An excellent piece by my friend Faisal Khan.
— Molly
You cannot celebrate “regime change” in theory
while ignoring the human cost in reality
The United States does not act out of concern for the Iranian people, nor out of any consistent commitment to democracy, international laws, or human rights. Those claims function as rhetoric, not principle.
History makes this clear: in 1953, the U.S., through the CIA, helped orchestrate the overthrow of Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh, after he moved to nationalize Iran’s oil. Washington then backed the Shah’s authoritarian rule for decades, sustaining a repressive regime aligned with U.S. interests. This pattern of removing independent governments and installing compliant ones has been repeated in multiple regions of the world.
Israel continues to expand genocidal policies against the Palestinian people and again have closed the Rafah border that is a vital lifeline for humanitarian aid to Palestinians. We are also witnessing the destruction and further occupation of Palestinian territory in the West Bank that is clear violation of international laws. Israel’s recent remarks on expansionism, justified through familiar language of security, civilization, and strategic access that has long accompanied imperial expansion, including the rationale used by the United States its war in Iraq, and we are seeing the same pattern towards Iran.
Furthermore, despite the clear risk of wider regional destabilization which we are not seeing it in real time and the awareness of many governments, much of the international community has remained unwilling to take meaningful action to halt the destruction Palestinian lands and its people, enforce legal norms, or challenge the continuing aggression.
Where are all the human rights drum beaters? People have come short of condemning the killing of over 100 children. You cannot expect anything better from those who wage war without conscience, claiming precision when it suits them, yet somehow failing to distinguish that there are school children in a school. And those who have even come short of condemning the death of children are equally pathetic, to say the least.
Whether you agree or not with Iran’s political ideology, hardline governance, foreign interference, and the long history of proxy conflicts as many countries in the region and around the world have, one thing should remain clear: this is not a victory for ordinary people. It is a tragedy, one that risks deepening fear, entrenching deep anti American sentiments and opinions, and hardening attitudes for an entire generation that will grow up confirming that the US given it’s history with Iran is that they are not friends rather than seeing pathways to reform or reconciliation.
History shows that bombing civilian populations and killing children does not create stability, democracy, or peace. It fuels resentment, empowers the most hardline voices, and closes the space where moderation might have survived. You cannot celebrate “regime change” in theory while ignoring the human cost in reality.
You cannot claim to stand for human rights only when it is politically convenient. The value of a child’s life does not change based on their nationality, their government, or whether their suffering fits someone’s narrative.
According to Oman’s government negotiations were still in progress and there was a real chance at an agreement, then carrying out strikes at that moment is a serious violation of the legal and diplomatic norms that are supposed to prevent escalation in the first place. Undermining talks with force doesn’t create any real resolution; it destroys trust, strengthens hardliners, and fuels anger and backlash that ordinary people will live with long after the headlines fade. Actions like this don’t advance peace or stability, they make both far harder to achieve.
Grieving innocent lives and questioning violence against them is not partisan. It is the bare minimum of our shared humanity. When we start making exceptions for which children deserve outrage, we’ve already lost something far more important than any geopolitical argument.
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