Trump grapples with red lines in Iran as protests crushed—for now

“It’s not a given that U.S. strikes would topple the Iranian regime, regardless of the timing of an attack,” said Rosemary Kelanic, the director of the Middle East Program at Defense Priorities. “Historically speaking, toppling regimes by air alone almost never happens, and even in the rare instances of overthrow—the U.S. toppling Gaddafi in Libya—it takes a long time by Trumpian standards.”

Kelanic, of Defense Priorities, told The Hill that best pathway for both Washington and Iranian opposition is for the U.S. to allow the protests to “unfold organically, realizing that U.S. power, while mighty, doesn’t give us control over political outcomes and could very well blowback against us.”

Read at The Hill

Featuring

Rosemary
Kelanic

Director, Middle East Program

Defense Priorities