Walid Phares, a Lebanese-born American scholar and conservative political pundit, wrote on American conservative news and opinion website Newsmax that he studied over 41 years of developments in the Islamic Republic of Iran and its international relations.
Phares, who was also Donald Trump’s foreign policy advisor in 2016 presidential campaign, wrote in the article for Newsmax, “After having studied the Iran regime, from its genesis to present time, from the [Imam Khomeini’s] revolution of 1979, the alliance with Assad, the launching of Hezbollah, the hostages crises of the 1980s, the proxy wars with Israel, the rise of its nuclear project, and the militias’ control of four Arab countries over the past decade, my conclusion at this point is that Tehran’s rulers are winning — at least so far.”
The Lebanese American analyst pointed to his experience in analyzing Iran’s foreign policies, noting: “From my first book on Iran’s strategies published in Beirut 1987, to my multiple academic journal articles and op-eds warning Washington, D.C., about the new axis starting in 1992, to many years of briefings to Congress and seminars to defense national security agencies, before and since 9/11, I have spent 41 years following the evolution of the regime, its geopolitics and the revolts by its populations.”
The investigative pundit admitted that the Islamic Republic has been able to survive in numerous occasions and leave behind many threats by the US and its allies.
“Following an extraordinarily sustained line of decades-long confrontation with the US, Israel and many Arab countries, Tehran was able to survive the Cold War, the unipolar world of the 1990s, the post 9/11 era, the Arab Spring, and the time following US withdrawal from Afghanistan to Iraq. It has strengthened its military and intelligence capabilities at home, widened its territorial expansion in the region via militias, and (as importantly) acquired significant influence in the West, thanks to the attraction exerted by the Iran Deal,” he mentioned.
He added, “Of all these victories scored by Iran, perhaps the most salient one has been the abandonment of its people by the US and Europe. Instead of banking on its youth, women and minorities, current Western policy relies on an imaginary rationalization of the regime’s behavior, thanks to the Deal’s business.”
As to the nuclear negotiations between Iran and world powers, including the US and its European allies, Phares acknowledged that Washington is not winning the talks, stressing: “Unfortunately, the opposite is happening. The Islamic Republic is using the deal to grow stronger and weaken real US interests.”
Referring to former president Donald Trump’s policies towards the Islamic Republic, the analyst claimed, “The Trump administration reversed policy again, stood up to Iran in the region, withdrew from the deal, backed the Arab Coalition, signed the Abraham Accords, and pushed back against the militias and the Quds force. The US was weakening Iran’s power in the region.”
However, he added, “Four years later, the Biden administration reversed US policy yet again, going back to the Obama platform, and is heading once again toward the [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] JCPOA. America’s standing with its allies in the Middle East is shaken.”
“Iran is winning for now, and will continue to do so,” the political expert concluded.
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