Part1: Seyed Mohammad Marandi in Conversation with Jeffrey Sachs about USA& Israel war against Iran

[00:00:00]It's clear that the United States was not prepared for a prolonged war.

[00:00:06]The approach the idea of Israel and the United States was a one-day regime change. They were not prepared for a war. They were not prepared for Iran to be able to retaliate. And so the whole premise of what the United States and Israel did on February 28th was proven to be false.

[00:00:34]Since that day, it's been clear that the United States has no sensible position.

[00:00:44]The United States should just leave this terrible mistake because if the US escalates, it will lead to a massively destructive regional war in which everybody will lose.

[00:01:02]And therefore, escalation is no option.

[00:01:06]And the US has no ability to enforce its demands. So, this has been clear since the second day when the operation of the US and Israel failed to achieve what they thought they were going to achieve.

[00:01:27]Let me say that the whole premise of the Israel and the United States that they would topple the Iranian government in one day and take control was a reckless, illegal, immoral, and ultimately stupid idea.

[00:01:46]And that has been clear since [snorts] March 1st. It's been clear since February 28th.

[00:01:54]Trump should just leave. Period.

[00:01:58]I personally don't even believe in negotiations right now. Uh I just believe Trump should leave. All the long-term issues, they can be faced in the long-term.

[00:02:10]But right now, the blockade should be lifted. The the strait should be opened up. And we should return to the situation before this absolutely crazy war was launched. And again, they didn't want a war. They thought this was a one-day operation.

[00:02:32]>> I I agree with Professor Sachs. I think that this was a a major miscalculation.

[00:02:40]Uh in general, from my understanding, uh perhaps Professor Sachs would correct me if I'm wrong, is that the United States has created this narrative on Iran that goes back to Orientalism and even before the United States ever became a power, but Orientalist uh mindset that exists uh among Western elites and exists among American elites, those in power, that uh underestimates and um uh and and as a result, they look down upon their designated adversaries. And as a result, they pursue policies with imagine imagining that these narratives are correct, that their at their designated adversary is corrupt, that it's uh incompetent, incapable, unfit to rule, that uh if it's despotic, they're not sophisticated, and of course, unpopular. So, when they devise policies based upon these assumptions, uh they expect immediate results, a one-day war, as Professor Sachs pointed out. But then, when the they hit reality, they uh they it it they immediately fail.

[00:04:10]Those policies fail. But the problem is is that the the narrative is so powerful that they don't uh as a result of their failure, they don't learn from them. They don't learn from any of those failures, and they continue to pursue the same sort of policies in the hope that next time uh they'll get it uh get it done. And uh the they always justify the reasons for their failure for some mistaken uh tactic or some uh some mistake on their part, but the uh their understanding of their opponent, of their enemy, of their designated adversary is uh is the real problem, and they don't recognize that. It's It's completely warped. It's And so, right now, I believe that Trump thinks that he can and the people around him think that, well, Iran is, of course, evil, uh and Iran is uh is is is unstable. It is a regime, as they all they love to call it. And that if it didn't work militarily, well, we will uh use seed warfare to destroy them and bring them down. Ultimately, they'll collapse because it's a regime, and a regime is uh essentially uh by nature, it is unstable. It's not going to last anyway. So, all we have to do is just find the correct way to push it, and and it and it collapses.

[00:05:35]But the reality is that uh the Islamic Republic of Iran is a is a state with very uh strong institutions. It is a sophisticated society. It has a sophisticated, in need of leadership. It is a competent military. And it has a popular legitimacy. And thus it that makes it a a very formidable enemy if someone chooses to designate it as an an enemy. And that is why I think that regardless of what the United States does, it's it's destined to failure. It may harm the Iranians in in significant ways.

[00:06:16]Through war where thousands die or through sanction warfare where people lose their jobs and they and people in hospitals die. But ultimately, even though it may cause great harm to the society, but it's the country will not submit. It will not collapse.

[00:06:35]And so until the United States is forced to retreat, in my opinion, through the economic hardship that is approaching us due to the shortage of energy across the world or for whatever other reason if people in the White House listen to sane people like Professor Sachs, which I don't think is really an option for them. The only solution in any case has to be will be for the United States to pull back.