A recent poll found that among Democrats under 50, Iran is viewed more favorably than Israel—a data point that would have been unthinkable a generation ago, and one that demands explanation. The Iran war has revealed that a surprising contingent on both the left and right express sympathy—or even open support—for the Iranian regime. Even professors of anthropology, such as Alireza Doostdar at the University of Chicago, have intoned that “the best and only hope for peace is the power and durability of Iranian missiles.”
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) harbors explicit genocidal intentions against both Israel and the United States, famously branding these allies as the “Little Satan” and the “Great Satan.” It pursues nuclear weapons in service of those aims and presides over one of the world’s worst human-rights records. How is it possible that a regime defined by repression of freedoms at home—subjugating women, dissidents, LGBT, and others—and genocidal incitement abroad, could become an object of admiration among people who claim to advocate for human rights?
