As war between Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran continues, numerous world leaders call for mutual restraint. Such knee-jerk diplomacy is counterproductive, however, if a ceasefire is less about finding a solution than simply achieving a pause before further escalation.
The main issue for the Western world, moderate Arab camp, and Iranians themselves should not only be the Iranian regime’s nuclear threat, but also its reliance on violence and terror sponsorship.
Diplomatic agreements can provide Band-Aids, but the only lasting solution will lie at the hands of Iranian grassroots. Iranian activists can both drive regime change and replace the Islamic Republic with a legitimate governance that enhances stability in the Middle East. The Iranian leadership understands this, which is why the regime has restricted internet access since the Israeli strikes began. Such censorship is reflex. Each time the grassroots opposition rises, the regime moves to isolate the people.
Since 2017, Iranians across the country repeatedly have taken to the streets to call explicitly for the fall of the regime.
While there were anti-mandatory hijab protests in March 1979, any perception of Islamic Republic legitimacy began to erode in 1999, when mass protests began just twenty years after the Islamic Revolution. Over the past decade, these have taken a distinctly anti-regime character. Since 2017, Iranians across the country repeatedly have taken to the streets to call explicitly for the fall of the regime. Each time, the international community has met their demands with silence or empty statements.
During the current crisis, the international community cannot afford to miss again. Iranians began calling for the downfall of the regime on June 13, 2025, as the airstrikes began. If the international community wants to make the current war Iran’s last, then they must offer maximum support. Iranian dissidents and grassroots activists are explicit in what they need.
First, it is essential to enable independent internet access. Access to information is not a luxury; it is a lifeline. Internet blackouts are a cornerstone of the regime’s repression. To break this pattern, international partners should expedite deployment of independent connectivity options—such as Starlink or equivalent satellite systems—and high-grade VPNs. While Elon Musk has confirmed that Starlink is operational over Iran, access for the general public is still limited, perhaps because the public still cannot connect or receive it in convenient ways.
It is also crucial to disrupt the regime’s infrastructure of repression. This means pressuring companies to stop their sale of surveillance tools, sanctioning front groups and charities tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and exposing financial assets and lobbying operations in the West.
Governments should track and ban lobbying groups that act as unregistered foreign agents to whitewash the regime’s image, freeze assets held by regime insiders in Europe, North America, and Arab states, and prosecute agents of transnational repression who target dissidents on foreign soil. These actions not only weaken the regime—they also signal to Iranians that the world no longer turns a blind eye.
Western governments should cease their formal recognition of a regime that does not deserve it.
The Iranian regime is illegitimate. Western governments should cease their formal recognition of a regime that does not deserve it. Western parliaments and multilateral bodies should reassess their engagement with the regime. Instead of hosting regime diplomats, they should give the floor to Iranian civil society. Until real change occurs, the Islamic Republic should face isolation, not a continuation of business as usual.
To build lasting pressure, international allies should move beyond symbolism and recognize Iran’s real representatives: its people. Western governments, civil society, and institutions should build grassroots networks and give a bullhorn to independent figures and groups that reflect the will of the Iranian people.
Unions, student associations, community leaders, and engaged individuals can all contribute by lobbying their own governments, sending emails, and making phone calls to demand a cut in diplomatic ties. This person-to-person and institution-to-institution alignment can create pressure that formal diplomacy has failed to deliver.
Iran’s opposition is diverse. Attempts to elevate a single figure or faction as “the voice” of the movement undermine credibility and alienate natural allies. International actors should support mechanisms that amplify inclusive dialogue—particularly voices from women, youth, minorities, and local organizers. Real representation depends on pluralism, not pre-packaged alternatives.
Iran’s people are not asking for saviors; they seek partners to rescue not only themselves, but also the world, from the continued existence of a regime built on hostage-taking, regional instability, and domestic brutality. It is a time for strategy and alignment with the only force that has ever challenged the regime from within: the Iranian people.
