Since the war in Iran began 11 days ago, especially after wave upon wave of successful strikes by U.S. and Israeli forces killed Iranian leadership, destroying most of their implements of mass destruction in the process, Donald Trump has been peppered by the press with what the end game is. What is the exit strategy? How does the President define success?
In the bravado we’ve come to expect from 45-47, his answer was very straightforward – unconditional surrender.
“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!… IRAN WILL HAVE A GREAT FUTURE. ‘MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!).’” – President Donald J. Trump 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/H2HKkBVkww
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 6, 2026
So what does unconditional surrender look like? Is it the proverbial white flag waved by the last living remnant of the evil regime that’s been plaguing Iran and the rest of the free world for 47 years? Sure, it could be that. But might it also look like the will to fight has left the regime’s rank and file goon squads, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the Basij forces? Absolutely.
One of the first signals that things are definitely not all right for the mullahcracy arose after a man our side believed to be just as dead as his father, wife, son, and roughly 40 other senior regime loyalists, Mojtaba Khamenei, was presented verbally to Iran and the world as the next Supreme Leader. In order to dispel the rumors that he was not Ayatollah Bernie weekending in Tehran, he was to give public remarks in half an hour. That was the morning of March 8. We’re nearing the 100-hour anniversary of Mojtaba’s big reveal. In the meantime, this is to what we were treated.
Iran’s newly appointed supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, couldn’t turn up, so they pulled out the cardboard cutout of him instead.
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) March 10, 2026
I’d love to tell you this is a bad joke and that I fell for just one drop of bad info in a sea of disinformation and propaganda online. Nope. I checked and rechecked. This was a thing. Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has been introduced as the next Supreme Leader…of wood pulp.
We’ll get to the serious stuff in a little bit, but you don’t have to let your mind wander too far in order to imagine the fun being had at Iran’s expense right now. There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of posts mocking this stunt by now. Some of my favorites? Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s new job.
Marco Rubio sits down with the new supreme leader of Iran 😭 pic.twitter.com/mbNG6zC1in
— Politi_Rican 🇵🇷 𝕏 🇺🇸 (@TheRicanMemes) March 10, 2026
Another is the unveiling of the U.S. countermeasure perfected to take on the challenge of Iran’s new leader. Meet the U.S.S. Cardboard.
🚨 Breaking: Trump dispatches USS Cardboard to take out cardboard Supreme Leader Khamenei pic.twitter.com/OzSBA9CwMw
— David Keyes (@DavidMKeyes) March 10, 2026
Another is a mock-up of Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham visiting the Oval Office, with Donald Trump revealing a new portrait.
I’m in tears… these Ayatollah memes are so good. pic.twitter.com/3fARfD1f49
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) March 11, 2026
By early afternoon on Tuesday, two-dimensional cardboard had given way to three-dimensional…Lego’s?
I’m in tears… these Ayatollah memes are so good. pic.twitter.com/3fARfD1f49
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) March 11, 2026
California Governor Gavin Newsom is a fool, a clown, a charlatan, and crooked as a dog’s hind leg. Enabling him, poorly, in the propaganda department is a foul-mouthed little bridge troll named Isaac “Izzy” Gardon. Whether it’s the all-caps tweeting, aliena voce as Donald Trump, or the bizarre cartoonish videos, to the f-bombs tossed at reporters questioning the wisdom of Newsom referring to a largely Black audience as being just as dumb and illiterate as he is, Izzy is the director of communications for Newsom. Everything you can’t stand about the presentation of Gavin, Izzy is directly responsible. And now I’m beginning to wonder if Izzy has been given a leave of absence to go do for the Iranians what he’s done for Newsom here in the Golden State. I swear if I wake up to a new Iranian short called “Team Iran” featuring a claymation Mojtaba Khamenei limping across the floor and singing, “I’m so ronery,” I think Trump and Netanyahu can pretty much put a wrap on things sooner rather than later.
Of course, there are elements of concern that are being directly addressed by the Americans and Israelis, and that is mining and other implements of sabotage in the Strait of Hormuz. There have been three cargo ships attacked while going through the Strait.
IRGC Navy commander Alireza Tangsiri: Ships must seek Iran’s permission to pass the Strait of Hormuz, warning vessels that ignore Tehran’s orders “will be caught.”
Meanwhile, three more ships were struck by projectiles in the strait, bringing the total hit since the Iran… pic.twitter.com/OJmeF3s1j8
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 11, 2026
The President warned the Iranians not to do it, or else the penalty would be a dialing up of attacks twentyfold. By the evening of Tuesday, it was reported by U.S. officials that 16 small attack boats with mines or other underwater weapons on them had been blown up. That’s a fine start, but there’s more work to be done. Israel is playing the long game here, working a deal with Somaliland to possibly base there and ensure the Strait is safe to pass well after the kinetic phase to neuter Iran concludes.
Bloomberg Reports Israel eyes a Red Sea foothold:
Jerusalem is quietly exploring a possible military presence in Somaliland to counter the Iran‑backed Houthi movement, building on its recognition of the territory and talks for a strategic security partnership that could include… pic.twitter.com/ULV6uv17DK
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 11, 2026
The President, on Wednesday morning, hinted that the curtain on the hot war might come down earlier than expected, because he claims they are running out of targets to destroy.
