Walid Phares, a former foreign policy adviser for President Donald Trump, told Newsmax Saturday that the Iranian regime has been severely weakened in recent years.
"The regime today is not what it was a year ago and not what it was a few years ago," Phares said on "Saturday Agenda."
"The U.S. and Israel capabilities are so high compared to ... [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei's regime in terms of defense," he said.
Phares warned that the regime's global network of sleeper cells could be activated if it feels threatened following the U.S. attack.
"They have planted cells. We know that they have funded them for many years," he said.
"But if you look at the foreign minister speaking, you don't feel he's reassured. He thinks that the air forces of the two nations are going to destroy two militias: the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and ... the Basij, the police that [arrested, killed, and tortured] the demonstrators."
The U.S. and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday, and President Donald Trump urged the Iranian public to "seize control of your destiny" by rising up against the Islamic leadership that has ruled the nation since 1979.
Iranian state media, citing the Red Crescent, on Saturday evening said at least 201 people had been killed and more than 700 injured.
Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. military bases in the region, and exchanges of fire continued into the night.
Some of the first strikes on Iran appeared to hit near the offices of the 86-year-old supreme leader. Smoke rose from the capital as part of strikes that Iranian media said occurred nationwide.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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