blew up a lot of people. He authorized what could be interpreted as war crimes even. He obviously had the media on his side. Did the neocons complain about what he did? They wanted more. It seems no matter who we elect, we get the foreign policy of John McCain. These parties are shams. It’s the ruling class vs. the rest of us and they pit us against each other. Obama was a scumbag too. I’m not falling for this false binary choice of Dem and Rep. I reject it.

    You have minority support in the city. You pulled double digit support for Mayor, you were almost the Democratic nominees for governor, but you were beaten by the machine, and we got crooked Blago and leech Pat Quinn instead. They did such a great job that we got the phony conservative Bruce Rauner, who had his balls clipped by Mike Madigan. I actually think you could be a very effective Mayor of Chicago, but I also know after having seen your performance at the Chicago Board of Education meetings that you do not have much charisma and have a thin skin. That is what has cost you office. It’s a shame because we would have been far better off with you than Blago, or Emmanuel, and most certainly Lightfoot or Johnson.

    You know this war is bullshit. You know our streets are crumbling, we have maybe a million people sleeping in the streets. You know there is an assault on working people and families. You know about the scourge of drugs and murder that is gong on in our streets. You know that despite DOGE and conservatism, we are still running record deficits. You know they are full of shit and do not care about any soldiers that die. You know our president and many leaders are being blackmailed.

    The USA has toppled all of the governments in the Middle East, installed puppets who gave rise to terrorists. You know this too. I’m sick of the left, I’m sick of the right. I’m sick of the media. Meanwhile our soldiers, sailors, and Marines are left hung out to dry while Barron Trump is getting laid on the regular and Ivanka is trying to forget everything she learned during the first term where she saw up close and personally, the predatory nature of the ruling class and the disregard

    Shame on you. Shame on Victor Davis Hansen, Shame on Kasso, shame on all of you. Kass cries about the demise of the Tribune and the mean kids shaming him for calling out Soros. Who is pushing for breaking up monopolies, preventing wealthy form buying office and influencing policy to the degree that they do? NOBODY!

    Yes, Obama pulled a lot of shady shit. He droned a wedding party in Pakistan. Democrats forget that. Republicans are waiting for Jesus to come back after we kill enough Iranians and thousand of American servicemen may die as a result.

    Oh, and don’t discount the possibility that when they run out of Patriot missiles and we cannot protect Israel anymore, the place starts to resemble Gaza. Israel, who stole nuclear tech from us and sold our secrets to Russia and South Africa, will be the first to detonate a nuclear boom since 1945. Then maybe Christ will return.

    My limited Bible study and study of the catechism taught me that Christ ministered to the lowest, the downtrodden, the outcast. If he were to return, would he allow himself to be feted at Mar a Lago?

    1. “You have laid out the case for taking action far more clearly than the administration has. This tells me that they do not believe it.”

      It’s kind of hard for the administration to implement all the nuances Vallas describes without ‘believing it’. Perhaps their motivation for not laying out the case the way Vallas has is the following:

      Given that what Vallas has described is open-knowledge and easily-applied to this context, Democratic critics are making obvious ‘bad-faith’ arguments. So you have to consider what the best strategy is for responding to a ‘bad-faith’ argument:

      – Do you respond directly to it? Does such response confer legitimacy to it? Does such a response lead to the perception that this is just Democrat/Republican squabbling?
      – Do you say nothing and let other voices point-out the ‘bad-faith’ argument? This expands the perceived community of critics.

    2. You fail to realize that this is one of the most repressive, murderous regimes of a large country in history – rivaling Mao’s China. And unlike Mao, this regime is much more proactive and insistent in spreading its ideology. If this war can bring about its demise, the world will be a much better place.

    3. Your comments are way too long, this is not your column it’s Kass’s and I for one am already sick of your long drawn out “ manifesto” like responses.
      Why don’t you start your own website and stay off this one, you are a windbag.
      I wish Kass would give us the option of blocking your long, crappy drawn out bs.
      When I see your name on a reply from now on, I will surely skip your ranting and raving.
      You must be the guy everyone tries to avoid when they see you coming.

      2. Exactly. Maitino is a gasbag who has effectively commandeered Kass’ column. He is too cheap and cowardly to invest in his own “substack” columns. He is a true intellectual coward and parasite.

  6. Well, it has been a huge intel and surprise attack success. The Iranian leadership has been destroyed, and their military is stunned. The big question is will the next Iranian leadership be better or worse, and when, where, and how will the terrorists strike. Because they certainly will.

  7. Remember when ” Politics stops at the waters’ edge ” . When R’s ad D’s both supported a President and Administration working to protect and advance the Republic’s interests , how long ago was that ? When the media , the NYT and WaPo and Trib were newspapers to something other than” News that fits the Narrative”, how long ago was that ? What changed ?

