IF you do not feel ashamed, then do whatever you like... this seems to be the case with mullahs of Qom and the Iranian regime, who have been nursing their wounds and swallowing pride ever since the outbreak of their so-called revolution in 1979.

They are liars and are not ashamed of not facing their opponents directly as they are being the first terrorist state in the world and are cowards. They buy their followers and recruit agents for the cheapest price so that their “clients” can mess up on their behalf.

And when their secret system and programs, especially the nuclear program and the ballistic missile program, are hacked and sabotaged, they are merely content with denunciations and vows but remain timid and trembling. They are quite proficient in blowing trumpets such as their recent announcement that they will raise uranium enrichment level to 60 percent at the Natanz facility, which means, “Beware, I mean, listen, oh Washington...”

But they turn their faces to the other side of the wall as they do not want to face the truth that their Revolutionary Guards — their terrorist arm at home and abroad — are being penetrated and are incapable of protecting not only their nuclear program but the makers of their nuclear reactors as well.

During the past three years, the Revolutionary Guards have committed many blunders and have suffered blows from which they are still reeling. The Ukrainian passenger plane was shot down, killing 176 civilians; the Natanz facility — the jewel of the nuclear program — was sabotaged; the most senior scientist of the nuclear program and even its founder Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated with his floating naval base on the Red Sea was targeted and his field commander Qasem Soleimani was assassinated in his car in Baghdad... and last but not least the mysterious death of the Deputy Commander of the Quds Force Brig. Gen. Muhammad Hejazi, the biggest supporter after Soleimani for terrorist militias in the region, especially for the Houthi militia in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

So far, the Revolutionary Guards have done nothing and their inability to do anything is not out of wisdom, but of weakness. They tremble and fear the future of their actions and the successive disappointments and failures they can entail, the latest of which was the sabotage of the Natanz nuclear facility last week.

Faced with repeated attacks, hackings and its inability to counter the regime’s enemies, Iran announced that it would enrich uranium by 60 percent, which was described as a miserable attempt to save face. Therefore, it was natural that voices critical of the brutal terrorist guards will grow and it was evident when Iranian First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri was seen in a video clip that went viral recently, saying: “No one is willing to take responsibility for what happened in Natanz.”

However, Iran’s weakness, the cowardice of its leaders, and the ease with which its security and secret programs have been sabotaged do not mean that the world should underestimate the mullahs’ declaration of their intention to accelerate uranium enrichment at a rate that clearly indicates that they are seeking to possess a nuclear weapon, and not pursuing a peaceful nuclear program as they have been claiming.

What is certain is that despite the assurances of the Western allies that they will not allow Iran to possess a nuclear bomb, this alone is not sufficient to deter the mullahs and confront their terrorist militias in Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria, in addition to confronting their criminal roles. An active and effective international and regional coalition must be mooted to prepare for an advanced step to foil Iranian terrorist plans to prevent it from hijacking the security of the region and the world, apart from threatening the global energy sources.

What is certain is that the mullahs’ regime is maneuvering and buying time to deceive the world. It must not deceive the world twice, and the terrorist turbans should not be allowed to do so again.