Inside Iran's Strategy: Dr. Mohammad Marandi on Sovereignty, Resistance, and US Talks

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]On behalf of the community alliance for peace and justice, we are honored to welcome Dr. Sayed Muhammad Morandi, professor of English literature and Orientalism at the University of the one of Iran's most prominent public intellectuals and foreign policy voices.

[00:00:18]We are recording this conversation at a pivotal moment, 82 days into a war imposed on Iran by the US and Israel.

[00:00:27]Today we want to explore this conflict from Iran's perspective, its red lines in the ongoing negotiations, its relationships with neighbors and adversaries, the war's impact on sectarian divides, and Iran's vision for what comes next. Dr. Mirandi, thank you so much for joining us.

[00:00:47]>> Thank you very much for having me. It's a great pleasure.

[00:00:51]>> So Dr. Morandi, let's begin with the fastmoving developments on the ground.

[00:00:56]Um, there are currently reports that significant diplomatic progress has been made and that a declaration of principles may be announced very soon to lay the groundwork for negotiations on a range of issues after the Eid holidays.

[00:01:12]However, there are others who believe this is just a ruse and that the US could attack Iran within the next 48 hours. From where you stand, which of the two possibilities is more likely?

[00:01:26]I think it's much more likely that the United States will attack Iran within the next uh two three days and uh the gap between Iran and the Trump regime and Netanyahu is it's quite big and I don't think that uh the United States is able to fill that gap because the Israeli regime and the Zionist lobby simply won't allow Sure.

[00:01:57]So, do you So, you don't believe that the US is capable of acting independent of Israeli pressure when it comes to Iran?

[00:02:06]>> No, not uh in today's world. Maybe in the future as uh people continue to wake up to the reality of what's going on in the United States and who truly is in charge, maybe uh in the years to come things will change, but at the moment uh the Zionist lobby is definitely very much in control. We saw in Joe Kent's resignation letter, the head of uh counterterrorism, a Trump appointee, he said that this war is all about Israeli lobby and u the Israeli regime and I don't think much has changed in the last uh couple of months. So, do you believe that um the goals that Israel has, I mean, they're completely divergent from the US goals. Do you believe that Trump wants an end to the war and Israel is not allowing it? And what do you think is Israel's ultimate goal um emerging from this conflict?

[00:03:12]>> Yes, I think the interest of the United States is not war. It's this war has harmed the United States.

[00:03:20]uh in a in a very big way perhaps uh in an unprecedented way. We've seen uh neocons's major figure public figures among the neocons admit that this is perhaps the greatest defeat of the United States and this is basically because uh the Zionist regime has imposed this on the American people.

[00:03:47]But uh I believe that Trump is incapable of um uh seeking out an off-ramp and therefore uh due to the insistence of the Israeli regime, the United States will enter another round of of war. And what the Israeli regime wants is uh supreme uh um power. It wants to have total control over West Asia and parts of North Africa and uh Iran is the only thing that stands in its way. The only country that supports the Palestinian people in a meaningful way is Iran. Of course, Yemen too, but uh aside from Yemen, it's just Iran. And so therefore, if the Israeli regime succeeds in turning into Iran into another Syria, as they succeeded in doing, uh then that would be the uh the golden opportunity that they've been seeking for many many years.

[00:04:52]>> Sure. Um so now when it comes to negotiations, Dr. Mandi, you know, the two big issues are Iran's nuclear program and also the strait of Hormuz.

[00:05:02]Um on the nuclear issue, it is being reported that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatah Mushab has just issued a directive saying Iran's stockpile of highlyenriched uranium cannot leave Iran. Is that a red line for Iran? Um or is down blending under IEA supervision also a viable option?

[00:05:26]Well, this is nothing new and uh in any case, regardless of the credibility of uh uh this particular piece of information or not, Reuters whenever they uh speak of unnamed sources or the New York Times, uh no one should trust them. Reuters is particularly dishonest when it comes to Iran. But uh the Iranians have said already, this is not new. They've been saying it for many weeks now, that Iran will not send its enriched uranium abroad. Uh Iran's right to and have a nuclear enrichment program is uh exists within the framework of international law. Iran is not going to forsake that right uh under duress. And in addition to that uh Iran sovereignty over the straight of Hormos is also something that it will not relinquish either. The straight of Hormos is not an international waterway. It is uh a a um an area that is the water is owned by Iran and Oman, >> right? And these are the two countries therefore that have to decide on uh how to control the the strait. Before the war, Iran had no intention of controlling it. But after the Persian Gulf was used by the United States and the Persian Gulf regimes like uh Qatar and the Emirates and Saudi Arabia and Bahin and um Kuwait uh after they allow the United States to attack Iran and use their territory to do so and slaughter thousands of Iranians, the Iranians have decided that they will control this uh the strait in order to prevent the United ates from in future turning the Persian Gulf into a foothold for aggression again.

