The surprise accuracy of the Iranian missile strikes against Saudi oil facilities and US bases in Iraq has changed the view in Washington on how to handle Iran, according to Patrick Clawson, director of the Iran and US policy program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
“We say in Washington, Iran does not give in to pressure, Iran only gives in to great pressure,” he said in a Kayhan Life interview. “The question is, is the pressure on Khamenei going to be sufficient to bring him to do something he really does not want to do? The strike on [Ghassem] Soleimani raised a new prospect, which is to say that American pressure could take the form of not only economic pressure, but also military strikes.”
Other topics covered in the interview were the future of US troops in Iraq and the role played by Javad Zarif, Iran’s Foreign Minister, at the negotiating table.
To view the interview, click on the link below.
