Daniel Davis: Trump’s Claim of Iranian Collapse is an Illusion
Tehran - BORNA -Daniel Davis, a retired U.S. Army officer and senior strategic analyst, responded to Donald Trump’s assertions by characterizing them as a social media fantasy. Re-posting the U.S. President's statement on his X account, Davis wrote: "Uhhh... Iran 'informed' the president that they were in a 'state of collapse'? Someone apparently forgot to inform Iran itself, bc 14 min after President Trump posted this, Iranian news service ISNA announced Iran's Army was deployed around the country ready for more war."
The American analyst pointed to the baselessness of the claim regarding the collapse of Iran's governing capacity, adding: "This appears to be another social media post disconnected from any observed reality. States don't 'inform' their opponents of a collapse during wartime. Further, if there was a state of collapse, then Iran would no longer be able to control the Strait, and thus traffic would now be flowing out, unhindered. Yet, that does not appear to be the case, as there are presently zero reports of a collapse of the Iranian state."
Davis identified the only way out of the current deadlock as genuine diplomacy. He clarified: "There is a way to get the Strait of Hormuz open, however, but it will only happen when both [maritime] blockades are removed. That will only happen when Washington is willing to enter into a give-and-take diplomatic engagement with Tehran, meaning both sides will have to come out with something they want."
Criticizing Trump’s one-sided approach, he emphasized: "It would require President Trump to give something of value to Iran in order to get something of value from Iran. So far the president has only been willing to demand submission by Iran. The longer that behavior continues, the longer Iran will NOT unilaterally submit by opening the Strait to US-desired traffic."
Daniel L. Davis is a retired U.S. Army Colonel and a Senior Fellow at the Defense Priorities center in Washington. A veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he became a staunch critic of U.S. interventionist policies in West Asia following his retirement. Davis is well-known for his realistic and candid analyses in major media outlets such as Fox News, CNN, and Newsweek, consistently advocating for the avoidance of unnecessary wars and a focus on genuine American national interests.
His criticism comes after the U.S. President posted on the "Truth Social" platform on Tuesday evening, claiming: "Iran has informed me that they are collapsing," and further alleging that "Tehran has asked us to open the Strait of Hormuz as quickly as possible."
However, Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, have stated in diplomatic communications that one of Iran's primary conditions for lifting the restrictions imposed on the Strait of Hormuz is the cessation of "U.S. maritime piracy" against Iran.
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