[00:07:25]>> Sure. Just one last question then I'll turn it over to Aka and that is so you believe that uh a US attack is imminent but can you also confirm that there is progress happening simultaneously um diplomatically as well that there is progress around negotiations?

[00:07:45]I doubt that there's any significant progress being made at the negotiating table. And I would also uh remind uh your audience that a year ago, almost a year ago, when the United States and the Israeli regime launched their 12-day war against Iran, a previous war, uh beforehand, we also heard that uh Trump and Netanyahu had differences over what to do with Iran. And now we're hearing the same thing. So uh that was fake news. This is fake news and we are prepared for war. That doesn't mean that it is inevitable but it means that it is high highly likely and uh the gap is large because uh the United States is an empire and it uh refuses to respect Iran's sovereignty. And for Iran uh the revolution was all about sovereignty, independence, dignity, honor. And uh that is why Iran supports the Palestinian cause. That's why Iran supports the people of Cuba. That's why Iran supported uh the resistance and apartheid South Africa. And uh these are the reasons why the United States has always been hostile towards Iran. But the Palestinian issue is something that is more important than anything else for the Americans. They support ethnosremacism and Iran stands against it and thus Iran is guilty.

[00:09:09]>> Professor Mirani. Um thank you so much for joining us. So um I would like to ask you about the axis of resistance and you know I have roots my background is such that I'm connected very much with the region. I've even visited Iran um you know many years ago with my family.

[00:09:24]So how do you see this access of resistance evolving? Because US Central Command said that they've been able to cut off so quote unquote the supply line between Iran and the rest of its allies namely the Hezbollah and the Houthis and Hamas. um and the current government of Syria and Lebanon which are considered to be um as puppet regimes by many with their alignment towards the Zionist empire. Um, how does at this juncture uh the election of Ali Zedi or the nomination of Ali Zedi in Iraq which according if I'm not wrong, Al Jazzer quoted as the compromised candidate because Trump had obvious you know uh u he had reportedly exercised coercion by threatening to freeze Iraq's funds. So how is this axis of uh resistance evolving in the next few days?

[00:10:18]You're absolutely correct. In Iraq, the United States, ever since uh Saddam Hussein foolishly invaded Kuwait and of course immoral, it was immoral just like his invasion of Iran, it gave the United States the opportunity to impose sanctions and uh through the UN and uh the Iraqis are still suffering as a result. And the United States has a strangle hold over the Iraqi economy even though it is exporting or has been exporting millions of barrels of oil a day. Um but uh Iraq is complicated. The situation there is complicated. The the the government of Iraq, the people of Iraq have close relations with Iran. But at the same time, as you rightly point out, the Americans have Iraq by the throat. So there is a complicated relationship. But the Axis, the resistance in Iraq is strong and we saw during the 39 days of fighting that they were an effective force. My understanding is that this time around they will become even more active, significantly more active than last time around. Syria, as you rightly pointed out, from the very beginning in 2011, the dirty war when it began, the the objective was to uh to control Syria and to prevent Iran from supporting uh the resistance in Lebanon, but also the resistance in Palestine because a lot of Iranian support would go from the Mediterranean to uh Gaza and also from uh Syria to Jordan to the West Bank, of course, underground. And the Americans through the dirty war and the the foolishness of uh US proxies in the region and uh NATO uh they ultimately succeeded in in destroying Syria and bringing about an al-Qaeda government, which is a puppet government of the United States. That has made things much more difficult for uh the resistance without a doubt. But we do see that uh Hezbollah has been performing extraordinarily well in the past few weeks in beating back the Israeli regime in southern Lebanon. The regime in revenge uh it bombs families and apartment blocks and slaughters women and children uh in their rage uh because Hezbollah is effectively hitting their military personnel. Yemen uh I think if the war begins you'll see it play a very prominent role. The reason why uh during the 39 days of fighting Yemen uh did not play much of a role is because uh the resistance wanted to manage uh the uh the war and they didn't want to uh go up the escalation ladder too swiftly. The Iranians also pulled punches uh during the war because um uh it did not want the war to escalate uh too far. It wanted to manage uh the escalation. But uh the assumption is that if there is another war uh in the next few days, the next 2 three days that it will be very brutal and that the United States and Israeli regime will uh be targeting Iranian critical infrastructure uh and targeting ordinary Iranians and uh in response I think that Iran and axis of resistance will move up the escalation ladder very very quickly. All right. So that brings us to the other regional allies which is the Sunni states predominantly the Saudis and Gulf which we have known um very well and recognized during this war that they've accommodated the USIsraeli uh you know campaign against Iran and have been supportive of it. But lately we saw a change in direction between the Saudis and the Gulf states which is where Saudis are supposedly giving a posture of uh trying to reconcile or uh back off of the act of war or aggression against Iran whereas the UAE stands very openly with its um in terms of its relationship with Israel. So do you see a positive movement going forward um uh between uh the regional states and is that contingent upon decolonization as you have very mentioned um number of times as the US base is moving out of the region and a second part to that question uh which is just to address uh given your knowledge of the history of the region uh the striking uh thing that we have witnessed during this conflict is the Sunni population within Southeast Asia and within the Gulf States aligning with Iran or is supporting Iran in terms of uh the way they have reacted to foreign aggression and do you think this has genuinely weakened that divide which has been used as a power play by many of these uh you know countries to and it has adversely affect our population and particularly the Shia genocides that have been carried out. I've witnessed that myself in Pakistan also.

