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Farhad Rezaei

Farhad Rezaei is a senior fellow at the Philos Project.

Some observers hope that with the Iran weakened, at home and in the region, the United States can help the Iranian people change the regime.
Lifting sanctions on Tehran without addressing this threat will only enable the regime to use massive resources to fund and smuggle drones to its terror proxies in the region.
Facing elections in 2021, some in Iran argue that a military figure at the helm could turn the country around, but the supreme leader will prove a formidable obstacle.
Proving Iran’s peaceful intentions is difficult because ballistic missiles can be used in both a defensive and an offensive capacity, not to mention that a cost-benefit analysis does not justify mounting conventional payloads on long-range missiles.
Iran is sending a message to Washington and Kabul that if its concerns are not addressed, it can sabotage any attempt at a permanent peace in Afghanistan.
A review of Farsi media outlets indicates that President Hassan Rouhani and his followers believe that Tehran should remain because “the cost of leaving the deal is too high for the country.”