By all measures, Iran should be one of the most successful countries in the world. It has a population of nearly 90 million people, who are generally well-educated. It has immense natural resources. It has 11.4% of the world’s oil reserves and 18% of the world’s natural gas supply. It is the world’s number one producer of pomegranates and the second-largest producer of dates. It exports more pistachios than any other country in the world. High-grade saffron production generates several hundred million dollars in revenue for the country annually.

So what is wrong with Iran? Why are they a failed nation? The answer is that it is its neofascist Islamic regime. For 47 years, Iran has been run by the Mullahs. They practice and enforce Sharia law. These Shiite extremist Islamists believe that women should not be educated beyond the sixth grade and certainly not be allowed into institutions of higher education.  They cannot become teachers or any professionals, such as physicians, chemists, attorneys, etc. They may not go out in public without a male member of their household accompanying them. They must cover their hair and are mandated not to show their faces by wearing the hijab. They have effectively eliminated half their brain power by eliminating women from the job market, not to mention the injustice committed against women, ignoring their rights as human beings.

There have been several uprisings to change the oppressive Islamist morality police. Sharia law is dangerous to modern Western values, as human rights, gender equality, and edicts against torture apply. It takes the testimony of two women to counter the testimony of one man. Men and women are not equal before the law. Religious freedom does not exist. Islam is superior to any religion. Qur’an 9:29 – “Fight those who do not believe in Allah nor in the Last Day, nor forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, nor embrace the religion of truth, from among the People of the Book, until they pay the jizya (a tax paid by non-Muslims to be allowed to practice their religion with willing submission and feel themselves subdued. And if someone leaves Islam (apostasy), it is punishable by death.  A man may divorce a woman on not much more than a whim by just a declaration. A man can have four wives, but marital infidelity is punishable by stoning. Amputation at the wrist is the punishment for theft. Yet murder can be forgiven when “genuine repentance” is expressed. Usury, charging interest for borrowed money, is forbidden and punished by eternal fire in hell. That is not going to work for Western philosophy nor capitalism.

Between 1979 and 1990, thousands of women marched in Tehran to oppose the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s rule on women’s clothing restrictions, and to broadcast music on the radio and television. These were met by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, wielding sticks and, later, lethal weapons, and shooting protesters point-blank. From 1999 to 2003, student protests were again subdued by the Mullahs. From 2009 to 2010, Iran saw its largest protests, resulting in killings and arrests of thousands of protestors.   Most recently, it is estimated that 40,000 protesters were killed by these Islamists in the riots of January and February this year. The authorities shut down the internet to hide the atrocities. These actions by the Iranian police and Revolutionary Guard have been some of the most inhumane actions against its own people since the Nazi’s Holocaust against the Jews. As the previous Shah predicted, if the Mullahs take over, it will set Iran back 1500 years!

Every president since Reagan has said something needs to be done about Iran, yet no one has done anything until now. Where are all the feminists? Do they not know about the unmitigated atrocities Islamists have inflicted on Iranian women? The Iranian regime was intent on developing a nuclear weapon that has been rumored to already exist. In fact, they bragged about having enough enriched uranium to make 11 nuclear bombs. If that is not an imminent danger, I don’t know what is. I don’t quite understand the complaints that the reasons to attack Iran have not been laid out. Have these people not been listening to the radio or TV? To me, the nuclear threat was high on the agenda. The numerous missiles they possessed were number two. Degrading Iran’s military (army and navy) was number three. Eliminating Iran’s threat to be the largest exporter of terrorism was also high on the list, and of course, shutting the path by which 20% of oil leaves the Middle East. By and large, these objectives have been accomplished. And I agree it’s about time to end it. The Iranian people deserve a regime that exploits its immense wealth and natural resources for their benefit under a government that is not modeled after the Nazis so that they can become a successful nation again.