[00:15:40]>> Um, one of my old friends who passed away who was a leading Islamic figure in the UK and who had his roots in Pakistan was uh the late Khim Sidi.

[00:15:54]uh and he told me that in as a child in Pakistan that people didn't even know that they were Shia or Sunni and uh he didn't know his family didn't know and they commemorated Muharam and Ashur and the martyrdom of Imam Hussein and the role that his wife uh his his sister Zab played in in this revolution uh alongside uh everyone else. and Sunnis and Shia were in this uh commemorated this every year together.

[00:16:29]But that after the revolution in Iran, these uh oil and uh rich Saudi Arabia in particular at the behest of the United States as well, but also in order to preserve the the ruling family began to promote uh Wahhabism, Sophism and Takidi ideology basically to create divide across the region and to contain the revolution and to preserve uh their family dictatorships sort of in not so dissimilar to what happened in the Arab Spring. We saw that in the Arab Spring all the energy was uh directed ultimately towards Libya and Syria, the only two countries that had a problem with the Western Empire. and uh and all the reactionary regimes uh were funding these operations and uh they of course uh did not experience uh upheaval in in the Persian Gulf region. So uh sectarianism is not uh was not promoted because these are Sunni regimes. These are uh sort of like uh they're the Epstein class in their own way. uh in fact they are some of these people are in the Epstein files uh in the Persian Gulf region. So they use Sunni Islam as a tool in order to legitimize their own rule in in order to create divide and rule and they've been effective to a very large degree for for decades and um we also see that used by Erdogan as well which traditionally has always has had a strong Sufi culture under uh President Erdogan especially since uh the dirty war in Syria. uh he's moved more towards uh takiti groups and takitiri ideology. So uh the the west the empire has been successful in dividing the region based on religion or race or sect uh and uh to a large degree but I think that in this war we've seen uh people see right through this and the reason there are multiple reasons. One is I think the Gaza has changed a lot of things and uh for two and a half years people across the region and across the globe saw that these regimes uh whether the in in in Anchora or in or in the Persian Gulf region or or Egypt and none of them uh did anything to help the Palestinian people. Uh none of them broke off political ties. None of them broke off economic ties.

[00:19:21]uh Turkey continues to transport uh oil from the regime in Azarbaijan which is a Shia country but it's just as complicit in this uh genocide as everyone else because they too have very good relations with the Israeli regime and they provide the regime that the Israeli regime uses to slaughter Palestinians and more recently the Lebanese Lebanese families and children.

