End it Now!
Unfortunately, it will take régime change to make it happen
In January 2026, the Iranian people staged one of their largest protests to date. They were gunned down by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) where the reported casualties numbered in the thousands; by some accounts, up to 40,000 starving freedom seekers were slaughtered. You see, when totalitarian fanatics are faced with uprisings, they always turn to squashing it with great efficiency.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu had been going on public airways to encourage an Iranian revolution after the protests. He stated that the Israelis would support their defiance. A subsequent uprising never occurred. I guess something about having 40,000 of your fellow travelers wiped off the face of the earth tends to quell too much decent.
Netanyahu probably whispered in President Trump’s ear about an attack being a walk in the park—two weeks, at most before the IRGC slithered off to parts unknown. Trump echoed this by initially establishing a two week window before hostilities ended. Who knows whether this was based on actual intelligence or wishful thinking—or as a means by Netanyahu to drag us into the potential quagmire, which is where we are now. As long as we’re bombing the crap out of Iran, the pressures on the Israelis are greatly diminished.
President Trump’s biggest mistake was trusting Israeli intelligence; not, necessarily, because they got it wrong but because he thought it would work. I truly believe that Trump thought it would take a couple of days of shock and awe and the fanatics would piss themselves and surrender.
Diplomacy isn’t worth discussing. These fanatics aren’t interested in peace. Delay and obstruction is their game. Maybe the Democrats win in November and a war powers restriction would give the IRGC the win.
This only ends with régime change. Régime change can only happen with a popular uprising or boots on the ground. I don’t want boots on the ground nor should any of us. Anyone advocating such nonsense should be on the first landing craft—put your money where your mouth is. I don’t think there will be any takers. It would be a meat grinder and not one more American life is worth that.
The Iranian armed forces are split between the IRGC and the regular army, the Artesh. Total, their troop strength stands at 570,000 soldiers with 350,000 reservists. The IRGC numbers around 150,000 within that total. It has been said that the members of the Artesh are not completely behind the goals of the IRGC. This could be from the same intelligence that predicted an easy régime change or there could be some strong truth behind it. I doubt, though, there would be a lot of Artesh coming to rescue the IRGC.
One problem is that most Iranians have no idea what would come next; anyone under 55 years-old has no idea what Iran was before the Islamic Revolution and it wasn’t all peaches and cream. There would be some hesitancy to revolt. Sometimes dealing with the devil you know is preferable to the devil you do not.
There is a government in “waiting” in the name of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). I know absolutely nothing about this crew and you really haven’t heard much from them. Who knows what kind of support they wield. So far, they might as well be window washers on the Empire State Building.
And so, the normal, everyday guy in Iran is going to have to take matters into his own hands. A little incentive is necessary.
My grandfather once told me that when he was a child, and this would be in the early 1900s, their farm community was overrun by black crows. To combat this scourge, the local seed and feed store offered a nickel a crow’s head. Problem solved. And a bunch of kids made bank. A nickel went a long way back then.
And this got me to thinking…
Iran’s economy crashed a while ago, even before any of our military adventurism began.
Inflation in Iran is running around 69% on an annual basis.
The average salary in Iran is $400-500 a month, about $5,400 a year. After taxes, the take home pay is between $250-300 or $3,300 annually.
That’s a lot of incentive for a starving people.
According to a poll that was leaked to an outside media source, only 9% of Iranians support the current status quo while a strong twenty percent favored complete régime change.
Meanwhile, one Tomahawk missile costs roughly $2 million a pop. How many have we used in Iran thus far? There’s a concrete number somewhere but you can easily imagine a figure closing in on a thousand and there are a hell of a lot more costly weapons we’re throwing at them as well.
What would it take for the IRGC to throw in the towel? How about $2,500 a head? How many dead IRGC devils would it take for them to head for the hills? Maybe 50,000, a third of their estimated force?
We are a seed and feed store. The crows have overwhelmed us and so $2,500 a head ought to wipe them out.
Each Iranian that can turn in an IRGC member’s head, with their corresponding ID card, would receive $2,500 a pop. A guy who takes down two gets $5,000—that’s a year’s pay. Three heads? Four? Ten? We’re starting to get into generational wealth for these starving souls.
The scheme would cost us a cool $125 million. The estimated cost of this war since February 2026 is about $38 billion. You can do the math.
Air dropping a hundred thousand or so machetes over the major population centers give them the tools. Something about witnessing the barbaric deaths of thousands of your neighbors will light a fire within them.
Every single IRGC member would be constantly looking over their shoulders. They wouldn’t feel safe anywhere there was a civilian population. Who knows whom may be waiting just around the next corner on a crowded street.
Through coordinated bombings and the Iranian peoples’ rage, this could be wrapped up fairly quickly.
Brutal? Yes. Barbaric? Absolutely. That, however, is the neighborhood in which they reside, the bed that they made.