Ayatollah in Crosshairs as Prophecy meets Payload in Persian showdown
As the Middle East teeters on the edge of a geopolitical earthquake, two of the most authoritative voices on Iran—Former U.S. Senator Robert Torricelli and Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan, Executive Director of the School of Public & International Affairs at the University of Baltimore—are available for immediate commentary. Their decades of insight into the Iran threat, U.S. foreign policy, and the future of global order are more critical now than ever.
What’s happening:
- Israel has reportedly warned that Ayatollah Khamenei “can no longer be allowed to exist,” signaling that direct military action could be imminent.
- China has ordered its citizens out of Iran, a rare and urgent warning that suggests Beijing is bracing for escalation.
- Donald Trump is publicly weighing U.S. military involvement, possibly targeting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure if provoked.
This is not just a regional conflict—it’s a global inflection point. The possibility of an Israeli strike on Iranian leadership, paired with American military backing, could shatter the fragile balance of power across the Middle East and Asia. China’s swift exit signals fear of entanglement and economic blowback.
Torricelli, a former Senate Foreign Relations Committee member, brings the perspective of diplomacy, deterrence, and U.S. resolve. Sheehan is one of the country’s top scholars on Iranian dissident movements and the role of the NCRI, a democratic opposition poised to fill a power vacuum should the regime fall.
Together, they offer unparalleled insight on:
- The strategic logic behind targeting the Ayatollah
- What China’s rapid withdrawal reveals about internal calculations
- Why the U.S. can support regime change without boots on the ground
The opportunity for the Iranian people—not foreign occupiers—to reclaim their country
Speakers Available:
Robert Toricelli – Former U.S. Senator (D-NJ)
Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan – Professor of Public and International Affairs and Associate Dean at the University of Baltimore
Related Article(s)
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Israel has had enough: Iranian leader “can no longer be allowed to exist”
Live updates: Israel-Iran conflict, ballistic missile attacks, Trump weighs US involvement | CNN
Optional Q&A
- How significant is Israel’s statement that the Ayatollah “can no longer be allowed to exist”?
- What does China’s urgent call for citizens to leave Iran tell us about Beijing’s internal assessment?
- Do you believe Trump is serious about striking Iran’s nuclear sites, and how would that shift the regional dynamic?
- What role could or should the U.S. play if Israel launches a full-scale strike on Iran’s leadership?
- How does this moment affect the long-term viability of the Iranian regime?
- Could this be the opening the Iranian people and the NCRI have been waiting for?
- What is the risk that China or Russia intervenes if the Ayatollah is taken out?
- Is it still possible to avoid a broader regional war, or are we past that point?
ABOUT ROBERT TORRICELLI…
Senator Robert Torricelli served 14 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the 9th district of New Jersey until January 1997, when he was elected as Democratic Senator from the state of New Jersey. While in the Congress, he was the leading voice for a free Iran and has been advocate of a free and democratic Iran for the past three decades.
In 1999, he joined the Democratic Leadership as the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
Senator Torricelli served in the House Foreign Affairs Committee as the chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.
Senator Torricelli earned his law degree from Rutgers University and completed a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Before becoming a member of the U.S. Congress, Torricelli served as associate counsel to then-Vice President Walter Mondale.
ABOUT DR. IVAN SASCHA SHEEHAN…
Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan is a Professor of Public and International Affairs and the Associate Dean of the College of Public Affairs at the University of Baltimore. He has undertaken extensive research on U.S.-Iran Policy and counterterrorism operations.
A well-established authority on Iranian affairs, Sheehan’s work in the past decade has involved both peer-reviewed scholarship and policy-oriented writing on the Islamic Republic of Iran and their democratic political opposition. He has authored several books on the topic. His latest book is titled “The Ayatollah’s Hidden Hand: Tehran’s Covert Campaign to Undermine Its Principal Opposition.”
He frequently speaks on policy-oriented matters in Washington, D.C. and participates in scholarly conferences around the world.
Over the past fifteen years, Dr. Sheehan has addressed diverse audiences from academic forums in Europe and at Harvard Law School to policymakers in the U.S. Congress, the National Press Club, and film premieres for the National Geographic Channel. Dr. Sheehan continues to serve as a subject matter expert and consultant on a range of international conflict issues and public policy matters.
Dr. Sheehan is the author of more than one hundred publications and has appeared in Newsweek, National Review, The National Interest, Foreign Policy, Fox News, U.S. News & World Report, among others.
He served on the faculty of the University of Massachusetts Boston in the John W. McCormack School of Policy Studies. He previously taught at Bentley College, Tufts University, and George Mason University, after receiving a Ph.D. in 2006.
This material is distributed by Special Guests Publicity LLC on behalf of National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) / Media Strategy Consulting LTD. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.
CONTACT: For further details or to arrange the interview, please contact Jerry McGlothlin at 919-437-0001 / Bookings@SeasonalLiving.com