[00:19:50]So uh but after God I think people began to increasingly see who really supports the Palestinians and and who doesn't and that this is not a Shia, Sunni, Arab, Persian, Muslim, Christian uh Jewish issue. It is a it is something where uh Christians, many many Jews, increasingly many many young Jews and Muslims uh from all different uh backgrounds um they they agree upon and they uh are all angry that uh the regimes in this region have been looking away and instead they've been carrying on carrying out business as usual. And so they've seen that the Iranians, Hezbollah and Sarah in Yemen that and increasingly the resistance in Iraq have been the only forces that have been supporting the Palestinian people. Uh of course only forces meaning government or militant organizations like Hezbollah or governments like an government in in Yemen or the resistance in Iraq. and uh no one else is supporting them except for civil society groups uh across the world where we've seen people in the hundreds of thousands at times take to the streets in from Australia to Spain and and so on.

[00:21:21]>> Uh but sadly not in in in the Arab world. But um but but the point is that people see through this now and that is why not only do you see Muslims in West Asia and North Africa cheering for Iran as it strikes these regimes in retaliation because at the end of the day these regimes were complicit in the war. They allow the United States to use their territory, their bases, their airspace, their land, their seed to to kill Iranians. And so when Iran would retaliate, we saw that except for takitis like the Salafi and the Wahhabis, everyone else or most almost everyone else was cheering for Iran. But it's not just Muslims. Uh it's been the case across the global majority and even a a significant number of people in the West and that is because they now see through the propaganda. For decades, we've had anti-Iranian propaganda, anti-Palestinian propaganda, anti-Hzbollah propaganda, and and people are seeing through that whether in the region or beyond that people are no longer believed uh the narratives put forward either by the oil and gas rich regimes in the region uh or by western uh countries or powers that are controlled by the Epstein class.

[00:22:43]>> Yeah. But do you see the Saudis offering this as an honest or sincere offer towards ending the war and reconciliation or is this just another you know facade and in the background as you mentioned another attack may be eminent towards Iran?

[00:23:01]I don't think that uh the Saudis have the capability >> to stand up to the United States even if they wanted to which is unclear >> and but the same is true about all the other countries Turkey under Erdogan they are simply it's a NATO it's a NATO regime >> and during this war Turkey allowed the United allowed NATO to gather intelligence against Iran by through Awax jets of constantly flew over the country and they allowed the US to use its bases in Turkey to gather intelligence and of course they transported oil from the Republic of Azarbaijan uh to the Israeli regime. Jordan uh uh played a pivotal role.

[00:23:48]The airspace and the and the air bases in Jordan were used by the Americans.

[00:23:53]Radar installations were used there to help protect the Israeli regime. The same is true with Saudi Arabia and all of them. So none of these countries have shown themselves to be sovereign, independent, or having the will to take a stand against the Israeli regime and against the empire. But and the irony is that if you go back and look at Tucker Carlson's interview with the US ambassador uh to the Israeli regime.

[00:24:22]>> Yes. Um um >> in that interview >> Hakabe says that uh if the Israelis take the region that's fine and the countries that would be affected are Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, uh Iraq, Egypt, not Iran and not Yemen.

[00:24:45]Uh but ironically the only two countries uh alongside the resistance in Iraq and in in Lebanon that are willing to take a stand uh to protect the Palestinian people, to support the Palestinian people and to prevent uh Zionist expansionism are these countries that will not be directly affected if, god forbid, the regime was able to expand.

[00:25:11]>> Yeah. All right.

[00:25:12]>> Thank you so much, Dr. Mendi. Um, so I guess it's safe to say that Iran is currently not taking the non-aggression pack that Saudi Arabia had sort of reached out with very seriously. Um, and you can respond to that. But I do have a question about uh Pakistan. Um, you know, Pakistan has positioned itself as a mediator in this conflict and appears to be one of the few countries both Washington and Thran are willing to engage with in that role. Um at the same time, Pakistan does maintain a defense pact with Saudi Arabia and has recently sent 8,000 troops, J17 fighter jets, um and also additional deployments there.

[00:25:53]How does Iran view Pakistan's defense ties with Saudi Arabia in the current context of the war?

[00:26:03]>> Well, Iran has a very long history uh cultural history with Pakistan.

[00:26:10]Uh the Pakistani national anthem is of course in the Persian language. Uh is a major uh literary figure in Iran who you will read in school textbooks.

[00:26:26]Uh so the the the the cultural religious u link between the two countries is uh very deep. And so when we went to Pakistan for the negotiations, the the day and a half that we spent there, uh the Pakistani our Pak the Pakistani people treated the Iranian delegation as heroes wherever the delegation went, whether it was in the hotel or on the streets or in uh or in the journ the media center. uh they were treated as heroes even though look they didn't even know who these individuals were. They just knew that it was the Iranian delegation and so the the the bond between Iran and Pakistan is is quite strong. Now the Americans wanted Pakistan to be the mediator and they had their own reasons.