  8. Left unchecked, Khameini and his cult of death would have forced all of their 92 million citizens into the body of his nuclear war kamikaze missile.

  9. The lower levels of the regime in Iraq, or better the surviving levels, launching missiles and drones at their Arab neighbors reminds me of the Democrats at home, flailing away at the prospect of never being able to be in power indefinitely.

    I think, or rather my wish is – our previous interventions and adventures in Nation building were what I call “Fly-over Coastal” in intent and character – but not Trump. Trump games peace.

    Augusta National member Condoleezza Rice (what a beautiful name BTW) supports the destruction of the regimes capacity to wage war as a just objective in and of itself – but not necessarily beyond this.

    This is the novelty of the moment, I believe, hope. Destroy the regime’s ability to spread violence, then assume a George Catlett Marshall approach to Iran’s recovery and re-birth.

    George Catlett Marshall, like Patton, whose grandfather fought all four years for the Confederacy

  10. Robert Maitino, Please do us all a favor and go away. Your comments are self serving and your crude and vulgar language are not welcome on this forum. A word of advice and be careful of the derogatory manner in which you refer to the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be held accountable for every word you utter. Now please go away and stop inflicting your angst.

  11. I don’t consider myself to be an “expert” on anything, but having been to that part of the world several times, I realize that when a group, that is capable of attacking you, whether by themselves or through their associates, continually screams “Death to America”, you might want to take it seriously. I know that Israel takes it seriously, and taking October 7th into account, they should, and are right to do so.

    What I find interesting is when people who wouldn’t last 10 minutes in some of these places go to great lengths to support them and criticize the U.S.. I can’t remember the last account of somebody being thrown off a building in America because of their sexual orientation, and as far as I can tell, women are allowed to drive and go places throughout our country without a male escort.

    Keep up the great work, Mr. Kass, and I know you realize that “Freedom of Speech” is truly an interesting concept.

  12. Thank you Mark Stevens, my comments were directed at that same windbag Maitino, I guess mommy and daddy never gave him enough hugs as a child

  13. Great column Paul. My reservations are the same I had over the past decades with various wars – “just” or not (and this one as you point out is “just”). I think the WPA is unconstitutional. The Founders distinguished between “declaring” war (a power of the congress) vs “making ‘ war (a power of the executive). As Mr. Sherman said at the Founding Convention: “The executive should be able to repel and not to commence war.” And Mr. Gerry (according to Madison) “never expected to hear in a republic a motion to empower the Executive alone to declare war.”

  14. I think we should give Mr. Maitino some slack. We know he is a dyed-in-the-wool leftist. We should read his diatribes to remember why we need to be the voice of reason. You just have to watch the commercials for the Democrat pols now running to see how bad things could become.

  15. Excellent analysis. Although our family name was changed, my paternal grandfather was from Urmia Iran. Although he left the area around the time of WWI, as did many Persian Jews, Assyrians and Armenians, I still had family in Iran until the late 1970’s. I will put what really happened to the Shah aside for the time being (hint: dying of cancer, refusing to reduce oil prices in the late 1970’s, was becoming increasingly less controllable by the West…), as the popular “student uprising” theory holds as much water as COVID coming from bat soup, wet markets or pangolins. Iran, similar to other terrorist organizations, held its citizens hostage. Instead of spending money on infrastructure for its approximately 90 million citizens, they let Lake Urmia dry up and Tehran itself has been running out of water due to lack of infrastructure planning. For 47 years the Regime neglected it’s infrastructure, its people and its standing among nations. Monies were used for nuclear weapon, ballistic missile and terrorist ambitions. While I am not clear if the regime will fall entirely or who will step up to govern the country, I am certain the world and the Iranian people have a brighter future. Lastly, years ago the reporter who interviewed Bin Laden and other leading terrorists, Peter Bergen, made an interesting observation. These religious fundamentalists really just want to conquer and they are not the least bit interested in governing. Governance is difficult work dealing with power grid, water, building code, infrastructure, taxation, healthcare, welfare and other important issues to society.

  16. Thank you, Mr. Vallas, for your column explaining clearly the danger of Iran’s “theocracy”. I learned so much. I’m sorry you didn’t get a chance to really improve the lives of all the people of Chicago and improve the school system and clean out that swamp.
    Thank you, John Hodorowicz & Mark Steven’s for your comments on Robert Maintino’s comments. Both of you expressed what I was thinking.

  17. Thanks Paul, for providing a well written piece. When you speak to actual people, who have family roots in Iran, you here just how oppressive, stressful, and dangerous it is for the citizens living in Iran today. I love the book “Unveiled Threat” , by Janet Tavakoli, what its like to be a woman in Iran. https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/unveiled-threat_janet-m-tavakoli/9054989/?resultid=7df64a1b-0e31-41f2-9b29-7fc6df3efdea#edition=8347389&idiq=5986166

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