To touch upon the core of the conflict, it must be considered that in the catastrophe of 1979, Khomeini’s radical Islamic terrorism seized power and turned Iran into a Shi‘ite state. In a bloodless coup, Iran transformed overnight from a pro-Western secular country into a radical Shi‘ite Sharia Caliphate.
Khomeini had published a sermon on the principles of an Islamic government while, in essence, he established a theocracy based on Islamist law (Shari‘a). The Iranian Khomeinist coup of 1979 was intrinsically hostile to the United States and Israel, and this hostility became manifest through sustained support for Islamic terrorism and fundamentalism.
Khomeini’s 1979 coup played a crucial role in the early emergence of religious terrorism. He sought to export his terrorist, anarchic coup throughout the world in March 1980, under the supervision of Montazeri and his pro-Qaddafi cult.
The cornerstone of policy in the Shi‘ite mullahs’ regime was enmity toward the United States and Israel.
The entire Shi‘ite religious cult is based on taqiya (prudence, deception, cheating, cunning, dishonesty, fraud) to deviate from the truth in order to survive. Shi‘ism seeks dominance and rejects all rules, norms, and principles. This was the core of Iran’s Khomeini coup in 1979.
Factually, the CIA had not understood Khomeini, the father of the Islamic Shi‘ite terrorist Caliphate. This lack of knowledge regarding such a phenomenon was treated with astonishing prestige and esteem within the intelligence world. Khomeini’s theology established a “Shari‘a state" in what he described as the kingdom of Allah, and he portrayed himself as a symbol of God (Ayatollah).
The phenomenon of a state sponsor of Islamic terrorism took shape in 1979 when, in the presence of Yasser Arafat, Khomeini announced the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI), an Islamic fundamentalist regime - a Shi‘ite terrorist Caliphate ruled by mullahs.
Since the 1979 coup, Shi‘ite mullahs have cruelly ruled Iran. Khomeini sought to become the canon of Shi‘ism and to establish a Shi‘ite empire in his delusions. He viewed himself as a divine figure with spiritual authority, reflected in the arrogance and pomposity of clerical behavior.
Khomeini and his cult used savagery and violence against Iranians to achieve political benefits for Shi‘ism. They competed with Saudi Arabia and Sunni Islamic states. Crucially, Khomeini lied to Iranians and to Western media alike. In his mental lexicon, there was no space for humanity, democracy, values, rights, or morality.
Then the battle against Israel and the United States intensified. After ten years, Khomeini died - an icon of barbarism. Ali Khamenei then rose to power in a clerical spectacle. The roadmap was clear: the extension of Islamic Shi‘ite terrorism and hegemony.
The regime has continued its role as the world’s central banker for terrorism and has maintained an aggressive, controversial military presence across the Middle East. The principal goal has always been hegemony. Islam, throughout its historical emergence, has sought dominance.
Khamenei has become the main sponsor of terrorism in the Middle East’s worsening history. He followed Khomeini’s playbook. Since 1989, Tehran’s dictator has been a paranoid and psychopathic monster on the political stage, causing death, crisis, destruction, crime, and terror throughout the region. As leader of the Shi‘ite regime, Khamenei has called himself the Amir of Muslims worldwide.
Both Khomeini and Khamenei have sought the destruction of the West, particularly the United States and Israel.
Khamenei, with his messianic vision, has had full knowledge of and responsibility for all Iranian regime terrorist operations since 1989. Like Bin Laden and al-Qaeda, he organized, legitimized, and sustained terrorism.
Between 1979 and 2026, Iranians protested against the Shi‘ite theocratic Caliphate at least nineteen times. Each time, the Islamic regime brutally suppressed them, killing thousands with boundless cruelty and barbarism. Shi‘ite Shari‘a represents another face of barbarism.
If the ISIS terrorist Caliphate claimed more than 6,000 lives in 2015, Khamenei alone slaughtered more than 40,000 innocent protesters, according to some counts, in January 2026. Both Caliphates justified their crimes through religion.
Today, ample evidence shows that Khamenei’s cynicism has reached its worst form. The regime’s foreign policy aims to transform Iran into a regional hegemon. On the international stage, the messianic and cunning Shi‘ite mullahs deliberately waste time in fruitless negotiations to advance their objectives. The JCPOA itself became an example of clerical deception and manipulation.
This dictatorship is not a rational actor in the global arena. Liberal democratic cultures lack a true understanding of Khomeini’s Shi‘ite jihadi Caliphate and Khamenei’s supremely dangerous mindset.
President Trump is now dealing with a state sponsor of terrorism. He understands that the rule of Shi‘ite terrorist-sympathizing ayatollahs represents the darkest chapter in Iranian history.
Coexistence with such a regime in a volatile region is impossible. This regime is the world’s number one destabilizing force. Its strategic doctrine is to keep Trump calm for the next two to three years; negotiations are merely political theater.
A regime possessing nuclear weapons, delivery systems, chemical and biological capabilities, and a deep commitment to Islamic terrorism poses a catastrophic threat to regional and global geostrategic balance.
The bottom line is clear: a fanatical Shi‘ite terrorist cult with its finger on the nuclear trigger is a terrifying and horrific reality. It is a sword in the hand of a psychopathic, stubborn Shi‘ite mullah such as Khamenei.
A so-called representative of God on Earth, with his finger on the trigger, constitutes an imminent threat to the stability of the Middle East and the world. This paranoid thug glorifies mass killing in the name of Allah.
One can only imagine the scale of annihilation he would order if armed with nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.
In 1993, Mubarak - then President of Egypt - during the official agreement ceremony, in front of the world’s television cameras, said: “Sign, you dog!" At that moment, the Islamic terrorist actor, Yasser Arafat, stopped deceiving Prime Minister Rabin and signed.
Now, President Trump, in the first year of his second presidential term, seeks to make a deal. However, Tehran’s dictator has his own agenda. He has no desire for peace. Khamenei, who claims to speak the word of Allah (!), a Shi‘ite terrorist caliph, seeks to announce jihad against infidels and declare that the Shi‘ite Caliphate in Iran has become a member of the nuclear states club.
In this vision, the rogue and malign state in Iran would become the sole sheriff in town and impose a new regional order. This is Khamenei’s illusion. He must either drink a cup of poison similar to Khomeini’s, or remain hidden in an underground hole.
Erfan Fard is a Middle East political analyst. His latest book, Tehran’s Dictator, examines the theocratic era of Ali Khamenei (1989-2026). Twitter/X: @EQFard.
My appreciation goes to Gabriel for his kindness and support in dispatching this analysis.