Karim Sadjadpour

It has one of the longest continuously inhabited civilizations in the world.

And it's punching way below its weight.

It could be South Korea.

It behaves like North Korea.

And so I think there's a recognition among Iranians that this radicalism, this anti-imperialism, anti-Americanism has just led the country into a ditch.

And if the country is ever to fulfill its potential, it needs more tolerant government.

It needs a government that prioritizes national interests before ideology.

So I believe that it's a society which is capable of representative democracy, but it

authoritarian transitions are not usually popularity contests.

They're not usually dictated by, you know, the vote of people.

It's oftentimes, you know, when that power vacuum comes to be, who can mobilize violence?

So it depends on what kind of operation we conduct.

If we choose to assassinate Iran's supreme leader,

And the people I talked to both in Washington and in Israel believe that if we do take military action, there's a better than 50% chance that we will try to target Iran's supreme leader.

That has very different implications than if we simply go after their missile program and nuclear program and maybe Revolutionary Guard outposts.

It's my view that even within the regime,

there is a recognition that this status quo is not tenable.

A friend of mine who's a political science professor in Tehran told me that at the beginning of the revolution, the regime was composed of 80% ideologues and 20% charlatans.

And now it's the reverse.

Only 20% are true believers in this system, and 80% are just...