OPINION:
As the U.S. war with Iran enters its sixth month, hopes for a short, effective engagement have fizzled — along with, it seems, interest in obtaining freedom for the Iranian people.
The focus of the White House has shifted from “Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!” — as President Trump posted on Truth Social in January — to one of economics and world security.
The administration cannot be faulted for keeping U.S. concerns paramount, but there is a question no one seems to be asking, and it’s imperative that we answer it: If we get what we want in Iran (that is, the toppling of the murderous, Islamist regime), what comes next?
After World War II — an involvement that most Americans didn’t want, but which they later supported — the U.S. committed to lengthy military presence in and economic aid to Germany and Japan. That help rebuilt political frameworks, economies and education systems. And it worked: Germany and Japan became some of America’s strongest allies.
Americans today don’t want another “forever war.” They don’t want to occupy Iran or get involved in “regime change” (though many say that they support freedom for Iranians).
Their reluctance to put boots on the ground in Iran is understandable. In recent decades, the U.S. has lost thousands of service members to Islamism and its evil adherents — yet in Afghanistan, the Taliban is back in power and in Iraq, the broke government continues to battle the Islamic State group.
So, U.S. voters might think, what have we gotten from our latest attempts to bring liberty to the Middle East? Zilch, apparently.
But no positive change will happen in Iran without the removal of the current regime, and it seems unlikely that can be accomplished without some sort of ground invasion.
Mr. Trump can make good-faith “peace arrangements” with the mullahs until he’s blue in the face, but they will never keep to any agreement with us, “the Great Satan.” They must be taken out, and unfortunately, doing that is not probable without significant cost to the U.S. and/or its strongest ally, Israel.
Regardless of how Iranian ‘leadership’ erasure is done, though, once it is, our work will have only begun.
In June, the nonprofit Group for Analyzing and Measuring Attitudes in Iran (GAMAAN) successfully conducted an anonymous survey over 31,000 people in the country via virtual private network and other workarounds.
Most had not participated in the January protests.
Among the key findings:
- Approximately 71% of respondents agreed with the slogan “Poverty, corruption, high prices; we will continue until overthrow.”
- Some 44% reported a favorable view of Mr. Trump, though another 44% had a negative view of the president.
- About 51% reported having a “very favorable” or “somewhat favorable” view of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while 38% held a negative view.
- Approximately 40% viewed Israel and the U.S.’ 12-day war in 2025 as “humanitarian intervention,” while 42% saw it as “military aggression against Iran”.
- Some 45% reported a positive view of potential new Iranian leader Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last shah.
- About 66% said they opposed the slogan “No compromise, no surrender; fight the United States” and approximately 62% said they opposed the slogan “Death to Israel.”
By contrast, in 2017, a Gallup poll found that 81% of Iranians had an unfavorable view of Mr. Trump. And in 2021, just 35% of respondents to a GAMAAN survey of that year said they wanted the overthrow of the Islamic Republic.
So the 2026 GAMAAN poll results are a mixed bag, but they make one thing clear: Appetite among Iranians to replace their government is increasing.
Yet even if regime change is forthcoming, once it does, we should not expect an instant embrace of all things American. We are dealing here with something we didn’t have to in post-war Germany and Japan: radical Islam.
Owing to years of brainwashing and anti-Western, antisemitic indoctrination, once the current government in Iran is gone, the U.S. and its allies will have to undertake the most extensive, robust public relations and information campaign in its history.
We will need to educate a people that have, by and large, been fed the “mushroom diet” for decades.
This will entail teaching millions about the Constitution, representative government, equal rights for all, free-market capitalism, religious and ethnic tolerance and everything else that, yes, makes America great.
It won’t be easy. But timing frequently decides the success of an operation, and the time would seem to be now to begin planning the overthrow of the regime in Tehran.
• Anath Hartmann is deputy commentary editor for The Washington Times.
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