What President Trump Should Say to the People of Iran

Our aid comes with one condition

Dear People of Iran,

Congratulations on beginning your revolution for freedom from the theocratic regime that oppresses you. The people of America and I urge you to follow through.

We morally support and encourage any and all efforts on your part to overthrow the tyrannical regime, to free yourselves from its unjust, brutal rule, and to establish a rights-respecting republic. Doing so will enable you to think for yourselves, to act on your own judgment, to engage and trade with the rest of the free (or semi-free) world. In short, it will enable you to live fully as human beings.

Establishing and maintaining a rights-respecting republic is not easy. But you can do it. The Founders of America identified the essential elements of such a republic, and I urge you to read what they wrote on the subject—especially the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Federalist Papers. I also encourage you to read Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal by the American philosopher Ayn Rand, which shows how and why a fully free, truly capitalist society is not only practical, in that it enables the production of great wealth and prosperity—but also, and more fundamentally, moral, in that it is based on and protects individual rights.

The principle of individual rights is the recognition of the fact that each person—regardless of race, creed, status, or wealth—has a moral prerogative to live his life as he sees fit (the right to life); to act on his own judgment, free of coercion (liberty); to keep and use the product of his effort (property); to pursue the goals and values of his choosing (the pursuit of happiness); and to express his views, regardless of what others think or feel about them (freedom of speech).

This principle is the foundation on which individual prosperity and civilized society depend. I not only encourage you to embrace it; I encourage you to outstrip America in your recognition and acceptance of this vital truth. That would be beautiful. And it would give Americans something noble to strive for.

As for technological or military assistance from the United States in your effort to overthrow the Iranian theocracy, we are open to the possibility—but only in conjunction with a movement explicitly dedicated to the principle of individual rights. If you make explicit that the goal of your movement is the establishment of a genuine, right-respecting republic—one that recognizes and protects the rights of all people equally—America will provide you with technology, weapons, and training to achieve that aim.

But we will do so only on that condition.

People of Iran, I urge you to embrace the principle of individual rights and the goal of creating a rights-respecting republic for yourselves and your children. You have suffered under tyranny long enough; it is time for you to enjoy liberty.

We look forward to the day when Americans and our allies can trade with and prosper beside you as brothers and sisters in freedom. We wish you speedy success in your moral and political revolution toward that end. And we await communications on whether you want U.S. assistance based on our one condition.