The following is an edited transcript of the June 5, 2026 interview with Dr. Seyed Mohammed Marandi. Dr. Marandi is an Iranian-American academic, intellectual and political analyst, based in Tehran, Iran. The interview was conducted by EIR’s Harley Schlanger. Subheads have been added. The video is available here.

Harley Schlanger: Hello, I’m Harley Schlanger with the Executive Intelligence Review. Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Seyed Mohammed Marandi. He’s an international commentator from the Islamic Republic of Iran, known for his analysis of the U.S.-Israeli war and the strategic context behind the war. Dr. Marandi, welcome to the Executive Intelligence Review Report. I thank you for taking the time to join us.

I’d like to begin by asking you why you think U.S. President Donald Trump decided to launch a war against Iran and how much you believe his decision was driven by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said it has been his dream for 40 years to destroy the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Dr. Seyed Mohammad Marandi: If we [believe] Joe Kent, who was the head of [the U.S. National] Counterterrorism [Center] and a Trump appointee—at the beginning of the war, he resigned. And in that letter [of resignation], he said that Iran is not developing a nuclear weapon. He also said that Iran is not a threat to the United States. But he did say that this war is about the Zionist lobby and the Israeli regime.

So, I think it’s clear that when the highest-ranking intelligence officials in the United States point out that this war is all about the Israeli regime and Zionism and the Zionist lobby in the United States, then really any other reason that may exist comes in a distant second. And as you rightly pointed out, Netanyahu has been seeking this war for four decades, and he has finally found a president who, for whatever reason—and that is itself a big question—is prepared to, or has been prepared to, carry out this assault.

Schlanger: Well, our view is that the United States and Israel have been in the lead, but they were urged on by the City of London networks and British intelligence, as this battle reflects the classic doctrine of British geopolitics of which Iran has been a target for many years in the past.

Marandi: I have no doubt that British intelligence was fully involved and supportive. The British and the Zionist regime have always been extremely close. And the British have always been among the most aggressive of the intelligence agencies, not only in our part of the world, but in other parts of the world, like in Eastern Europe. So, when we speak about Mossad and the CIA, it should always be implied that MI6 is involved, too.

The Image of Zionism Has Been Destroyed

Schlanger: Now, there’s no question that Netanyahu intends that Greater Israel should be the dominant force in Southwest Asia. But how much do you think this dream has been shattered by his failure to deliver on any of his pre-war goals, even with the alliance with the U.S. military?

Marandi: It has affected the Israeli regime. The last two-and-a-half to three years have destroyed the image of Zionism. It has destroyed the image of the Israeli regime across the world—[previously] very pro-Israeli. We see a huge shift in public opinion, and that is increasing as time goes by, and it is hardening. And on the other hand, we see that the Israeli regime militarily has failed.

In Lebanon, as we speak, the resistance is hitting the Israeli regime hard. Hezbollah has had major successes in the eyes of people across the region. And its [Israel’s] failure in Gaza is not only a military and moral failure—but I think that moral failure is an understatement, the biggest understatement of our time. It’s not only military and moral failure, but I think it is a sign of a weakness in this regime that it has failed to take the territory after almost three years of genocide of a people who are lightly armed and surrounded and with very few capabilities.

Schlanger: So, you would agree that the broader effect of this—the genocide and the attack against Iran—has made Israel a rogue state in the world even more than it was, especially with the recent call from the Defense Minister of Israel, Israel Katz, to turn Southern Lebanon into another Gaza?

Marandi: Absolutely. The Israeli regime lost global support over Gaza. And the global population turned against it. And then, after the global population turned against it and looked at it with disgust, it began the genocidal war against the Iranian people and started slaughtering Iranians and creating a global economic crisis. And people across the globe see their own hardship as a result of the actions of Netanyahu and Trump, and Zionism. So, this has only angered people further.

Simultaneously, we see this mass killing across Southern Lebanon—the attempt to create a second Gaza in Lebanon and to slaughter women and children across the South and to force the rest of the population to leave. That has only intensified anger and outrage.

So, what the Zionists have misunderstood or neglected, is that in the hope of taking territory in Gaza and in Lebanon and ethnically cleansing those areas, and attacking Iran, they have lost what they sought more than anything else, and that is global legitimacy. They now have to accept the fact—they must accept the fact that across the globe, people no longer see Zionism as a legitimate ideology. They see it as a genocidal and racist and hierarchical ideology, the results of which have been mass murder, genocide, and global economic hardship.

A Continuing Nakba

Schlanger: I wrote in an article recently, that since 1948, what we’ve seen is, in a sense, a continuing Nakba, which we’re seeing now carried out in southern Lebanon and the attack on Iran.

Now, there’ve been some reports in the media that President Trump has been sharply critical of Benjamin Netanyahu. Some have dismissed this as theater. And it seems that the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] is continuing the fight in southern Lebanon and killing Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Do you think Netanyahu is capable of obeying Trump—if Trump did order him to stop the killing? And what do you think Trump could do to stop the Israelis from committing further war crimes?

