“In the big picture, a Third World War is effectively underway. This Third World War does not have a territorial character, as was typical of previous centuries, but rather an ideological, fundamental one, and the struggle is for freedom and prosperity,” political analyst Gia Khukhashvili said while speaking about the ongoing events in Iran on PalitraNews’ program "360 Degrees".

According to Khukhashvili, the United States will move to action in the coming hours because Trump has no room to retreat; otherwise, it would be perceived as a display of weakness.

“The brutality we are witnessing in Iran is, unfortunately, inevitable - given that the more brutal a regime is and the more restricted freedom becomes, once the accumulated energy of suppressed freedom reaches a critical mass, the confrontation unfolds in an even more violent form. Sadly, we are witnessing this today.

In the big picture, a Third World War is effectively underway. This war is neither territorial, as was characteristic of previous centuries, nor economic - despite many claiming, including in Georgia, that the United States is fighting for oil and so on. Rather, it is ideological and fundamental in nature, and the struggle is for freedom and prosperity. These are the two core values for any human being, and when neither exists, it naturally manifests in such harsh forms, which we are now observing in Iran.

Cruelty is characteristic of regimes because they fight for power by any means necessary. Unfortunately, authoritarian regimes behave this way; they shoot and are prepared for very large casualties.

Fortunately, Georgia has not reached this point yet, but since the main value of an authoritarian regime is power, if necessary, any regime is ultimately prepared to accept casualties.

I believe everything has already been decided in the United States. We hear Trump’s rhetoric, and he has effectively cut off any path of retreat for himself. If he fails to take concrete steps, it would be a very serious display of weakness on his part. Therefore, I think that in the coming days - indeed, in the coming hours - the United States will move into action,” Khukhashvili said.

The political expert also commented on today’s statement by Georgian Dream MP Gia Volski, who said that Georgia should base its future on forgiveness, empathy, and the positive development of human relations. According to Khukhashvili, the motive behind this statement lies in the events in Venezuela, where political prisoners were released after Maduro’s arrest.

“It is clear that one of the reasons regimes take political prisoners hostage is a form of bargaining, so that later this ‘live commodity’ can be sold at some price to the world with which they still need to maintain some level of communication. But we must understand that the authorities’ motives are not determined by humanity or anything similar; they do only what is necessary to consolidate power.

I believe the motive behind this possible statement is what happened in Venezuela. Venezuela shocked our authorities as well. Even there, after Maduro was arrested as a result of a special operation, political prisoners were released. Recently, prisoners were also released in Belarus. It is possible they will try to bargain with this. In any case, this step changes nothing, because whether a political prisoner is inside or outside prison, politically nothing changes.

If real changes do not begin in the country and protests continue, they will release some and arrest others - what difference does it make? What we need are systemic changes, not bargaining by the authorities over specific individuals. I think the authorities intend to play this card differently, and if an act of pardon is issued, it will more likely apply to the so-called ‘smiling boys’ and those detained during protests. It is far less likely that pardons will be granted in relation to the October 4 case,” he noted.

When asked whether a pardon could apply to former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, Khukhashvili said it is unlikely that economic charges would be included, although nothing can be ruled out.

“Nothing is impossible, although it would be a great farce. The lawyer did say that, but not on his own initiative - he was asked directly.

We cannot rule anything out entirely, but it is less likely that economic charges will be included in such a pardon act. Still, it is possible; I cannot exclude it,” Khukhashvili said.