Former US diplomat Charles W. Dunne warns that President Donald Trump may be underestimating the Islamic Republic’s resilience, arguing that Tehran’s leadership has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to withstand military and economic pressure.
In an interview with Iran International, Charles W. Dunne, a non‑resident fellow at the Arab Center Washington DC and an adjunct lecturer at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, said many in the West misread what sanctions, military strikes, and diplomatic isolation can achieve against Tehran. “From a Western or an American point of view, this pressure that’s been exerted on the regime should have resulted in its collapse already,” he said. “But that’s not how this system works.”