Ben Rhodes

Let's say the Supreme Leader got the protests built and built and built, and the Supreme Leader fled the coup and went to Moscow to hang out with Assad.

The IRGC, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, are probably the people that would run the country.

They're the people with the guns.

And Trump bombing them isn't going to change that.

Lindsey Graham putting on a hat isn't going to change that either.

And so I think I don't expect there to be some regime collapse followed by some new government return to the Shah or an election next week.

I just think we're in a period of instability.

And the question is whether or not

You know, Israel tries to take advantage of that by bombing Iran again and seeing if that it's like, you know, hitting a boxer who they think is about to go down.

I don't think that would be good because I actually think the more chaotic the collapse is of this regime, the more likely there's a civil war and the IRGC or the people that are running the place.

And he's the longest serving dictator in the world.

Yeah, if I were the protesters, I wouldn't be buying it.

And because Trump Trump has been all over the map on Iran.

Right.

One day he wants a deal.

One day bombing them.

You know, one day threatening to bomb them if they cracked down on protesters.

But also, like, does nobody believes that that's out of any sincere interest in protecting protesters?

Like, you know, there's there's not other countries in the world where Trump cares about violent crackdowns.

You know, he's not a human rights motivated person, you know.