See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bjW0uh1J60
Mohammed Marandi: Iran refuses any ceasefire and will impose its own conditions to end the war
Full interview with Mohammed Marandi, Iranian intellectual and political analyst, professor at the University of Tehran, by Glenn Diesen. In this interview, the professor discusses Iran's war aims, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and the global economic consequences of the conflict. Insights from Tehran.Glenn Diesen: Good morning everyone. We are joined by Sayed Mohammed Marandi, professor at the University of Tehran and former advisor to the Iranian nuclear negotiations team, to discuss the ongoing war against Iran. Thank you for joining us again.
Muhammad Marandi: Thank you, Glenn. It's always a pleasure.
- Iran's war aims
- A terrorist war that demands reparations
- The closure of the Strait of Hormuz: an existential danger for the Gulf petro-monarchies and the West
- The role of Russia and China just last year, apparently aimed at regime change and the destruction of Iran. I don't think that has changed, which begs the question: What does Iran want? What are its war aims now that the conflict has resumed?
Mohammed Marandi: I think it's becoming clear now that everything we've been saying for over a year has proven true, and that all the assessments made by Western think tanks , Western experts, Western media, and Western regimes have turned out to be wrong. That's the story of the last 47 years. And it's not just Iran. Remember, Hezbollah was supposed to have been literally destroyed. But today, we see it hitting the Israeli regime very hard. So their assessments were based on unrealistic expectations.
After almost two weeks of war, during which the United States deployed its full firepower in the region, alongside the Israeli regime, and using its resources in the Persian Gulf, Turkey, and Jordan, they waged total war against Iran. They failed.
I think we are already seeing clear signs that the United States is headed for defeat. The Iranians will not accept a ceasefire. A ceasefire is not an option. This war will continue until Iran's demands are met. Iran will never again accept a situation in the region that allows the United States to threaten it again. That's over. Iran will no longer allow the Persian Gulf regimes to serve as bases to threaten the country. And Iran will demand and obtain full compensation for the slaughter and destruction. The longer the conflict lasts, the more compensation Iran will demand from the Persian Gulf regimes or any other actor involved. What Iran will receive is compensation. It is inevitable.
We have seen how the Iranians have emerged stronger. Yes, they have destroyed our civilian infrastructure. They have bombed numerous buildings. They have massacred children in schools. They have destroyed hospitals. They are doing what they have always done. This is nothing new for the Washington regime, nor for the genocidal regime in Tel Aviv. We saw it in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Syria. We saw it in Cuba. We saw it, of course, in Gaza. But the Iranians have emerged stronger. There is no doubt about that.
We have seen huge crowds take to the streets every night, and sometimes in broad daylight, since the beginning of the war, to support the Supreme Leader, defying Trump and his regime, under fire, under missiles, under the threat of assassination. Yesterday, at a rally in Tehran that I attended, the city was bombed while huge crowds were in the center of Tehran. But no one moved, no one gave in to panic.
I therefore think that if we take all of this into account — the fact that Iranian missiles and drones are hitting American interests throughout the Persian Gulf, that the Israeli regime is being bombarded day and night, that the Resistance in Lebanon and Iraq is inflicting damage on the regime, and that Yemen is ready to take offensive action against this coalition of aggression — it simply indicates that the situation is only going to get worse for the United States and its proxies in the region.
2. A terrorist war that demands reparations
Glenn Diesen: This raises the idea that a ceasefire isn't acceptable because they would come back. A new status quo or a political settlement is needed. It's also somewhat reminiscent of the war in Ukraine, where the Russians don't simply want NATO to regroup, resupply, and start again. But I wanted to ask what's happening on the ground in Iran, because in recent days we've seen attacks on a fuel depot, resulting in toxic rain that apparently burns the skin and destroys the lungs.
Furthermore, if I'm not mistaken, this constitutes a genuine ecological disaster, as it causes cancers and other illnesses that could last for decades. We have also witnessed the destruction of the desalination plant that purifies the water, which is considered another war crime, as well as attacks on oil tankers.
