Middle East Forum chief strategist Jim Hanson joined Fox News to assess recent U.S. actions against Iran, arguing the strategy succeeded in degrading capabilities and forcing Tehran toward negotiations. Hanson emphasized that the shift came only after credible threats to the regime’s survival, and said the campaign was designed to move from military pressure to diplomatic leverage. He also pushed back on critics, questioning whether the outcome will prompt a reassessment as talks begin.
FOX: The Iranians have to know that they’re being beaten—and beaten badly here. I would imagine they should be pretty close to making any deal if they want to survive at all. That’s the calculation they’re looking at right now.
HANSON: We proved we can and will crush them. It’s kind of interesting—the same deal has been on the table this entire time, and all of a sudden now they’re going to go ahead and accept it. What changed?
What changed was President Trump threatening to end the Islamic Republic completely. They believed him—and they should believe him.
And I have a question for all the people who were losing their minds today and howling, saying President Trump should be hauled out of the White House in shackles and frog-marched away to be tried for war crimes.
Now that it worked—now that that hyperbolic rhetoric stopped an additional escalation—is he going to get an apology from them? I doubt it.
What he’s going to get is the opportunity to prove to everyone that they had a plan, they worked the plan, they destroyed the capabilities and the will of the enemy, and now we’re going to the negotiating table to give a peace that can work and security for the region.