[00:27:23]Uh Iran accepted uh for its own reasons but uh Iran is not concerned. is not worried about the Pakistani relationship with Saudi Arabia. Uh the Iranians have been very clear that if Saudi Arabia or the Kuwaitis or the Bahrainis or the Kataris or the Emiratis, if they allow their territory to be used against Iran, they are a part of the war and they are complicit in the murder of Iranians, Iranian children, and the destruction of Iranian infrastructure. And they participated in that war and they even assisted the United States by funding those bases by uh because they pay for everything in all of the bases in the Persian Gulf region. Uh all of the expenses that uh are are paid for by these these governments especially the Saudis and the Amiratis and PA.

[00:28:19]So uh Iran will if the Saudis allow their territory to be used against Iran, the Iranians will definitely behave retaliate as they as they did before and u that that will be inevitable.

[00:28:37]Hopefully uh the I mean it it there is an easy solution and that is for these five family dictatorships to gather together and issue a statement saying we will not allow the United States to use our territory against our neighbor uh unlike what they did uh during the past few weeks. But uh I find that very difficult to believe which is a sort of response to the question asked earlier about the non-aggression pact. Uh and it is somewhat ironic that during the last 47 years since the revolution this aggression has always been one-sided.

[00:29:13]They supported uh the United States pushed Saddam Hussein to invade Iran and then uh US proxies in the region.

[00:29:21]these five family dictatorships paid Saddam Hussein hundreds of billions of dollars. Then imagine how much it would be in today's dollars um to um to create a chemical weapons program to uh to fund the military machine and to slaughter Iranians. So they uh worked with the Americans in the 1980s. That was the first war against Iran. During the 12-day war, they again assisted the United States and the Israeli regime because all of the radar installations in all of these bases were used to help the Israelis both defensively and offensively and the Americans. Uh and then of course in this war, so they have for 47 years been actively uh helping in carry out carrying out military assaults on the Iranian people.

[00:30:12]So they're not really in a position to complain about anything. And if this time around the Americans do indeed go for and the Israeli regime go for Iran's critical infrastructure as they have threatened then the critical infrastructure of these countries will be destroyed in retaliation which uh will force people to leave because uh these tiny countries uh they are now entering the summer season. It is extremely hot in the Persian Gulf. It is extremely humid in the Persian Gulf and without electricity, it's just impossible for people to stay. Everyone will have to get in their cars and travel uh across the desert to Oman or to Iraq and those countries will collapse.

[00:30:59]>> Sure. Um Dr. Mandy, you mentioned earlier that the Americans wanted Pakistan to be involved for their reasons. Could you list what those reasons are?

[00:31:13]Well, I don't want to go into great detail about this particular issue, but uh the Pakistani government has a has traditionally had a very very close relationship with the United States.

[00:31:25]Together they carried out the dirty war against the Soviet Union. Uh Pakistani intelligence had a huge role to play in uh allowing al-Qaeda to grow there with Saudi money.

[00:31:40]But of course behi behind the scene for the British and American intelligence uh and uh the Pakistani minister of defense if you recall I think last year in an interview I think on Sky News actually told the host that you know for decades we've been doing your dirty work and uh and and complaining about it which uh I found very striking but uh they helped create the Taliban. Uh the Taliban of course now has very poor relations with Pakistan. Uh something which Iran is very concerned about and hopes that this is resolved. While Iran has very major differences with the Taliban, but the Taliban today is uh less less extreme than what it was when the Americans and the Saudis and the and the Pakistani intelligence uh helped them to take the country where they carried out major massacres. It is it is different although our differences are enormous especially well on different issues but in particular about girls not being allowed to go to school uh that's for us um unacceptable but in any case they are the reality on the ground and Iran prefers Afghanistan not to be occupied by the United States uh prefers no country to be occupied none of the countries in the region to have a US military presence because for Iran that is the worst thing that can happen to the region or any region. So Pakistan the government has a very close relationship with the United States and that for Iran has always been a problem for for understandable re reasons. But again because of the u the cultural and historical ties between Iran and Pakistan, the Iranians would not say no to mediation from a from a country which is so close to Iran culturally and in in spirit, >> right? And those relations have grown even more close since Trump came to power as you know. So um absolutely. So I do want to shift gears just a little bit uh Dr. Morandi and sort of speak about um you know internally what's happening within the US. The just two days ago the US Senate advanced a war powers resolution to block President Trump from further strikes on Iran with four Republicans joining Democrats in support. At the same time Trump's approval ratings as you know are abysmally low. There is visible unease within his own party about the war and uh midterm elections as you know are also approaching. Does Iran actively factor America's internal divisions and political pressures into its own decision-m and does it view a politically weakened Trump as a more dangerous and unpredictable negotiating partner or as an opportunity?

