Former Trump foreign policy adviser Walid Phares, while accusing Iran's leadership of committing "war crimes and crimes against humanity" against its own people, told Newsmax on Sunday that the regime cannot stay.
He also said, on Newsmax's "Sunday Agenda," that Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is trying to project strength while fearing a backlash at home.
"He is so ideological and he's so afraid at the same time," Phares said.
As a result, militias aligned with the regime are "now oppressing and suppressing and killing," said Phares, meaning it is committing war crimes, "a much higher breach of international law."
He further noted that Tehran's leaders understand they are losing public support.
"When they are in this situation, and they know that they will not be accepted by the people, this regime cannot stay," he said.
He criticized the idea of negotiating with Iran's current leadership, drawing a comparison to post-World War II history.
"Imagine after the Holocaust, we all negotiated with the Nazis," Phares said. "He knows it. The grand ayatollah knows it. So that's why he levels threats here and there."
Phares also said the ayatollah was wrong to threaten Trump.
"He made the mistake of threatening our president," Phares said, adding that Iran's leader "should learn not to play with Donald Trump."
Phares said the U.S. should focus on encouraging Iranians, urging Trump to address them directly.
"But the most important matter is that we need to message the Iranian people," he said. "I am urging the president to deliver a speech.
"The Iranian people need to know from us in America that we stand with them. That alone is a multiplier force for the Iranian people."
Brigitte Gabriel, chair of ACT for America, was on the show as well. She said Trump's messaging should be viewed as strategic as the U.S. increases its military presence in the region.
"They say actions speak louder than words," Gabriel said. "The president is strategically speaking to conceal what's about to happen in Iran."
She said U.S. forces are moving into position.
"We have an aircraft carrier on the way to the Middle East right now, which will arrive between Wednesday and Thursday," Gabriel said. "We have our F-16s in the air right now with their radars open."
She said the buildup is designed to prepare for strikes on Iranian targets.
"We know that we are preparing to basically strike their strategic interest, strike their command center, their ballistic center," Gabriel said. "We're laying the groundwork so we can take action that will protect the Iranians and protect our interests."
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