Washington Free Beacon founding editor Matthew Continetti on Wednesday said Iranians fear escalating conflict with the United States as President Donald Trump demonstrated his willingness to "retaliate in a showstopping way."
"If Iran or its proxies kill Americans, America will retaliate in a showstopping way, and I think that's one reason why the Iranians want to back out of this conflict," Continetti said during an appearance on Fox News's Special Report.
Tensions are high between the United States and Iran after Trump ordered a drone strike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. Soleimani was the leader of the Quds Force for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Quds Force was responsible for training, funding, and arming Iran-sympathetic terrorist groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and around the Middle East. Hundreds of American troops have been killed by these terrorist groups.
"He's no longer around the table and that has put, I think, the Iranian regime in a state of not panic but shock and confusion," Continetti said.
The Soleimani strike came days after an Iranian-backed militia stormed the United States embassy in Baghdad.