Ben Rhodes

I'm kind of struggling to understand what an intervention to stop a crackdown on protesters might look like.

I'm wondering if you have a better idea.

And do you think that – I mean it's hard to answer, but the average protester would welcome a U.S.

intervention?

Is it a distraction?

Like how are you thinking about it?

Well, see, it seems like people are doing it with Starlink, right?

I mean, it seems like, you know, sprinkling a bunch of Starlink bases throughout the country.

Yeah.

Well, so you alluded to my next question, which is everyone's trying to figure out what like who might lead the next Iranian government.

Obviously, it is it is unknowable.

But just to keep like float some names I keep hearing about.

I mean, it seems like the current president, President Pesachian, is kind of trying to position himself somewhere between the supreme leader and the protesters and sort of a middle ground.

I don't know if that'll work.

Then you have Reza Pahlavi, the former crown prince president.

of Iran, I think the son of the Shah, who has inserted himself into these conversations from overseas.

He's called on people to take to the streets.

Now, Iranian friends of mine have been very cynical about him in the past, but it does seem like he was able to,

uh have some influence maybe in the country so i don't know uh obviously the military the irgc they're going to have a lot of sway like the guys with the guns tend to do well uh after a regime is toppled so i know what are you watching and what are you watching for like which individuals and entities

Yeah, no, I agree with that.