October 7 exposed the West’s dangerous illusion about Iran - opinion

The October 7 attacks exposed a dangerous global delusion: the belief that economic prosperity and the responsibilities of governance could "tame" ideological movements. This flawed assumption, which underpinned the approach to Hamas in Gaza, is now critically poisoning international efforts to contain Iran's nuclear program, the author argues.

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To understand why Israel was so catastrophically blindsided, we must examine the fact that for decades, the West and Israel operated under the comfortable delusion that money, prosperity, and the responsibilities of governance could “tame” an ideological movement.

Prior to October 7, Israel and the United States facilitated significant capital flow into Gaza, issuing work permits and observing the development of modern infrastructure. The underlying assumption was that Gazans, enjoying a middle-class life, would prioritize economic survival over radical pursuits. It was believed that Hamas, burdened by managing a "mini-state," would choose stability over adhering to its charter's bloody objectives, fearing total destruction.

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For them, this world is an “abode of passage,” a temporary and hollow stage. Prosperity is not a goal; it is a tactical lull used for “Taqiyya” (strategic deception) while they prepare for the only world that matters: the afterlife – as they see it.

However, October 7 demonstrated that jihadist forces do not operate on a calculus of material profit and loss. Their worldview, the article contends, sees this world as temporary, with the afterlife as the ultimate goal. Prosperity is a tactic for "Taqiyya" (strategic deception), not an end in itself. Life is viewed as a currency to be spent, especially for children destined to be martyrs, and civilians used as human shields. Traditional deterrence fails when annihilation is perceived as a shortcut to paradise.

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When a movement views its own children as future martyrs, uses its civilians as human shields to gain divine and political merit, and values a glorious death over a comfortable life, traditional economic leverage is useless. You cannot deter those who perceive their own annihilation as a shortcut to paradise.

The author criticizes the ongoing diplomatic engagement with the Islamic Republic of Iran as a dangerous continuation of this failed logic. While civilized nations use negotiations to reach consensus based on national interests, the article asserts that the Islamic Republic views them as mere tactical maneuvers to deceive opponents. History, it suggests, shows that for this regime, agreements are not commitments but tools for advancing its ideological agenda, potentially leading to nuclear catastrophe.

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However, in the Jihadist logic of the Islamic Republic, negotiation is merely a tactical maneuver designed to buy time and deceive the opponent.