Iran faces US aggression and European hypocrisy, but this time it's ready

 Seyed Mohammad Marandi

There is no reason to expect that a declining and desperate empire will conduct itself in a civilised manner. Iran is prepared for the worst

Western cultural arrogance rears its Medusa-like head each time US President Donald Trump rails about obliterating Iran.

Leaders and politicians of the self-proclaimed free and civilised world - along with some human rights organisations, major media outlets, and state-affiliated public figures - express their unique form of collective inhumanity through absolute silence. After all, repeated threats of a nuclear holocaust and genocide by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump are deeply imbedded in western civilization's centuries-old tradition of colonisation, mass slaughter and moral absence.

The global net of starvation sanctions, bullying, and military interventionism led by the US, is glossed over with mammoth globs of humanitarian jargon and moral righteousness.  

Lagging behind

Nevertheless, despite endless provocations and collaborations, the US still finds itself lagging behind its allies in the realm of hypocrisy, where the European Union and other western regimes continue to reign supreme.

For well over a year, Iran demonstrated strategic patience despite a consistent escalation in the US economic war on Iranian women and children

While the US frequently and erratically turns to crude aggressiveness, Europeans passionately engage in endless dialogue, unofficial so-called Track II endeavours, and rebuke their "unsophisticated and reckless" American allies in private and semi-private conversations with Iranian scholars and officials. However, when push comes to shove, they faithfully stand by the US.

As soon as Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal, European Union leaders pleaded for Iran not to retaliate, promising an acceptable solution within weeks. For well over a year, despite mounting internal opposition, Iran demonstrated strategic patience in the face of a constant escalation in the US economic war on the Iranian people.

Facing mounting costs, many cancer patients, among others facing life-threatening diseases, went without medication in order to spare their loved ones from financial destitution. This is economic terrorism and a war crime.

A tribal integrity

Although the European Union formally remained committed to the nuclear deal, they demonstrated nonchalance towards their obligations by permitting each and every unilateral sanction imposed by Washington to be fully implemented across Europe.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps displays what it says is debris from the US drone downed on 20 June (AFP)

Meanwhile, they repeatedly warned Iran to fully adhere to its nuclear commitments. Even as they made a mockery of the deal, they audaciously mimicked US demands for more nuclear and non-nuclear related concessions; thus, exposing their tribalistic conceptualisation of integrity. 

It is imperative that European and American policymakers confront their racist dispositions and carefully reflect upon the future

While Iran's patience (combined with Trump's brazen behaviour) significantly dented many anti-Iranian western narratives, this was simultaneously misinterpreted by the Empire as a mark of weakness.

Hence, the upsurge in US aggressive posturing, ultimately leading to the humiliating downing of a $200m US drone in Iranian territorial waters, with a $20,000 Iranian-designed surface-to-air missile.

Ironically, just days before the RQ-4A Global Hawk came crashing down, the US special representative to Iran, Brian Hook, in typical orientalist fashion, claimedthat Iranians photoshopped images of their defence capabilities.

Racist disposition

The Iranians and their resourceful allies have repeatedly demonstrated that they are sophisticated enough to outwit and outmanoeuvre their imperial tormentors across the region. However, this particular technological achievement was not even envisaged in the Eurocentric world of western intelligence services.

Cultural chauvinism aside, during the height of empire, western powers have left behind no legacy where subjugated peoples were spared and nowhere have they shown respect towards native populations. Thus, there is no reason to expect that a declining and desperate empire will conduct itself in a civilised manner today.It is imperative that European and American policymakers confront their racist dispositions and carefully reflect upon the future before forging ahead with plans and provocations to undermine Iran. In Virgil's Aeneid, Anchises says to Aeneas: "Remember, Roman, it is for you to rule the nations with your power, (that will be your skill) to crown peace with law, to spare the conquered, and subdue the proud."

Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, in Brussels, May, 2018 (AFP)

In their incurable ignorance, western-affiliated "Iran experts" paradoxically claim that the Iranian "regime" is both fanatical and apocalyptic as well as corrupt and self-preserving. While this analysis is far more self-revelatory than enlightening, it is the foundation of a potentially fateful miscalculation. 

