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Glenn Beck’s recent breakdown puts a spotlight on something too many in Washington still treat as abstract: Twelver Shi’ism is not a neutral theological curiosity but a messianic creed with real political consequences. At its core is belief in the Hidden Imam, the Twelfth Imam, whose occultation and promised return shape the worldviews of Iran’s clerical elite and many hardline activists. Americans deserve to know that these are not empty metaphors but doctrines that condition how Iran’s rulers think about history, struggle, and the use of force.
That religious worldview is welded to a very practical system of government called velayat-e faqih, or the guardianship of the jurist, which hands sweeping power to Iran’s clerical leadership. Enshrined after the 1979 revolution, this doctrine places unelected jurists above popular institutions and gives the Supreme Leader authority over the military, judiciary, and key levers of state power. For patriotic Americans watching from afar, that means Iran is not governed like a normal nation-state whose ambitions can be managed through routine diplomacy alone.
The apocalyptic element matters: Twelver eschatology includes a belief in a final, messianic showdown led by the Mahdi, and some hardline currents in Iran have explicitly framed modern conflicts as steps toward that end. Scholarship and intelligence reporting show that apocalyptic rhetoric and Mahdist themes have been woven into recruitment, propaganda, and the ideology of certain IRGC circles. It is reckless naiveté to pretend theology never informs strategy when large parts of Tehran’s security apparatus celebrate martyrdom and divine destiny.
That theology is operationalized by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, whose mission is explicitly to defend and expand the theocratic system born of velayat-e faqih. The IRGC funnels training, weapons, and ideological instruction to proxy militias across the region, converting religious fervor into a lethal foreign policy toolkit. We should stop treating Iran’s proxies as isolated actors and recognize them as instruments of a regime that fuses faith and force.
Concrete history proves the danger. When the U.S. killed Qasem Soleimani on January 3, 2020, Tehran responded with a coordinated missile strike and a wave of proxy attacks—actions framed in Iran’s own media as righteous retaliation and martyrdom in the service of the faith. That episode exposed how easily theological rhetoric can translate into kinetic operations aimed at American interests and allies. Hardworking Americans who pay taxes and raise kids overseas need leaders who understand that reality, not officials who cling to wishful thinking.
More recently, Iran’s pattern of backing Hezbollah, the Houthis, and other militias during Israel’s conflicts shows how the regime prefers to fight by proxy while preserving plausible deniability at home. Reports have documented Iranian reluctance to engage directly at times, even as it pours resources into regional clients to do its bidding and to keep the pressure on Israel and the United States. The calculus is chillingly clear: prepare the battlefield through proxies while invoking sacred duty to justify violence.
Let there be no misunderstanding: we can and must be firm without being reckless, but firmness requires truth. Washington should treat Iran as an ideological adversary that mixes theology with statecraft, not merely a bad actor to be cajoled back into compliance. The path forward for patriotic Americans is a policy of resolute deterrence, support for vulnerable allies, and an uncompromising refusal to legitimize a theocracy whose apocalyptic ambitions threaten regional peace and American security.
