4/17/2020 Why Washington Should Seek Regime Change in Tehran

e Next Iranian Revolution

Why Washington Should Seek Regime Change in Tehran
By Eric Edelman and Ray Takeyh May/June 2020

Play Audio

Rioting in Tehran, Iran, November 2019

Wana / Reuters

“R egime change” is a toxic phrase in Washington. It conjures up images of the Iraq

war,
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those who favor a coercive U.S. approach

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4/17/2020 Why Washington Should Seek Regime Change in Tehran

secretly supporting regime change. In response, the accused almost always deny it. ey
don’t want regime change, they insist: they just want the Islamic Republic’s theocrats to
change their behavior.

But no such transformation will ever take place, because the Iranian regime remains a
revolutionary movement that will never accommodate the United States. at is why regime
change is not a radical or reckless idea but the most pragmatic and e ective goal for U.S.
policy toward Iran—indeed, it is the only objective that has any chance of meaningfully
reducing the Iranian threat.

Backing regime change emphatically does not mean advocating a

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