Cost of freedom.

 Even though Ali Khamenei opposed the elevation of his son Mojtaba Khamenei to the post of Supreme Leader, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) forced his appointment because he is likely to back their hardline agenda. TOI. After their horrific crimes against the people any loss of power will mean brutal revenge against them and their families. Yesterday US President Donald Trump said the US has "practically nothing left to target" in Iran. ET. This is the right time when the US and Israel should let Iranians earn their freedom by completely ridding their country of every branch of the regime. The US should remember that gifted freedom is inherently unstable. In 2003, the US invaded and easily defeated Saddam Hussein's army in Iraq (wikipedia) but this was quickly followed by the emergence of Al Qaeda, which spread over into Syria, and a decade of extremely bloody terrorist attacks (Britannica). Even after the defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq, "Over one million people remain internally displaced," and "the government has struggled to achieve the demobilization and integration of powerful Shiite militias, which formed during the fight against the Islamic State." cfr.org. Not learning from Iraq, the US and NATO illegally used a UN resolution to impose a 'No-Fly Zone' over Libya (press.un.org), ostensibly to protect civilians, to attack Moummar Gaddafi, resulting in his capture and murder by rebel forces in 2011 (wikipedia). Even after 15 years Libya remains a divided country with clashes between different armed groups. news.un.org. On the other hand, Vietnam won its war against the US at the cost of over 3 million lives (Britannica) which ended in a panic- stricken flight by the US in 1975 (wikipedia), Vietnam has been stable since then and has a booming economy with the GDP growing 8.02% in 2025 and GDP per capita at about $5,026 (Vietnam Briefing), higher than that of India's at $3,005 (IMF). In Afghanistan, following Soviet occupation in 1979, the US, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia supported the Afghan Mujahideen with billions of dollars forcing the Soviet Union to withdraw in 1989. wikipedia. A civil war followed, leading to Osama bin Laden and the 9/11 attacks in 2001 (wikipedia). The US occupied Afghanistan but was forced to flee in 2021 by the Taliban, leaving behind $7 billion worth of armament. CBS. Afghanistan has been stable ever since. The time is right for the US and Israel to supply guns to young Iranians so that they can fight the IRGC and the Basij thugs, but only to Shia Persians, and never, under any circumstances, to Kurds or Arabs, Sunnis or Christians. US and Israeli special forces can help by targeting the regime's arms depots but the ultimate victory must be seen to be that of the Iranian people. As soon as victory is achieved, quickly lift sanctions, bring in food and medicines, arrange loans to the central bank to stabilize the currency and help the economy to grow. A stable and peaceful Iran will be fantastic for the Middle East, the world and, especially Iranians. It will come from freedom. But, only if it is earned.