[00:34:39]Uh, that's a very difficult question for me to ask and I'll try not to answer it because I don't know how to exactly respond to it. Um, um, what I can say is that Iran does follow closely what goes on in the United States. As you can imagine, Iranians know much more about the United States than the United States knows about Iran. And that's not unique to Iran, of course. I think uh in general countries across the world know more about the United States than the United States knows about them. But in any case, Iranian decision makers follow the news in the United States. They know uh what is going on in the Senate in the House. Of course, this uh will be vetoed by Trump in any case. But it is significant that opposition within the political establishment is growing and opposition among ordinary Americans is growing and that the war is having a very negative impact on the American people. How that will play out though, I don't know. Uh I don't think Iran considers Trump to be a negotiating partner at all. Uh and so I don't think that there is any expectations that we'll have some sort of meaningful deal with such a person. Uh the contempt for Trump is uh is extraordinary here. He's murdered many thousands of Iranians, hundreds of little girls, 180 little girls at the uh elementary school in Mino along with their teachers and school staff. And the United States continues to deny responsibility to they Trump even tried to blame the Iranians uh and say that the Iranians fired the Tomahawk missiles which they don't have uh at these schools. But in any case at this school but um I don't know if it's if he would be more dangerous or if he would uh uh or if if it would push him in a different direction because he is so unpredictable. So I I don't want to go too much into that. But for Iran to calculate what the what under what's what is behind Iran's calculations is that uh our sovereignty must be respected and Iran is in this respect a country that is probably unique in the world.

[00:36:55]uh it is a country that is fiercely independent and it's willing to go to war to defend its sovereignty and we've seen that happen twice in less than a year and it is uh I can't say uh prepared for a third war because I consider this to be a continuation of the an ongoing war but it is prepared for another military assault another bloody assault uh to to defend that sovereignty. So whether Trump becomes cornered and or becomes more dangerous or or whether Trump uh falls like the pharaoh the the martyr he compared Trump to a pharaoh to the pharaoh um shortly before he was he was martyed. But uh whether you know how however this plays out for Iran, what is important is its sovereignty, its dignity and uh the fact that the Palestinian people uh cannot be forsaken. Iran will not forsake the Palestinian people uh regardless uh how this plays out. And uh we may experience very very painful days and weeks ahead but we're confident that we will uh pass through this uh this uh critical moment and emerge stronger.

[00:38:13]>> Sure. Just one last question Dr. um Miranda before I pass it over to um Aika and that is have you been surprised uh by the massive support that Iranian officials, academics and cultural voices have gained among ordinary Americans on social media during this entire crisis?

[00:38:33]And if Iran could deliver one clear, direct message to the American public right now, what would it be?

[00:38:43]>> I don't know. um um how closely Iranians are following this. I'm I'm not well informed about this myself. I have heard this from some friends uh and some quarters that Iran has uh gained popularity among segments of American society. And that is because I think after Gaza as I said earlier many things gradually changed and uh Iran which has been demonized for 47 years uh people are beginning to ask well if Iran is so bad why is it this evil country that's that kills women and beats it and murders people as they say in the west all the time and slaughters and why is it the only country that's opposed to ethnos supremacism and genocide in Gaza and if the West is so good then why all of them, the the the regimes collectively supporting ethnic cleansing and genocide. And so those narratives on Iran have slowly collapsed. And I would advise your viewers, as I've said elsewhere, to read books on Iran, but not many of the books on Iran written in the West are not worth reading. But one very good book is called going to tan by Flint and Hillary Man Leverett who worked in the white house both academics and whose views on Iran evolved and they wrote a very good book and actually in a way they predicted the situation that we're in today because they said if the United States first of all they dealt with many of the myths about Iran and then they basically said that if the United States does not change its course that we will end up where we are now. So um and they were they were they were correct. The United States when they wrote this book, US officials, policy makers, think tankers uh attacked these two uh very decent people, one husband and wife, one Jewish, one Christian, one Catholic, but um um they they demonized them, they marginalized them, but they were absolutely correct. And uh I I would advise people to read to read that book uh among other books.

