> I did not advocate for a Western-backed dictatorship. The false choice you're presenting (Islamic republic vs Western puppet state) isn't the one Iranians are

> I did not advocate for a Western-backed dictatorship. The false choice you're presenting (Islamic republic vs Western puppet state) isn't the one Iranians are making. Iranians are not asking for a Western-backed dictatorship. Iranians are saying "stop spending our money blowing up the Middle East and end this pointless forever war with Israel". Iranians want a different foreign policy. I think that your post could certainly have been read that way. Like, the regime of the Shah was also hated by lots of Iranians (hence the revolution). Leaving out that context is somewhat misleading. I agree with you that lots of Iranians want change (and I'd love to see it for them), but bombing people is rarely an effective strategy for removing regimes you don't like (has it ever worked? Maybe Serbia I suppose). It would be great if Israel/US/Iran all had friendly relations, but the most recent war is likely to make that much less likely, unfortunately.