AdvertisementHuman-rights abuses—including executions, political imprisonment, internet shutdowns, and the systematic suppression of dissent—were repeatedly condemned, particularly through United Nations resolutions. Yet they rarely became a determining factor in shaping Western strategy toward Tehran. It became a strategic miscalculation, because it overlooked the central role that domestic repression plays in sustaining the Islamic Republic's regional behaviour. Appeasement begins when engagement treats domestic repression as peripheral rather than central to the relationship. If domestic repression remains disconnected from diplomacy, the central mechanisms sustaining the regime will remain intact.