Across the World, some talk about Iran as if it were a case study—a problem that can be solved with carefully drafted transition plans, councils, and international oversight. They write as if the Islamic Republic were a normal government, one that could be reasoned with, persuaded, or guided out of power. It cannot.

The regime does not step down because someone writes a plan. It does not disarm because a referendum is proposed. And it certainly does not allow free elections while it controls the streets, the prisons, and the guns. Any strategy that assumes otherwise is a fantasy.

The Lion and Sun Revolution Belongs to Those Who Sacrifice

The real revolution is not happening in foreign conference rooms. It is happening inside Iran, on the streets, in the neighborhoods where tens of thousands of young Iranians — mostly Generation Z — risk everything. Their courage is not theoretical. It is written in blood. Their fight is not for headlines or international recognition. It is for the survival of their country.

This is what many abroad fail to understand: the revolution belongs to those who live it, who bleed for it, and who face the consequences daily. It is not a project to be managed from the safety of another continent.

The Islamic Regime Operatives Disguised as “Opposition”

Unfortunately, some who claim to represent change abroad are the very people slowing it down. They operate from safety, using platforms, media, and institutions to insert themselves into the narrative of Iran’s struggle. As the late Manook Khodabakhshian warned, the Islamic Republic has incepted itself abroad, using mainstream media and institutions to maintain power for decades.

Figures such as Mohsen Sazegara, who helped shape the early revolutionary movement only to later operate from foreign capitals, or Mohsen Makhmalbaf, whose cultural influence and commentary have often blurred the brutality of the system he once navigated, now attempt to hijack the Lion and Sun Revolution. Alongside others like Shahriar Ahi,  they claim to speak for Iran’s youth while sitting safely abroad.

Let us be clear: these are not opposition figures. They are accomplices to the regime’s survival, whether intentionally or through opportunism. They trade Iranian blood for attention, relevance, and influence. They have never risked life, freedom, or family for Iran. Yet they now speak as if they can shape the destiny of a nation forged in sacrifice.

Hijacking the Revolution Is Not Leadership

Leadership is not attending panels or posting statements from the comfort of foreign cities. Leadership is standing with those who face bullets, imprisonment, and execution. Leadership is accepting the risk that comes with resisting tyranny on its soil.

Anyone attempting to rewrite the revolution from abroad — turning it into a managed transition, a council, or an international referendum — is not leading. They are hijacking. They are attempting to profit from the struggle of others, to redirect the sacrifices of Iranian youth into agendas that serve their own visibility, access, or relevance.

The Lion and Sun Revolution, the courage of young Iranians, the cries for freedom — these do not belong to them. They belong to those inside Iran who have paid the ultimate price.

The Hard Test of Credibility

Iran does not need another plan drafted from afar. It needs clarity: who truly stands with its people, and who does not.

Would you give the key to your house to someone who robbed, burned, or killed your family? I would not. That is the simple test here. Words, speeches, nostalgia for past roles, or social media statements cannot substitute for loyalty, courage, and risk.

Real representation is earned through shared struggle. It is proven in streets, prisons, and neighborhoods — not in panels, conferences, or online debates. Those who claim leadership without standing with those risking everything are not allies. They are distractions.

The Path Forward

Iran’s future will not be written by distant observers or self-proclaimed “leaders” abroad. It will be written by the young Iranians inside the country who refuse to surrender, who refuse to compromise, and who refuse to hand over their nation to anyone who prioritizes themselves.

Those who have hijacked, manipulated, or softened the revolution from abroad will not be remembered as heroes. They will be remembered as warnings.

The revolution is being written in blood. It belongs to those who fight. Everything else comes after.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)