Iranian dissidents seize on Trump remarks about armed resistance, fueling revival of Reagan doctrine

After President Donald Trump suggested this week that Iranians "would combat back" if they had weapons, Iranian dissidents, subject analysts and immoderate Republican lawmakers are openly reviving a once-taboo question: should the West determination beyond "maximum pressure" connected Tehran and actively enactment equipped absorption wrong Iran?

"They person to person guns. And I deliberation they’re getting immoderate guns. As soon arsenic they person guns, they’ll combat like, arsenic bully arsenic anybody determination is," Trump said successful an interrogation with "The Hugh Hewitt Show," portion discussing anti-regime unrest and the Iranian government’s crackdown connected protesters.

The comments travel arsenic the Iranian authorities emerges weakened from weeks of war, portion vexation continues to simmer among galore Iranians aft years of failed protests and convulsive crackdowns by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

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Protesters rally successful Washington, D.C., connected March 7, 2026, supporting authorities alteration successful Iran pursuing U.S. and Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Supporters of a much assertive attack reason sanctions, diplomacy and unarmed demonstrations person failed to nutrient meaningful alteration wrong Iran and accidental the existent infinitesimal whitethorn correspond the champion accidental successful decades to situation the authorities from within. Critics pass that openly discussing equipped absorption could endanger protesters, deepen divisions wrong the absorption and hazard pushing Iran toward civilian war.

The thought of equipped absorption echoes aspects of the Reagan Doctrine, the Cold War-era strategy successful which the U.S. backed anti-Soviet absorption movements astir the world, from Afghanistan to Nicaragua.

"We request to springiness Iranians the tools now, and they’ll decorativeness the occupation themselves," Brett Velicovich, laminitis of Powerus and a erstwhile U.S. subject and quality specializer focused connected drone warfare, told Fox News Digital.

"It’s their clip to bash something. There has ne'er been a amended chance."

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Smoke and flames emergence astatine an lipid depot successful Tehran aft airstrikes connected March 7, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran connected Feb. 28, starring to Iranian rocket retaliation and accrued concerns astir planetary vigor and transport disruption. (Sasan/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Velicovich described the strategy arsenic "Reagan Doctrine 2.0," updated for the property of drones and decentralized warfare.

"Cheap FPV drones, loitering munitions, and tiny arms fto motivated fighters crook Iran’s streets and mountains into a nightmare for the IRGC," helium said. "This isn’t fantasy; it’s asymmetric warfare that works."

He argued that modern drone exertion has fundamentally changed the equilibrium betwixt governments and insurgent oregon absorption movements.

"Drones democratize power," Velicovich said. "The regime’s monopoly connected unit ends the time the radical get eyes successful the entity and precision onslaught capability."

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Iran is gathering a decentralized FPV drone capableness successful basement factories utilizing Chinese parts, defence adept Cameron Chell warns, citing a imaginable menace to the U.S. homeland. (Getty)

Still, adjacent immoderate critics of the Iranian authorities caution that the examination to Cold War proxy movements has limits.

Unlike Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe oregon Afghanistan successful the 1980s, Iran is simply a highly nationalistic state with a fragmented absorption and heavy fears of overseas involution pursuing decades of struggle crossed the Middle East.

Still, calls for much nonstop enactment for anti-regime forces are progressively moving into mainstream Republican overseas argumentation discussions.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC., precocious called for what helium described arsenic a "Second Amendment solution" wrong Iran.

"If I were President Trump and I were Israel, I would load the Iranian radical up with weapons truthful they could spell to the streets equipped and crook the tide of conflict wrong Iran," Graham said connected Hannity.

The question of who would really person support, however, remains profoundly controversial.

Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi speaks astatine the 2023 Women’s Forum hosted by Vital Voices successful Washington, D.C., connected March 29, 2023. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)

Some absorption supporters proceed to rally astir exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, whose sanction has surfaced during anti-regime protests wrong Iran and who has urged the planetary assemblage not to springiness Tehran "another lifeline."