How do you assess the situation? Are the United States and Israel unable to defeat Iran on the battlefield and therefore resorting to attacking the civilian population? And how could Iran retaliate, given that this constitutes an escalation when the civilian population is targeted?
Mohammed Marandi: Yes, I think it's now quite clear that the United States has failed on the battlefield. They haven't been able to stop our missiles and drones. Since they can't destroy Iran's underground facilities or the factories that produce missiles and drones, they're targeting ordinary people.
They are attempting to massacre civilians in order to sow panic and fear in society. They are destroying essential infrastructure so that Iranians will worry for days and weeks to come.
Of course, the airstrikes on the refinery and the massive fires they caused—which burned a number of people alive—spread throughout Tehran and beyond. If you look at my car, it's covered in oil. It's greasy. If you drive through the city, you'll see many cars—especially those that were parked outside—in the same condition. When you go outside and touch something, your hand turns black: it becomes greasy, it becomes dirty.
And of course, our children breathe this. Our grandchildren breathe this. Men and women breathe this. The elderly breathe this. People like me, who were victims of chemical attacks carried out by the West through Saddam Hussein—particularly by the German regime, which played a key role in supplying these chemical weapons—are in danger.
Messages were sent to all the victims of the gas attacks asking them to take extra precautions. But how can you take more precautions? There are some things you can do, but it's very limited. So I think this is clearly an act of desperation. It seems Trump is desperate. It seems he's not well.
Over the past few hours, he has been spouting all sorts of nonsense. At one point, he talks about ending the war. Then he talks about destroying the Iranian nation. And you see no outrage in the West. You don't see European leaders expressing outrage when he talks about destroying the Iranian nation. You don't see CNN, the BBC, Fox News, or The Guardian [or even Le Monde, Mediapart, LFI …] expressing outrage when he says he will try to destroy this nation. It's extraordinary, and it shows just how morally corrupt the Western elites are—whether they are the major political parties or the entities controlled by oligarchs and the “ Epstein class .”
But even these threats and Trump's inconsistent and shifting statements will have no effect on Iran. Iran will keep the Strait of Hormuz closed. Trump can try to calm the markets all he wants. It might work for a few days, but the reality is there will be an energy shortage. Every day. Twenty million barrels of oil. And that number could increase if Iran decides to punish the regime in Baku, Azerbaijan, or if the Yemenis strike the Saudi pipeline that crosses the Red Sea, and so on. The situation could get worse. Right now, 20 million barrels of oil a day are disappearing from the global market, and every day another 20 million are added to that loss.
So Trump can try to influence the markets for a few days, with the help of Western media and Western governments. Then they can release their strategic reserves. But, to my knowledge, the reserves held by the G7 countries can only last two months. They can only compensate for the situation for two months. They have two months' worth of reserves, and I don't think Iran intends to open the Strait of Hormuz anytime soon. So we are heading towards a global economic crisis. And this is something we've already discussed. You and I have talked about it several times, and I'm sure you and your other guests have also discussed it many times.
The fact is, the West is ignorant. Western elites could have listened to your program and understood, six months ago, what was going to happen under the current circumstances. They created this situation themselves. And I keep thinking back to what Trump said at the beginning. He said, "We did not expect Iran to attack its assets in the Persian Gulf." The level of ignorance in Washington is simply astounding. How could they not have expected it? He was absolutely certain—100% certain—that it was going to happen. But this shows that Washington is blind to reality. And I see no reason why that blindness would suddenly disappear. So I don't think they're going to make any realistic decisions now. But regardless of whether Trump's advisers want him to find a way out of this situation or not, Iran will not accept a ceasefire. That's out of the question. Conditions must be met, and they will be. Above all, it is the Arab family dictatorships of the Persian Gulf that will have to obey and accept Iran's conditions. Iran is now talking about controlling the Strait of Hormuz and collecting tolls from ships that transit it.
