The Iranian regime can’t sustain itself much longer, foreign policy expert says

Added: 2026-05-08

[00:00:00]You saw the other day where a massive tanker, this was bigger than two million barrels, a massive tanker was trying to run it and the young captain of the ship from Annapolis. These guys are like central casting, you could move him to Hollywood right now that be movie stars, but you saw him saying, uh, we have guns trained on your ship. Turn your ship around.

[00:00:26]President Trump there praising the US Navy's blockade of Iranian ports.

[00:00:31]Sentcom video released this week showing that blockade in action with US forces boarding a tanker that was trying to escape the blockade and sail past them.

[00:00:40]As Alex Hogan reported earlier, Sentcom says 48 ships have been redirected over the last 20 days. Let's bring in Miad Mlei. He is a former senior sanctions strategist and a senior fellow at the foundation for defense of democracies.

[00:00:57]Miad, welcome. First of all, is the uh are the sanctions and the blockade are they working?

[00:01:06]>> Thanks for having me. Of course, they're working. I mean, it's it's now, you know, we're at the point that we have a level of leverage with this terrorist regime um that we've never had since 1979.

[00:01:18]Both economically and politically, they're uh weakened. Their military is degraded significantly. Um you know, this is the first time that you have department of war and department of treasury together. um again putting a pressure on this regime that he has never felt since 1979 or maybe the last time they had such pressure was during Iran Iraq war in the 80s.

[00:01:38]>> I believe it was our Alex Hogan who suggested that the Iranians have a high tolerance for pain. Do you think they can continue to tolerate what's going on what the US is imposing on them?

[00:01:52]you know they they do have um there it's a dictatorship so they you know they can probably they don't care as much about their public opinion that that we do here u so they can probably absorb a lot of pressure economically now what's different now is that uh they have limited number of days before they have to deal with um you know storage of oil um um you know capacity gasoline shortage is something they're going to have to deal it. They have shut down their internet for now over 50 days out of fear of uh domestic uprising and they're losing about $50 million a day just because of that internet shutdown and about $435 million a day because of the blockade and you know they're not able to import and export. So you know they might be able to continue in a matter of days and weeks but I don't think they can keep they can they can continue to stay in this kind of situation you know more than a month or two. They're really uh you know look January um they had to kill 40 over 40,000 protesters to calm things down and that was a result of of their failing economy the economy that has fully collapsed. Now things are way worse for them after the war. So um you know blockade is a completely different story for the regime right now.

[00:03:11]>> So much of the economic activity in Iran is essentially owned by the Republican Guard. Uh we have figures from your group the foundation uh that says $435 million a day is the estimated cost as you said. If that is the the if those losses are being essentially absorbed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, that's great. But it's also affecting the Iranian people, is it not?

[00:03:42]>> It is affecting the Iranian people.

[00:03:44]Unfortunately, the Iranian people has been probably the the the uh the main victims of this regime and now the global economy. But but here's here's you know, here's my take on this. You know, I would I would say that the the the effect of um straight up for more closure of a straight of for the current situation on global economy is really a delayed invoice for the past appeasements that Iranian regime received from previous US administrations and the European leaders. Uh years of empowering this regime, legitimizing this regime and President Trump is now dealing with it.

[00:04:22]really trying to put an end to this nightmare of this regime that again the Iranian people have been paying for for 47 years now and global global economy is now taking hit for it but but I think the past appeasement that this regime received from previous administrations here in the US and European allies should be should be blamed more than anyone else.

[00:04:42]>> All right, Miad Mleki. Uh good to talk to you. Thanks very much.

[00:04:47]>> Thanks sir.

[00:04:49]>> All right, thanks for watching. Check out my new podcast, Hanging Out with Me, Sean Hannity. The big interviews, the debates you won't get anywhere else.

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