Michael Doran appears on CNN on January 28, 2024. (Screenshot via CNN)

As Iranian proxies escalate their strikes on global shipping, American allies, and United States military personnel, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East Director Michael Doran has continually made the case that the only way to restore stability to the region and protect America’s interests is to deter Iran.

Below are highlights from his recent appearances on C-SPAN, CNN, and PBS.

Key Insights

1. Iran has created an offense-dominant regime in the Middle East, and purely defensive measures are not a sufficient response.

“They have developed—through drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles—a disruptive military capacity that is capable of overwhelming the defenses of all of our allies and of our bases in the Middle East. We’re not used to thinking of Iran as a military power in this sense. We could, if we put a little thought into it, develop an answer to this. But we haven’t. We’re offering our allies and our own bases purely defensive measures against these weapons, and as a result, the Iranians are getting more and more influence all over the region. We are in serious danger of losing the region to the Iranians.”

— Michael Doran on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal.

2. The Biden administration needs to demonstrate that the US is committed to victory over Iran and its proxies.

“The administration needs to send a message to the Iranians that it is willing to win the escalation ladder. We keep sending this message that we are restraining ourselves, and the Iranians are turning that against us. . . . We need to define the conflict correctly. It’s not a war for Gaza. It’s a contest between the Iranian alliance system and the American alliance system. And we need to win that contest or at least deter the Iranians.”

— Michael Doran on CNN’s Acosta.

3. America’s failure to defend itself and its allies from Iranian attacks empowers China.

“The United States is under direct attack by proxies of Iran that are under the command and control of Iran. If we do not defend ourselves and we don’t defend our allies, then everyone in the region is going to draw the conclusion that we’re not going to defend them. If we won’t defend ourselves, we certainly won’t defend them. And they will hedge toward Iran and toward China. One of the most perverse things we hear is that the United States is asking China, our global rival, to help us with Iran. How is that possibly going to work?”

— Michael Doran on PBS NewsHour.

Quotes may be edited for clarity and length. 

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