Top of Mind Thursday – January, 15, 2026: Iran Away?

Tomorrow is the 47th anniversary of the fall of the Shah in Iran and the rise of the repressive Islamic regime that took over the country.

Many times over the last five decades, Iranians have tried to fight back and reclaim their country from the Ayatollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), who enforce martial law and sponsor terrorism. However, the situation in Iran over the last year has gotten so bad, both economically and politically, that people resisting the regime have been protesting in record numbers over the last month.

The regime does not tolerate dissent. It’s estimated that as many as 30,000 civilians have been killed in the last four weeks. The official numbers are much lower, but photos of body bags overflowing hospitals and morgues indicate the death toll is significant. Hundreds of additional protesters have been arrested and threatened with execution.

Think about this: In four weeks, nearly as many civilians have been executed in Iran as were killed in Gaza during two years of war.

The regime has no problem killing its own citizens or pushing them into poverty so they can spend billions of dollars arming Hamas, Hezbollah, and Houthi terrorists, under the directive: Death to Israel. Death to America.

Yet, amazingly, the reactions of the Western world have been meek at best, and in most cases, non-existent. There have been no protests on college campuses, and very few rallies to support the Iranian people. There’s been significantly more coverage of the conflict between ICE and protesters in Minneapolis (where one woman was tragically killed).

Why is this? For over two years we’ve seen ongoing protests against Israel’s efforts to defend itself against Hamas terrorists—but no reaction when a nation tries to free itself from decades of abuse? Why are Americans who supposedly cherish freedom turning their backs on the Iranian people?

Formerly known as Persia, Iran is one of the world’s oldest continuous operating civilizations—older than both China and India. Its 90 million people yearn to join the modern world. We cannot ignore their plight any longer.

Zendeh Baad yek Iran-e Aazaad. Long live a free Iran!

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