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Source: https://nypost.com/2026/01/06/opinion/irans-brave-protesters-fight-for-freedom-and-trump-can-help/
How the U.S. Can Help Iran's Brave Protesters Fighting for Freedom
(New York Post) Mark Dubowitz and Ben Cohen - It is time to pair "maximum pressure" on the Iranian regime with a clear policy of maximum support for the Iranians who are determined to overthrow it. Regime change won't come from U.S. troops marching on Tehran, but from Iranians in the streets. The U.S. should use its cyber and intelligence capabilities to degrade the regime's repression apparatus and level the battlefield for unarmed civilians facing an armed regime. It should enable secure communications by expanding free VPN programs and working with private-sector partners like Starlink to keep Iranians connected. Cyber operations can disrupt regime coordination. Psychological pressure and digital influence campaigns can fracture elite loyalty. Incentives can encourage defections. Regime support networks at home and abroad can be dismantled. Regime officials at all levels should face targeted sanctions and asset freezes - and frozen Iranian assets held abroad should be used to finance labor strike funds. Not since 1979 has Iran's regime been so vulnerable. After nearly half a century of theocratic darkness, history has opened a narrow door. President Trump should help push it open. Mark Dubowitz is chief executive of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where Ben Cohen is a senior analyst.