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THE LION IS FREE, NOW IT’S UP TO THE IRANIAN PEOPLE Tina Toon Cartoon Published 03/03/2026 President Trump has yanked open the cage door and shouts the three greatest words an oppressed people can hear: “YOU ARE FREE!” The mighty Persian Lion — proud symbol of a civilization that gave the world poetry, science, and empire long before the ayatollahs showed up — is exploding out of its prison with fire in its eyes and freedom in its heart. Meanwhile, that pathetic little “KEEP LOCKED” tag dangles there like a Democrat foreign-policy memo from the last forty-seven years. For nearly half a century the Iranian people have lived in a nightmare cage built in 1979: morality police beating women for showing hair, public hangings for daring to speak out, and a regime that exports terrorism the way McDonald’s exports Happy Meals. Persia — the real Persia — has been suffocating. Not anymore. Thanks to President Trump’s return to the White House and his no-nonsense America First approach, that cage door is off its hinges. The lion is loose, and the people of Iran are responding exactly the way you’d expect after decades of darkness: In Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz and beyond — massive crowds pouring into the streets, waving the old Lion-and-Sun flag of pre-revolution Persia, dancing, singing, crying tears of joy. Across the world — in “Tehrangeles,” London, Vancouver, New York, Sydney — the proud Iranian diaspora is partying like it’s 1978 again. Fireworks, hugs, car horns blaring, flags everywhere. Grandmas in tears. Young people chanting “Freedom for Iran!” The roar you’re hearing isn’t just the lion — it’s an entire nation waking up. And the Democrats? Oh, they’re having an absolute meltdown.While brave Iranians risk everything for liberty, the same crowd that cheered the Iran nuclear deal, shipped pallets of cash to the mullahs, and treated the world’s leading state sponsor of terror like a misunderstood neighbor is now clutching pearls and screaming “escalation!” What will they do next? Pin little Iranian regime flags on their lapels like they did with Ukraine? Demand we slam the cage shut again for the sake of “stability”? Maybe hold a candlelight vigil for the poor ayatollahs? Iran’s 47-Year Trail of Terror Against Americans and the World (A brutal reminder of why the Persian Lion deserved to be freed) November 4, 1979 – January 20, 1981: The Iranian Hostage Crisis Regime-backed militants stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days — complete with blindfolds, mock executions, and daily humiliation on Iranian state TV. They were released only minutes after Ronald Reagan was sworn in. April 18, 1983: Beirut U.S. Embassy Bombing Iran-backed Islamic Jihad (forerunner of Hezbollah) detonated a suicide car bomb, killing 63 people including 17 Americans. October 23, 1983: Beirut Marine Barracks Bombing Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists drove a massive truck bomb into the U.S. Marine compound in Lebanon, murdering 241 American service members (220 Marines) — the deadliest single-day loss for the U.S. Marines since Iwo Jima. 1984–1985: Lebanon Hostage Murders Iran-backed groups kidnapped, tortured, and executed several Americans, including CIA Beirut Station Chief William Buckley, who was held for 19 months. June 14, 1985: TWA Flight 847 Hijacking Hezbollah terrorists hijacked a TWA jet, held 39 Americans hostage for 17 days, and murdered U.S. Navy diver Robert Stethem. June 25, 1996: Khobar Towers Bombing Iranian-directed Hezbollah al-Hejaz terrorists bombed the U.S. military housing complex in Saudi Arabia, killing 19 American airmen and wounding nearly 500. 2003–2011: Iraq War Iran supplied advanced Explosively Formed Penetrators (EFPs) and training to Shia militias, responsible for the deaths of at least 603 U.S. troops and thousands more wounded. October 2011: Assassination Plot on U.S. Soil Iran’s Quds Force plotted to bomb a Washington, D.C. restaurant to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador to the United States. 2019–2025: Hundreds of Proxy Attacks on U.S. Forces Iran-backed militias (Kataib Hezbollah, etc.) launched over 180 rocket, drone, and missile strikes on U.S. troops in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan — including the January 28, 2024 drone attack that killed three American soldiers and wounded more than 40. October 7, 2023 onward: Hamas Massacre & Regional War Iran-backed Hamas slaughtered over 40 Americans (and took others hostage) in Israel. Iran’s proxies (Hezbollah, Houthis, Iraqi militias) then launched hundreds more attacks on U.S. forces and international shipping. Global Terror Sponsorship For decades Iran has poured billions into Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Houthis, and other groups — responsible for thousands of deaths worldwide, including major attacks like the 1994 AMIA bombing in Argentina (85 killed) and repeated assassination plots against dissidents, journalists, and officials across Europe and North America. The mullahs didn’t just hate America — they waged war on us for nearly half a century. Now the cage is open. The Persian Lion is free. Sorry, folks. The lock is broken. The lion is out. And the people of Iran finally have a fighting chance to take their beautiful country back.Thank you, President Trump. Now go share this Tina Toon far and wide — because freedom looks good on a lion… and even better on a nation. God bless America. God bless free Persia. –The GrrrTeam