Lise Doucette

But these are really extraordinary times.

Iran's ambition, of course, as it reacts in what it calls self-defense, is to use every weapon in its arsenal as it faces up against the most powerful military in the world, as well as the military might of Israel.

And in that armory, it has the ability to close one of the world's most strategic waterways.

And if the Strait of Hormuz, this choke point, is shut off for any length of time, this will have wide-ranging repercussions for the world over because so much maritime traffic, including oil tankers, go through these waters.

Iran knows that, but of course, Iran also benefits from that waterway, so it won't want to pinch it too much, too long.

But that certainly is one of the weapons that it has always made clear that it's willing to use to inflict as much pain as possible in order to end this aggression as it sees it as soon as possible.

Lise Doucette.

Well, to use his expression, this is really uncharted territory, no matter how much...

Iranian leaders have thought about this moment, prepared for this moment.

A war has been unleashed and even with at its very start in one day of strikes, so much already is changing with the death of the Supreme Leader and many other senior political and security officials in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

And of course, it comes at a moment where Iran has been facing not just an unprecedented external threat, but internal upheaval.

When we were in Iran earlier this month, I have to say that it felt like a different country and the anger and the pain over the

The use of lethal force, which caused the greatest loss of life in the thousands in Iran's history, it was still raw.

There are those across Iran who are hoping that this will be the beginning of the change, the systemic change that they want.

And at the same time, the supporters of the Islamic Republic and its revolution will be calculating how best they can hold on to power.

This is a defining moment in the Islamic Republic of Iran as it faces off against problems at home and this very unpredictable war that is now confronting it.

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If there was a big red button that would just demolish the internet, I would smash that button with my forehead.

I think that's putting it mildly.

You know, I was looking at President Zelensky when he was at the Munich Security Conference last week.