Khomeini’s Ideology and Its Legacy

Back in 1979, people across Iranian towns rallied to oppose the Shah, and the New York Times branded Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini an “Enigma.” At that time, Bernard Lewis was a prominent American scholar who had delved into Khomeini’s writings, many of which had been translated into English and were accessible to the public.

Contrary to the “Enigma” label, Lewis came to a rather harsh conclusion about Khomeini; he described him as profoundly unhinged. Yet, due to his reputation, which some perceived as racially biased, he faced backlash. At one point, an editor claimed Lewis was merely a Zionist operative spreading misleading information.

Khomeini’s ambitions went beyond mere nationalism; he aspired to assert himself as a leader of the Islamic world.

Khomeini advocated controversial ideas about marriage, suggesting that girls should tie the knot before reaching puberty, stressing that parents should prevent their daughters from hitting puberty at home. His own father had married at a young age, and Khomeini himself wed at just ten, becoming a father by eleven. He criticized Iran’s poverty, attributing it to foreign and Jewish influences, and dismissed nationalism as a Western plot to weaken Islam.

At the core of Khomeini’s ideology was a quest for power. Vali Nasr, a notable authority on Shia Islam, pointed out that Khomeini sought recognition as a significant Islamic leader. He envisioned Iran’s Islamic Republic as a center for a global Islamic movement, akin to how Lenin and Trotsky viewed Russia during the potential global communist revolution.

Khomeini’s commitment to establishing a Shia caliphate showed there was no cost too high for him. During the devastating Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, Ayatollah Maedi Khali Yazdi confronted him amidst the loss of countless young lives, questioning if a ceasefire was possible. Khomeini retorted, “Do you fault God when there’s an earthquake?”

Economic worries, Khomeini implied, were less important than his grand vision, famously stating, “Economics is for donkeys,” asserting that the revolution wasn’t about the cost of watermelons.

The Legacy of Khomeini’s Ideology

Even after Khomeini’s death in 1989, his ideology persisted. In 2021, Firas Tlass, a former Syrian official, remarked about an Iranian strategy aiming to dominate the region.

This strategy, which was deceptively simple, involved targeting Muslim-majority countries, identified as having political vacuums. There, they set up educational systems teaching a radical version of Shia Islam. Twelve years later, they had a new generation of fighters ready to act. This method extended from Lebanon to Yemen.

The Iranians even ventured to Kosovo in the 1990s. Tlass noted that in the mid-2000s, former Iran President Muhammad Khatami predicted that Iran would balance US influence within two decades.

Nearly two decades later, during the Gaza conflict, the world witnessed the emergence of a radical Shia coalition. Tehran mobilized the Multinational Representative Army. While Israel emerged victorious, the situation revealed the risks posed by a Shia caliphate.

Moreover, Hezbollah unleashed a relentless bombardment that rendered northern Israel unlivable. Iranian-supported Houthi rebels disrupted global transport routes. Additionally, when the Iraqi Prime Minister attempted to negotiate essential economic assistance, Shiite militias, loyal to Iran, launched an assault on Israel, firing hundreds of rockets on April 13, 2024. A senior member of Iraqi security forces remained clandestinely devoted to Iran and its leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Fundamental Misunderstandings

In light of these developments, American allies in the region, particularly Saudi Arabia, expressed frustration over what they viewed as Washington’s naivety. The Biden administration’s focus on “human rights” significantly hindered Saudi Arabia’s efforts against Iran-aligned Houthi forces in Yemen. A senior Saudi journalist remarked, “If you won’t allow us to confront the Houthis, then you have to deal with the consequences yourself.”

Reportedly, Biden envoy Amos Hochstein offered aid to Hezbollah for rebuilding parts of southern Lebanon provided the group ceased its attacks on Israel. Critics argued that punitive measures should have been enforced on Lebanon’s struggling economy following the initial rocket fire.

Even after over 130 assaults targeting US forces by Iranian proxies, the reaction from the Biden administration was subdued. In one instance, when Iranian-backed militias killed three American troops stationed in Jordan on January 28, 2024, the US response felt markedly restrained, even lifting sanctions to enable Iran to boost oil exports significantly.

As for the nuclear deal with Iran, debates continue regarding how soon Iran might secure nuclear weapons. The deal, with its limitations set for just 15 years, ironically provided Iran with over $100 billion. Many analysts expressed hope that a portion of these funds would bolster Iran’s economy and improve citizens’ lives. This perspective suggests a critical misjudgment of Iran’s true priorities—an oversight that echoes past mistakes of the Trump administration.