The Iranian people deserve a future beyond religious dictatorship, political repression and permanent confrontation with the outside world. The tragedy of the 1979 revolution is that the overthrow of one authoritarian system produced another—one that has made revolutionary ideology an instrument of domestic control and regional interference.
My view is that the international community must confront that legacy with greater resolve. A US-led intervention, including an invasion, should be considered if it offers a credible route to ending the regime’s tyranny and securing lasting peace. But anyone advocating that course must explain how it would protect civilians and deliver an Iranian-led political settlement. Calling an invasion “liberation” does not, by itself, make it so.
A revolution that exported confrontation
The Islamic Republic has repeatedly pursued influence through armed organisations beyond its borders. Its relationships with Hezbollah in Lebanon, militias in Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen have helped it project power while complicating efforts to establish accountable government and regional security. The House of Commons Library documents how these alliances developed, often where war and weak institutions created opportunities for Iranian intervention.
These organisations have their own interests and do not simply obey every instruction from Tehran. Nevertheless, supplying armed partners gives the Iranian leadership a means of exerting pressure far beyond its frontiers.
The result is a dangerous pattern: military influence exercised through fragmented states, confrontation with regional rivals, and populations left to bear the consequences. Iran is not responsible for every conflict in the Middle East, but its rulers have repeatedly helped sustain conditions in which instability flourishes.
In my judgement, this conduct has earned the regime its pariah reputation. Respect for sovereignty cannot mean demanding protection for Iran’s borders while helping armed movements undermine the authority of other countries.
The nuclear danger demands precision
A nuclear-armed Islamic Republic would pose a grave additional danger. It could encourage the leadership to take greater risks and deepen its neighbours’ insecurity.
However, the distinction between nuclear capability and a proven decision to manufacture weapons matters. Enrichment capacity, missing safeguards information and restricted inspections are serious concerns; they are not interchangeable with evidence of a completed bomb.
In September 2026, Australia’s statement to the IAEA Board of Governors highlighted continuing safeguards concerns. Meanwhile, Associated Press reported the IAEA chief’s assessment that the agency had identified no reconstruction activity at nuclear facilities damaged in the 2025 and 2026 attacks.
The strongest argument against the regime rests on accurate evidence. Preventing an Iranian nuclear weapon requires reliable verification and enforceable restrictions, alongside a clear assessment of what military action could actually achieve.
The Iranian people are paying the price
The moral case against the Islamic Republic begins at home.
UN investigators have documented grave abuses against Iranians, including repression amounting to crimes against humanity. Their findings describe a state willing to use killing, imprisonment and torture against people demanding change. The OHCHR’s record of the fact-finding mission provides a substantial body of evidence.
Iran’s citizens should be free to organise, speak, practise their beliefs and choose their government. Women should have control over their own lives. Political disagreement should never carry the threat of imprisonment or death.
Opposing this regime means standing with those rights. It must never become hostility towards Iranians, Muslims or a country with an extraordinary cultural heritage.
The case for intervention must include the aftermath
I support building broad international backing for decisive action to end the regime’s capacity for repression and regional aggression, including a US-led invasion if a credible case can be established.
That position carries obligations. International support would need to be demonstrated, and any operation would require a lawful basis, civilian protection, humanitarian provision and a workable transition. Iranian democratic voices must shape the outcome.
The ongoing war already illustrates the danger. UN investigators have also reported reasonable grounds to believe that US strikes committed war crimes. Allegations against an intervening power deserve scrutiny and accountability. A campaign presented as liberation cannot excuse the unlawful killing of those it claims to free.
Military victory and political success are different achievements. An invasion that shattered institutions, empowered rival militias or imposed an indefinite occupation could deepen the very instability it sought to resolve.
The objective should be an Iran whose people govern themselves, whose neighbours can live without intimidation, and whose nuclear activities are subject to effective verification. Ending tyranny is a worthy ambition. Delivering freedom requires a plan that survives the first day after the regime falls.
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