Hammer made the remark near the end of a heated panel discussion that also included former IDF international spokesman Jonathan Conricus and combat veteran Matt Tardio.
The conversation turned to whether Iran's regime could be expected to change its behavior after suffering major military losses during the recent conflict with Israel and the United States.
Hammer argued that expecting rational, cost-based decision-making from Tehran misunderstands who is actually in charge.
He explained that Iran's leadership is made up of hardline Islamists who believe in a coming apocalyptic reckoning involving the destruction of Israel and the United States, and that this belief system, not conventional strategy, drives their actions.
Hammer pointed to the 1979 seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran as an early example of this ideological motivation.
In his words, Josh Hammer said, "They actually genuinely believe what we think they believe.
"They are apocalyptic, twelfth imam immunizing eschatological Islamists, and part of their plan all along really is to take out what they refer to as little Satan in Israel and the great Satan, the United States," he said.
Hammer said this ideology explains why he does not expect the Iranian regime to be removed from power within the next year, predicting instead a prolonged period of instability marked by intermittent strikes and an uneasy, temporary political balance.
He said any renewed hostilities involving Iran would likely be driven by the same core leadership mindset that has guided the regime since its founding, regardless of battlefield losses already suffered.
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