Israel ‘must be punished’ for killing Hamas leader, says Iranian analyst

We spoke to Mohammad Marandi, an Iranian political analyst and professor at the University of Tehran who told us he believes Iran’s response will be even bigger than the last time it fired hundreds of missiles at Israel.

We began with what the reaction would be.

Mohammad Marandi: This time around, I think yes, the response will be more severe and the Israeli regime is going to have to pay the consequences. It’s going to have to pay the price, because the regime has the support of the West for all of its lawlessness, for all the crimes that it carries out. The West is its partner in crime, and so the Iranians know that the only way to stop it is to punish it.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: You’re an academic, but I know you are well connected with the Iranian government. Are you saying this on your own gut feeling or based on conversations with people in government?

Mohammad Marandi: No, it is my belief, from my understanding of what’s going on in Iran, that the response this time round will be more severe than what we’ve seen in the past. Not only because martyr Haniyeh was a guest of the Iranian government, but also because of the fact that he is leading the resistance of the Palestinian people.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: It seemed clear before that Iran did not want a full scale military confrontation. It did not want war with Israel. Are you saying that situation might change?

Mohammad Marandi: Yes, Iran does not want a full scale war because it harms the globe. If we have a full scale war where the Americans enter the battle, then all of those bases that Americans have in the Persian Gulf region will be destroyed. All those countries that host those bases will be destroyed because they will be seen as hostile, and that will destroy the global economy because there will no longer be oil or gas exports from the region. No one wants that. The Iranians don’t want that. But Netanyahu probably does want that. The Israeli regime probably doesn’t want it. They know that they are on the losing side, and that history will judge them as it should, despite Western propaganda. But Netanyahu wants the war to be expanded, and the Iranians have no option but to punish him to prevent him from continuing these outrageous acts. So it’s really up to the West and the Americans to end the genocide that they are funding and supporting.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: Do you not feel that the Iranian people, some Iranian people, will not feel annoyed about the lack of Iranian capability to have stopped this? A missile attack on Israel would almost certainly have been shot down, as the vast missile attack on Israel was last time round. Iranian air defences were unable to stop this happening, has that not highlighted its weakness?

Mohammad Marandi: I think it’s very clear that the Iranians had the upper hand and that’s why the Israeli regime was very careful not to continue the confrontation. And after the attack on the Iranian embassy, they discontinued attacks on the Iranians because they know that Iran has a very powerful drone and missile capability that they cannot match. But in any case, if they want to try, the Iranians will punish them and the punishment will become increasingly severe. The West supports Israel, and therefore it’s not going to stop it from carrying out these atrocities. So the Iranians know that the only way to stop the Israeli regime is to hit it where it hurts.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: And tell us a little bit about the new president, who most people here don’t really know anything about. What is his likely disposition going to be?

Mohammad Marandi: His position on Palestine is very impressive and he supports the resistance. He supports Hamas and Islamic Jihad and the collective axis of resistance in Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria, which is supporting the people of Palestine. I think that the Iranian people are united on this issue, and I think the whole world is now united. It’s only in a handful of countries in the West where they continue to insist to invite and engage and applaud a mass murderer.