The Islamic Republic of Iran was born through deception. Nearly five decades later, it faces its greatest challenge because an American president has concluded that the regime's deception can no longer be tolerated. Documents declassified in 2016 show that Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini secured power by making promises to President Jimmy Carter that he never intended to keep. Today, President Donald Trump is responding to the same pattern of duplicity with a fundamentally different approach.

Declassified diplomatic cables and government records from January 1979, including a first-person message from Khomeini, document how Carter was persuaded to help clear Khomeini's path back to Iran. Although the records were declassified in 2016, they received little public attention.

At the time, Khomeini understood that the greatest obstacle to his rise was Iran's military, which remained loyal to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and was prepared to prevent his return from exile. Khomeini also knew the United States could work with the Iranian military to stop his takeover.

Through intermediaries in Paris, where he spent the final year of his 15-year exile, Khomeini offered Carter what amounted to a bargain. If the United States encouraged Iran's military to stand down and its constitutional government to step aside, Khomeini promised stability, a peaceful transition and gradual constitutional change. He assured Washington that Iran would remain friendly to America,........

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