Asymmetrical capabilities

Iran has been constructing a vast network of underground military facilities alongside its southern shores from Iraq to Pakistan in anticipation of possible western aggression since the illegal US occupation of Iraq.

As the downing of the drone has demonstrated, it is also empowered with very sophisticated military capabilities and has both the will and means to confidently engage forcefully with a belligerent power.

Iran has said that it will confront any aggression. Be confident that it will respond to any military strike with a massive and disproportionate counterstrike targeting both the aggressor and its enablers.

All-out war would mean the obliteration of all oil and gas installations as well as all oil tankers and cargo ships on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz. Under such circumstances, the closure of the Strait would be a sideshow.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said last month that Iran does not welcome confrontation nor does it desire war. It has, nonetheless, worked hard to establish military deterrence specifically to prevent such circumstances, as history has shown western inclination towards violence can only be constrained through strength.

Western establishment politicians and pundits seem to thrill at threatening to send nations back to the stone age. But be sure that if there is war, this time around Iran and its allies will make sure they come along for the ride.  

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.

Seyed Mohammad Marandi

Seyyed Mohammad Marandi is a Professor of English Literature and Orientalism at the University of Tehran

Iran faces US aggression and European hypocrisy, but this time it's ready

Seyed Mohammad Marandi

There is no reason to expect that a declining and desperate empire will conduct itself in a civilised manner. Iran is prepared for the worst

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani chairing a cabinet meeting in Tehran on 7 July (AFP)

Western cultural arrogance rears its Medusa-like head each time US President Donald Trump rails about obliterating Iran.

Leaders and politicians of the self-proclaimed free and civilised world - along with some human rights organisations, major media outlets, and state-affiliated public figures - express their unique form of collective inhumanity through absolute silence. After all, repeated threats of a nuclear holocaust and genocide by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump are deeply imbedded in western civilization's centuries-old tradition of colonisation, mass slaughter and moral absence.

The global net of starvation sanctions, bullying, and military interventionism led by the US, is glossed over with mammoth globs of humanitarian jargon and moral righteousness.  

Lagging behind

Nevertheless, despite endless provocations and collaborations, the US still finds itself lagging behind its allies in the realm of hypocrisy, where the European Union and other western regimes continue to reign supreme.

For well over a year, Iran demonstrated strategic patience despite a consistent escalation in the US economic war on Iranian women and children

While the US frequently and erratically turns to crude aggressiveness, Europeans passionately engage in endless dialogue, unofficial so-called Track II endeavours, and rebuke their "unsophisticated and reckless" American allies in private and semi-private conversations with Iranian scholars and officials. However, when push comes to shove, they faithfully stand by the US.

As soon as Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal, European Union leaders pleaded for Iran not to retaliate, promising an acceptable solution within weeks. For well over a year, despite mounting internal opposition, Iran demonstrated strategic patience in the face of a constant escalation in the US economic war on the Iranian people.

Facing mounting costs, many cancer patients, among others facing life-threatening diseases, went without medication in order to spare their loved ones from financial destitution. This is economic terrorism and a war crime.

A tribal integrity

Although the European Union formally remained committed to the nuclear deal, they demonstrated nonchalance towards their obligations by permitting each and every unilateral sanction imposed by Washington to be fully implemented across Europe.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps displays what it says is debris from the US drone downed on 20 June (AFP)

Meanwhile, they repeatedly warned Iran to fully adhere to its nuclear commitments. Even as they made a mockery of the deal, they audaciously mimicked US demands for more nuclear and non-nuclear related concessions; thus, exposing their tribalistic conceptualisation of integrity. 

It is imperative that European and American policymakers confront their racist dispositions and carefully reflect upon the future

While Iran's patience (combined with Trump's brazen behaviour) significantly dented many anti-Iranian western narratives, this was simultaneously misinterpreted by the Empire as a mark of weakness.

Hence, the upsurge in US aggressive posturing, ultimately leading to the humiliating downing of a $200m US drone in Iranian territorial waters, with a $20,000 Iranian-designed surface-to-air missile.

