Former Iranian prisoner urges Trump to plan for post

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'HELP ON THE WAY': Trump teases 'endgame' in Iran during CBS interview

Fox News host Sean Hannity shares a CBS Evening News interview where President Donald Trump hints what his 'endgame' is in Iran on 'Hannity.'

Former Washington Post Tehran correspondent Jason Rezaian, who spent 544 days as a political prisoner in Iran, called on President Donald Trump to take the current Iranian regime by surprise and begin planning for a post-Islamic Republic era.

In a Tuesday op-ed, Rezaian recounted his 2014 arrest by the Iranian government, which he said stemmed from his work covering nuclear negotiations with the United States. He wrote that this coverage "ultimately resulted in my being taken hostage and used as leverage" in the very negotiations he was covering.

Rezaian, who now works as the Post's director of press freedom initiatives, said for the first time since leaving Iran in 2016, he was allowing himself to feel hope that he might one day return as protesters seek to topple Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his regime.

IRAN REGIME OPENED FIRE WITH LIVE AMMUNITION ON PROTESTERS, DOCTOR SAYS: ‘SHOOT-TO-KILL’

U.S. journalist Jason Rezaian gestures next to his wife Yeganeh Salehi as he poses for media people in front of Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, on Jan. 20, 2016. (AP)

The journalist argued that it is a fallacy to claim that the U.S. never exerted its power over Iran prior to Trump taking office.

"It’s a fiction that the U.S. never exerted pressure on Iran before Trump. He inherited an architecture that he extended and enforced more strictly. Arguably, though, what has been his most effective tool against Iran is the element of surprise that has left Iran unable to predict what he will do next, from approving the 2020 killing of Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force, or the bombing campaign Trump ordered on Iranian nuclear sites in June," he contended.

According to Rezaian, it was "American consistency, not weakness," that Tehran had long taken advantage of in regard to American leadership.

"In Trump, the Islamic Republic has met its match: a much stronger adversary who, like their leadership, believes that rules don’t apply to him," he argued.

TRUMP SAYS THE U.S. WILL TAKE 'VERY STRONG ACTION' AGAINST IRAN IF THE REGIME STARTS HANGING PROTESTERS

Anti-Iran regime protests grow across the country as the Trump administration boosts demonstrators offering support. (Alex Brandon/AP ; Fars News Agency via AP)

Although Rezaian typically avoids making predictions about Iran, he said "two things seem very clear" about the situation unfolding in the country.

"First, no matter how sophisticated and educated many Iranians are, there is and will be an understandable desire for retribution against the old guard for decades of harsh injustices. A law-based approach to accountability within Iran and at international tribunals would pay many more dividends than wrecking existing institutions that ordinary citizens rely on," he maintained. "Continuity will be essential for an orderly transition."

His second prediction was that "when the regime finally falls, whoever will lead Iran next is almost certainly living there now," adding that it would be "unrealistic and frankly unfair" to expect the long-exiled son of the shah overthrown in 1979 — Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi — to take over as Khamenei's successor.

"Whether that person, whomever it turns out to be, would be better able to provide for the needs of Iranians and ensure a brighter future than the country’s current authoritarian rulers is still anyone’s guess," he cautioned.

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Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, pictured sitting next to a senior military official in Iran. (Getty Images)

With the country's potential new leadership still up in the air, Rezaian urged the Trump administration to "do what its predecessors failed to do for decades. Stop taking its cues from experts and charlatans in Washington and build bridges to changemakers within Iran."

On Tuesday, Trump urged Iranians to continue protesting and assured them that help is on the way, possibly hinting at U.S. intervention in the conflict.

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"Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price. I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY. MIGA!!!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.