[00:40:58]>> I think we did invite them many many years ago.

[00:41:02]>> Seriously. Well, they're very good people.

[00:41:04]>> They are.

[00:41:05]>> Uh I I I I've had the honor of meeting both of them. Uh but um but I think um I think it's not surprising that so many people across the world support Iran and in the United States because uh there I believe that in general if human beings are informed if they do are if they are able to obtain information uh then most people will choose what is right. The problem that we have in the world today is that uh information is has been monopolized for for for since I was before I was born and uh the empire has been able to uh create narratives and those narratives have been influential across the world.

[00:41:55]H how how so? For example, as an Iranian, if I want to learn about Pakistan, I learn it from he books written in the west. If I want to read about uh nijair, I will if I find a book, it has to be it is most probably written by western academic publish and by western publishing company and probably think tanks are and money is is usually involved because to have the incentive to sit down and write these books uh you know you you often need uh funding and assistance. And so the empire uh provides that. So my views on nijair are you know euroentric.

[00:42:42]>> My views on Pakistan are euroentric. My views on China or on uh Brazil or South Africa they're they're very much influenced by Western narratives.

[00:42:56]and even my views about my own country whether I'm Iranian or Pakistani or Iraqi or Moroccan uh they too are influenced by uh the same narratives because I read about I learn about myself often from western sources. So there is a you know the colonization of our minds whether it's linked to our own land or the rest of the world is a is is a major problem. But I do believe that um since Gaza many many things have changed. Mistrust uh or or distrust towards western media towards western institutions of power have grown and an an interest in alternative media. Not all alternative media is any good, but uh many u um many uh alternative media outlets have had a played a very important role in creating awareness despite the censorship and despite the fact that big tech is controlled. But uh the world has changed and the images of dying children in Gaza and Lebanon every day that we see every day and we continue to see every day that has u that has created an awareness and awakening that uh may not be reversible for the empire.

[00:44:24]Right, Professor Mirandi, in the interest of time, I'm just going to compress the last two questions and comments and they are near and dear to me because um of my fortunately I've had the background where I've been, you know, had interactions with people who are labeled ayatollas or mad mullas as the west like to call them. But just bringing that into the prospect uh we we seem to be heading towards a new age where you know it's as Dr. Galab said uh the global south is the new age where we are kind of seeing an end of the imperial empire and heading officially towards a multi-polar world where Iran has played a central role and um as a narrative as you've pointed out the west has predominantly been responsible for uh declaring Iran a pariah state but I've had the opportunity to read the constitution and I know ayat labahi was a main driver force in that and he is a poet philosopher. I've listened to him.

[00:45:22]I've read some of the text. So, uh they're just the word ayata just kind of creates an derogatory or antagonistic, you know, profile when you look at them.

[00:45:33]And that's not how they are. And so uh if I if you read the constitution you see that it explicitly enshrines economic autonomy, free education, scientific and research development which is completely contradictory to what Talibanization or extremism kind of portrays where you don't have human rights, don't have women, you know, freedom to educate women and um those who have visited Iran kind of see it as you've said for what it really is instead of the western portrayal. So at this point in history, how do you see Iran's past, present, and future align with its ideology? And how would you respond to the claim that the Islamic revolution has curtailed the um Iran's potential as a country and um you know its progress as a country so as to say >> I think the very fact that Iran has stood up to the superpower and had has fought a war and defended itself in two wars in less than a year and has defeated the the superpower on the battlefield uh against all odds. No one, no one outside of no country, no government uh across the world, even governments friendly to Iran, expected Iran to come out on top. I think many in Iran believed that we would succeed and many of Iran's friends outside of Iran who understood Iran. But governments across the world thought this would be over in days. And the reason why Iran was so powerful was because of the Islamic Republic of Iran has a high degree of legitimacy contrary to what uh they always like to say in the west and uh because it has been very effective under sanctions in in pushing the country forward. Uh the uh its defense capabilities uh have been exposed for everyone to see. I mean have been revealed for everyone to see. Uh the the genius of Iranian military planners um has is something that will be discussed and in war colleges in decades to come and the resilience of the Iranian people going to the streets and and supporting the the the the state and the armed forces during the most difficult times in Iran's history when the leader was the first to be martyed alongside many many little girls uh in Minab and uh by in his martyrdom actually has itself served to weaken the the western narrative on uh with regards to the world word Ayatollah because uh he it was constantly claimed that he was uh in a bunker or hidden somewhere and and it turned out that he was at home and he refused to leave because he said that uh many ordinary Iranians uh have nowhere to go and they will be stuck at home and I'm not going to move and that is something that when people discovered that it created uh it created an an enormous wave of support uh among those who in the past were influenced by anti- uh Iranian narratives or uh anti- religious narratives. Of course, now the Iranians are very careful to make sure that uh their leaders are uh not uh assassinated by the United States, but even if they are, uh the constitution has the answers and Iran will continue to resist. Um I think there's a very strong component of social justice in the ideology that dominates in Iran.

