It’s no secret that war makes people uneasy. But this latest announcement will escalate that feeling.
And a top Republican provided an update on the Iran war that no one wanted to hear.
Appearing Monday on the Fox Business Network’s Mornings with Maria, Texas Republican Rep. Pat Fallon delivered a frank assessment of the situation in Iran.
The lawmaker left little doubt that confronting the mullahs requires more than optimistic assumptions about cooperation.
Fallon dismissed any parallels to Venezuela, where a fresh leader might seek friendly ties with America.
He explained: “[A]s far as the mullahs and what’s left of the Iranian regime, can you trust them? Absolutely not. It’s got to be a President Reagan trust but verify. I don’t think this is going to end like Venezuela, where you just have a new leader that wants to be at least cooperative with the United States.”
“That would be great, but this is — they’re dedicated theocrats that — they were willing, just recently, to k*ll 32,000 of their own citizens…just to stay in power. I think they’d be perfectly fine with remaining in power, even if their economy was devastated and they want back to, like say, an Afghanistan, Taliban regime. They’d be fine with that.”
“So, I personally think it’s going to be boots, at least special ops, American special operators on the ground, with allied — allies in the region and air cover, and we’ve got to — we have to change the [tack] of the Tehran government or we can’t leave. We can’t leave until the job is done.”
When guest host Cheryl Casone followed up by asking if he believed boots would indeed hit the ground, Fallon responded:
“I just don’t see any other way. Iran is 93 million people, it’s five times the size of Iraq, it’s larger in size than Spain, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany combined. It’s massive, 93 million people. When we invaded Iraq, they had a population of 25 million people.”
“But here’s the thing that’s in our favor: 80% of the people in Iran hate this regime. So, once an action like that is taken, I do believe that people are going to rise up and the IRGC is going to melt away, and then we can see some kind of moderate faction coming out, and then, eventually, taking over.”
The enormous scale of Iran presents unique challenges compared to past conflicts.
Home to 93 million citizens and vastly larger than Iraq at the time of invasion, the country covers territory exceeding several major European nations put together.
Despite the difficulties, Fallon noted a powerful element that could swing the outcome decisively.
Most Iranians, to the tune of eighty percent, despise the theocratic regime.
He expressed confidence that military engagement would prompt the people to stand up against their oppressors.
In such a scenario, the IRGC would likely fade into irrelevance as resistance spreads.
This shift might allow moderate groups to gain influence and eventually govern.
To achieve this, Fallon called for deploying American special operators alongside allies from the region, backed by robust air operations.