Ironically, just days before the RQ-4A Global Hawk came crashing down, the US special representative to Iran, Brian Hook, in typical orientalist fashion, claimed that Iranians photoshopped images of their defence capabilities.

Racist disposition

The Iranians and their resourceful allies have repeatedly demonstrated that they are sophisticated enough to outwit and outmanoeuvre their imperial tormentors across the region. However, this particular technological achievement was not even envisaged in the Eurocentric world of western intelligence services.

Cultural chauvinism aside, during the height of empire, western powers have left behind no legacy where subjugated peoples were spared and nowhere have they shown respect towards native populations. Thus, there is no reason to expect that a declining and desperate empire will conduct itself in a civilised manner today.It is imperative that European and American policymakers confront their racist dispositions and carefully reflect upon the future before forging ahead with plans and provocations to undermine Iran. In Virgil's Aeneid, Anchises says to Aeneas: "Remember, Roman, it is for you to rule the nations with your power, (that will be your skill) to crown peace with law, to spare the conquered, and subdue the proud."

Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, in Brussels, May, 2018 (AFP)

In their incurable ignorance, western-affiliated "Iran experts" paradoxically claim that the Iranian "regime" is both fanatical and apocalyptic as well as corrupt and self-preserving. While this analysis is far more self-revelatory than enlightening, it is the foundation of a potentially fateful miscalculation. 

Asymmetrical capabilities

Iran has been constructing a vast network of underground military facilities alongside its southern shores from Iraq to Pakistan in anticipation of possible western aggression since the illegal US occupation of Iraq.

As the downing of the drone has demonstrated, it is also empowered with very sophisticated military capabilities and has both the will and means to confidently engage forcefully with a belligerent power.

All-out war would mean the obliteration of all oil and gas installations as well as all oil tankers and cargo ships on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz. Under such circumstances, the closure of the Strait would be a sideshow.Iran has said that it will confront any aggression. Be confident that it will respond to any military strike with a massive and disproportionate counterstrike targeting both the aggressor and its enablers.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said last month that Iran does not welcome confrontation nor does it desire war. It has, nonetheless, worked hard to establish military deterrence specifically to prevent such circumstances, as history has shown western inclination towards violence can only be constrained through strength.

Western establishment politicians and pundits seem to thrill at threatening to send nations back to the stone age. But be sure that if there is war, this time around Iran and its allies will make sure they come along for the ride.  

Iran expert: Military confrontation is “inevitable”

“The long-term agenda in the White House… [is] basically the destruction of the Islamic Republic, maybe even the destruction of the state, maybe even the destruction of Iran”.

The West's irrational fear of Iran is a disaster waiting to happen

If the Trump regime miscalculates, the house can easily come crashing down on its head.

Seyyed Mohammad Marandi is a Professor of English Literature and Orientalism at the University of Tehran. This is an analysis by Professor Marandi and published by Middle East Eye. It warns the Trump regime of any adventurism against Iran.

While western regimes craft a fresh humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, their corporate and state-owned media and corrupted think-tanks embody what Shakespeare's Lorenzo describes as "this muddy vesture of decay" – and, true to form, frustrate attempts to provide voice to their latest subaltern victims.

Increasingly vitriolic voices, from Paris to Washington, reveal exasperation and express a need to intimidate and justify the eviction of the many increasingly difficult tenants of the Fifth Estate.

Just as advanced capitalism has successfully transformed the first four estates into an almost homogeneous, postmodern utopia for well-heeled Wall Street and Ivory Tower dwellers – amid a deluge of conspiratorial narratives of existential threats – western regime-affiliated intellectual elites vigorously promote a "benign" monopoly in this lucrative piece of real estate.

As in Palestine, excavation and construction can only begin with a purge of "inferior" races, religions and social classes, as well as other "malign" influences. After all, as the Zionist regime’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reminds his European and North American allies, there is no place for the weak, who are destined for slaughter, while the strong survive.
Based on this Eurocentric, clinical diagnosis and ethnocentric worldview, language is reformed and policed so that anti-apartheid now means racism. When it is stated that Palestinian medics, reporters and children have been martyred or maimed in the alleged "clashes", it means that Israeli regime soldiers have targeted unarmed civilians.

