Ask Haviv Anything Episode 79: Breaking Iran's machinery of oppression
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Jan 14, 2026 Iran is currently engulfed in protests against a regime resistant to both internal dissent and external pressure. The discussion delves into how ideology fortifies the regime's grip on power, despite widespread unpopularity. It examines the delicate balance of martyrdom, repression, and the West's role in strategically dismantling the regime's machinery. Practical steps to encourage defections and ensure communications amidst crackdowns are outlined, alongside warnings against misguided military interventions that could strengthen the regime's narrative.
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Defiance, Not Competence, Fuels The Regime
- The Islamic Republic's survival is rooted in ideological defiance, not competence or prosperity.
- That sacred-resistance legitimacy lets the regime treat failure as validation and strengthens repression.
A Personal View From The Region
- Haviv Rettig Gur reflects personally as an Israeli and Jew watching Iranians brave gunfire for freedom.
- He warns against cheap external calls for regime change and urges focus on machinery that can be broken.
Sacred Sacrifice Creates Suicidal Capacity
- Revolutionary Islamist regimes sacralize sacrifice, making compromise morally polluting.
- That ethos creates 'suicidal capacity' to absorb and inflict extreme harm to survive.