[00:49:25]And uh there's also another good book that it's an old book but I still think it's a very useful read written by Alistister Crook called Resistance um uh the essence of the Islamic Revolution maybe something like that but it's a work book worth reading uh social justice uh justice in general that is a key component and that is why actually under this uh after the revolution uh in Iran women were one of the first things that happened was to move the the country towards universal education and especially women in uh the villages uh only 4% if I'm not mistaken people can look this up but before the revolution only 4% of women in villages had u uh knew how to read or write and well under 50% well under% uh under 50% of Iranians could read and write and uh the percentage of women was significantly higher overwhelmingly unities city students were male but after the revolution we saw that reverse. So while the west likes to present Iran as being uh you know all any negative attribute that you could think of it has always been um u somehow uh linked to Iran where whereas you know whenever I had the the opportunity of meeting academics to come who would come to Iran for conferences uh they were always always surpris very surprised as as to how different Iran was from what they thought it was through Western media whether it's the BBC or CNN or whether it's the Washington Post or the Guardian doesn't matter uh so there is a I think u the very fact that uh again that Iran supported the pal and supports the Palestinian people whereas others don't I think uh has woken many people And the fact that under such bombardments and under such brutal aggression the Iranian people withtood this aggression I think uh shows that uh the legitimacy of the state in the eyes of the people is very high. People do not rally around a flag that they do not consider to be legitimate. Uh we saw Saddam Hussein fall very swiftly uh when the Americans invaded. Uh but in the case of Iran, the United States got nowhere. And when the United States most probably attacks again, whether it tries to uh invade territory, invade islands or take land ultimately. I have no doubt that US forces will be expelled and people will remain steadfast until the country is liberated and uh the the aggressor is defeated and uh the occupiers are expelled. And uh I think although it will be the these are painful times and they will continue to be painful in the days and weeks ahead but I think uh in the long run Iran will emerge much stronger and people across the world will be looking to Iran uh to better understand what what makes Iran tick and uh what is it about Iran that makes it Hezbollah and the resistance since so insistent on uh standing up against the empire and supporting the oppressed people of Palestine.

[00:53:04]>> Very good. Thank you so much, Professor Mirandi. We're really grateful for your time and we hope and pray for you, your family and Iranian people. Um truly appreciate it. Thank you so much for sharing your time and insight with us.

[00:53:17]>> Thank you very much for inviting me.

[00:53:19]>> And Dr. Morandi, we should let you go because you are so much in demand. But I can't let you go without asking one question and that is if God forbid there is another attack on Iran, are negotiations going to be off the table in the near future?

[00:53:38]Yes, I think that that will be the end of the negotiating prog process until the Iranians feel that uh the United States is uh uh that the Trump regime is is being defeated and that the Trump regime recognizes its defeat. Remember during the 39 days of fighting uh initially Trump demanded unconditional surrender but by the end of the fighting he accepted the Iranian 10-point plan as the framework for negotiations and that was an an admission of of defeat. So, uh, Iran will make sure that, uh, uh, that the United States under Trump does not escape, uh, you know, war is a terrible thing, and I've lived through multiple wars, and I do not want to see war, uh, but, uh, it seems almost inevitable. But if it does happen, the Iranians are determined to fight this war in a way in which u the United States never thinks about attacking Iran again in future. And so whenever Iran feels that we've reached that stage, then perhaps it is willing to it will be willing to negotiate uh in order to bring an end to this. But it will be there will be a a lot that has to happen first before we we get there.

[00:55:05]>> Of course. Thank you so much again. We are so grateful for your time and for giving us so much of it. Thank you and please stay safe.

[00:55:13]>> Thank you very much for having me. It was a great pleasure.

[00:55:15]>> Thank you very much.

[00:55:17]>> Thank you.