The United States and Israel may soon stand on the verge of a strategic breakthrough against the regime in Iran. After decades of confrontation—covert operations, sanctions, intelligence warfare, and now unprecedented military coordination—the clerical regime that has destabilized the Middle East for nearly half a century appears more vulnerable than at any time since the revolution of 1979.

If that regime falls, it will mark one of the most consequential geopolitical shifts of the 21st century. Yet it would be dangerously naïve to believe that such a victory alone will end the threat Iran represents.

Because while Tehran may soon lose its grip on power at home, its ideology has already traveled far beyond its borders.

For decades, Iran has waged two wars simultaneously. One is visible: the financing and arming of militant proxies such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The other is quieter but potentially more corrosive: the export of a revolutionary Islamist worldview that seeks to undermine Western societies from within.

That ideological front became impossible to ignore after the atrocities of the October 7 attacks. In the weeks that followed, scenes unfolded across American campuses that stunned many Americans. Demonstrations erupted in which some activists openly rationalized—or even celebrated—the murder of Israeli civilians. Encampments became platforms where the language of jihadist movements blended with the rhetoric of Western protest culture.

These events did not emerge in a vacuum. For years, billions of dollars have flowed into Western universities from foreign governments, particularly from states such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia. These funds have shaped academic programs, research centers, and campus activism in ways that too often echo narratives promoted by Tehran.

Ideologies, once planted, rarely stay contained.

America has faced this problem before. During the Cold War, Washington understood that defeating the geopolitical ambitions of the Soviet Union required more than military deterrence. The United States confronted the ideological appeal of communism directly—in universities, cultural institutions, and public debate. The West ultimately prevailed not only because of its economic and military strength but because it was willing to defend its ideas and values with equal determination.

Today, the West faces a similar ideological challenge—this time from radical jihadist Islamism.

One of the more disturbing spectacles of this ideological distortion has been the repeated exploitation of a fringe anti-Zionist Jewish sect, Neturei Karta. For years, members of this tiny group have traveled to Tehran to participate in conferences and propaganda events hosted by the Iranian regime. Their presence—widely condemned across the Jewish world—has been used by Tehran as a cynical public relations tool to suggest that even Jews support Iran’s hostility toward Israel.

More recently, individuals associated with this sect have appeared alongside pro-Hamas activists at demonstrations in Western cities and on university campuses. Images of ultra-Orthodox Jews standing beside demonstrators waving Hamas flags are then circulated globally as proof that opposition to Israel transcends religious and cultural lines.

The propaganda value is obvious. The damage to Jewish unity—and to honest public discourse—is immense.

If the regime in Iran collapses, these grotesque spectacles will likely end. Tehran has long provided the stage on which such propaganda is performed. Remove the regime, and the stage disappears.

But removing the stage abroad will not be enough if the ideological audience remains here at home.

A serious strategy to defeat Iran’s influence must include confronting the networks through which its ideology has seeped into Western institutions. The first step should be straightforward: foreign nationals who openly supported or glorified terrorist violence during the post–October 7 campus encampments should face deportation proceedings. The United States has every right to deny hospitality to those who celebrate the mass murder of civilians while enjoying the privileges of living and studying here.

At the same time, Washington must scrutinize the financial pipelines that allow foreign governments to shape intellectual life on American campuses. Universities should be places of open inquiry, not conduits for ideological influence funded by regimes that oppose the very freedoms those institutions represent.

This is not a question of suppressing dissent. It is a question of national resilience.

When America confronted communism during the Cold War, it recognized that the battlefield extended beyond tanks and missiles. It included ideas, institutions, and the cultural foundations of society itself.

The same is true today.

Defeating Iran militarily—or even witnessing the collapse of its regime—would be a historic achievement. But if the ideology that animated that regime continues to spread inside Western societies, the victory will be incomplete.

The war against Iran’s regime may soon be won in Tehran.

The more difficult question is whether the West has the courage to win the ideological war within its own borders.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)