Nima Alkhorshid is an excellent interviewer with his own show – Dialogue Works – which is a highly recommended channel on geopolitics. Here he’s being interviewed by Lt Colonel Daniel Davis. Nima is Iranian by birth, but has worked for a long time as a professor of engineering in Brazil. He was recently back in Iran, over the time of the recent riots, and so is able to give first hand acocunts of events there in the run up to the war. He’s able to present the reality of Iran, which is in sharp contrast to the propaganda found in the mainstream media, and even more in contrast to the delusional utterances of Donald Trump.
Trump has repeatedly said that the leadership in Iran is hopelessly divided, with no common position, so he doesn’t know who to talk to. This is patently false. The entire leadership were part of the IRGC as young men, with the current President as a medic (now a cardiologist). They’ve know each other since the Iran-Iraq war, know how to work together, and are completely united in outlook. Trump is trapped. He knows he cannot win the war, as the US is already critically short of tomahawk missiles and air defence interceptors and lacks the surge capacity to replace them. He knows his attempted blockade is an ineffective stunt, since the US has too few ships to establish and maintain it, and tankers hugging the coastline are protected in any case by onshore weaponry. He would like nothing better than to walk away, declare victory, and spin a narrative about it to the country, but this is not going to work and he knows it, so instead he may choose to escalate despite the catastrophy that would lead to. His narcissism simply won’t let him be seen to lose and be humiliated.
At the last negotiation session in Islamabad, Iran sent a team of experts with a peace proposal and full documentary back up. Trump sent two Israel-first representatives with an obvious bias and no relevant background, and the Vice President, who also has no experience at all in international relations or diplomacy. None of them had the authority to make decisions on behalf of the US, so they were constantly calling home for permission. A final call to Netanyahu ended the negotiations with a flat no to any concessions whatsoever, insisting on the hardline Israeli demand for complete capitulation. It’s clear that there was never a serious attempt at negotiation on the American/Israeli side. Israel’s goal is the utter destruction of Iran, and that has not been achieved. In fact it never will be achieved because Iran is effectively a defensive fortress, far better armed and prepared than they were given credit for. It seems very likely that the deep state wants this war to continue, even though Trump himself would much prefer to be able to walk away. He’s already bored, and he knows how much damage this is doing go his already tarnished reputation and political chances. He’s now posting ridiculous AI mock-ups like this:
The deep state position is expressed by people warmongering Senator Lindsay Graham and naval commander Kirk Lippold, who says that Trump has a constitutional responsibility to resume the attack on the grounds of national security. This is ridiculous as Iran had never posed a threat to American national security, or to the security of its neighbours. It does not sponsor terrorism. Virtually all Islamic terrorism is conducted by Sunni groups funded by western intelligence agencies, not by Shia Iran or its allies.
There is no trust between the warring parties because the US position is amateurish and incoherent, and too many times negotiations have been used as cover for a surprise attack. In the meantime, Israel continues to flatten villages in southern Lebanon, which is contrary to the terms of the ceasefire. Knowing that no common position can be found, Iran’s approach is to endure the pain for as long as necessary. All they have to do to win is to survive, while the US and Israel need a spectacular victory which is not possible. Iran’s founding stroy is that of the sacrifice of Imam Hussein and his few followers in defence of their country against a vastly superior force. Sacrifice for the greater good of the country is in their DNA. This is why hundreds of young people gather around pieces if critical infrastructure and don’t run even of being bombed. This is a culture that honours martyrdom above all. It is also a country that is largely self-sufficient in food and other essentials of life. Oil exports constitute only 20% of Iran’s economy, so even a successful blockade would not be the end of the world for them, and they have already built a rail link for oil export to China in any case. Iran prizes its sovereignty highly and will defend it to the death.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been bragging about his programme – Economic Fury – to destroy the Iranian economy through financial leverage. The original non-violent protests in Iran were the result of his attack on the Iranian currency, znd the protests only turned violent when infiltrated by oursiders armed by the US and Israel and told to be as violent and destructive as possible. This was an attempt to generate a revolution against the government, and it failed. Iran is now busy divorcing itself from US-controlled internet services in favour if their own domestic systems. This is critical for digital hygiene, to limit the spread of foreign propaganda. They’re finding new ways to communicate and do business. Price inflstion is currently a problem, but the government is helping people to shoulder the burden. Support for the government is at an all time high, as the various factions have come together.
Iran is now in a very powerful position, controlling the Strait of Hormuz, which lies in the territorial water of itself and Oman, with which it intends to share revenue from the toll system its has established. The Wall Street traders who orginally coined the term TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) to refer to Trump, have now come up with a new one – NACHO (Not A Chance Hormuz Opens). Trump is delusionally posting this:
And the Wall Street guys are posting this in response:
Once the leader of a cult of personality has reached the stage of being widely ridiculed by powerful people, the cult is very close to its end. Trump mental and physical health are clearly failing, and it’s becoming more obvious by the day. Unfortunately he’s likely to bereplaced by the extremely unpopular JD Vance, who is a tool of the technical industrial complex currently trying to impose a digital control grid on the country and beyond, but that will be a fight for another day.
