Iran will remain a threat to the United States as long as its current leaders stay in power, the Wall Street Journal wrote Tuesday, calling for the elimination of the country's Supreme Leader to prevent a far more dangerous conflict in the future.
“If Trump leaves the clerics in charge, the US will eventually have to deal with an even worse conflict—as it did in Iraq,” the outlet wrote in an opinion piece titled The Perfect Time for Regime Change in Iran just weeks after the ceasefire to end the Iran-Israel war, in which the US carried out strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities.
The paper referenced past American experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq to argue that strategic hesitancy has repeatedly led to prolonged wars and lost opportunities.
The commentary argued that Iran’s threat goes beyond its nuclear program. “Iran’s support for its terrorist proxies endangers regional stability and US lives,” it said, the US listing Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism in 1984.
“Iranian assistance with Russia’s illegal oil exports reduces America’s ability to pressure Moscow on the Ukraine war," it added.
Citing a July 3 interview with Iran’s deputy foreign minister, who told NBC News that Iran’s enrichment policy “has not changed,” the paper said Tehran remains committed to advancing its nuclear capabilities despite the strikes carried out by the US, which President Donald Trump said had 'obliterated' Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
The newspaper described the strikes as a tactical success but warned that failure to follow through strategically would repeat the mistake of the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
“The Iranian regime will remain a threat to America until different leaders occupy Tehran,” it wrote.
The piece concluded that the current moment, following heavy blows to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and its regional allies, offers a rare opportunity to “eliminate the ideological source” of the threat by targeting Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. “History suggests the time to act is now.”
