Israel will be ‘hammered into submission’ if it strikes Iran, says Iranian academic

We spoke to Iranian academic Mohammad Marandi.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: Iranian academic Mohammad Marandi is normally based in Tehran and is close to the Iranian regime. What was the point of today’s attack? Is that the beginning of a wider attack and a longer war or is that it, the point is made, that’s the end of it?

Mohammad Marandi: First off, I want to ask you a question. Did you call the person from Israel, close to the Israeli regime? Or was that Israel? Is it just I who represent the regime, or I’m close to a regime? What’s a regime? It’s Islamic Republic of Iran.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: If it means we can carry on with the conversation, I’m happy to say the government rather than the regime. Let’s not get hung up on that.

Mohammad Marandi: Show respect for my country.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: And I’m very happy to introduce you as somebody who is close to the Iranian government rather than the regime. Now, let’s talk about the substance. Do you think this is the beginning or the end?

Mohammad Marandi: I am proud to be associated with the Islamic Republic of Iran, but it’s not a regime. It’s the Islamic Republic of Iran. And it is the side, as I said to you last night, that is defending the Palestinian people, where your criminal government is helping the Israeli regime slaughter and kill women and children for a whole year. And this goes way beyond last year. So, don’t use this sort of terminology.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: Professor, I’m trying to do the same thing with all my guests tonight, which is to focus on the future now, because today is a frightening day for many people around the world, as Iran has launched missiles into Israel. We want to know, is this the beginning of something much bigger or is that it? Is the point made by Iran, and it waits to see what Israel will do?

Mohammad Marandi: The way out is for the holocaust in Gaza to end. The way out is for the Israeli regime to stop slaughtering children. The way out is for the British regime to stop the Israeli regime from carrying out these massacres. That’s the way out. The way out is when the Israeli regime bombs Iranian embassies instead of the British government supporting the regime, the British regime supporting the regime. They should have condemned it and pulled on Netanyahu’s leash. That’s what should have happened. If the Israeli regime strikes Iran, they will be hammered into submission. Iran has many more missiles, hundreds of thousands of missiles and drones that can come their way. And Hezbollah’s military capabilities, as I told you last night, are untouched. And by the way, all that great intelligence gathering capability, why didn’t they know that Iran was about to strike? Why didn’t they know anything? So obviously Iran is very…

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: Well they did because you told them.

Mohammad Marandi: No, but they didn’t know that the strike was imminent.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: The point is that Netanyahu said at the UN and then again on television yesterday, that if Iran did anything, then nowhere is safe from Israel’s weapons. And the indications are that there will be some kind of response. So, let me ask you your opinion, the same question I asked my Israeli guest, do you think Iran and Israel are, tonight, at war?

Mohammad Marandi: If the Israeli regime strikes Iran, Iran will batter it into submission. It will batter it into submission. So it had better be careful. Enough is enough. The genocide must stop. The holocaust must stop. And the United States, if it enters the fray, let your people know, let  the people of the UK know, if the Americans enter this, that is the end of the oil and gas market in the Persian Gulf and this region, the price of oil will go up into hundreds of dollars. The global economy will collapse. Millions of people will be on the move and many of them will be coming your way. So people in the UK and western countries should put pressure on their governments to end this holocaust. It’s very easy. Stop the holocaust. Stop the genocide. It’s not very complicated. It’s not rocket science.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: That’s the key. Are you all saying that this is all down to Gaza and that if Israel stops in Gaza, then everything goes back to normal?

Mohammad Marandi: That’s what the US government was promising. They were promising a cease fire and they were lying. They were lying through their teeth. They knew they were lying. They were giving the Israeli regime time to carry on this slaughter. We all know that. Just like the two-state solution was always a lie. It was put there to keep everyone quiet so the land grab can continue. The Israeli regime was taught a lesson today, but this may not be enough. The Iranians are willing to go all the way to beat the regime into submission.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: What lesson do you think was taught?

Mohammad Marandi: They cannot bomb our embassies and get away with it. That’s what they did. They cannot murder senior foreign guests who came to Iran for the president’s inauguration and get away with it. Your government is responsible for this. Your government allows the Israelis to bomb Syria, to bomb the occupied West Bank, to bomb and slaughter in Gaza. And you’re constantly justifying it. You’re constantly, your government, is constantly trying to make it seem as if the Israeli regime has the right to do this. It’s more hypocritical than any empire in the past. At least the Nazis, when they slaughtered people, they just slaughtered them. When Saddam Hussein used to murder Iranians, he’d just murder them and move on. Your governments pretend that you’re more civilised than the rest of us, and you help the Israeli regime use bunker busters to slaughter people day and night, that I just saw over the last few days here in Beirut. Your government is not benign, but your government can stop this and your people should bear witness that if this continues, your government is responsible.