This is what these Arab regimes—these dictatorships—brought about themselves. They thought they could have their cake and eat it too. They believed they could host American bases, threaten Iran, allow Iran to be bombed, and then—Qatar, the Emirates, the Bahraini regime, Kuwait, and the Saudis—pretend to be neutral and get away with it. That won't happen. Today, they are paying the price. But even when the war ends, they will continue to pay the price. They will have to make full compensation for everything they have done to Iran.
We live in a new reality, Glenn. Iran is now much more confident. And its adversaries have done great harm to its people. Iran sees its strength. The people see its strength. People in the streets recognize its strength. And that's a reality the Americans are going to have to face now.
3. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, an existential danger for the Gulf petro-monarchies and the West
Glenn Diesen: I think what you're referring to is one of the major weaknesses. I think what we're seeing in the West today—and this is something I've often warned against—is that we've become prisoners of our own narratives, as you put it. The people I've spoken to on this program have almost all expressed a consensus: if the United States attacked, the first thing Iran would do is neutralize all of its bases in the region. So that should have been predictable. I think the reason it wasn't is because governments and their media watchdogs organize themselves around these narratives. And these narratives demand an explanation for why one side is good and the other bad. So the prevailing narrative is this: it's about liberating Iranians. "We want to liberate Iranian women from an oppressive regime." “If you accept this premise, then it becomes possible to increase the pressure on Iran, to raise the cost, thinking that it will eventually make concessions. It’s a bit like the argument used for Afghanistan. Apparently, NATO occupied Afghanistan for twenty years (only) so that girls could go to school. It’s not normal for adults, mature adults, to believe such fables. Yet this is the prevailing consensus. And that’s a problem. If you refuse to accept the world as it is, you end up nurturing completely naive expectations.”
This isn't very different from how we've also become trapped in narratives about Russia. It's something I discussed extensively with the former CIA director of Russia analysis, George Beebe. He, too, explained that we're prisoners of (false) narratives. Because if you claim the Russians invaded without provocation, then all you have to do is send weapons and increase the cost (for Russia) for them to realize it's not worth it and back down. But, again, we're not allowed to say, "NATO started it," because that would constitute an existential threat to Russia. And in that case, any escalation will inevitably be countered by Russia. And I think—as I often say about Iran—that bad analysis leads to bad policy. The fact that this wasn't predictable is, honestly, worrying. But we see these narratives continuing. Trump gave a speech in which he claimed that Witkoff told him the Iranians had said they would continue developing nuclear weapons no matter what. That's just insane. Even the most ardent supporters of the MAGA movement find it hard to believe. It's truly outrageous.
But you mentioned the Strait of Hormuz. And now we learn that France might send an aircraft carrier and warships on a defensive mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. At the same time, Trump says that if Iran doesn't allow it, they will hit Iran twenty times harder—which is eerily accurate. How do you assess France's potential entry into this war?
Mohammed Marandi : I think what we've seen in Ukraine clearly demonstrates the true strength of the French armed forces. The entire European Union has spent everything it had—and even what it didn't have—trying to defeat Russia, and it has failed. And the situation will only get worse, because a large part of their resources have been sent to the Persian Gulf region and wasted there. They've been firing missile defense systems day and night. So the situation in Ukraine will deteriorate. And this will be even more painful for the European Union and the British in the days, weeks, and months to come. And I think the Russians will obviously find themselves in a position of strength. They are now selling their oil at a much higher price. They no longer need to offer discounts. And their enemy in Ukraine is severely weakened. So I think this will lead the Russians to take advantage of the situation to further increase their advantage.
