Former US hostage John Limbert says Washington ‘can’t bomb and assassinate its way to a better relationship’ with Iran.
“We can’t dictate to the Iranians, and the Iranians can’t dictate to us,” argues John Limbert, one of the American captives held in the US embassy in Tehran during the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Limbert, who went on to become US deputy assistant secretary of state for Iran, tells host Steve Clemons that US leaders believe that “all we have to do is drop more bombs and the Iranians will do what we want”. And Iranian leaders believe that “all we have to do is keep attacking ships in the Strait [of Hormuz], and the Americans eventually will do what we want”.
Published On 2 Aug 2026
