() Television commentator Bill O’Reilly said Iranian religious leaders are “desperate” and in “shaky, shaky land” following U.S. strikes on nuclear facilities, suggesting the country’s military could potentially depose the ruling mullahs.
O’Reilly cited a forthcoming Wall Street Journal editorial stating “it is entirely possible the army will depose the mullahs,” a prediction he said he has been making for months. He described the religious leadership as “fighting for their lives” with nowhere to run, except potentially to exile in Russia.
“These mullahs and their crew, because they’ll be charged with war crimes. You got to understand there’s nowhere for them to run,” O’Reilly said on ’s “On Balance.” “Putin will take them, just like Putin took Assad Bashir from Syria, right? But these people are fighting for their lives.”
The commentator said Iran’s leadership is putting up a false front to the Iranian people, claiming they remain viable while facing what he called unprecedented military humiliation. He noted that Israeli strikes freed political prisoners from Tehran’s main prison, with families retrieving detained relatives.
“Iran, there’s no control at all. It’s anarchy there,” O’Reilly said, describing the current situation in the country following the military operations.
O’Reilly praised President Donald Trump’s “peace through strength” approach, saying the president demonstrated willingness to use military power when adversaries cross certain lines. He noted that no countries came to Iran’s support during the conflict, with Russia and China declining to intervene.
O’Reilly suggested Trump relied primarily on Pentagon military leadership rather than civilian advisers for the operation, saying the president “finally got a team in there that he trusts.”
He also said that Pakistan had nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for defusing tensions with India, and that NATO countries except Spain had pledged to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP as Trump had long demanded.
“Trump is not a war monger. He builds a stair step,” O’Reilly said, defending the president’s military approach as measured rather than aggressive. “He is emotional, though.”
