ARI Resources on the American Conflict with Iran
Learn about ARI’s decades-long perspective on Iran
Through decades of conflicts in the Middle East, the Ayn Rand Institute has consistently identified Iran as the fountainhead of global Islamic terrorism. We have called for military action against Iran when previous administrations were distracted by other targets. In light of recent joint U.S.-Israel attacks launched against Iran on February 28, 2026, we are publishing a list of ARI’s resources on Iran, Islamic terrorism, and the Middle East.
Essential resources:
America’s Failure to Confront Iran: Ayn Rand Comments
(Republished June 19, 2025; originally published, 1980)
What would be the proper course of action for the US during the 1979–81 Iranian hostage crisis? How should we have gone about getting the hostages back?
The U.S. Has Appeased Iran for Decades
(July 17, 2024)
A special collection of clips highlighting some of our analysts’ most compelling warnings and predictions.
‘End States Who Sponsor Terrorism’
(Republished November 7, 2023; originally published October 2, 2001)
Leonard Peikoff diagnosed the policy that made possible the September 11 attacks and warned of the consequences of continuing it: “If our appeasement has led to an escalation of disasters in the past, can it do otherwise in the future?”
‘Religious Terrorism vs. Free Speech’
(Republished August 12, 2022; originally published in 1989)
Here is the Ayn Rand Institute’s statement, authored by Leonard Peikoff, upholding the principle of freedom of speech and denouncing the 1989 Iranian death-decree against Rushdie.
20 Years Since 9/11: ARI’s Distinctive Philosophic Analysis
(September 12, 2021)
A compilation of some of ARI’s distinctive commentary and analysis on foreign policy between 2001 and 2021.
ARI’s Uncompromising Voice for Reason Since 9/11
(September 8, 2021)
Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo discuss the Institute’s analysis of 9/11, the U.S. response to the Islamist threat, and the repercussions today.
Preface to Failing to Confront Islamic Totalitarianism
(August 6, 2021)
In Failing to Confront Islamic Totalitarianism, in which authors Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo evaluate the nature of the militant Islamic threat, the role of a proper foreign policy in defending citizens’ freedom, and the morality of a just war, among other issues. The second edition expands on the first edition’s argument that Islamism is alive and well — and that it cannot be defeated without first understanding it down to its philosophic roots. You can also download the book for free by subscribing to our email list.
Recent Podcasts, interviews and lectures:
Iranian Theocracy on the Brink? Why Protesters Deserve Our Moral Support
(January 14, 2026)
Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo examine why Iran’s ongoing uprising may be the regime’s most serious challenge yet — and why it deserves far more moral support from the free world.
Principles of a Proper Foreign Policy
(July 2, 2025)
Peter Schwartz argues that a nation’s foreign policy should be guided by the principle of individual rights and aimed at protecting the nation’s freedom. He discusses how to address threats from Iran and elsewhere.
Beyond the ‘Isolationist’-Neoconservative False Choice on Iran
(June 30, 2025)
Yaron Brook and Elan Journo unpack the main arguments surrounding Israel’s strikes on Iran, criticizing both anti-war “isolationists” and pro-war neoconservatives for failing to adopt a rational, self-interested approach to the issue.
News Roundup: The Israel-Iran War
(June 20, 2025)
Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo discuss Israel’s war against Iran: why Israel’s war is a positive development and why a self-interested American foreign policy must break from the legacy of 9/11.
The New Iran Deal: Trump Recycles Obama Amoralism
(May 5, 2025)
Elan Journo and Ben Bayer discuss the Trump administration’s move to restart nuclear talks with Iran by rehashing Obama’s failed deal.
A Year After October 7: What the Conflict Is Actually About
(October 7, 2024)
Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo discuss Western misconceptions around October 7 and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including why the war is really between Israel and Iran, how pragmatism effects the West’s inability to understand Iran, and how Palestinian grievances help pragmatists evade Iran’s ideology.
