Who is really in charge of Iran at this point?
I don't think it's Cardboard Mojtaba Khamenei, who hasn't been seen since the beginning of Operation Epic Fury. If you look at the various reports, he seems more like a placeholder who can be manipulated/used by the IRGC. That is assuming he's even still alive, which is a big question.
But many thought the power in the country was Ali Larijani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.
So what were his options? He knew that the U.S. and Israel have been decimating them militarily. They've destroyed most of their military capability. They're even taking out a lot of the Basij internal security forces that were used to suppress the people, with the help of tips from the Iranian people. That's going to help with resistance against the regime.
If we take what the foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said about the Strait of Hormuz at face value, then they're not going to stop most ships from traversing the Strait, which would largely resolve that issue. And, in any event, Trump has threatened that if they don't open it, their Kharg Island oil gets it next. That's something Iran (and China) don't want to lose. They also don't want to have to contend with more warships. Which is why Araghchi backpedaled and said it is open.
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So what can Iran do? One of the things they seem to have is the doom talking of Democrats and liberal media, pitching that we're losing/everything's a disaster, etc. Araghchi even quoted some of the Democratic talking points during his Zoom interview on "Face the Nation."
One of the other things they have left is to attempt to sow dissension and spread conspiracies on social media against the United States.
So we get to this tweet from Larijani from two days ago.
I’ve heard that the remaining members of Epstein’s network have devised a conspiracy to create an incident similar to 9/11 and blame Iran for it. Iran fundamentally opposes such terrorist schemes and has no war with the American people.
— Ali Larijani | علی لاریجانی (@alilarijani_ir) March 15, 2026
I’ve heard that the remaining members of Epstein’s network have devised a conspiracy to create an incident similar to 9/11 and blame Iran for it. Iran fundamentally opposes such terrorist schemes and has no war with the American people.
They oppose terrorist schemes and have no war with the American people? Then what have they been doing for 47 years as they killed Americans, including in terrorist attacks, and chanted "Death to America"? That lie tells you how much the rest of the tweet is worth. It's actually a pretty desperate play. As I said, running out of options.
The FBI should check out any possible terrorist threats. But the point, I think, is to exploit divisions, to push conspiracies to hurt the U.S., to hurt the effort to beat Iran.
But we can learn a big lesson from this: Let's not fall for or be played by conspiracies.
Because the reality is far different. And the reality caught up to Larijani on Tuesday when he was taken out in a strike by Israel.
“It’s clear they’re running out of steam,” Larijani told a TV interviewer in reference to Operation Epic Fury on Friday. How'd that work out for him? Who ended up running out of steam and time?
Now, all Iran has left is the invisible Cardboard Mojtaba, who may be gay, which isn't going to go over well in Iran.
You can see Israel shifting into the next phase: concentrating on removing the Basij that secured the regime.
The head of the Basij, Gholamreza Soleimani, was also taken out in a separate strike. That's sweet justice for the Iranian people after the Basij were allegedly involved in killing thousands. You have Basij defections increasing because of the fear they could be hit, as well as the economic uncertainty in the country. They're even trying to hide under overpasses now.
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But it isn't working. The idea: Take out the oppressors of the people, so the people can rise up and finish the job.
Around 300 Basij commanders and field officials were killed in a wave of overnight strikes on key command and operational centers of Iran’s Basij forces, Iran International has learned.
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) March 17, 2026
The strikes appeared to hit the logistics and command structure of a force long used to… pic.twitter.com/M2PR6IZiH2
The Israeli military on Tuesday released video of an airstrike on a checkpoint in Tehran and said it had targeted numerous checkpoints across the capital in recent hours following the killing of the head of the Basij Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) March 17, 2026
Footage… pic.twitter.com/feLrdVoOfT
That's continuing at speed, with the help of tips from the Iranian people.
Democrats and the Iranian regime can try to spin this, but it's not looking good for them. And that's good for America and the world.
