Endgame Iran

It is important to understand a number of realities about the Iranian regime and the current conflict with it: 1) It’s a zero sum game because either Iran is allowed to develop nuclear weapons or it isn’t, there is no middle ground. 2) Iran won’t under any circumstances give up its nuclear weapons program which it regards as an insurance for the regime’s survival. 3) Negotiations are a means for the regime to buy time which they believe is on their side. 4) The regime considers itself an agent of divine will and therefore believes that God is on their side and that it is hence only a matter of time before they will prevail. 5) The regime won’t give up its nuclear weapons program because that would be tantamount to giving up the ambition to destroy the Great Satan and the Little Satan. 6) Future Democratic administrations cannot be trusted on Iran and the regime therefore plans to attempt nuclear breakout under a Democratic administration. 7) The regime will become desperate if it is threatened to its very existence and will use desperate means if the regime is about to fall, including overseas mass terrorism and chemical weapons. 8) A negotiated agreement is out of question, it won’t happen because the regime does not want one. 9) The regime would not hold up an agreement when there is a Democratic occupant of the Oval Office and therefore an agreement means kicking the can down the road. 10) Just as Trump ripped up the bad deal with Iran so can Iran rip up a good deal when there is a Democratic administration in Washington. 11) The naval blockade and the enhanced sanctions regime are highly effective in pushing the regime towards the brink of collapse. 12) An assisted popular revolution with air support and intelligence warfare is the only way to permanently end the Iranian nuclear threat and thus secure the fundamental national security interests of the American people and the American homeland. 13) The regime is a theocracy, meaning that virtually everything is decided through either Khomeinist sharia or Khomeinist ideology. This is crucial for understanding the logic behind the regime’s every decision.