Why an uncertain end to the current war in Iran would only be the prelude to another, even more devastating one

Iran is part of the axis aimed at changing the global order, and confronting this regime is a strategic necessity: cowardice is the first step towards a catastrophe, writes Professor Ioan Stanomir in an opinion article.

Far from being a war born of a dark conspiracy, the conflict with the Islamic Republic of Iran is the dramatic consequence of strategic errors spanning decades. The time gained by never-honored agreements allowed theocratic Iran to reach its current level of sophistication and aggression.

“Axis of evil”, a geopolitical reality of our times

Because the Iran facing the United States and Israel, like the Arab nations of the Gulf, is built on the foundation of ambitions and alliances. The vocation of theocratic Iran has been, since its foundation, that of being a revolutionary regime, regionally, but also globally. The birth of a whole network of terrorist movements is the effect of meticulous planning.

At the same time, Iran joined a coalition of states whose sole purpose is to challenge American hegemony. The “axis of evil”, which brings together Russia, communist China and North Korea, is not the chimera of a conspiratorial imagination, but a geopolitical reality of our times.

This is why, to varying degrees, Russia and China are the not-so-discreet allies of the criminal and terrorist regime in Tehran: their policy is unitary and they relate to our world as a single theater of military and economic operations. The drones and missiles with which Iran attacks are part of this effort to arm a revisionist coalition.

“For Iran, victory means preserving the possibility of the regime to recover in the future”

And the dynamics of the Tehran regime's reaction is subordinated to a tactic of global intimidation. Blackmail means, on the one hand, premeditated increase in the global price of hydrocarbons.

Blackmail implies, on the other hand, the deliberate attacks aimed at the infrastructure of the Gulf states: the target of the Iranian strategy is the liquidation of the symbolic capital of economic respectability of these nations.

What theocratic Iran aspires to is the creation of chaos that leads to paralysis and capitulation. For Iran, the definition of victory means preserving the possibility of the regime to recover in the future. An uncertain end to the current war would only be the prelude to another, even more devastating.

A theocratic Iran that would pass the end of the fighting with its domestic and international structure still viable and effective would be a mortal danger to those who oppose it. The overlap between the ballistic and nuclear programs is symbolic. The atomic warheads would target Israel, Europe and the United States.

The prospect of a nuclear Iran, capable of exerting control over the flow of energy through the Strait of Hormuz – this is what we cannot accept as we look at history in motion around us. Theocratic Iran is one of those threats that require, to be eliminated, determination, patience and courage.

“In the absence of the theocracy's demise, Iran will represent a constant threat”

In this picture of the Iranian threat, returning the Strait of Hormuz to international traffic is a strategic imperative. The community of nations cannot allow an aggressive and criminal regime to appropriate a waterway. To recognize this right is a way to capitulation.

As the effective unblocking of the strait cannot be separated from the issue of eliminating, in the medium or long term, the theocratic regime. The objective of this campaign can only be one: the collapse of the order in Tehran. In the absence of the theocracy's demise, Iran will be a constant threat.

The relationship between the opening of the strait and the beginning of the end of this regime is clear. An Iran without its tools of blackmail is a weakened theocratic Iran. In the absence of a large-scale ground attack, undermining Iran in this way is one way to go. Iran is not invulnerable, here is what is worth remembering.

This criminal and terrorist state, guilty of the massacre of its own citizens and motivated by messianic imperialism, is, like Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union, an enemy of our world. Iran is part of the axis aimed at changing the global order. Confronting this regime is a strategic necessity: cowardice is the first step towards a catastrophe.

The article originally appeared in Contributors.ro.