In a Pentagon press briefing, Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth declared that “crazy regimes like Iran, hell-bent on prophetic Islamist delusions, cannot have nuclear weapons.” This was not merely an attack on Iran, but a deliberate insult against Islam itself and against every Islamic political ambition rooted in revelation. By branding prophetic guidance as “delusion,” the American establishment exposes its civilizational hostility toward Islam and its fear of Muslims organizing their affairs according to the commands of Allah (ﷻ).
This hypocrisy is laid bare in United States unwavering support for the occupation of Palestine under the cloak of religion. While Muslims are ridiculed for seeking to live by prophetic injunctions, Western powers openly sponsor so-called “Greater Israel” ambitions by facilitating settlement expansion, annexation, and the permanent subjugation of a dispossessed people. Zionist religious aspirations are framed as legitimate “security concerns” and defended diplomatically, militarily, and financially, while Muslim adherence to the commands of Allah (ﷻ) is smeared as fanaticism. Their issue with Islam is when it challenges colonial dominance and stands as an ideological alternative.
This contradiction becomes even clearer when biblical prophecy is invoked unapologetically by Western officials to justify unconditional support for the Zionist entity. Their prophecy is celebrated as destiny. Yet when Muslims invoke Qur’anic guidance to seek liberation, unity, and justice, it is denounced as dangerous delusion.
Further exposing this civilizational double standard, American military commanders have themselves been invoking extremist Christian rhetoric centered on biblical “end times” to justify participation in a war against Iran. According to The Guardian, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) has received more than 200 complaints from service members across all branches of the US armed forces, including the Marines, Air Force, and Space Force.
One such complaint, filed by a noncommissioned officer (NCO) serving in a unit that could be deployed “at any moment to join” operations against Iran, details how a commander urged personnel to frame the conflict to their troops as divinely ordained. According to the complaint viewed by The Guardian, the commander instructed them to tell soldiers that the war was “all part of God’s divine plan,” explicitly citing multiple passages from the Book of Revelation referring to Armageddon and the imminent return of Jesus Christ.
The NCO further reported that the commander declared, “President Donald Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth.”
Here, their apocalyptic passages are not only tolerated but operationalized and used to motivate troops and sanctify their war. Yet when Muslims invoke revelation as a source of political order, justice, and liberation, it is derided as madness.
Hegseth’s statement is an attack on the commands of Allah (ﷻ) and it is a preemptive strike against the Ummah’s return to Islam as a complete way of life. What they truly fear is not a particular nation-state, but Muslims organizing themselves collectively around the commands of Allah (ﷻ) and the glad tidings of His Messenger (ﷺ).
This hostility goes far beyond the nation-state shackles to which Iran is confined. It targets the very aspirations and desires rooted in the hearts of the Ummah. This is a battle between Haqq (truth) and Batil (falsehood), a modern day crusade, a civilizational clash.
However, defense against this open assault can only fully materialize under the banner of La ilaha illa Allah. The path forward is therefore clear. Honor and defense lies in holding firmly to the prophetic method, both intellectually and politically, until Islam is restored as a ruling system through the Khilafah.
Only with the establishment of the Khilafah will the delusions of Hegseth - who imagines he can prevent the fulfillment of Allah’s (ﷻ) promise - will be swept aside. We have trust in the glad tidings of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) when he said, “Then there will return the Khilafah upon the method of Prophethood.” And we have absolute certainty in the light of Allah (ﷻ) when He said (ﷻ),
يُرِيدُونَ أَن يُطْفِـُٔوا۟ نُورَ ٱللَّهِ بِأَفْوَٰهِهِمْ وَيَأْبَى ٱللَّهُ إِلَّآ أَن يُتِمَّ نُورَهُۥ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ ٱلْكَـٰفِرُونَ
“They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will only allow His light to be perfected, even to the dismay of the disbelievers.” (At-Tawbah: 32)
Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Haitham Ibn Thbait
Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir in America
