Iran

While everyone is focusing on Gaza, Russia and Ukraine, Iran has stealthily been rebuilding its war machine.

One of the most effective ways to slow the remilitarization of Iran’s brutal regime is not only to put direct pressure on the regime itself but also to target the countries that allow it to operate freely, fund its proxies, and expand its influence.

Iranian security forces have “violently arrested” Nobel Peace Prize winner and women’s rights activist Narges Mohammadi, her foundation has said.

The Narges Foundation said Ms Mohammadi, 53, was detained in the eastern city of Mashhad, along with other activists.

The Nobel Committee said it was “deeply concerned by today’s brutal arrest of Narges Mohammadi” and called on the authorities “to immediately clarify Mohammadi’s whereabouts, ensure her safety and integrity, and to release her without conditions”. Iran does not appear to have commented.

The European Union is reportedly preparing to sit down with Iran to negotiate on its nuclear program — again. Even Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) — the UN’s nuclear watchdog — seems interested in engaging Iran in “diplomacy” again.

Iran’s regime, not surprisingly, appears more than happy to accept these overtures. On the surface, this international charm offensive may appear to be a constructive effort toward dialogue, but a dryer analysis suggests that such negotiations risk handing a monumental victory to a vicious regime that is vulnerable and weak — and rabidly opportunistic. By offering Iran another platform for legitimacy, the EU and the UN are shoring up a monumentally brutal regime at a time when, for the West’s own good, it should be applying pressure, not extending a hand.

Little attention is being paid to Iran in the aftermath of the 12‑Day War, but the threat it now poses is growing significantly. While global focus has shifted to other crises, Iran has rapidly and aggressively been accelerating its ballistic missile production at the speed of light. The Iranian regime is proudly announcing its manufacture of vast quantities of missiles, expanding assembly lines, and is openly boasting about its growing arsenal. Iran is not concealing these developments; it is bragging about them. The regime, despite a crippling drought, appears to feel emboldened, empowered, and determined.

“Water water, every where, Nor any drop to drink,” from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner, is a suitable motto for the Islamic Republic of Iran. With the Persian Gulf in the Southwest, the Sea of Oman in the South, and the Caspian Sea (an inland brackish water lake) in the North, Iran is surrounded by water, yet there is very little to drink.

Iran’s experts, of course, blame Israel and the U.S, for manipulating the weather (and the women who do not wear hijabs properly, ed.)and causing a drought so severe that the Islamic Republic’s president says he may “have to evacuate Tehran.”

While US President Donald J. Trump and his administration are working hard to bring peace to the Middle East and disarm terror groups in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, the Iranian regime and its proxies are doing their utmost to ensure that their Jihad (holy war) to destroy Israel continues in full force.

The Iranian regime is evidently (and understandably) afraid of losing its terror proxies – Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen. These terror groups, whose primary goal is to eliminate Israel, have suffered severe blows over the past two years as a result of Israeli military operations targeting their leaders and military infrastructure.

Please do not think that just because Iran took a few hits in June that their threat is over, or that the Iranian regime has learned its lesson or is going to change. Iran’s is not a normal political system that responds to diplomacy as other governments do. Iran’s regime is fundamentalist — built on a radical ideological foundation. Iran’s regime defines its very existence by confrontation, expansion and violence.

Once again, Europe seems to have slipped into a dangerous fantasy: that engaging in polite diplomatic parleys with promises of sugar plums will tame Iran’s rapacious ambitions.

France, Germany, and the United Kingdom (E3), acting as the European Troika, declared their intention to revive the long-stalled nuclear negotiations with Iran. In a joint statement, they pledged to “reopen a path toward a comprehensive, lasting, and verifiable agreement.”

According to Amnesty International, more than 1,000 people were executed in Iran in just the first nine months of 2025. This is the highest number documented in 15 years. In a recent statement, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights described it as a “grave violation of the right to life.”

Charges that the Iranian judiciary deems serious enough to warrant the death penalty include “collaboration with enemy governments,” “armed rebellion against the state,” and “corruption on Earth.”

Seriously? @fancypants_s https://t.co/HmxCbL9o0j

— Patti Jo (@TheSupeHero) October 13, 2025

The reimposition of UN “snapback” sanctions on Iran is a welcome development, but, alas, insufficient. For years, Tehran has operated with relative impunity, ignoring restrictions and continuing to build its nuclear and ballistic missile programs while funding proxy terrorist groups across the Middle East. The renewal of these sanctions signals a recognition that the Iranian regime remains one of the gravest threats to regional stability and international security.

The Iranian regime is once again racing to acquire nuclear weapons. In doing so, it is turning to Russia and almost certainly looking toward China and North Korea for support. This is an immediate and existential threat to the United States, Israel, and the Free World.

Tehran’s repeated denials are lies, masking a clear and urgent drive to obtain nuclear capability as quickly as possible.