How America’s 9/11 Response Enabled October 7
(September 11, 2024)
Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo discuss how the failure of American post-9/11 policy led to the October 7 attacks, including how religion and altruism undermined the response to Islamic totalitarianism.
Iran Attacks Israel
(April 13, 2024)
Elan Journo offers initial commentary on Iran’s strike on Israel.
Why Iran Fuels the Mideast War
(November 1, 2023)
Onkar Ghate, Elan Journo and Nikos Sotirakopoulos analyze Iran’s ideological aims and militant ambitions, in another episode of our mini-series on shedding light on the Middle East.
Ghate and Journo on What Went Wrong After 9/11
(September 11, 2023)
Elan Journo and Onkar Ghate argue that Biden’s U.S. prisoner swap with the Iranian regime is an example of the same kind of unprincipled appeasement of the Islamist threat that was pervasive before 9/11.
The U.S.-Iran Prisoner Swap: Biden’s Policy of Delusion
(April 31, 2023)
Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo discuss the Biden administration’s prisoner swap with the Iranian regime and how it reflects the delusional attitudes and non-objective thinking that lead to America’s continuous foreign policy failures with regard to Islamic totalitarianism.
The Protests in Russia and Iran
(October 5, 2022)
Ben Bayer and Nikos Sotirakopoulos discuss the recent protests against the authoritarian regimes of Iran and Russia. They analyze the common causes that animate these public demonstrations and offer a philosophical perspective on why they effectively undermine the moral legitimacy of these dictatorships.
The Sorry Legacy of Our Policy Toward Iran
(August 17, 2022)
Onkar Ghate, Agustina Vergara Cid and Nikos Sotirakopoulos discuss Iran’s recent attempts — on American soil — to assassinate Masih Alinejad, a journalist and critic of the Iranian regime, and John Bolton, a former U.S. National Security Advisor, as well as the stabbing of author Salman Rushdie, whose murder Iran has advocated for over 30 years. They discuss the philosophic nature of the Iranian regime and how decades of failed U.S. policy has emboldened Iran and other enemies.
The Charlie Hebdo Assassinations: Six Years Later
(January 6, 2021)
On the sixth anniversary of the murderous attacks on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper in Paris, Elan Journo and Onkar Ghate discuss the attacks as a symptom of the erosion of free speech in the West.
9/11: Learning the Right Lessons
(September 9, 2020)
Onkar Ghate, Elan Journo and Ben Bayer discuss the legacy of the U.S. response to 9/11 and the lessons we should have learned from it.
Recent articles:
What Iranian Protesters Deserve from Us
(October 26, 2022)
Elan Journo explains why we vastly underappreciate the power of America’s moral sanction.
Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton Paved the Road to 9/11 (Part 1, Part 2)
September 7 and 9, 2022)
Elan Journo argues that in the decades before 9/11, our political leaders failed to recognize that war had been launched against us and that the enemy is Islamic totalitarianism, inspired by the Islamic Republic of Iran. They managed only to appease and encourage the enemy’s aggression.
Why U.S. Failed in Afghanistan. No, It’s Not What You Think.
(August 20, 2021)
Elan Journo and Onkar Ghate argue that we should blame our political and intellectual leaders, across two decades, for evading the ideological nature of the enemy and, consequently, miring U.S. forces in a “no-win” war.
Western Apathy Toward Iran’s Religious Dictatorship
(February 17, 2021)
Elan Journo discusses an interview with Iranian activist Shaparak Shajarizadeh.
Flemming Rose on Islamist Threats to Free Speech
(December 9, 2020)
Elan Journo discusses an interview with free speech activist Fleming Rose.
Sept. 11 and the Failure to Confront Islamic Totalitarianism
(September 11, 2019)
Preface to the first edition of Failing to Confront Islamic Totalitarianism.
Jihadists: Understanding the Nature of the Enemy
(April 16, 2018)
Elan Journo identifies the nature and goals of the jihadist threat, as led by the Iranian regime.
See also: ARI’s Resources on Israel, Palestine, and the Middle East
Image Credit: Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran via Getty Images
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