Exclusive; John Bolton: The Islamic Republic is at its lowest level of legitimacy but has maintained itself through the sword's force

Former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton states that although the Islamic Republic is currently at its lowest level of legitimacy, it has managed to sustain itself through the force of arms and adherence to the fundamental principles of the revolution. In an exclusive interview with Siamak Dehghanpour from Voice of America, he added: "The reason the Iranian people's revolution in 1401 (2022) and the protests following the death of Mahsa Amini did not succeed was that the Iranian regime showed no hesitation in using force and was able to continue its existence through this factor." He noted that the support of Russia and China for this 'tyrannical regime' has been effective in the survival of the Islamic Republic, while the U.S. has also eased its maximum pressure on the Tehran regime in recent years and has not enforced the imposed sanctions as it should have. Bolton also stated: "The Islamic Republic has been able to sell a significant amount of oil to China using the U.S. shortcomings in enforcing sanctions and has spent that money to maintain its survival domestically and to fuel conflicts in the region." He described the destructive proxy groups in the Middle East as creations of the Islamic Republic, emphasizing that the Tehran regime has established these groups to dominate the region and the Islamic world and to utilize them whenever necessary to protect its interests. He considered the likelihood of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel being spontaneous as very weak, adding: "In my opinion, Hamas attacked Israel with the coordination and knowledge of the Islamic Republic, but Tehran officials did not expect such a response from Israel; hence, they have so far prevented Hezbollah from entering this conflict." Bolton criticized the U.S. retreat from the Middle East as a mistake beneficial to Russia and China, stating: "Not only should we remain in the Middle East to protect our interests, but we should also cross Tehran's red lines in response to attacks by the Islamic Republic's proxy groups and target important regime positions in Tehran."