One might think it is common sense that a president who calls for genocide is just asking for trouble. In his remarks at the “World without Zionism” conference, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad praised the terrorist attacks against Israel, calling for the nation to be “wiped off the map.”

The controversial comment drew intense international criticism, with a variety of world leaders issuing condemnations. Even U.N. chief Kofi Annan – who almost never has a bad word to say about U.N. members – felt obligated to express his “dismay.”

Ironically, the backlash of criticism caught the Iranians off guard. They have good reason to be surprised – after all, they’ve been saying exactly the same thing for decades. As Iran’s foreign minister explained, the goal to destroy Israel is “nothing but the strategy and policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the past 27 years.”

The mullahs raise a good question: Why is the world acting as if it has just discovered that Iran is intent on the destruction of Israel and its Western allies? Since the first days of the Islamic Revolution that established the current theocracy, Iran’s political and religious leaders have consistently, tirelessly and publicly preached against the “Zionist Regime” (Israel) and the “Great Satan” (America). Nearly three decades later, it seems the world still doubts the sincerity of Iran’s words.

This week, Iran is holding celebrations in honor of the anniversary of the 1979 U.S. embassy seizure, in which 66 Americans were held hostage. According to Iran’s ministry of education, “A series of activities are planned to mark the occasion, which will include parades, cultural and arts contests, essay-writing competition and newspaper production by students, and all will be centred on the themes, ‘Why Death to America and Zionists?’, [and] ‘Hating the Great Satan America’.” And you thought America’s public education system had gotten off track.

Since “students across the country will be ringing school bells with chants of ‘Death to America,'” it is as good a time as any to ask the question: What should be done about Iran?

The violent and capricious nature of the Iranian regime is a matter of public record. It brutally suppresses internal dissent through imprisonment and murder. It denies basic rights to its citizens, most notably those of women via Islamic law. It is the world’s foremost sponsor of terrorism, both spiritually and financially. It lends support and arms to the Iraqi insurgency. Worst of all, it continues to pursue a clandestine nuclear weapons program while repeatedly making and breaking international agreements.

In spite of this, it is not true that the Iranian people as a whole share these aims. Though they are taught throughout their school years that America and the West are evil and should be despised, there are signs that many among the younger generation are not buying into the propaganda. Many young Iranians crave Western culture, as evidenced by the popularity of things like Chicago Bulls T-shirts, Metallica and MTV from illegal satellite dishes.

Confronted with a ruined economy, rampant bureaucratic corruption and growing international isolation, the Iranian populace has little for which to thank their leaders and just as little reason to keep them around. As a result, Iranian opposition and reform groups continue to gain strength. Only by its heavy-handed rule and constant invective against America does the regime survive.

This suggests a two-pronged approach for dealing with Iran. In the short term, we must prevent at all costs the mullahs from obtaining nuclear weapons. This will require a firm and unwavering rejection of all compromise with the regime, which only emboldens it.

In the long term, we should take advantage of the regime’s mistakes and lend support to the Iranian freedom movement. This can be done on many fronts, starting with small things such as using media such as radio and the Internet to spread Western ideas within Iran. Above all, the United States and its allies should make crystal clear to the world that Iran’s theocracy is illegitimate, its propaganda false and its threats unacceptable.

– Noah Stahl is a graduate student in electrical and computer engineering from Fort Lupton, Colo.