I'm John Batsy with Gregory Copley, Defense and Foreign Affairs, my colleague and friend and mentor,

and we're looking at the contests in the Gulf from the point of view of three interested parties,

Tehran, Washington, and Europe. Washington, Gregory, defeat the plan, don't defeat the man.

What does Washington hope to achieve, given the standoff right now

the Strait of Formoos, with news that Special Operations Joint Task Force may be headed into the region?

Well, I think it shows a lack of longer-term and broader strategic vision in planning this war in the

first place. I don't think there was a plan B really ready and on the table in the event that the clerics

did not fold completely and abandon government.

Now the Trump administration has to push for what they've been saying they weren't pushing

for, which is regime

change in Tehran and Qom. So that changes the dimension. It introduces an element of uncertainty

which must also worry Tehran. President Trump has consistently said how well the United States and Israeli forces have been doing in the execution of military operations.

And it's clearly proven that the United States is the unparalleled sole superpower in the world at this stage.

And that's a very significant thing. But the Iranians also

proved that they can outlast even that administration if that administration isn't prepared to go

and do what's necessary to remove the clerics. So with President Trump's comments about how

successful things are going, it's like saying,

well, the operation has been a success, but unfortunately the patient died.

Now President Trump's got to go back in and say, well, the operation is not yet over.

And yeah, we do have other plans, which he may have considered it before, but now are coming into play seriously with the movement

of a Joint Special Operations Task Force into the region, which is going to be a substantial

task force and multi-service.

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