Karim Sadjadpour

The Middle East, in my view, is not going to change so long as this regime remains in power in Iran, just as long as Germany was ruled by radicals, Europe was not going to change.

And the impact will be felt beyond just Iran.

The impact will be felt on global energy markets.

You know, Iran should be an energy superpower.

It's got the second largest reserves of natural gas, the third largest reserves of oil, and it's punching way below its weight because of its isolation and economic sanctions.

So that would be a geoeconomic game changer.

Then all of the mischief that Iran is up to in places like, you know, supporting essentially all American adversaries throughout the world, whether that's governments in Venezuela and North Korea supporting Putin's war against Ukraine.

None of that, in my view, is a reflection of Iran's national interests.

And so I do think there is...

Great upside if we see a transition in Iran from revolutionary government to nationalist government.

But what we also know from history, Scott, is that the popular will doesn't always prevail after dictatorships collapse.

I'll give you a couple examples of that.

In 1990, when people were protesting against the Soviet Union, probably no one said that we want to be ruled by a mid-ranking KGB agent.

But that's exactly what happened when Vladimir Putin came to power several years later and he's

He's been ruling Russia for more than two decades.

In Egypt in 2011, where people were protesting the government of Hosni Mubarak, probably no one's preferred outcome was to be ruled by another military general.

And that's the outcome that prevailed in the form of General Sisi, who's been ruling Egypt with an iron fist over the last decade.

So, unfortunately, this is something I'm mindful of in my work is,

hoping for the best and always looking what are ways in which we can advance U.S.

national interests, what tools advance U.S.