One of the core assumptions behind Operation Epic Fury is that the Iranian people are ready to rise up against their government if given the chance. Gen. Stanley McChrystal is not convinced. In an interview with New York Times columnist David French, the retired four-star general said the opposition to Iran's clerical regime is effectively invisible.
"I couldn't name the opposition leader. I couldn't tell you the liberation front of Iran," McChrystal said on the NYT podcast "The Opinions," as "Hvylya" reports. When asked about Reza Pahlavi, the former shah's son who has been making public appearances, McChrystal dismissed him as a credible alternative. "I don't think he's a legitimate alternative. I think that we can't gauge the actual strength of the desire of Iranian people to change."
McChrystal pointed to history as a warning. In 2009, Iranians took to the streets in massive protests - and were beaten back into submission. More recently, thousands of Iranians protesting the regime were reportedly killed. Despite these episodes of defiance, no organized opposition has survived.
The general raised another uncomfortable reality: war tends to push populations toward their government, not away from it. He cited French's own article, in which the columnist wrote, "I'm an American. I want our side to win." McChrystal said that same instinct likely applies to many Iranians. "I feel the same way, even though I disagree with many of the things my government's doing, I'm unequivocally on this side. And that may be the case" in Iran, he said.
The comparison to the Venezuela operation reinforced the point. There, the United States conducted a special operations raid to remove a single strongman. Iran is a fundamentally different adversary - an ideologically driven revolutionary state whose commitment, McChrystal argued, is theological and sometimes apocalyptic. French recalled that wounded Shia fighters in Iraq would try to bite medics treating them. That level of commitment, both men agreed, does not collapse under aerial bombardment.
Previously, "Hvylya" reported on the sharp drop in oil prices that followed Trump's decision to temporarily suspend strikes on Iran.