Former CIA analyst and operations officer John Kiriakou believes that under current conditions the United States and Israel would be unable to defeat Iran. He shared this assessment during an appearance on a YouTube channel, arguing that the nature of modern warfare is changing rapidly.

According to Kiriakou, one of the key drivers of this transformation is the growing role of kamikaze drones. He said that such drones represent the future of warfare, adding that while Washington has not yet fully grasped this shift, Iranian strategists appear to have already recognized its significance.

Kiriakou explained that for the United States and Israel to secure victory, they would have to achieve a complete overthrow of the Iranian government and eliminate the country’s current leadership. After that, they would need to install a new administration in Tehran aligned with Washington and Tel Aviv. In his view, carrying out such a scenario is virtually impossible.

Iran’s objective in a potential confrontation, by contrast, is far more straightforward. Kiriakou argued that Tehran simply needs to endure the pressure and remain stable. If the Iranian state manages to withstand the challenge, he suggested, that resilience alone would effectively amount to a defeat for the United States and Israel. In his assessment, developments in the Middle East are already moving the situation toward that outcome at a fairly rapid pace.