Marandi: Well, what you say of the Nakba is actually, I think, a very key point. This is indeed a continuation, and nothing began on October 7, 2023. As the genocide began, or as it continued, and people across the world began to see images of children being slaughtered and torn into pieces every day—it reminded me of what I had read about Vietnam.

In Vietnam, during the first years, most Americans supported the war and accepted the government narrative. Gradually though, due to a host of different reasons, when they began turning against the war, people began to do more research about Vietnam and about Ho Chi Minh and other elements of Vietnamese history. And they learned that the government narrative was misleading.

What the Israeli regime did, was that through this genocide, they caused many people to start learning about the history of Palestine. And so, their attempt to make October 7 the beginning of history was undermined by their own insistence to carry on with the genocide in Lebanon and, in particular, in Gaza—and of course, later on in their two wars against the Iranian people.

Ironically, the Israeli regime did more than anyone else to undermine the legitimacy of the regime in the eyes of the world and cause young people across the world to start looking into the history of the Palestinian issue, and to learn about the Nakba.

With regards to Netanyahu and Trump, it’s difficult to say what really happened. Probably there was some exchange, but the fact that this was published, I think, is more important than what Trump may or may not have said. It does show that there are some forces in the United States that seek to undermine Netanyahu, in my opinion. And those can be Zionists, because we’ve seen Axios, with its dishonest reporting, say things in the past about differences between Netanyahu and Trump or Netanyahu and President Joe Biden. In fact, we’re approaching the anniversary of the first war launched against Iran, the 12-day war [June 13-25, 2025]. And at that time, I think it was Axios, too, that said that there are differences between Netanyahu and Trump, and that Trump wants diplomacy to be pursued. And then we had the sudden [U.S.] attack. So that was obviously fake news.

But in this case, Netanyahu has been hurt. He has been humiliated at home, and even his allies have been attacking him, his allies in government. So it is, I think, a bit different, or significantly different, than what we’ve seen in the past. And I think it does indicate that there are those among the Zionist movement, not beyond, that think that Netanyahu is now hurting Zionism. Because as we discussed earlier, Zionists, I’m sure, recognize that they are becoming deeply unpopular, not just across the world—but in the most important country for the Israeli regime, meaning the United States. According to polls, now roughly 60% of Americans have an unfavorable view of the Israeli regime. It has been increasing rapidly over the last two-and-a-half to three years. It has fundamentally changed. And the dislike is hardening.

So, I think there may be—and this, of course, is just a personal interpretation—an attempt through this sort of reporting to ultimately get rid of Netanyahu. Elections are close. And then, to try to put on a new face, or put forward a new face for the Israeli regime, and blame all the genocide and misery on Netanyahu.

Of course, those who are more perceptive and those who’ve done their research know that the opposition to the Israeli regime is equally genocidal. And their statements over the past two-and-a-half, three years have been clear about the wish to wipe out the Palestinian people, men, women, and children, and to do the same to the people of Lebanon.

Civilizational Pride of the Iranian People

Schlanger: The other thing that’s been seen by the world from this war is the incredible resilience of the Iranian population. And it’s clear that Trump and Netanyahu and their leading advisors arrogantly underestimated the people of Iran, and have no understanding of the pride of your citizens of being an ancient civilization, which I think is behind the resilience. How important is it, in your mind, that Iranians see themselves as an old civilization and that this has shaped the character of the people?

Marandi: Yes, I think the West in general contributed to this miscalculation through the media narratives and the think tank narratives of Iran that have existed since the revolution 47 years ago. For 47 years, the narrative has been pretty consistent in saying that Iran is of course a “regime,” which implies abnormality and illegitimacy. It is unpopular. It is corrupt. It is incapable of governing. It is backward, and it is a threat to the world, and all sorts of other Orientalist-inspired stereotypes.

And that has proven to be absolutely incorrect. It has only been through the popular legitimacy of the state which has allowed the people to rally around the flag and succeed under such difficult circumstances. The country has been under maximum pressure of sanctions by the West for decades. And under these circumstances, we’ve had two wars by the West in less than one year. And the second war, of course, including the United States with its full military capabilities.

This, I think, clearly shows that the Iranian people are much more resilient and powerful and capable and united than the West has ever cared to admit. And I think this definitely has a great deal to do with the fact that Iran has thousands of years of civilization behind it. And of course, its particular religious ideology, Shi’a Islam, makes it particularly resilient in opposing oppression and supporting the oppressed. That is why Iran is so adamant in supporting the Palestinian people, or the Cubans, who today are under siege for no legitimate reason—or supporting the resistance in South Africa against the Apartheid regime.