In this brave new world, Humpty Dumpty linguistics and semantics are key to "civilized" conceptual understandings. Al-Qaeda are "freedom fighters" and "rebels" are in Syria, but terrorists in the United States, France and the United Kingdom!

US President Donald Trump is condemned for his slurs against Hispanics and Latinos, but praised for his tangible acts to starve Venezuelans. The US-Saudi-imposed mass starvation and genocide in Yemen was entirely acceptable for western pundits, while a clear schism exists in relation to the Jamal Khashoggi killing.

Now that Iranian, Palestinian, Venezuelan, Russian and even Western detractors – among others – are being purged, of course in vain, from the public sphere and even social media platforms, controlling and manipulating the public discourse may seem much more undemanding in the corridors of power.
However, as the power and fortune of the US and its European allies continues to decline, their response to events appears increasingly frantic and crude. They appear to be engaged in imperial overreach.
The rise of the ultra-right and fascism, the appalling brutality of France's elitist Macron regime, the incompetence of the British political order, the abduction of Julian Assange, and rising authoritarian political correctness – along with an increased frequency of wars, coups and interventions across the globe – are signs of a rising anxiety in the "metropolis".

Massive atrocities in multiple illegal wars, a recourse to crude, old-school imperialism in Venezuela, and increasing repression, discontent and censorship at home have concurrently exposed the underlying nature of dominant western narratives to a broad, diverse, and often subjugated global audience.

Western-funded trolls and bots, along with foreign language media mouthpieces and their comprador intellectuals, no longer have the ability to push the “free and civilized world” myth with substantial success. Besides the comprador class and western-based native informants, few gaze at western manifestations with much awe anymore. Unless, of course, it is “shock and awe”.
For many, the West is not, in the words of Wordsworth, a "Utopia-subterranean fields/Or some secreted island Heaven knows where", but rather where they are forced to go when barbarians plunder and wreck their world. Indeed, European and US elite and redneck concerns about migration and refugees would be much better dealt with if their long-cherished tradition of war, strangulation and destruction came to an end.

End it must. Otherwise, they will be destined to reap what they sow. By staying the current course, Europe and North America will likely soon trigger overwhelming and endless waves of human migration. The sociopolitical implications for Europe and the US will be staggering.

Yet, the case of the irrational western hostility towards Iran is unique. For more than four decades, Europe and the United States have used chemical weapons, starvation and violent extremism to punish Iranians and their allies for asserting independence.

American nastiness, in particular, knows no bounds, as US leaders and their affiliates gloat openly when they succeed in inflicting human suffering through sanctions, yet paradoxically and audaciously censure their prey for economic mismanagement. These regimes fail to recognize that it is, in part, their amoral policies that reinforce resistance among so many Iranians.
Along with a natural cultural, religious and political convergence, it is partially this absence of morality, as well as Eurocentric arrogance, that has drawn Turkey and Iraq, among other states, closer to Iran.

The US attempt to impose its will upon newly elected Iraqi members of parliament through threats and coercion – as well as Trump's failure to summon the Iraqi prime minister during an illegal, uninvited and humiliating secret visit to Iraq – show an open lack of respect for the Iraqi people.

US support for PKK affiliates, Jamal Khashoggi's killing and the failed 2016 coup attempt, along with its repeated threats over Turkish military purchases and open engagement in economic warfare against Istanbul, also inform the Turkish public where their interests really lie.

The failure to bring about economic collapse in Iran, the destruction of state institutions in Syria, submission in Yemen, and the inability to intimidate Iraq and Turkey are all further indications that all is not going according to the pied piper's plan to maintain western domination.  

Nevertheless, it is fatefully important for western leaders to sober up and recognize that those who live in glass houses are in no position to throw stones. Iran's adversaries have so much more to lose than Iran does, and there are more than enough motivated General Qassem Soleimanis in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to make sure everything is lost.

A clear-headed view of a map, and an appreciation of the formidable capabilities of Iran and its allies, should make it clear that if the Trump regime miscalculates, the house can easily come crashing down on its head. Iranians know this all too well.