MEF’s Chief Strategist Jim Hanson spoke with Jesse Watters on a FOX News LIVE Primetime Special about the strikes on Iran, possible next steps and the survival chances of the regime.
TRANSCRIPT:
FOX: Jim Hanson’s a former Army Special Forces and Chief Strategist for the Middle East Forum. Jim, how ambitious is this operation?
HANSON: It’s huge, to quote the man who is running it.
And I think it’s been tremendously successful. I don’t think anyone would have counted on getting confirmation that Khamenei had returned to ambient temperature on the same day of the strikes.
And what that does, there is no succession plan. He was losing power. Their regime was fading. Nobody knows who’s set to be the next leader of what remains of that regime.
So this has been a success beyond anything I think the Trump administration, the Israelis, or the world would have expected.
FOX: So when do they cry, Uncle?
HANSON: The President said he’s willing to go as long as possible. And I guess we have to wait to see what happens on the ground. You got to wonder if you’re one of the IRGC leaders who’s left or the Ayatollahs who’s left, do you want to be the guy who pokes his head up and says,
“I’m in charge now?”
I think some of them are looking at the idea that, hey, I’ve got a bunch of money stacked in offshore accounts. Maybe it’s time to buy a few extra wives and retire.
And I think what remains to be seen now is who steps up among the Iranian people. And we heard of a meeting that happened last week in London among 30 leaders of opposition groups who put aside their differences and formed the Iran Freedom Congress, the largest group of opposition leaders.
They may be in a position to be the next government if we can get the, uh, the regime out of the way.
FOX: So we’re hearing reports that we smuggled some of Musk’s Starlinks into the country. We’re obviously helping facilitate those communications. Do you have any indication that we have special operators inside Iran?
HANSON: I would not be surprised in the slightest if in some of the border provinces, the Kurds, the Azeris, and the Baluchis have major beefs and have in the past risen up in large fashion.
So it would not be surprising at all for there to be helpers. bringing them things that could facilitate both communications and potentially the next step, which is brush fires that require the regime to try and tamp them down.
And if they try to do that, it’s open season on anything they send to try and shut down those.
So I think this could rapidly be moving away from them. I don’t want to get ahead of myself. There could be a long slog before the end of this, but I believe the Islamic Republic has hit its expiration date.
FOX: So the retaliation strikes hit a bunch of Arab states. Doesn’t sound like a very strategic response. Why would they do that?
HANSON: It wasn’t so much the bases. I think they were trying to drive a wedge between the Gulf states and the and get them to blame us for the fact that they’re taking incoming fire.
And I think that was a major miscalculation. You know, they may have actually taken the Abraham Accords, which was an agreement in theory, mostly, and turned it into the Abraham Alliance of people who are all united against the Islamic Republic and wishing it to meet its demise so there can be prosperity and security in the region.
FOX: It’s funny how that works, doesn’t it? Jim,great to talk to you as always. Big night.
