The Unrelenting Reality of the Iran War

Excerpt Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the Iranian regime has never encountered an American president like Donald Trump: He exaggerates, deceives, and prevaricates as much as it does. Indeed, Trump might win a mendacity contest since a swath of Iran’s Islamic revolutionaries—those who are more in the mold of founding father Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini—prefer to vent veraciously since they are men of modern Islamic principles and pride. With Iran and the U.S. again exchanging barrages, Trump may hew a bit closer to the truth, which Iranians, who never wanted a ceasefire as much as the president, largely define. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who recently said that Iran “very much continues to talk to the United States of America and express that they want to make a deal with us because they are suffering devastating blows,” just reflects the sycophancy of her office; Trump himself may now see that, contrary to the analysis that came from his emissaries—Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and J.D. Vance—the Islamic Republic’s ruling elite isn’t divided, “pragmatic,” or scared. His recently hurled aspersions, “scum” and “sick people,” translated from Queens’ English, may mean the president finally understands that Iran’s rulers aren’t transactional. Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former Iranian-targets officer in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations, is a resident scholar at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.