October 6, 2026 - 9:00 pm

It’s quite useful to find out who your enemy fears.

Last week, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps put out an open letter to Americans. The IRGC is a terrorist organization. It has killed Americans and funded terrorism around the world. The IRGC played a part in Iran murdering thousands of Iranian protesters this year.

The IRGC would like you to believe that Iran has achieved “victory” after it “decimated American bases located in the Persian Gulf region.” That isn’t true. Tragically, 19 U.S. service members have died. Iran didn’t cause all of those deaths directly. In March, six service members died when a refueling aircraft crashed. The United States has lost some aircraft.

Iran has lost far more. Its conventional navy and air force have been crippled. The United States destroyed stockpiles of ballistic missiles and mines. It destroyed much of Iran’s missile- and drone-making infrastructure, although it’s unlikely the damage is permanent.

But when you’re a terrorist regime, lying is par for the course. When President Donald Trump was mad at the press, he temporarily removed some outlets from the White House. When Iranian leaders don’t like journalists, the regime kills them. Notice also which government keeps turning off the internet.

The IRGC then attempts to use America’s political disagreements to further divide the country. It claims the country’s “economy is on the precipice of collapse.” The letter bemoans the number of people in America’s prisons and high gun deaths. Of course, Iran attacks America for supporting “the diabolical ambitions of Israel.”

In a patriotic country, this type of propaganda doesn’t fly. Killing terrorists who want to kill Americans, not debating their psychobabble, is unifying. Even if there’s an element of truth to something your enemy says, you set it aside because your enemy wants to kill you and your fellow countrymen.

And, yes, the terrorists who run Iran want to kill you. They’ve spent years chanting “Death to America.” It’s on video. Now, the IRGC claims the “phrase ‘Death to America,’ which Iranians have been chanting since the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, does not in any way express any ill will toward the American people.”

Believing that is the equivalent of a chicken letting a fox into the henhouse because the fox promised to provide security.

Trump isn’t repeating the mistakes of the Iraq War. With his blockade, he has found the regime’s weak point. Iran’s economy is buckling and inflation is at 70 percent. This threatens the ruling regime even without boots on the ground. Its best hope of survival is an electoral setback for Trump that forces him to ease up.

But the trade-off is higher gasoline prices. Trump’s popularity has suffered because of it. Many Republicans are likely to lose because of it. That’s what the IRGC wants. It says America can be “saved” if citizens use their “votes” to “change the makeup of the government.”

In other words, the Iranian terrorists who want to kill you would like you to vote for Democrats this election. Consider the source.

Victor Joecks’ column appears in the Opinion section each Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. Contact him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.