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IRAN’S INVOLUNTARY REGIME CHANGE Cartoon published 03/01/2026 Iran’s Ali Hosseini Khamenei, is dead. For too long, the Supreme Leader proclaimed in no uncertain terms that Israel should be wiped off the map. He sent money to Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis to murder Israeli citizens while he worked on the development of a nuclear weapon. He spent money on war that could have been spent helping Iranians. Under the incompetent theocracy, Iran ran out of water and their currency is worthless. Iran could be one of the richest nations in the world—after all, they are rich in oil and resources. But no, the clerics in Iran wanted war instead. The US and Israel bombed Iran’s nuclear sites in 2025, but Khamenei didn’t learn his lesson. Instead, he attempted to quickly rebuild Iran’s nuclear capability while dragging his feet and delaying the negotiations with Trump. In other words, Khamenei used a strategy of FAFO. It didn’t end well for him. In fact, it was the end of him. Didn’t the head cleric learn anything from the earlier bombings? It’s almost as if he didn’t take seriously the possibility of more bombings and his own demise—and sure enough—he was easily located and killed. Perhaps Khamenei believed he lived under a blessed shield. Perhaps he thought all would be saved by a “messianic, magic Mahdi in a well” who was supposed to come to Iran’s rescue. Khamenei utilized the raising of flags, specifically the “red flag of revenge” over the Jamkaran Mosque in Qom. The flags were symbolic and each color had a different meaning and perhaps they were raised to generate enthusiasm and successful actions against their perceived enemies. The flags didn’t work. The Supreme Leader frequently wore Islamic rings with gemstones that he considered to have spiritual and protective qualities. They didn’t work, either—no more than keeping a lucky rabbit’s foot in one’s pocket would work. Theocratic autocrats have been in place for far too long in Iran. They harshly enforce medieval customs upon a modern population. Women can get whipped for not wearing their head covering properly. They used brutality to keep themselves in power. Thousands of protestors were murdered by the Khamenei and his thugs. Now Khamenei and many of his thugs faced justice and were killed. The news was welcomed with applause from Iranian citizens. There can be no American ‘boots on the ground’ in Iran. The citizens there must seize the moment and remove the rest of the tyrants now that their power structure is weakened. Meanwhile, Trump will catch flak for his action from the left, Democrats and of course, Massie. They will say he promised “No more war,” and delivered “No, more war!” Still, in this case, Trump is doing something that should have been done long ago. That is, repairing Jimmy Carter’s disastrous decision not to support the Shah, who was modernizing Iran. The citizens there suffered nearly a half century of brutality because of it. — Ben Garrison