The Israelis attacked a notorious Tehran prison during last year’s war in an apparent effort to encourage regime dissidents. In those terms, the attack was a miserable failure; it killed lots of innocent Iranians, angered the dissidents, and increased support for the regime, at least temporarily.
Trump is now talking in public about providing military assistance to the protesters. He is clearly high on imperialism at the moment, so notwithstanding my previous post on this subject, it is not altogether impossible that he would try something. If he does, what should he do?
He needs to avoid the Bibi precedent. Airstrikes should be off the table. Instead, he should tell the Iranian nation that the creation of a new regime which no longer threatens its neighbors will result in an end to sanctions, the possibility of economic assistance, and hope for a better life in the future. In other words, it’s time for well-placed carrots, not sticks.