I have no doubt whatsoever that the French possess no capabilities whatsoever to impress Iran [ smiles ]. And the United States is already doing everything it can against the Iranian people, massacring civilians. Just a few hours ago, they conducted airstrikes in Tehran, bombing highways and civilian targets, causing even more casualties—exactly as they did last night. Last night, they committed several massacres in Tehran. So what more can they do? If they want to destroy Iran's key infrastructure, that's a possibility. But in that case, Iran will destroy all of the key infrastructure in that region. Everything. All the oil and gas facilities in the Persian Gulf and Caucasus region will disappear. They will be annihilated. They won't just be damaged: they will be destroyed. And that will mean the collapse of critical U.S. infrastructure. The world will collapse, because we will enter a severe global economic depression.
If that's what the United States wants, that's what they'll get. But the world will know that the United States provoked this. It will know that the Zionists did it. It will know that Netanyahu is responsible. Because Iran doesn't want war. Iran doesn't want to escalate the war. We want to live in peace. We want the rights of the Palestinians, the Lebanese, and the Syrian people restored. That's a perfectly normal expectation.
But if war is forced upon us, we will respond with countermeasures. We will punish the enemy. And today, the United States has already lost everything in the Persian Gulf region. The damage inflicted on the United States is, so far, far greater than that suffered by Iran, because the Persian Gulf region is, in reality, a collection of American assets. The oil that is sold there—think about it, Glenn, and I'm sure you have, and your audience knows this too, because they are very politically aware—that oil is sold in what currency? Dollars. That's the first point. Second, a large portion of that money is reinvested in the American stock market and in American bonds. But if that money is gone, it won't go there anymore. And those regimes have suffered enormous damage. It's not just a drone or missile strike that matters. All the trust that previously existed in these regimes — trust that allowed huge flows of money from all over the world to flow, for example, to the Emirates — has disappeared.
So, all of this constitutes American assets, and they are also huge consumers. The consumption levels of these Arab family dictatorships in the Persian Gulf are perhaps equivalent to those of the African or Latin American continents. I can't give precise figures, but they are enormous consumers. Huge consumers. But they're no longer consuming. So they're no longer selling oil. The price of oil will rise. The dollars from these exports are no longer being injected into the American stock market, and fewer dollars are circulating in the world, which weakens the importance of the dollar as a global currency. And of course, the value of the entire western—or southwestern—part of the Persian Gulf has collapsed. It's no longer a place where one can consider investing in the future, nor a place that can be trusted.
And as I said, this region is controlled by the United States. The damage inflicted on the United States and the West by their own aggression against Iran is therefore immense. Not to mention the Israeli regime, which is being attacked day and night. What fool would invest in the Israeli regime again in the future? This is the second time Iran has bombarded it in the space of eight or nine months. All of this is therefore significant.
We are the country that is sanctioned. We have no foreign investors. Investments are made by individuals in Iran and by the government. And that will continue to be the case. But for the United States, I think this is a real turning point.
Glenn Diesen : This illustrates the magnitude of what's at stake. Because if the United States were to succeed—as they keep repeating on Fox News—in taking control of Iran and its oil, then China would effectively be cut off from Iranian energy, and the United States would have a strategic advantage over its main rival. On the other hand, if they fail, the petrodollar would be fundamentally threatened. This would affect, for example, the funding of the artificial intelligence bubble in the United States, which could put an end to the race for dominance in high-tech industries, such as artificial intelligence and robotics. The stakes are therefore considerable. And, as we can see, Iran is, of course, bearing the brunt of it.
But given everything at stake—and knowing that the United States will likely increase pressure on Iran, in other words, escalate—what can Iran do if it decides to take the escalation a step further? The Iranian government has said it has a few surprises in store. I know they're not whispering them in your ear, but what kind of surprises do you think they might be? What might be the next step in this escalation (on the Iranian side)? It's not just American bases that are vulnerable, as you pointed out earlier: all the energy infrastructure in the Gulf states is also highly exposed and vulnerable. Is that the kind of target Iran might be aiming for?
Mohammed Marandi : I think it depends on the pace and nature of the escalation. And of course, it's not just Iran's capabilities. Yemen hasn't yet entered the war, but it's preparing. It's building up its capabilities. And the resistance in Iraq, although already active and having inflicted considerable damage on American interests, could still significantly expand its operations.
