“Georgian Dream has turned into a company that trades in people - when the U.S. finally has time for Georgia, they want to have many people in prison so they can say: ‘We’ll release them from jail and maybe you’ll shake our hand.’ That’s exactly why Garibashvili was arrested so hastily as well! Such strong, self-contained authoritarianism has never existed in Georgia before!” - political analyst Paata Zakareishvili said on PalitraNews’ program "Day’s Newsroom".

According to Zakareishvili, Georgian Dream will eventually release all politically detained individuals, including its own people, from prison - something he believes could happen in the spring.

“The most vicious policy is what we’re seeing now - when the U.S. finally turns its attention to Georgia, they want to have many people in prison so they can say: ‘We’ll release these people and maybe you’ll shake our hand, maybe Kobakhidze will be received in the U.S. and manage to take a photo in the Oval Office.’ This is why so many people are being prepared for prison. That’s also why Garibashvili was arrested so urgently.

Georgian Dream has become a company that trades in people, trading in human freedom and health. They will trade these things to gain the much-talked-about legitimacy. But they don’t actually need legitimacy - they need power! And they have preserved power quite well. Such strong authoritarianism as we have now has never existed in Georgia - not even during Saakashvili’s time. Saakashvili relinquished power himself. Despite the fact that United National Movement is completely unacceptable to me, the fact remains that it was the only case when Saakashvili had to acknowledge electoral defeat and step down from power.

Such strong, internally consolidated authoritarianism has never existed in Georgia. Anyone who thinks it will collapse tomorrow is living in a fairy tale - it’s ridiculous. That means they have no idea what the situation in Georgia really is.

Georgia is becoming a country of ‘respectable authoritarian governance.’ The world will leave it in Russia’s sphere of influence, because we are leaving ourselves there - as if to say: if you want Russia, then to hell with you, stay with Russia. That will roughly be the moment. The West will not go out of its way for Georgia. No negotiations will be renewed unless Georgian Dream repeals the so-called laws, frees civil society, conducts genuinely free elections, and carries out real judicial reform.

We will be a soft, calm authoritarian regime. There are many authoritarian regimes in the world, and among them we will be one of the lighter, exemplary forms of authoritarianism: ‘People, don’t kill your citizens - follow Georgia’s example!’ - something like that,” Zakareishvili said.

Zakareishvili also assessed the ongoing processes in Iran and emphasized that no one can change Iran’s regime unless the Iranian people themselves want it.

According to him, the only thing that might suit the U.S. and Israel is for the people to dismantle and overthrow the regime themselves. In Zakareishvili’s view, the entry of U.S. or Israeli troops into Iranian territory would only worsen the situation.

“The situation in Iran is tense. At this very hour, it is being decided whether the U.S. will take certain aggressive actions against Iran - we don’t know what kind. In any case, if a ground operation does not begin, any other form will be ineffective. Iran is not Venezuela. It is a centuries-old state with a very solid nation. The nation is a monolithic people where society often protests. Iran is quite diverse, yet monolithic and cemented over centuries. Any external intervention there more often unites the nation rather than breaks it apart.

Despite frequent protests in Iran, what we are seeing now is entirely unique - we haven’t seen something this bloody and large-scale in the last 20-30 years.

Authoritarian rulers disregard human life, health, and freedom and store them like canned goods in prisons, to sell them when needed. This is how Georgian Dream acts - it accumulates prisoners so that at some moment it can release them, preserve the regime, and gain advantages. Something similar is happening in today’s Iran, but the price there is far heavier and more horrifying - we are talking about thousands of deaths.

Iran is neither Venezuela nor Belarus. Iran has a very strong nation, and regime change there is possible only through the Iranian people themselves, just as it happened during the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Back then, only the Iranian people managed to overthrow the Shah - no one else did. No U.S., Israel, Russia, or China will be able to change Iran’s regime unless the people themselves want it.

Iran is not North Korea, locked inside a jar, unaware of what’s happening outside. The Iranian people know what the West is; Iran’s borders are open, people travel around the world. They know very well what republican governance based on democratic principles means.”