[Order Michael Finch’s new book, A Time to Stand: HERE. Prof. Jason Hill calls it “an aesthetic and political tour de force.”]
Just in case you missed it:
While the Trump Administration keeps lying to the American people:
“Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.”
— Donald J. Trump, June 21, 2025“The last thing on Iran’s mind is building a nuclear weapon. They want to recover… They’re not going to have a bomb and they’re not going to enrich.”
— Donald J. Trump, June 22, 2025“I think they’re scared… [Iran is] very frightened… their defense is pretty much gone.”
— Donald J. Trump, February 11, 2025“We devastated the Iranian nuclear program.”
— Pete Hegseth, June 22, 2025
The Islamic Republic is becoming bolder and more dangerous. They mock Trump and his “Blabbermouth” publicly. They’ve sent soldiers and arms to the Houthis and Hamas just last week, and now straight up tell the agency:
“The Cairo agreement is no longer relevant for our cooperation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency),”
—Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi
Don’t take it from me, take it from Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. In an interview this week, he warned that the Islamic Republic is not retreating. It’s reloading.
The Islamic regime may feel it has nothing left to lose so it’s ready to reignite hostilities.
— Michael Oren, Iran International Podcast
You read that right. A veteran diplomat just told the world that the Iranian regime is in the mood for a death match.
Not diplomacy. Not trade. Just the hunger to kill.
Here’s what Oren said about the aftermath of the recent 12-day war:
“Iran doesn’t think it lost. That illusion is precisely what makes it so dangerous. The regime believes it adapted to Israeli missile defense and started learning how to bypass it.”
— Michael Oren
Translation? The Islamic regime saw that as a victory. It learned, adapted, and bled the region. That’s what emboldened them.
But Trump is still peddling the myth of diplomacy.
“President Trump truly wants Iran to flourish…”
— JD Vance, Vice President, Jerusalem speech
Flourish? With 400kg of 60% enriched uranium, enough to make 10 bombs with a quick upgrade?
And while JD Vance praises the idea of “no nukes,” Trump’s team has no problem sitting on expired UN resolutions, ignoring Iran’s open defiance, and pretending this regime can be reasoned with.
Oren disagrees. He says:
“We’re at a historical turning point. The regime is dangerous precisely because it’s isolated and because it sees an opportunity.”
— Michael Oren
In case that wasn’t clear:
Isolation makes tyrants braver, not weaker.
Inside Iran, the mosques aren’t praying for peace. They’re preaching vengeance.
Last week’s Friday sermons were packed with hardline messages. Clerics praised the regime’s “resistance” and called the U.S. a “wild beast.”
One senior cleric, Ahmad Khatami, declared:
“We will break the horn of this wild cow!”
— Ahmad Khatami, Friday Sermon
Another proudly thanked Khamenei for “breaking the pride of the American president.”
That’s not religious rhetoric. That’s jihadist war doctrine dressed in robes.
So again, someone explain to me how this regime is on the verge of “flourishing” or “freedom.” Because from where I stand and where I’ve lived, those sermons sound a lot more like preparation for martyrdom and mass destruction.
Trump’s own former allies in Israel are warning that the Islamic Republic is getting stronger, bolder, and more confident about bypassing Western defense systems.
But Washington is still playing diplomat dress-up.
Even Oren, who rarely criticizes Israeli caution, warned:
“Tehran believes it can inflict heavy damage. That belief forced Israel to accept an early ceasefire.”
— Michael Oren
Let that sink in:
Iran was winning by simply surviving and adapting.
They’ve turned war into a learning lab.
And the West is funding the tuition.
Oren ended with a cautious note of optimism: if the cards are played right, the Middle East could look different in two years.
But that “if” depends on something no U.S. leader seems capable of doing:
Calling the Islamic Republic what it is.
Rejecting the lie that diplomacy will tame jihad.
Admitting that peace comes only through strength, and that strength must start with moral clarity.
And that includes Trump.
It’s time to stop pretending Iran is a misunderstood lion waiting to lie down with the lamb.
It’s time to snap out of it, Mr. Trump.
Because the people of America don’t need you to help the regime “flourish.”
They need you to start focusing on America’s strength and stand on the world stage.
Remember “America First”? We do!