But as you know, Glenn, every day 20 million barrels of oil don't reach the market. And that number keeps increasing. Let's say that in the last ten days, no oil has been sold: that's 200 million barrels. Total G7 stocks, according to their own figures, amount to 1.2 billion barrels. If this situation continues for a few more weeks, imagine where prices will go. Iran is already increasing the pressure simply by keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed. But as you know, Iran hasn't yet used its most advanced technologies.
In recent days, Iran has used fewer drones than before, but for almost the entire first week—and even a little beyond—we relied almost exclusively on older drones and missiles. And, as we speak, the Iranians have refrained from using their newest technologies. Iran therefore has a wide range of options should its infrastructure be damaged. If the United States escalates and destroys more Iranian oil, gas, or energy facilities, the same will happen in U.S.-controlled areas in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.
If they attack our desalination plants, we don't depend on them as much as they do. If we destroy the desalination plants in the Persian Gulf region, everyone will have to leave. They'll have to drive across the Arabian Peninsula to reach Syria, Jordan, or Iraq. That will be the end. Because those are desert countries.
As for Iran, you went to Tehran. The mountains above Tehran are currently covered in snow. I know we haven't had—Tehran hasn't had—an exceptionally good year. We've had droughts. But much of the country has received good rainfall this year. Tehran has been a little less fortunate, but we still have snow. We have water. It rained today, as I mentioned before the broadcast. It's even raining now, I believe. So we're not like those Arab regimes. We have our own water. We have fifteen neighbors with whom we can trade. We have agriculture. We have our own domestic industries. They have (only) oil and gas, but if there are no more desalination plants, they won't be able to stay, even if those resources remain intact. But everything can be destroyed. And as I said, those are American assets. These are not Qatari assets. Qatar is a country of 400,000 people. The ruling family diverts vast sums of money, distributing aid to its own population—but not to the contract workers, the near-slaves, and the other people who live there. And the rest goes to Western businesses and corporations. For the World Cup, some estimate they spent nearly $200 billion simply to build hotels and stadiums that are now all empty—and were already empty before the war. So these are not real countries. They are entirely dependent on oil and gas. They are American assets, Western assets. Thus, their destruction means the destruction of American assets, and their weakening means a decrease in American wealth. They can therefore harm us, but we can harm them far more than they can harm us. Especially since the West has become so financialized that it no longer has a real productive base. High energy prices would be extremely destructive, but the wealth and assets they have accumulated in this region would also disappear.
I'd like to add something. The Americans export almost nothing anymore, but they do export extremely expensive weapons. The Arab regimes in the Persian Gulf are constantly buying weapons, even though they don't even have the pilots to fly the planes. They're simply buying these weapons to give money to the Americans, give money to the Europeans, and pay kickbacks to Western senators and their own princes. That's essentially how the system works. All of this is going to disappear. There won't be any more money. There won't be any more money to buy American planes and American missiles that will just sit in a bunker because they won't have anyone to use them. So the United States is losing on all fronts. And this is a huge market for American weapons. But when they run out of money, what will they buy?
Glenn Diesen: I'd like to ask you about what have been called—or what has been suggested might be—false flag attacks. We've seen Iran claim responsibility for most of the retaliatory attacks, with a few exceptions. They stated that the attacks on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia were not their doing, if I'm not mistaken. The same is true for the attack on Azerbaijan: it has been claimed that this was also not Iran.
And of course, there was that ballistic missile toward Turkey that was intercepted, and Iran claimed it wasn't them either. What I found interesting is that—initially—it seemed Azerbaijan was going to retaliate, but instead they announced they would send humanitarian aid to Iran. What's going on in that regard? Has Iran clarified the situation with some of these countries, or is it possible they'll also go to war?