Another radical that has shown successful the past that it has acted successful assorted operations against the regime, is the arguable People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran, oregon MEK, which has agelong positioned itself arsenic an organized absorption unit against the Islamic Republic. The MEK precocious posted videos showing its members targeting "regime centers and symbols of transgression and repression," successful effect to the execution of 2 of its members past period — Hamed Validi and Mohammad (Nima) Massoum-Shahi.

Others constituent to existing equipped oregon semi-organized anti-regime groups, including Kurdish organizations, Baloch insurgent networks and underground absorption cells operating wrong Iran.

Sardar Pashaei, manager of the Hiwa Foundation and a erstwhile Iranian wrestling champion present surviving successful the United States, warned that publically discussing arming protesters could itself enactment lives astatine risk.

"I deliberation we indispensable beryllium highly cautious connected this issue, particularly publicly, due to the fact that the authorities tin usage it arsenic a pretext to apprehension protesters, fabricate cases and adjacent warrant executions," Pashaei told Fox News Digital.

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A pistillate walks crossed a astir bare nationalist quadrate successful Tehran, Iran, with a ample billboard displaying the representation of the precocious Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei successful the inheritance connected March 3, 2026. (Vahid Salemi/AP Photo)

"For decades, the Islamic Republic has utilized accusations of ties to the United States, Israel, oregon espionage to people dissidents and governmental prisoners."

Pashaei argued the amended attack is supporting Iranian civilian society, restoring net entree and backing antiauthoritarian absorption groups that bespeak Iran’s taste and governmental diversity.

The contented became adjacent much delicate aft Trump said during a telephone interrogation with Fox News Sunday successful aboriginal April that his medication had antecedently attempted to nonstop firearms to Iranian protesters done Kurdish channels, though the effort failed.

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Men and women clasp Kurdish scarves and roses during Nowruz festivities successful Saqqez, Iran, connected March 15, 2024. The lawsuit took spot successful the beingness of Jina Amini's begetter arsenic galore successful the portion proceed to grant her legacy. (Barbod Khorshidi/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

"We sent guns to the protesters, a batch of them. We sent them done the Kurds. And I deliberation the Kurds took the guns," Trump said.

Several Kurdish groups person denied receiving specified shipments.

Pashaei warned that claims of overseas weapons enactment could deepen divisions wrong the absorption portion besides exposing Kurdish groups to further retaliation from Tehran.

"During the alleged ceasefire period, Kurdish absorption groups were targeted much than 30 times with drone and rocket attacks," helium said, adding that 4 young Kurdish Peshmerga fighters were killed, including 19-year-old Ghazal Mowlan.

Cars pain successful a thoroughfare during a protestation implicit the illness of the currency’s worth successful Tehran, Iran, Jan. 8, 2026. (Stringer/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS)

One root acquainted with discussions surrounding Iranian absorption strategy said supporters of a much assertive attack progressively judge the existent infinitesimal presents a uncommon accidental to identify, bid and enactment section absorption networks susceptible of protecting protesters and challenging the authorities from within.

The root argued that portion Iran spent decades gathering and cultivating proxy networks crossed the Middle East, Western governments mostly avoided investing successful organized anti-regime infrastructure wrong Iran itself.

Others pass that empowering equipped factions could trigger taste fragmentation, civilian warfare oregon a Syria-style struggle wrong Iran.

According to the source, supporters of a much assertive attack progressively judge the existent infinitesimal presents a uncommon accidental to identify, bid and enactment section absorption networks susceptible of protecting protesters and challenging the authorities from within.

Whether Washington is consenting to determination beyond unit campaigns and sanctions toward thing person to a modernized Reagan Doctrine remains unclear.

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Members of information forces ticker implicit the assemblage during a ceremonial procession for IRGC Navy Chief Alireza Tangsiri and different elder naval commanders killed successful U.S.-Israeli strikes successful precocious March successful Tehran, Iran, connected April 1, 2026. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

For now, Trump’s comments person pushed a once-theoretical speech into the open, while some reason the existent infinitesimal whitethorn correspond the champion accidental successful decades to situation the regime.