When Tehran faced defeat in the Iran-Iraq War, Khomeini said, while signing the ceasefire agreement, “I am drinking poison by signing this agreement.” This declaration did not come as a surprise to the people in the region, given the historical stubbornness and imperial arrogance often associated with Persian political culture. Despite Iran’s repeated slogan throughout that war - “War, war to eliminate sedition from the world” - reality proved otherwise, as the winds of reality blew in the opposite direction. On the other hand, the world was surprised and did not heed the opinions of the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, who understand the cultural nature of the Persians.
Today, there is much talk in Western media, and some Arab media, about the wounded Iranian regime becoming even more arrogant than before. The truth is that Persian stubbornness always ends in defeat, which the country’s leaders eventually acknowledge. However, they, particularly the current regime, transform battlefield losses into claims of divine victory. This mindset has also influenced Tehran’s proxies in the region. In 2006, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah declared a divine victory, despite admitting that had he known the true scale of the war that year, he would not have kidnapped the two Israeli soldiers.
After the destruction of the Gaza Strip and the deaths of approximately 75,000 innocent people, Hamas leaders still considered themselves the victors. This reflects a culture of delusion and the illusion of victory, a trait common among the defeated, as it represents wishes that are unsupported by reality. In the age of artificial intelligence, many fabricated images have appeared online depicting the sinking of American warships and aircraft carriers. The reality is quite different, as the United States destroyed the entire Iranian military fleet. Airstrikes eliminated most of the regime’s leaders, leaving Tehran closer to Gaza and Lebanon in terms of the devastation it has suffered. Despite this, Iranian statements continue to claim the defeat of the United States. This is a natural consequence of a defeated regime trying to hide its losses behind slogans aimed at the Iranian public for portraying the remaining officials as capable of preventing millions of Iranians from rising up against them.
Since the end of the Iran-Iraq War in 1988, the current regime has focused on internal affairs, intensifying repression and killings to prevent a revolution against it. In recent months, as Iranians have risen up against dire living conditions and the economic crisis, the regime has used excessive force, killing more than 35,000 unarmed protesters. This reveals the Iranian regime’s fear of the consequences of a successful revolution against it. Since 1979, the regime has killed at least 500,000 of its own citizens.
This staggering number explains why the regime now hides behind slogans in an attempt to avert its downfall. The facts, however, show that the Iranian regime has become nothing more than a paper tiger, both in the eyes of the region and its own people. The declaration of defeat, despite persistent stubbornness, will come as a result of a popular revolution against the regime, because the end of arrogance and defiance has always been bitter.
This is what happened to Nazi Germany under Hitler, to Japan in World War II, and to Bashar al-Assad and other rulers who defied their people after becoming detached from reality and relying on empty slogans. If a single rational person remains in the current Iranian regime, perhaps they will echo Khomeini’s famous words, “I am drinking poison by signing the ceasefire agreement.”