Mohammed Marandi : Regarding the ballistic missile over Turkey, I don't know the details. If you remind me later, I'll find out and get back to you. I think it was probably headed for Israel and was shot down, and it may have veered off course over parts of Turkey. But Turkey is helping Israel. The radar base in Turkey is used to provide intelligence to the Israeli regime. Erdogan is clearly helping Israel. There's no doubt about that. But, that aside, I don't think Iran targeted anything in Turkey. I think NATO shot down the missile, which was probably headed for Israel. But I'll find out and get back to you later if you remind me, because I tend to forget.
As for Azerbaijan, nobody is really taking the drone attack in Azerbaijan seriously. If Iran wanted to strike Azerbaijan, it wouldn't be with a small drone. Iran would destroy its oil and gas infrastructure if it wanted to, especially after what Azerbaijan has done to Iran—what that regime has done. You know, Glenn, many Iranians believe that Azerbaijan belongs to Iran, and most Azerbaijanis living in Iran also believe that Azerbaijan belongs to Iran. As you know, this is absolutely not official state policy. But if Azerbaijan continues to push and support the Israeli regime against Iran, along with the United States, that regime will not last. Iran will not tolerate this, and Iran has many supporters in Azerbaijan. All of their leaders are in prison. They have been there for years now. If they persist, the regime will be overthrown, and a new pro-Iranian government will come to power very quickly. It will only take a few days, at most. The Aliyev regime started by making a few threatening statements, then he spoke out again. I imagine he got the message from Iran that we're not in the mood. He changed his tune.
The same is true for the Kurdish groups in northern Iraq. If they attack Iran, Iran has told them it will destroy them. They will destroy the regional government in northern Iraq, and the Iraqi resistance will do the same. This can be done very easily. Iran and Iraq will no longer tolerate an autonomous regime in northern Iraq. That will end. These groups are revealing themselves. These Kurdish groups are revealing themselves to ordinary Kurds: they are working with the CIA and Mossad. I don't think the Kurds in Iraq—and certainly not the Kurds in Iran, even though they are not very numerous—are the type to cooperate with the CIA. But everyone has now revealed themselves.
Erdogan has revealed himself as an asset to Trump and the United States for over two years. This is important, Glenn, because the Islamic world—and beyond—as well as the people of Latin America and Africa, see who is defending the Palestinians and who is collaborating with their enemies. This has a huge impact. There is a real shift in attitude toward Iran throughout the region, on the streets and beyond. And not just in the Islamic world, not just among Sunnis, but among people everywhere, because they see and recognize that these past 47 years have been filled with anti-Iran rhetoric. Now they are questioning everything and seeing Iran as a heroic actor. That's what I sense when I'm in contact with intellectuals, thinkers, and activists abroad. When I'm active online and see the reactions, it's clear there has been a very significant shift in how people perceive the world they live in. These regimes that claimed to support the Palestinian people and to criticize the Israeli machine have all been exposed. They are now naked in the eyes of the world. And I think this will facilitate even more significant changes in the months and years to come.
Glenn Diesen: I remember that in 2003, when I was a student, around the time the Americans invaded Iraq, it was almost taken for granted in Australian universities that, once Iraq was dealt with, if Iran could be eliminated, that would essentially bring peace. The portrayal of Iran—this extremely demonized version of the country—was, I think, accepted by everyone.
After the twelve-day war in June, the rhetoric began to shift dramatically. I've never seen anything that could be interpreted as empathy for Iran, except in the context of regime change—that is, when people say they want to help the people free themselves from their government. But empathy for Iran's position—I'd truly never seen that before 2025. So something clearly happened.
4. The role of Russia and China
My last question concerns the involvement of China and Russia. As you know, the satellite photos from China are currently the subject of much discussion, and of course, the American and European media are accusing Russia of aiding Iran by providing intelligence for potential strikes. No one seems to notice that this is precisely what the Americans and Europeans are doing to Russia in Ukraine. Anyway, how do you see things? What do we actually know about the involvement of China and Russia? The Kremlin doesn't want to comment on this, but I imagine it's reasonable to assume they are involved in some way. The extent of their involvement, however, remains unclear.
