WHEN US President Donald Trump said the day before yesterday, “Let’s make Iran great again,” I was reminded of what happened to Japan after World War II. Japan once adopted a policy of direct military colonialism towards its neighbors, invading vast territories in the Asia-Pacific, including China, Korea, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Burma, and Thailand. In 1941, during World War II, Japanese aircraft launched massive strikes on Pearl Harbor, inflicting heavy losses on the United States.
However, Washington recovered, entered the war with overwhelming force, and after acquiring nuclear weapons, retaliated against Japan, leading to its unconditional surrender. In the past two days, the US Army dealt the Iranian regime a major blow, widely seen as a prelude to its eventual downfall. When President Trump says, “Let’s make Iran great again,” he is indicating the significant changes expected in Iran and the region shortly.
Over the past 48 years, Tehran could have been in a much better position if it had invested its resources in internal development instead of spending over $3.6 trillion on nuclear and missile programs, and nearly $1.5 trillion on proxy groups it established in Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria, while pushing its own people to the brink of starvation. Experience has shown that the slogan of “exporting the revolution” was a misguided venture that alienated Iran from its neighbors, the Islamic world, and the international community. Moreover, Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear bomb has provoked global concern. As we highlighted yesterday, even friendly countries will reject this. How can it be acceptable for Iran to possess nuclear weapons when it promotes slogans that violate the UN Charter and international treaties, and its officials openly threaten to annihilate a nation?
In the past, the Japanese emperor was regarded as a demigod, revered and sanctified by the Japanese people. This is similar to the current status of the Iranian Supreme Leader, who holds absolute authority and cannot be questioned. He alone makes decisions without discussion or opposition. When Japan was forced to surrender, the emperor himself announced it over the radio, and it was the first time his people and the world had ever heard his voice. Indeed, the religious doctrines of the old Japanese regime and the current Iranian regime differ.
Both are based on unrealistic principles regarding fate or political outcomes. However, they are similar in their combat doctrine. Today, Iranian elites, both inside and outside Iran, discuss the potential future of this vast country with its large population, outstanding capabilities, and abundant natural resources. Iran could one day match Japan in economic and developmental terms. That is why the late US President Harry Truman’s 1945 decision to force Japan’s surrender was, in fact, an opportunity for Japan to reclaim its status as the “Land of the Rising Sun” in invention and innovation, eventually becoming the world’s second-largest economy after the United States for a long time. Iran was also known as the “Land of the Sun”. The image of a lion and sun once adorned the banner of the Iranian imperial regime. It was a great country by all standards, until the current regime came to power and isolated Iran from the world. History, it seems, repeats itself with different events and people. One recurring lesson is that “revolutionary Iran” may soon become a part of the past.
Shortly, Iran could once again become a great nation. Will the pillars of the current regime recognize these signs? Or will they persist in their stubbornness until someone else replaces them?
