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How U.S. Strikes on Iran Can Aid the Protest Movement
(National Interest) Janatan Sayeh - If U.S.-Iran talks collapse, how can the U.S. align military action with Iran's ongoing protest movement so that pressure accelerates regime fracture rather than suppresses it. After Iran accepted the aid of foreign militiamen from its Iraqi and Lebanese terror proxies to kill unarmed Iranian protesters in January, the protest movement appears far more willing to tolerate foreign intervention from its allies abroad. If Trump launches an extensive campaign targeting senior leadership and missile stockpiles, it should also include the forces actively suppressing protesters. Striking at Iran's repressive apparatus must go beyond hitting empty buildings. It is far more important to target Basij units and security forces actively involved in repression on the ground. This means leveraging real-time intelligence and precision drone operations, rather than relying solely on airstrikes against large fixed bases. But it is possible to do. The U.S. should apply its capabilities directly against mobile repression units, including Basij squads on motorcycles or pickup trucks mounted with heavy weapons. At present, protesters face live fire, while Basij forces operate with relative impunity. Once security personnel see that their own lives are in jeopardy, they are more likely to defect than to suppress. The writer is the Iran analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.