Mohammed Marandi: I don't know the details, but what I do know is that the Chinese, Russians, and Iranians have grown closer. This rapprochement has been underway for years, but after the 12-day war, they became even closer.
As I said earlier, Iran has 15 neighbors. It's a large country. Iran is slightly larger than the United Kingdom, Germany, and France combined. It's not a small country, and it has many neighbors. It's a crossroads. That's why all transit routes in Asia must actually pass through Iran to connect West Asia (the Middle East) and East Asia, as well as the Persian Gulf, to Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.
Iran has the capability to receive weapons or anything else that could aid it in the war. This could happen through its eastern or northern borders, and the United States would be powerless to stop it. The Chinese and Russians can easily use these routes to trade with Iran and allow Iran to receive what it buys. There are reports of certain weapons, including air defense systems, that Iran has allegedly purchased. Again, I don't know the details. But it's crystal clear that the Russians don't want the United States to succeed in West Asia, and the Chinese obviously don't either.
Regardless of Zionist expansionism and what the US ambassador to the Israeli regime said—namely, that if they take West Asia, if they take the region, that's fine—he also claimed that it was the most moral army in the world. In other words, they could massacre hundreds of millions of people throughout the region and seize land, and the United States wouldn't have any problem with that. The ambassador was never reprimanded. He wasn't dismissed. He wasn't sanctioned. So we can assume that this is the unofficial policy of the United States—and that it always has been—as well as European policy. I think it's fair to say so. It's exactly like in the West Bank: they've always talked about the two-state solution, but at the same time they've facilitated the settlement of the West Bank. The unofficial policy was to support Israeli expansionism, while the official policy was to say: no, no, we must have a two-state solution.
It is clear that this poses a threat to China, because Zionist expansionism would essentially mean a strengthening of the Trump regime and the United States. They would control all the oil—oil which, as we speak, no longer leaves the Persian Gulf—and they would control everything, which would put China in an extremely dangerous position. It is perfectly natural to assume that the Chinese and Russians will cooperate more closely with Iran. But beyond cooperation with Russia and China, what the United States has done is cement relations between Russia, Iran, and China for years to come. They have solidified them.
This small minority that revolted, this small minority that supported the riots in Iran, was just a small minority. Many of them have changed. I don't know if I've told you this before, but three students from my faculty contacted me. Each of them told me separately that they had participated in the riots. I assume they weren't among those who, armed, killed police officers and set fire to hospitals or clinics, massacred people, and burned ambulances. I didn't ask any questions. I didn't want to know. But I suppose they were in the streets and probably set fire to this or that. They associated with those people, for one reason or another. They wanted to atone for what they had done. They asked me, "How can we help? What can we do to defend the country?" Some of them were very emotional.
The United States has destroyed itself. It has destroyed its image around the world. It has shown itself to be brutal and ruthless, as have the entire Western political elite and their proxies in our region. But it has also united the Iranians in a way I had never seen before, not even during the Twelve Day War. Furthermore, the self-confidence of the Iranians is extraordinary. It is quite fascinating to see. And again, this is largely due to the fact that it is a civilizational state. But what is even more important is the religious culture and the influence of the Prophet's grandson at Karbala (Imam Hussein), the stand he took against the oppressors and in favor of the oppressed, and his martyrdom. If Western analysts had been intelligent enough to study this aspect in particular, they would have understood that Iran is a bridge too far.
Glenn Diesen: It seems the war planning wasn't very well done, nor was the research into what Iran is really like. I always emphasize that this is the problem with this relentless war propaganda: you end up believing your own absurdities, and you find yourself in situations like this. Thank you as always for taking the time, and I hope you and your family stay safe.
Mohammed Marandi: Thank you, Glenn. And thank you for all the extremely important work you do. It's truly heroic.
Source: YouTube via Le Cri des Peuples
Translated by The Cry of the Peoples
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten