Judging Freedom - Prof. Mohammad Marandi : FROM TEHRAN: How Iran Resists Aggression

Episode Date: March 26, 2026

Prof. Mohammad Marandi : FROM TEHRAN: How Iran Resists AggressionSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Undeclared wars are commonplace. Pragically, our government engages in preemptive war, otherwise known as aggression with no complaints from the American people. Sadly, we have become accustomed to living with the illegitimate use of force by government. To develop a truly free society, the issue of initiating force must be understood and rejected. What if sometimes to love your country you had to alter or abolish the government? Jefferson was right? What if that government is best which governs least? What if it is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong? What if it is better to perish fighting for

freedom than to live as a slave? What if freedom's greatest hour of danger is now? Hi everyone, Judge Andrew Napolitano here for judging freedom. Today is Thursday, March 26, 2006. We are joined today by my dear friend, Professor Muhammad Miranda, who joins us live from Tehran, Iran. Professor Miranda, thank you for your time. Thank you for your courage. Thank you for your presence. Thank you for your analysis. I must start by asking, how are you and how is your family? Thank you very much for inviting me, Judge. It's always a pleasure being on your show. They're all good, although as I said before the show, I try not to see anyone because I don't want to cause any trouble for any of my loved ones or any of my friends or even people who I don't know. So I try to be as isolated as possible.

Professor Miranda, are you a target of the Israelis and the Americans? I don't know, but there is a verified account on Twitter. that has a paid partnership that I think six days ago now, they've put an ad, they posted a tweet where they're doing fundraising to $1 million to kidnap me. And I've complained to Twitter and so have apparently many, many thousands of others, but Twitter refuses to remove it. And of course, by kidnapping, it implies torture and murder ultimately. I, of course, am not going to be intimidated, but I think it does expose a great deal about the workings of social media companies in the United States.

Who would be behind this, the Israelis, the Americans, or both? I mean, you're an American. You're an American citizen. You were born in Virginia, USA. Well, I was born in the United States, but I think when it comes to opposing U.S. policy and the U.S. Empire, no one gets a free pass. So from what I hear, and I have not really pursued this, it's an Israeli, a shadowy, Israeli, Zionist, Ukrainian organization. investigating, how is it possible that Twitter can be used to gather money to kidnap someone? And of course, as I said, this kidnapping implies torture and murder ultimately, because that's what they do. They're carpet bombing Iranian cities. They are bombing hospitals. They bomb

elementary schools. They bomb ambulances. They bomb family cars. A young boy just died a couple of hours ago. He was the last, he was the last remaining person in the family car. His parents and his siblings were all killed and he died a couple of hours ago. So this is, you know, so I have no expectations. But, Judge, all these people on the streets in across the country, supporting the armed forces and the state and the leader and I'm sure you've seen footage of it when the U.S. and Israelis fire missiles at them and I was at one huge gathering where that happened people stood their ground no one budged even though people were killed in the rally that I was at a woman was murdered by the missiles but no one moved and when 16-year-old teenagers don't budge and whereas

they could have gone home and do what teenagers do, I don't have the right to back down. Well, what is life like in Tehran today? Do students go to school? Do the government services work? Do people do shopping? Do they live their lives with any semblance of normality, notwithstanding what's coming down from the skies? Well, when the war started, it was a lot of the war. It was a lot of, it was the holy month of Ramadan. So most people were fasting and it was approaching the new year. So because the Iranian new year is on the first day of spring, it's we call it no ruse. It's a very ancient celebration. And so during the last weeks of the old year, during government people were shopping because people usually do that but since the war started a lot of

people left teheran when they when they bombed the elementary school and killed all those kids the government shut down schools and universities so most people left teheran or at least a large number of people left teheran and the government encouraged it after the new year what happens always is that teheran is empty so teheran is sort of like what it was during during the last two, three weeks of Ramadan and at the beginning of the war, because people go for vacation. So it's still a quiet city.

I mean, if you go out, there's some shops that are open, there is some traffic, but not heavy traffic and not all that many shops are open. But outside of Tehran, I don't know. I mean, usually people during this holiday, they go to different cities, so some cities are usually very crowded. Esfahan, which is a very old city

and a very beautiful city. They usually have many people visiting for the new year, but it's been severely bombed during the past few days. So I don't know what's going on much outside of Tehran, but in Tehran, it's somewhat quiet. But within eight or nine days or ten days, it should get, I mean, the government will open up. Normally schools will open, shops will open. So we'll have to see what happens in about 10 days from now. Is there any dispute but that the Americans and Israelis are targeting civilians and known civilian sites and structures? No, not at all. I mean, many hospitals have been hit. Many apartment blocks have been hit.

Two, three days ago, a professor at one of the prestigious universities. universities in Tehran. He and his entire family and his neighbors were all murdered. And in the air strike, that's not all that far away from where I live. So, bikes on ambulances. They're bombing marketplaces in Esfahan. They bomb parking lots for the city. in order to destroy the capability, for example, for garbage trucks to function in the city.

They went and bombed the garbage trucks. They tried to destroy everything that is necessary for civil society to function. Everything that is necessary for civil society to function. What is the attitude of the Iranian people? You know, the Americans and the Israelis had this crazy idea that once they started the bombing and killed the Ayatollah, the former Ayatollah, the one they did kill, the bunnies would rise up and chaos would ensue and would overthrow the government. Hasn't pretty much the opposite of that happened. Hasn't what the Israelis and the Americans have been doing hardened the resilience and the determination and the unity and the loyalty of the American. of the Iranian people?

You know, Judge, I've been saying this for a very long time. I said when war starts, this is what's going to happen. And everything that I said was true. It turned out to be true. I'm not brilliant. I think it was clear what was going to happen. But they would always say this is, I think Pierce Morgan said hot air to me. But the fact is that I've always also been saying that the Islamic Republic of Iran has a high degree of support among the population and a high degree of popular legitimacy.

It's always been that way. And in the West, in the West, the mainstream political apparatus and mainstream media, they don't want to hear this. They want to believe their narrative that the so-called regime, as they like to call it, is unpopular. And that helps them convince themselves that if they engage in war, it will be quick and easy. And since it's all of their assumptions were wrong in the first place, now they're stuck. If they had listened, we wouldn't have this war. And today, this strong amount of legitimacy has even increased. And many of those young kids who are influenced by Western narratives about Iran and about the West

and who were opposed to the state or sympathy for the West, they've changed their views because they are witnessing the destruction of their cities, of the deaths of their neighbors or people in their neighborhood. They see how little kids are terrorized and fear of people. dying and their parents can't, you know, cannot calm them down often. This has created an awakening among the Iranians that I personally think, I cannot give a scientific answer to you, but I personally think it's even more over, it's more powerful than the first years of the revolution.

Wow. Why? Because I see it on the streets. You see people in huge numbers across the country. every night on the streets. Huge crowd. And under air strikes, missile strikes,

they don't budge. It's extraordinary. The front lines are no longer on the borders. The front lines are in the cities. And the people simply won't stand down. It's stunning. It's extraordinary. Is there freedom to dissent?

There always has been freedom to dissent, Judge. I've taught at the University of Tehran. my own faculty and perhaps my apartment is usually among the most western oriented in not my in the in the i would say at the university of terror i shouldn't say the country i haven't been outside of the university of terran because all of my students are very fluent in english they grow up with english they usually have at least lived abroad or since childhood been going to private classes. Some of them are more fluent in English than I. And you always have discussions in class. You always have, I have, I've had students who, you know, would say that this is,

that Iran is a police state worse than North Korea in class. And I would, I would say, and then next week, I would, whenever he'd ask a question, I may have said this on your show once, but whenever he'd asked a question, I'd say, oh, they haven't arrested you yet. You know, I told them to arrest you. So, until the end of the semester, every time the poor kid would raise a question. I'd say, oh my God, I think they arrested someone else. And by mistake, I gave them your name, but I think they took someone else. I mean, everyone would laugh. He would laugh. Right. This is, I mean, we have, we have mutual friends who've been to Iran, Max has been to Iran, others have been to Iran. But the Western narrative doesn't listen to reality. They have this narrative, and no matter how many

people come and visit Iran and go out and no matter how credible they are and they tell the truth, or at least they honestly report what they see in Iran, it doesn't change anything because this Epstein class both controls the state, it controls the media, and therefore dissent is not, the place where real dissent doesn't exist is in the Western media. It doesn't matter if it's the guardian or whether it's the Fox News. When it comes to Iran, there is a strong amount of consent. And that is that we are the bad guys and they are the good guys. The only difference is that whether they should bomb us or not. Well, we are, of course, in the alternate media doing our best to present the view from you, your eyes and ears.

on the ground. And my regular guests, many of whom are friends of yours as well as mine, deeply admire your courage and willingness to talk to us. Are Iranian officials negotiating with American officials as we speak? Are these negotiations going on or are President Trump's statements a ploy to manipulate the markets? The statements are there to manipulate the markets. That's it basically. And to buy time. There is talk.

I think that there's a high chance that there will be an assault on Iranian territory within the next few days. There is also talk that the United States may actually go to Oman and to the other side of the Strait of Hormuz, which in either case, it's not going to make a difference. The Iranians will not allow any ship to pass through this freight of hormones that is in any way or form affiliated with hostile actors. And those hostile actors are, of course, U.S. allies, whether they're in the Persian Gulf or elsewhere.

But Trump is definitely not negotiating. He sent, the U.S. sent a proposal through pocket. Pakistan, and that happens all the time. I mean, we've had messages go back and forth between Iran and the United States. They've been going back and forth for decades. So this is nothing extraordinary. The Iranians have not responded. They don't accept this proposal at all.

And the Iranians are not planning to negotiate. And they put out their conditions for peace because ultimately at some point, there will have to be an end to hostilities. But Iran has conditions. and there has to be change on the ground. No longer will Iran tolerate the Persian Gulf to be a platform to carry out aggression against Iran? There has to be reparations, and those countries in the Persian Gulf will be forced to pay out. And Iran's allies across the region must be safe.

And, of course, the Strait of Hormoz, its status will change after the war. So in general, what is happening is that Trump is buying time, trying to calm the markets. But I think people are beginning to recognize that because he's talking so much and seems so desperate that it's becoming more and more obvious. But it's quite possible that tensions could get, I mean, the violence could get a lot worse in the coming days. Do you expect a ground invasion with American troops on the ground? somewhere in either the Karg Island or the Strait of Hormuz? I realize they're not near each other, but in either of those two areas? The Iranians are assuming that that is definitely going to happen,

and they are prepared for battle. They've been preparing for decades, Judge. Ever since 9-11, the Iranians have been preparing themselves for what they deem to be an inevitable war. The ultimate target for the United States has always been Iran. in order to gain full control of the region and for the Israeli regime to be able to expand and to destroy the Palestinian nation. So they've been building defense capabilities for almost two and a half decades,

even more, but especially after 9-11. And the Iranians, it's not just missiles and drones. It is an underground navy, the Navy, the Navy is in tunnels, alongside the Persian Gulf, speedboats and the Gulf of Oman, Iran's air force, Iran's air defenses. They are underground and well protected. But ultimately, the defense of the shore and defense of territory, they've been thinking about that for decades, too. This is not a war that Trump can win. It is only going to make things worse.

And escalation will bring further destruction to the key assets, oil and gas and otherwise, those Arab family regimes in the Persian Gulf that are hosting U.S. spaces. So it is only going to make the energy crisis worse, and it could make it permanent, because if everything is destroyed, then it doesn't matter if the Strait of Hormos is ultimately opened as the result of some agreement or not. If there's no oil and no tankers, no, no LNG, and no fertilizer, then the state of hormones really isn't that important. Right. Why would the Iranians bother to negotiate with the Americans for two reasons.

One, the negotiations were a subterfuge back in June, eight months ago, and back in January, two months ago. And two, the Israelis, with the Americans pretending they don't know anything about it, have killed the negotiators. Yes, you know, and it's even worse than that. The JCPOA, the nuclear deal that was signed into 2015, 2015, Obama violated it, but Trump tore it up. And then we had, of course, as you rightly pointed out, the negotiations that took place eight, nine months ago. and it was Americans were conspired and Trump was secretly conspiring to wage a war. And then it happened again, even as the Omani foreign minister was saying that a significant problem,

the Iranians want to make sure that the facts on the ground change. Even if hypothetically speaking, hypothetically speaking, Trump stood down. or he was removed. And then the vice president becomes president. The facts on the ground have to change. Iran will not allow the previous status quo to remain. Iran will ensure that in the decades to come, the UAE cannot host aggression against Iran, the Saudi Arabia, because they're all in this war.

The Emirates and Saudi Arabia and Qatar are actually helping fund the war. But all of these countries host U.S. forces, U.S. bases. They fly over their territory. They use their air bases like in Saudi Arabia and in Jordan. And they fire missiles from I-Marsfit missiles from their territory and not from inside the bases, from outside the bases. And U.S. forces are now in hotels and different parts because the bases are all being destroyed. So they've moved them into residential neighborhoods. Iran will not let that continue.

Wow. How severely is Iran planning to attack and damage the Israeli government facilities inside of Israel? Well, there is a huge amount of censorship in Israel, but right now the regime is being struck heavily by Iran. we're hearing that the missile air defenses are no longer working. They were never very effective, and they usually cost more than the damage done, well, at times. But now the Iranian missiles are getting through very easily, and also Hezbollah missiles are getting through. And so the regime is being hit both from the north and from Iran. and until there is a settlement that is acceptable for Iran and its allies across the region,

this will continue. But again, the Israeli regime brought this upon itself, and it brought this upon the American people. I think it's very clear that everything that you've been saying and I've been saying, and your guests have been saying, has been stated by former Trump officials, Joe Kent, his resignation letter and his subsequent interviews stated exactly what we've been saying that the Israeli regime was behind this.

The Zionist lobby was behind this. So the American people are going to suffer economic consequences and people across the globe in India, in Asia, in Africa, and Latin America because of the Israeli regime. There was no threat to the United States. There was no move by Iran towards a nuclear weapon. everything that he said is what we all knew for a very long time, but now is coming out from the centers of power. Professor Mohammed Miranda, I can't thank you enough. I know we are personal friends as well as professional collaborators, but your courage is truly, truly outstanding.

Stay well. Please continue to report to us, and perhaps better days will soon be upon us. Thank you, your friend. Thank you, Judge. Your excellent work is as heroic and you and your guests and your viewers and are all doing heroic work. And I think that people in Iran recognize that in the West and in the United States in particular, many people oppose this. The majority oppose this. And many people are recognizing that the whole narrative constructed by this class, the ruling class is fabricated. And I thank you for all the great work you do. Thank you, my dear friend.

All the best of you. If you're watching us live in 35 minutes at 9 o'clock, Colonel Bill Astori at 1045 this morning, Professor Glenn Deeson at one this afternoon, Matt Ho, at two this afternoon, Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, at three this afternoon. We haven't seen him in two weeks, and I really miss him, Colonel Douglas McGregor, Judge Napolitano for judging freedom.