Throughout the Great War on Terror, from roughly 2001 to our disgraceful exit from Afghanistan, the chattering class on television would ask each other: What should our exit strategy be? That always struck me as bizarre, tortured phrasing, invented by Foggy Bottom bureaucrats and those who had no clear goals, who were constantly testing the winds, hedging their bets.
Why wasn’t our ‘exit strategy’ to win? As a young woman who watched 9/11 happen live, I thought, “let’s beat the terrorists and leave.”
I haven't changed my mind about this today. I don’t think we should have any other exit strategy other than to remove the Mad Mullahs’ regime, then encourage the Iranians to form their own government, whether monarchy or otherwise. The format is up to the Iranians as long as they install a government friendly to the United States. That’s all I want: remove the people threatening our country with potential nuclear bombs, install a friendly government, and leave.
Why Us? Why Now? If one of my centrist-liberal friends should ask me “why should we be pursuing regime change in Iran right now? Why did we have to attack?” I’d simply remind them: we didn’t start this. We’re not pursuing regime change for its own sake. We’re finishing a war the Iranian clericalists started 47 years ago.
Let’s do a thought experiment: what would be the ideal state of Iran after the mullahs fall? Ideally, this is the type of government I would like to see:
- A government chosen or at least welcomed by the Iranian people. We cannot impose a government, then stay for years making it work for a people who don’t want it. See Afghanistan.
- A government that has friendly relations with the United States. One that is willing to trade with us. Naturally, that would mean a government that wasn’t funding terrorism anywhere in the world. This new government can’t offer any terrorist group sanctuary within its borders.
- A government that respects its people’s freedom of belief. This may be too much to ask for in the Middle East, but there is at least one nation in the neighborhood that is making it work. Ideally, this government would allow people who are secular, who don’t have any belief, to live and let live.
This government would rein in or abolish the virtue squads that go about punishing women for showing just a lock of hair escaped from under their hijabs, or having the temerity to go anywhere without a male escort. The condition that Iranian women live in today wasn’t by their choice.
March 8, 1979:
— Nahayat Tizhoosh (@NahayatT) December 9, 2021
Iranian women rebel against the 1979 hijab law.
This was the last day women walked the streets of Tehran uncovered.
Photo: Hengameh Golestan pic.twitter.com/5rMK6DnJtQ
Encouraging Change
How can we support this change without getting ourselves stuck in another forever war? If I were running this, I’d do exactly what President Donald Trump is doing today: step one, assist Israel in getting rid of the threat to both our countries posed by the Islamic dictatorship of the mullahs. He won't accept anything but a win. (Editor's note: Isn’t it nice when you have a president who is doing what you want him to do?)
Once that regime is gone, we don’t have to stay forever, and we shouldn’t. There are groups who are willing to rise up and rebuild their country. They must take advantage of what President Trump said in his initial video address: this is their time; this is Iran’s best chance, and they need to take it.
Let’s look at one of those who is seeking to take back their country from those currently running it. In a future article, I'll cover another group that has become popular on Twitter/X.
Return to Tradition
Reza Palavi was born in Iran in 1960, the oldest son of the last Shah and his wife, the Empress Farah Diba. He was named Crown Prince at the age of seven. He came to the United States as a 17-year-old for advanced flight training in the United States at Reese Air Force Base in Texas. In 1979, the Islamic Revolution prevented him from returning home. He studied at Williams College and finished with a degree in political science from the University of Southern California. Since then, Pahlavi has worked as a dissident, promoting an Iran free from the Islamic Republic. In his speeches, he states he wants Iranians to choose their method of government. In the days after the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, he has stated he would be willing to lead Iran as it transitions to democracy:
"I don't think that somebody in my position will ever expect to have an official endorsement of a foreign government or a foreign leader," Pahlavi said. "What I do know now is that millions of Iranians inside Iran and outside of Iran are calling my name. They recognize in me the person uniquely placed to play a role of transitional leadership.”
Supporting Reza Pahlavi is a brand-new group, the Conservative Party of Iran. Rayan Amiri, the founding leader of the group, released its founding declaration via Twitter/X March 6. His party calls for historical continuity under the leadership of the Pahlavi as the Shah. Besides hereditary monarchy, his group focuses on national unity and secular democracy. Per their founding statement:
We unequivocally reject all anti-Iranian ideologies, including Islamism, Marxism, separatism, tribalism, and ethno-fascism, which fracture the nation, erode its sovereignty, and endanger its security.
OFFICIAL FOUNDING DECLARATION
— Rayan Amiri (@realRayanAmiri) March 6, 2026
THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF IRAN (CPI)
Hereby, we, the loyal children of Iran, officially proclaim the formation of the Conservative Party of Iran.
At this decisive moment in our nation’s history, we rise with a deep sense of responsibility,… pic.twitter.com/P9cOEsiZlH
For most of my life, I've thought of Iran as a backward, terrorist state, where the women are subjugated and forced to disappear under black robes. Sadly, I've thought of Iranians as supporters of terrorism, instead of placing the blame on their government. The last few months have shown the number of Iranians who yearn to be free. May they be able to choose a free government of their own soon.