One of the first countries that Nelson Mandela traveled to after being freed from prison was Iran, where he actually met the leader who was martyred in this war, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and said to him that you’re my leader, out of respect. So, many of the myths that the West has created in regard to Iran for 47 years have been shattered. And we see Iran’s popularity growing across the Global South and the Global Majority.

The Role of BRICS in the New, Multipolar Order

Schlanger: Let me conclude with two questions about the emergence of a new multipolar order, and the rejection by the Global South of the existing unipolar order, which is collapsing—as we’ve seen from its confrontation with the Islamic Republic of Iran. My organization, the Schiller Institute, held a conference in Berlin last weekend that identified the wars of NATO and Ukraine against Russia and the U.S.-Israel attack on Iran as acts of desperation, as their unipolar order is coming down and they have no economic strategy other than escalating the colonial looting which has been practiced for the last 500 years. The founder of the Schiller Institute, Helga Zepp-LaRouche, has taken the lead in calling for a new paradigm based on a new , basically saying peace will not come from permanent warfare or genocide, nor from ceasefires that don’t address the underlying cause of war.

So, this brings me to two questions. First, the role of the BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and similar associations to strengthen the collaborative efforts for cooperation outside the petrodollar, City of London-dominated system. Iran is a member of the BRICS and, I think, the SCO. Do you see this as an effective way for nations of the Global South to break out of this collapsing colonial imperial order?

Marandi: Yes, BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization are two bodies that Iran joined during the Presidency of Dr. Ebrahim Raisi. And the current administration continues to pursue policies to strengthen them. It remains to be seen how effective these organizations will be, but they are important. They are symbolically important for their very existence and growth. But also, the very fact that world leaders gathered together for summits in different countries, whether it’s the Shanghai Cooperation Organization or BRICS, is itself helping to push the world towards a different order and to rid ourselves of U.S. hegemony and domination. The belief is that this is to the benefit of the American people and people in Europe as well, because the empire is ruthless towards the entire global population. [But] that includes people in Europe and North America, who are increasingly being sacrificed nowadays, due to the endless wars being carried out by NATO or the United States.

Poverty in Europe today is increasing rapidly. And when one looks at where Europe was just two, three decades ago, and compares it to now, it is quite stunning. And the same is true with the United States. The United States 40, 50 years ago was a very different country than what it is today. It was the most advanced country in the world. It was what China is today. Yet it managed to destroy all of this through foolish economic policies, but more importantly, endless imperial wars.

So, the United States, itself, has helped create BRICS. The United States itself, through its behavior, has helped create the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. And its hegemonic behavior has fueled the rise of these organizations. And I’m quite confident that its continued hegemonic behavior will continue to fuel these organizations, as well as other organizations, regional and global, that are separate and independent of Western domination.

On the Question of Palestine

Schlanger: Now, finally, I have a question for you on solving the so-called Palestinian question. The American economist and statesman Lyndon LaRouche said that cooperation in major projects of infrastructure is necessary to break out of the confrontations which stem from divide-and-conquer geopolitics. He proposed something called the Oasis Plan to address the problem of shortages of fresh water, both for Israel and the Palestinians, and for the other neighbors, through building canals with desalination plants as a kind of project which could build mutually beneficial cooperation between Israel and its Arab and Muslim neighbors.

Through our International Peace Coalition, we’re gathering support from military veterans, peace activists, and discussion among governments around the world, who are joining the campaign for this idea. Are you familiar with this plan? And if not, do you think such economic cooperation offers more hope than signatures on political agreements?

Marandi: I think that the more integration we have in this region, the better it is for peace and stability. But at the same time, we have to come to this conclusion that integration in the meaningful sense can only take place once all people are recognized as equal human beings, and where we all recognize that there is no master race or superior race that has exceptional rights and privileges. The mentality that the Palestinians and the Lebanese and others are Amalek [Biblical enemy of Israel], and thus unworthy—that will always impede any real integration and cooperation, which would benefit Jews, Christians, Muslims across the region and thus across the world.

So, ultimately, the end game must be a state in Palestine, or whatever it’s called in the future, where all human beings are equal as human beings. And that, I think, would be the best thing for Judaism, because Zionism has harmed Judaism immensely by associating the Jewish people with its crimes—even though we see huge segments of the Jewish population across the world, including in Iran, completely opposed to Zionism and the practices of Zionism.

So, what Zionism is doing today is harmful to Judaism. It is, of course, genocidal when it comes to Palestinians and the Lebanese—but the best way forward for the Jewish people, the Christian people, and the Muslim people would be for them to cooperate, to collaborate, to integrate, and to see one another as equal human beings.

Schlanger: Dr. Marandi, thank you so much for your time and the efforts you’re making toward peace. This idea of an ecumenical peace is obviously the solution. And I think it’s very important that you continue to be present as you have been on so many of these webcasts, because your voice has to be heard.

So, thank you, and hopefully we’ll have an opportunity to do this again in the near future.

Marandi: Thank you very much for having me. It was a great pleasure.