Virtually two weeks after the U.S. and Israel began the struggle on Iran, the battle has unfold throughout the area. Iran retaliated by attacking Arab nations within the Persian Gulf, American property within the area in addition to Israel. The Strait of Hormuz, a important worldwide maritime checkpoint, stays successfully shut, sending gasoline costs by way of the roof.
“The U.S. and Israel miscalculated large time,” Mohammad Marandi, professor of English literature and orientalism at Tehran College, advised The Hindu in an interview. He stated the Arab nations within the Gulf usually are not impartial gamers as they’re internet hosting American bases. “As time goes on, the value of oil goes to go up. And the world is aware of that this isn’t Iran’s fault. That is the fault of the Trump regime and Netanyahu,” he added. Edited excerpts:
What is the standing of the struggle now, and the way do you assess Iran’s response?
I feel it’s fairly clear that the U.S. and the Israeli regime have failed. They have been hoping for a fast win. And we knew that this may not be the case. They miscalculated large time. Even Trump admitted this when he stated he didn’t count on that Iran would assault U.S. property within the Persian Gulf.
It both signifies that he’s very ignorant or it signifies that the individuals round him knew, however they didn’t inform him as a result of they’re Israeli firsters. And for Israeli firsters, the one factor that’s vital is the Israeli regime. So we’re the place we’re. Iran is placing U.S. property throughout the Persian Gulf area. And, after all, it’s placing the Israeli regime recurrently. There are estimates about Iranian missiles and drones and what number of of there exist; they have been, after all, improper. Iran’s drone and missile factories are underground. They’re producing drones and missiles as we communicate.
The longer the struggle lasts, the more serious it’ll be for them. That doesn’t imply that we’re not paying a worth. Simply earlier than we spoke, they bombed Tehran and they’re taking their revenge on peculiar Iranians as a result of they failed in opposition to the navy.
Marco Rubio has listed out three goals of the struggle: destroy Iran’s missiles, destroy Iran’s missile manufacturing services, and destroy Iran’s navy. If the struggle continues, what sort of impression these sustained U.S.-Israeli assaults could have on Iran’s capabilities?
The majority of Iran’s naval forces are in underground bases. The speedboats, which kind the majority of Iran’s naval capabilities, and which hearth missiles are all nicely protected, similar to the underground drone and missile bases. And Iran has not used them but. The naval capabilities that may exit instantly, swiftly, and strike targets throughout the Persian Gulf and within the Indian Ocean, these are nicely hidden. Iran is enjoying the lengthy sport. We’re planning a struggle that might go into subsequent 12 months and after the U.S. midterm elections. This was the Iranian planning from the start. And so neither of those three goals that you just talked about have been met by any means. However extra importantly, there have been different goals. They only silently put these apart. Regime change and so forth and so forth. It’s all failed. All they’re doing is killing extra harmless individuals.
The U.S. has destroyed its comfortable energy picture over Gaza. And now, it’s dropping on the battlefield. Economically, additionally it is dropping as a result of the property that the U.S. has within the Persian Gulf area are huge. They’re within the many trillions of {dollars}. A single missile, when it strikes Dubai, the entire of Dubai diminishes in worth. How do you calculate that in numbers? As time goes on, the value of oil goes to go up. And the world is aware of that this isn’t Iran’s fault. That is the fault of the Trump regime and Netanyahu.
But the Iranian retaliation can also be having an impression on Iran’s ties with its neighbouring nations. What’s your tackle that?
Properly, the nations that it has an impression on primarily are within the Persian Gulf. And these are tiny Arab household dictatorships. And they’re starting to recognise that U.S. bases are a legal responsibility. They’re recognising that they can’t have their cake and eat it too. They can not have U.S. bases of their territory for use to bomb Iran after which name themselves impartial. So they’re being punished for their very own insurance policies. And they’ll proceed to be punished. The Persian Gulf won’t ever be prefer it was earlier than. After this struggle is over, Iran will demand full compensation. And it’ll not permit these nations to ever once more be used as platforms to threaten Iran.
Iran didn’t begin this struggle. Iran didn’t need this struggle. Iran wished to hold on with its enterprise, its financial ties, and permit others to do the identical. However these regimes allowed the U.S. to conspire in opposition to Iran. They facilitated it. They gave them bases, they gave them the airspace, even missiles have been fired from their territory, from Kuwait, from Bahrain, from the Emirates, and possibly from Qatar and Saudi Arabia too. To allow them to’t, they’ll’t get away with that. That is going to be a painful struggle. In the course of the 12-day struggle (June 2025), they launched a blitzkrieg assault. And so they have been those who have been begging for a ceasefire, as everyone knows. And this time round, it’s far worse. Iran is hitting the Israeli regime more durable than earlier than.
Do you suppose it was a mistake that Iran agreed to a ceasefire in June 2025?
No, again then, the Iranians had two concerns. One is that they did educate the Israeli regime a lesson. That’s why the Israeli regime was in search of a ceasefire. They didn’t settle for the ceasefire straight away. They continued hitting for 3 days roughly, after which accepted a halt in hostilities. However the Iranians knew that finally that is going to be a struggle that features the U.S. And if that struggle had continued, the U.S. would have entered the fray. So over the past eight months, they’ve been making main adjustments as regards to their launching capabilities, as regards to defending their factories, their missile and drone factories.
