Analyst Weighs in on Trump's Goal of 'Unconditional Surrender' From Iran

President Trump saying today there will be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender. Joining us now to talk about the latest in Iran is Gerard Felitti, Middle East affairs analyst and attorney specializing in international law. Gerard, good afternoon. So what does unconditional surrender actually mean for the regime in Iran? Unconditional surrender means that they stop fighting, essentially, but that is done on the terms that President Trump dictates. And that goes back to what our position has been from the beginning. No nuclear weapons development, no ballistic missile development, no funding of international terrorism. These are preconditions that President Trump was explicit about. So unconditional surrender does not mean we will negotiate the terms. It means that Iran agrees, the new government of Iran agrees fundamentally to these changes. So you laid out what it means. What are the chances in your mind that Iran will stop fighting and surrender? What's going to happen to the remaining regime personnel if they do surrender? Well, I think it's too soon to say that Iran is going to stop fighting. They still are in this fight. I think that we need to degrade their capabilities even more, take out more of their weapon sites and also some of their leadership, potentially. I think that what we will see is a transition. I think that most people in the Islamic Republic, the regime itself, want to survive. They see that this is a futile act, that the United States and Israel have air dominance, have missile dominance, have the ability to pound them and destroy all of their assets. So ultimately, there will be a desire by the regime, whichever is in charge, to negotiate a way out. But as Donald Trump has said explicitly, there isn't a negotiation to be had until they lay down their weapons, until they stop fighting. All right, understood. So I have a soundbite here of President Trump talking about the future of Iran at the White House. Let's take a look. We also urge Iranian diplomats around the world to request asylum and to help us shape a new and better Iran with great potential. It's a country with great potential, as much better future for Iran. It's now beginning. It's going to be, I think, a great future. And the United States will ensure that whoever leads the country next, Iran will not threaten America or its neighbors, Israel, anybody. So Gerard, the Board of Peace is already at work planning to rebuild Gaza. Now Trump wants to rebuild Iran. It sure is an ambitious plan. What would that entail, rebuilding Iran? Well, I think you hit the nail on the head. When you look at the countries that have signed up to be part of that Board of Peace, clearly these are the same countries that have a very big interest in making sure that Iran is stable, democratic, and moves forward with peace and stability in the region. So I do think that a democratic transition in Iran will see the Board of Peace come in to help rebuild. What that means—let's not forget what Iran was like in 1979 before the Islamic Revolution. It was an economic powerhouse. It was easily doing trade with Europe, with Asia, with the United States. That is something that can happen again. All it takes is rebuilding some of the infrastructure, but more importantly, having people in government who are willing to set aside the biases and the hate of the Islamic Republic and be open to economic dialogue, be open to social improvements. And that is very much within reach, and that is what rebuilding Iran will look like. It's not just rebuilding infrastructure. It's rebuilding a mentality of being open to peace and stability and not to the destructive past that we've seen from the current regime. Now, Gerard, let me get your comments on this. Iran's foreign minister warned that it would be a disaster for the U.S. if there was a ground invasion. How are you reading this warning? Well, look, Iran has a lot of tough talk that it's still giving. It's even for domestic consumption putting out propaganda videos of them destroying American aircraft or American warships. None of it is true. Ultimately, I think that we will not see U.S. boots on the ground. I think we will not see Israeli boots on the ground. I think the Iranian people themselves have been urged repeatedly by President Trump to take back their country. We may see insurgencies, we may see Kurdish forces striking up a rebellion in parts of Iran and other ethnic groups as well. But ultimately, it is up to the people of Iran, if they want to take back their government, to do so. It will not be U.S. boots on the ground. So, Gerard, we've seen a lot of support for President Trump in Middle Eastern countries and elsewhere as well. Would you say this level of support is unprecedented? What do you think about that? It's very much unprecedented in the last 40 years of American diplomacy in the region. America is coming at this not just from a position of military strength and willingness to engage to do the right thing, but we are looking at building economic stability in the region. The path towards stability and peace is through trade, through economic betterment, through improving the lives of the people in the Middle East and the people and governments are aligned with America see that. They see that it is in their interests to build bridges and build economic stability, not to invest their money in wars. That is why we're seeing President Trump have such a dramatic effect on the Middle East. So, Gerard, you said we probably won't see boots on the ground in Iran. Do you think just finally the U.S. is capable of completing this mission only by air? I think in large part we are when we look at the threat, the threat to the West, the threat to the U.S. and Israel and the Middle East is largely through ballistic missiles, through cruise missiles, through drones. And once we destroy that infrastructure and if we keep degrading Iran's military capability domestically, there's no need for boots on the ground. Look, ultimately, as in Venezuela, we really don't care the name of the person who's in charge of Iran. We just want the country to decide for itself what to do and to do so in a way that is not threatening to the West and to the United States. We can achieve that without boots on the ground, and that's a big difference between what President Trump is doing now and what previous administrations have tried to do in Iraq and Afghanistan. Okay, Gerard, sounds good. Thank you for speaking with us. Hope you have a great weekend. Thank you, Don, you as well.