Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the regime in Tehran has become a generator of terrorism worldwide, using its proxies Hezbollah, the Houthis, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Shia militias in Iraq and Syria to achieve hegemony, destabilize its rivals (like Israel, US, Saudi Arabia, and UAE), spread its revolutionary ideology, and avoid direct conflict through asymmetric warfare. By being engaged in international terror plots, assassinations, and intelligence gathering against perceived enemies worldwide, the regime was designed as a State Sponsor of Terrorism by the US Department of State.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a branch of the Iranian Armed Forces, is responsible for extraterritorial operations and for managing Iran’s proxies abroad and was headed by Major General Qasem Soleimani until January 2020 when he was killed in a US military operation in Iraq. Soleimani was replaced by his deputy, Brigadier General Esmail Qaani.

Moreover, Iran became a major nuclear threat through its secretive nuclear program with a covert drive for weapons, revealed by secret enrichment facilities (Natanz, Fordow) in the 2000s, and escalating enrichment levels while, at the same time, limiting IAEA inspections, creating a potential pathway to weapons-grade material despite Tehran claiming peaceful intent.

Despite the fall…