The Daily Signal - Victor Davis Hanson: Obama Dreamed of an Iranian-Led Axis to Counter Israel, Then Trump Destroyed It

Episode Date: September 2, 2025

Since striking Iran’s nuclear sites and military personnel last June, America and Israel have brought the Islamic regime to its knees. A web of paranoia, triggered by Israel's systematic dismantling of Iran’s terrorist surrogates and in-country air defense systems, has caused the regime to lash out against an already wary population.   The Obama-Biden administration tried for years to position Iran, and its surrogates, as a “counterweight” to Israel and the more moderate Arab countries in the region, favoring neither one side nor the other. President Donald Trump’s strike on Iran and subsequent sanctions have tipped the scales in favor of Israel and the more moderate Middle East regimes. “ We don't have to be the instigators. We don't have to stage coups. All we have to do is turn up the heat and let this pot boil over. And boil over it will,” argues Victor Davis Hanson on today’s edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words.” 👉Don’t miss out on Victor’s latest videos by subscribing to The Daily Signal today. You’ll be notified every time a new piece of content drops: https://www.youtube.com/dailysignal?sub_confirmation=1    👉If you can’t get enough of Victor Davis Hanson from The Daily Signal, subscribe to his official YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@victordavishanson7273    👉He’s also the host of “The Victor Davis Hanson Show,” available wherever you prefer to watch or listen. Links to the show and exclusive content are available on his website: https://victorhanson.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is going to be an eruption in Iran, I think, maybe within a year or two. It's in a state of paranoia. Israel showed the world that Iran was a papered tiger. It has dismantled its terrorist surrogates. The United States then took out its nuclear proliferation apparatus. So what has happened in the Middle East is that the Obama idea that Iran should be a counterweight to our friends' democratic Israel. and the moderate Gulf states, this then would create tension in the Obama administration and its successive Biden administrations would then come in and adjudicate.

That is in shambles now. Hello, this is Victor Davis-Hansson for the Daily Signal. There is going to be an eruption in Iran, I think, maybe within a year or two. We hear stories that the revolutionary Islamic government has already executed. almost a thousand of its own citizens. It's in a state of paranoia. Why? Because it has no air defenses one. Israel showed the world that Iran was a paper tiger. It has dismantled its terrorist surrogates, just wiped out the Houthi command and control in Yemen. It's embarrassed Hezbollah. There is no real Hamas organized resistance. And Iran has no defenses. The United States,

States then took out its nuclear proliferation apparatus, at least for a number of years. More importantly, the theocracy has no popular support, it seems like. It has a core base of followers who have been enriched by this corrupt government, but the people themselves under sanctioning and embargoes of the only real thing that Iran can export oil have been hard-pressed. Electricity is sporadic, water and sewage have been interrupted, the Iranian currency is inflated, but more importantly, the Iranian government knows that there is popular dissent, and some of that popular descent has been manifested by allowing the Israelis to get the necessary intelligence to knock off the key.

people in the Iranian nuclear program. I don't think any scientist in Iran would want to be openly affiliated with nuclear physics, given the short lifespan of all those who in the past were central to the Iranian nuclear bomb project. And the same thing is true of their general staff. A lot of generals have been killed, and the question is, if you were a high-ranking officer or in the Iranian military, in the Hezbollah hierarchy, in the Yemeni, what's left of the Yemeni commanding control, would you want it to be known? Because if you did, your days would be numbered. And so this government is under economic, social, political, cultural, and military pressures. And most of their problems originated with their aggression toward Israel that could take only so much

decided to solve the problem by destroying its surrogates and attacking the head of the octopus and the United States under Donald Trump ending the nuclear threat for the near future. So what has happened in the Middle East is that the Obama idea that Iran should be a counterweight to our friends' democratic Israel and the moderate Gulf states and Middle East countries. like Egypt and Jordan, there was going to be a counterweight. It was going to be, I guess we would call it the Shia axis. It was going to be in Iran, the Assad dynasty in Syria, the Lebanese Hezbollah takeover of that country, and pro-Iranian groups in Yemen, and the West Bank and Gaza.

And this then would create tension. And the Obama administration and its successive Biden administrations would then come in and adjudicate, not favoring the Shia crescent, not favoring Israel and the moderate Arab regimes. And therefore, we would get social justice for the, I don't know, the underrepresented oppressed Shia or the Persians. But we wouldn't openly side with a democratic liberal society. like Israel and reforming societies in the Middle East that are at least not as extreme as Iran or Afghanistan or some of the more lunatic countries. That is in shambles now. That whole notion is in shambles.

As I said, Iran is near destitute and it's on the brink of internal revolution. There is no more Assad dynasty in Syria. It's in turmoil. The Lebanese government is no longer deathly afraid of Hezbollah. and incrementally trying to reassert control, the Yemenis are flabbergasted that their entire terrorist command and control has been wiped out. And so we're on the verge of some great developments in the Middle East if we can just stay supportive of the moderate Arab regimes and Israel and let these natural processes play out and keep the sanctions on Iran, keep the embargo on Iran and don't let up until there's a change of government. We don't have to be the instigators. We don't have to stage coups. All we have to do is turn up the heat and let this pot boil over.

And boil over it will. Thank you very much. This is Victor Davis Hansen for the Daily Signal. Thank you for tuning in to the Daily Signal. Please like, share, and subscribe to be notified for more content like this. You can also check out my own website at victorhansen.com and subscribe for exclusive features in addition.