The Israeli regime shouldn’t be a menace to Iran. Iran can simply defeat it. For Iran, the problem is the U.S. The U.S. is the superpower. So over the past eight months, Iran has been making ready itself for this struggle. Iran knew it was inevitable.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah is preventing the Israelis. In Iraq, Iran’s allies are concerned within the struggle. However Houthis usually are not seen. The place are the Houthis?
Iran and its allies are controlling the tempo of escalation. In Iraq, Iran’s allies can do rather more than what we’re seeing proper now. Even in Syria, Iran’s allies can do much more. There’s no purpose for Iran to go all out on day one. If Iran wished to do this, Iran may have destroyed all of the tankers within the Persian Gulf; it may have destroyed all of the oil and gasoline installations, and there could be no extra oil and gasoline from the Persian Gulf for the subsequent few years, and that will destroy the worldwide financial system. It could change the lives of everybody throughout the globe. Iran doesn’t need that. Iran needs this struggle to be managed.
Take a look at the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has successfully shut it. The People can do nothing about it. Iran can go a lot additional than that. They will simply destroy the tankers which are caught. However Iran doesn’t need destruction. The facet that has caused this disaster is the U.S., the Israeli regime, and the Zionist foyer.
They’re those who’re placing the Indian financial system in danger, the Chinese language financial system in danger, the U.S. financial system in danger, the worldwide financial system in danger for the sake of the Israeli regime. As a result of the Israeli regime doesn’t care about any entity however itself. However alternatively, we are not looking for the worldwide financial system to break down. So this escalation is managed. When the time comes, Iran’s allies in Yemen shall be extra energetic. Iran’s allies in Iraq shall be extra energetic. Iran itself shall be extra energetic.
Iran has to this point maintained that it could not speak to the U.S. But when the struggle continues, everyone goes to endure, economically. What’s the endgame situation you may have in your thoughts?
Iran needs the worldwide financial system to perform usually. This isn’t a struggle that we began. That is an unprovoked struggle of aggression the place they murdered our leaders they usually murdered residents, together with many youngsters, they usually by no means confirmed regret for even murdering little women. This struggle has to finish in a method Iran doesn’t really feel threatened six months down the highway. We already negotiated with the People twice. And as we have been negotiating, they carried out an assault. They initiated struggle. Eight, 9 months in the past, and now. So negotiating with them is ineffective as a result of they’ll say one factor after which the subsequent day they’ll do one thing.
Iran is aware of that the U.S. is in serious trouble. They’re operating out of ammunition.
And the struggle may be very expensive, very expensive, at a number of ranges. After all. the value of vitality is growing the world over. And other people will blame the U.S. for this. So what Iran needs is that whereas it’s placing strain on the U.S., it needs the area to recognise that it may well now not be used as a platform for aggression in opposition to Iran.
It’s like a neighbour of India giving a base to a 3rd occasion; let’s say they offer bases to the U.S., and the U.S. begins placing India from these bases. After which these nations or that nation tells the Indian authorities that we’re impartial. You possibly can’t be impartial. That’s your nation. Iran needs to guarantee that, any more, these regimes can now not be complicit in aggression in opposition to Iran, and that the U.S. can now not be able to threaten Iran. And Iran have to be absolutely compensated, and its rights as a sovereign, unbiased nation, to have a peaceable nuclear programme, should all be revered. These are the minimal calls for.
Tright here was a fatwa in Iran issued by the previous Supreme Chief in opposition to the nuclear weapons. And Iran all the time maintained that its nuclear programme was for peaceable functions. Iran has confronted two assaults within the final eight months. Do you suppose Iran’s nuclear posture was a strategic mistake?
Earlier than the revolution, the U.S. had taken big quantities of cash from Iran to develop a nuclear programme right here. Iran paid some huge cash to develop a nuclear programme. And the People and the Europeans have been behind it, the Germans particularly. And the French. After the revolution, Iran wished to proceed that. We all know from the Worldwide Atomic Vitality Company that Iran was producing a nuclear weapon. They need to be very grateful that Iran has this fatwa. And there’s a purpose for this fatwa. It’s an unpleasant weapon. And Iran did the identical when the West gave Saddam Hussein chemical weapons [during the Iran-Iraq war]. Iran’s chief, Ayatollah Khomeini, again then, who handed away in 1989, didn’t permit the Iranians to make their very own chemical weapons.
Close to nuclear weapons, Iran has determined not to take action for ethical causes, but additionally as a result of if Iran produces nuclear weapons and all these tiny Arab household dictatorships, which aren’t very secure, who is aware of what’s going to occur within the months forward in these Arab household dictatorships or within the caucuses.
When you have nuclear weapons, plenty of different nations need nuclear weapons too, and that’s destabilising. So there are causes behind this, however the Iranians have stated that if there may be an existential menace to Iran, then, Iran’s nuclear posture will change. The U.S. shouldn’t be going to win [this war]. That is going to be a strategic defeat for them. And the one individuals guilty are the Zionists, the Israeli regime, and the U.S.
Does the fatwa nonetheless stand?
The fatwa remains to be there. I don’t suppose that any new resolution has been made. The Iranians have already stated that the one factor that might change Iran’s coverage is an existential menace to the nation. And naturally, Iran is profitable this struggle. The People and Israelis usually are not profitable, they’re dropping. There’s little doubt about it. And so they could go loopy as a result of they’re dropping, and that’s why they’re bombing individuals. But when there may be an existential menace, then Iran’s nuclear posture would change. So in the interim, I see continuity as regards to Iran’s international coverage, its inner coverage, and its nuclear coverage.
‘U.S. and Israel are dropping’: Marandi claims Tehran has higher hand