Iran still abides by Ayatollah Khomeini's 'Death to America'

FPI / August 14, 2024

Commentary by Laurence F Sanford

What kind of a country would call for the death of another country or the death of a people?

Iran is such a country.

“Death to America” was first coined by North Korea during the Korean War, but Ayatollah (honorific title for high-ranking Shia clergy) Ruhollah Khomeini, who founded the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979, took the phrase to a new level.

Khomeini decreed “Death to America the Great Satan" and “Death to Israel the Little Satan” as the foundation of his policies to rid Iran of American influence and eliminate Israel since it is a Jewish state occupying supposedly Islamic land.

In fact, present-day Israel has been occupied by people of the Jewish faith for thousands of years, well before even Islam was founded in the seventh century A.D.

Mohammad Reza Shah, the last Iranian monarch, was overthrown by radical Muslim clerics led by Khomeini as the mullahs saw their power eroding with the Shah’s modernization of society. Ironically, now, because of the totalitarian misrule of 40 years, only 40% of Iran’s population identifies as Muslim, even though 98% of the population is listed as Muslim.

One of Khomeini’s first actions upon assuming power was the takeover of the American Embassy in Tehran. 52 Americans were held hostages from Nov. 4, 1979, until Jan. 20, 1981, the day before President Reagan assumed office from President Carter.

The Iran-Iraq War began in September 1980 with Iraq invading Iran over territorial disputes and Iraqi fear of militant Iranian Shia Islam infecting Iraq’s Arab Shia population. The war ended in August 1988 with an estimated one million to two million casualties and no significant changes in territory.

Now, Iran is on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons. Possibly, Iran already has the atomic bomb but is not announcing it. Iran is supporting proxy entities (Ring of Resistance) that surround Israel for the purpose of eliminating Israel. The proxies are Hizbullah, Hamas, Houthis, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The elimination of Israel is but the first step to being followed by the elimination of Western civilization in the Islamic quest for world domination.

Iran is a terror state as evidenced by the following:

⦁ Hamas in Gaza has received millions of dollars in military equipment and training from Iran. Hamas is the Sunni offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood and is dedicated to the elimination of Israel. Sunnis and Shias will kill each other over Islamic doctrine but will unite in killing infidels. The phrase “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” is applicable here.

⦁ Hizbullah has the largest military force in Lebanon. With over 100,000 missiles aimed at Israel, Hizbullah receives $700 million a year from Iran. Thousands of rockets have been fired at Israel since October 7, 2023.

⦁ The Houthis in Yemen are Shia fighting against the Sunni central government. They control most of northern Yemen, including the capital city of Sanaa. Bordering the Red Sea, the Houthis have fired rockets into Israel and have attacked shipping transiting to and from the Suez Canal. The U.S. Navy has not been able to stop the shipping attacks despite bombing missile sites.

⦁ In Iraq and Syria, American forces are under continual attack from forces allied with Iran.

⦁ Russia is being supplied with Iranian drones and missiles in support of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.

⦁ The United States election process is under Iranian cyber attacks. Most recently, Trump’s election campaign emails were hacked by Iranians, and a Pakistani with Iranian connections was arrested for allegedly attempting to assassinate Trump. At the University of Houston, Palestinian protests were supported by Iranian organizations. A number of high-ranking individuals in the U.S. government are sympathetic to Iranian interests.

Summary

Iran seeks to end American and Western civilization. Iranian President Pezeshkian affirmed “Tehran’s dedication to destroying Israel” is rooted in the fundamental policies of the Islamic Republic. Also rooted in these fundamental policies is “Death to America.”

Iran will have an atomic bomb. Unless the United States is prepared to declare total war, bombing will not eradicate the program.

Action

“Peace Through Strength” was appropriate during the Cold War with the Soviet Union and is appropriate now in the wars being waged against the United States by China, Russia, and Iran. The United States needs to recognize the Marxist and Islamic unrestricted warfare that is being waged.

Reciprocity should be the foundation of American foreign policy.

⦁ Iran is fomenting social unrest in the U.S. The U.S. should reciprocate.

⦁ Gray zone (non-kinetic) actions on social media, the Internet, and the Iranian diaspora should be dramatically increased. Iranian airwaves and the Internet should be flooded through satellite broadcasting.

⦁ If Iran wages kinetic action against the U.S., the U.S. should respond disproportionately — that is, it should respond harder.

⦁ End U.S. financing of Palestinian entities such as Hamas and PLO through the U.N. and other agencies. They hate America, and money will not buy their friendship.

⦁ The U.S. should demand the end of the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA), whose sole purpose of existence is enabling Palestinians to hate and strive for the elimination of Israel and the West.

U.S. military effectiveness is declining due to DEI, poor leadership, and lack of adequate funding. A national consensus is needed to rebuild our forces.

Peace Through Strength!

Laurence Sanford graduated from Boston College and then served in the U.S. Navy Pacific fleet from 1963 to 1966. He then served as an officer in the clandestine service of the Central Intelligence Agency for over 4 years, including a two-year assignment in Hong Kong. Mr. Sanford serves as a Senior Analyst with the American Security Council Foundation and is also President of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers — Florida Satellite Chapter.

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