Trump: There’s almost nothing left to strike in Iran. A bit here and there… The moment I want it to end — it will end. The war with Iran will be over soon.
(Spoke with Barak Ravid)
— Amit Segal (@AmitSegal) March 11, 2026
I can think of a few more, including the Cardboard Nepo Ayatollah, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Ali Larjani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and Gholan Hossein Mohseni Ejei, the Chief Justice of Iran. Oh, and this guy, too.
Ahmad-Reza Radan, the Iranian regime’s Chief of Police:
“If people take to the streets to protest, we will deal with them as we would with the enemy. Our hands are on the trigger.” pic.twitter.com/w2xa5blBHc
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 11, 2026
In addition, a good day’s work in redecorating the southern coast of Iran until it looks like Gaza City would probably do just fine.
But what about the Iranians’ will to fight? As explosions rock regime soldiers and police forces in a 360-degree radius all day and all night, at what point do they begin to exit, stage left? And if enough of them follow suit, who’s left to enforce the will of whoever or whatever is in charge of Iran? What’s left of the military junta running the country seems to have turned into mole people. Here’s the assessment by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz.
Israel’s Defense Minister Katz said: “Iran’s surviving leadership is fleeing like rats into tunnels,” similar to Hamas leaders in Gaza, “and from there ordering attacks on civilians in Israel and across the region.”
He added: “Hospital morgues in Iran are filled with thousands… pic.twitter.com/96AtCbtHfA
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 11, 2026
As for the rank and file forces that aren’t filling the morgues, defections and desertions, and in some cases, fleeing the country entirely, have begun.
A source close to the Revolutionary Guards admits: Desertions are being identified in the lower ranks
According to the source who spoke with Channel 14 News, the desertion phenomenon is occurring mainly in headquarters located in the periphery and outside Tehran, and whoever has…— Marc Zell – מארק צל (@GOPIsrael) March 10, 2026
It’s not just the IRGC who are beginning to lose numbers in its ranks. It’s also the Basij forces. The Basij, you’ll remember, are the ones who mowed down 35,000 or so Iranians in the streets protesting just a few weeks ago. Their commander, Asadollah Badfar, has reportedly begun looking for his 72 virgins.
Reports in Iran say the Israeli Air Force eliminated Asadallah Badfar, head of the Basij, the IRGC’s paramilitary group that represses protesters on the home front. pic.twitter.com/11KHNGcHzP
— Mike (@Doranimated) March 10, 2026
If Badfar is gone, it’s not surprising that some of the Basij forces are seeing the writing on the wall and want out.
A IRGC Basij member filmed himself leaving his post, saying he believes the Islamic regime is over.
Standing inside what he says is a Basij barracks that used to be a school, he explains that everyone there has already left.
“Everyone is gone or leaving. I’m going home too,” he… pic.twitter.com/wPprY8O4vf
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 10, 2026
C14 News in Israel is reporting the IRGC blue flu is hitting them pretty hard right now.
🇮🇷 WAVE OF DESERTIONS IN THE IRGC SIGNALS COMING REVOLUTION
“On the 11th day of the operation, new indications are emerging of desertions within Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, according to a source close to the terror org clinging to control of Iran.
Who’s out? Dror Balazada,… pic.twitter.com/9HgBBSRDgd
— C14 News Israel | EN (@c14israel) March 10, 2026
If Cardboard Khamenei is actually alive, and there are a lot more reasons to believe he’s not, he’s not very mobile right now. He’s at best in critical condition, meaning he needs constant medical care. How long do you think it’ll be before the Americans and/or Israelis have eyes on him? I would suspect that if past is prologue, by the time this column goes live, his whereabouts will be known, and it will be our choice as to when his cardboard goes out for final recycling.
Donald Trump is very wise in keeping with his tradition of ambiguity on big decisions to maintain the element of surprise. The war could go on for a week, it could go on for six months. I have no idea. But there is nothing left for the Iranians to throw at the world than they already have. All they can offer now is what’s already not worked too well, but in fewer numbers as their stockpiles get destroyed in real time all around them.
Even the Ukrainians are branching out and getting involved in the effort to defeat Iran. Three separate teams of experts on how to defeat drone warfare, arguably the only weapon of destruction with which the Iranians have had any marginal success at causing property damage, have been dispatched to the Middle East. Russia’s drones are either Iranian-made or Iranian-inspired, so the Sunni Arab countries of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar are bringing in these Ukrainians who have figured out how to solve, or at least more effectively counter the drone problem.
As for China and Russia, all the talk a week ago that they were going to get involved and reluctantly help out the Iranians with weapons and supplies, that seems to have vaporized the second Iran threatened to mine the Strait. For now, oil is still being allowed to traverse the Strait bound for Beijing. For how long is anyone’s guess, especially if there are booby traps all through that U-turn curve through the Strait.
If you want to know what unconditional surrender looks like, it’ll look like the fight gets turned over to the people of Iran, who achingly yearn for freedom after nearly 50 years under the boot of a death cult. Once the Americans and Israelis cross the final targets off their list, however long that takes, and the people begin to flood into the streets once again, this time without lines of Basij machine guns firing back at them, what’s left of this despotic regime will sing a chorus of “I’m So Ronery” before the mob finishes them off. That’s unconditional surrender. That means we win, Israel wins, the Iranian freedom fighters win, and theocracy loses once and for all.
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