00:00Mushahid, what do you what do you make of that? I mean, the day after, even if the Iranian
00:06leadership survives Operation Epic Fury, are they an inherently unpopular government? Are
00:13there days numbered, regardless of whether or not there are boots on the ground from
00:17the US?
00:18I don't think the days are numbered. Yes, there is a large segment of the population
00:23in Iran, which is not happy with the regime. They have genuine grievances, economic as
00:28well as political. And they were expressed in street demos last year and before that
00:33also. But having said that, I think the core support base of the revolution regime is still
00:39intact. And their ability to mobilize that core support base and bring them out in large numbers
00:45in the streets to show defiance to the United States and Israel, and also to preserve the
00:52revolution, I think that is intact. But I think that the day after, they would really have
00:58to rebrand and reinvent the regime because they need a course correction at home.
01:02And regarding Mushtava Khamenei's statement, I think that was expected because earlier the
01:09president, Pazishkian, had made some conciliation remarks and they were, I think, misread. And
01:15so that this time he wants to give a message of resolute defiance and continuity with his
01:21father's talking points. And I think that is because he's a wartime leader right now. But
01:25I think when there is a peace there, the situation would change. And I expect the regime, like
01:31people like Larry Jani or even Kali Baaf, basically they are from the same political DNA, the Islamic
01:37Revolution Guard Corps, and they have been better inoculated politically and militarily. They'll
01:42try to, I think, chart a different course within the revolutionary framework.
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