America Unspun

President Trump began the current punitive action against Iran on February 28, 2026.  To call it a war gives more credibility to the Iranians than they deserve.  President Trump framed his decision as a response to the Iranian regime increasing their threat capabilities by getting close to the creation of a nuclear weapon.  He determined that given Iran’s history of sponsoring terrorism and threats against the United States and its allies, the Iranian regime would not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.  Thus began the United States’ efforts to deny the Iranians that weapon.  As you no doubt know, there were some Iranian responses in the Persian Gulf and ultimately the Iranian attempt to close access to the Strait of Hormuz.  This is important because the Strait is not wide by naval standards – about 30 miles wide at its most narrow point.  Through this relatively narrow channel passes some 20-25% of the world’s oil supply, so this waterway is of immense geopolitical importance. 

I’m not here to write extensively about this subject, as many others have done so and likely much better than I could. 

I want to take a close look at some of the rhetoric being bantered about.  As I have written before, the words “Nazi” and “Fascist” have been used freely in the past few years.  They have mostly been used by opponents of President Trump’s policies, and in this case, Iran is no exception.  Messr. Ali Larijani, who was the head of the Supreme National Security Council in Iran, was quoted in 2025 as saying that “Trump’s statement that he wants to create peace through strength is a strange one because Hitler said the same thing.”  While Messr. Larijani is no longer with us, I want to unpack his statement comparing President Trump to Adolph Hitler because I find it interesting that an Iranian would make such a comparison. 

You see, the Iranians not only collaborated with the Nazis, they are more like the Nazis than any other regime on the planet.  I can hear the gasps and denials already, but it is indeed true.  Let me lay out some history for you.

As you likely already know, the Nazis began their rise to political power in Germany in 1933 and by August 1934, Hitler cemented his position as dictator of Germany.  The Germans, under Nazi rule, began to classify non-Germans in racial terms, with Aryans being in the highest tier.  Here comes the interesting part.  The Persians were classified as Aryans, and in 1935 the Persian ruler Reza Shah asked the world to henceforth refer to Persia as Iran, which translates into “Land of the Aryans”.  Curiously, this change was suggested by one Mohsen Rais, the Persian ambassador to Germany. 

German engineers and businessmen flocked to Iran and Nazi propaganda went to great lengths to establish a common Aryan connection between the Iranians and the Germans.  The Reichstag went so far as to exempt Iranians from racial purity laws.  The Iranian government was desperate to modernize and to escape the political influence and interference of the British and Russians and so welcomed the Germans.  There were also significant elements of Iranian society who, because of the emphasis on eugenics at the time, were anxious to be included in Aryan sphere.

There is significant modern debate as to whether the Nazis actually believed the Iranians were Aryan as opposed to simply referring to them as Aryan for political and practical gain.  Whether or not the Nazis considered the Iranians as pure Aryans is not important in the context of this article.  The fact is that the Nazis courted Iranian elites and played upon a shared hatred of Jews and a shared distrust of the Russians and British.  This is important because Adolph Hitler already wanted a bulwark in the East and he believed that “Mohammadans” (Muslims) would make exceptional soldiers and thought Islam was a wonderful religion for Soldiers.  

The Nazis easily found willing Iranian collaborators in their quest to spread Nazi Aryan propaganda among the Iranian elites and the Iranian population in general.  Two of significance were Abdulrahman Seif Azad and Davud Munshizade.  Abdulrahman Seif Azad was fairly easy for the Nazis to identify as he had lived in Germany for some time working to foster trade between Germany and Iran.  The Nazis identified him as a sympathetic figure and gave him the financial and technical support to publish his journal Iran-e Bastan which translates to “Ancient Iran”.   This journal, published from 1933-1937, became increasingly pro-Nazi and was widely read. 

Davud Munshizade was also a very interesting figure, and almost certainly remained a Nazi until his death in 1989.  While in Germany in 1937, he became a Nazi convert.  The Nazis recruited him to broadcast radio propaganda in Persian with an eye to generating sympathy in Iran.  He actually joined the SS and fought in the battle of Berlin.  He was such an avowed Nazi that when he returned to Iran in 1950, he formed an Iranian National Socialist Party called SUMKA.  SUMKA did not last long, but while it did, Munshizade touted the philosophy of a return to a racially pure Aryan Iran. 

As always, you are likely asking by now, “Unspun, what is the point?” The point here is that the assertions by modern day Iranian leadership that President Trump’s policies and actions mimic those of Nazi Germany are laughable.  Why is that might you ask?  The answer is a simple one – The Iranian regime uses many of the same tactics and methodologies the Nazis did to secure and maintain the power of the regime.  Here are some examples:

• Use of ideology to supplant law and a charismatic supreme leader as the focal point of the legitimacy of the regime. The Nazis had Hitler and the Iranians have the Grand Ayatollah.  Both systems support the rooting out and crushing of political dissent. 

• Use of internal police forces to protect the ideology and maintain obedience to the ideology.  The Nazis had the Gestapo, and the Iranians have the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.  The purpose of both these entities is to protect the ideology of the regime by instilling fear and punishing “treason” against the state.

• Use of propaganda and controlling the flow of information.  Both the Nazis and the Iranians use(d) the distribution and suppression of information as a tool to control the actions and reactions of the populace.  While the internet changed the vehicle, the methods are similar.  The use of propaganda to indoctrinate the population is similar in both regimes.

• Religious intolerance.  Both the Nazi and Iranian regimes freely espouse(d) the killing of Jews and prevention of the establishment of a Jewish state.  Part of Iran’s core ideology is the destruction of Israel and the killing of as many Jews as possible.

The bottom line here is that just as appeasement did not work to contain Hitler and the Nazis in the 1930’s, restraint and patience with the Iranians has run its course.  They are as bad as the Nazis and cannot be allowed to continue on their current bellicose course.

Unspun1966

P.S. – If there is a subject you would like me to write about, drop a comment here and I will give it a shot! Thanks for reading.