Judging Freedom - Prof. Mohammad Marandi : Trump’s War Crime Threat to Iran

Episode Date: September 23, 2026

Prof. Mohammad Marandi : Trump’s War Crime Threat to IranSee 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. Fragically, 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 Wednesday, September 23rd, 2006. Professor Mohamed Mirandi will be with us in just a moment. I'm President Trump's audacious war crime threat to Iran. But first this. If you're serious about preparedness like I am, head over to preparewit-with-a-judge.com right now. Let me tell you why.

Our partners over at My Patriot Supply are the experts when it comes to emergency food, and they're serious about making sure you have what you need. And in honor of National Preparedness Month, they're giving every customer who gets their best-selling three-month emergency food kit a 72-serving mega-protein kit for free. That's 90 days of real food security with more than 2,000 calories per day and 100% of 12 essential vitamins and minerals. Plus the free protein kit gives you,

Real beef and chicken, red beans, black beans, and pinto beans to assure you've got what you need on hand for any emergency. More protein, more variety, more substantial meals when you need it most. Go to prepare with the judge.com now to take advantage of this great offer. The food is easy to prepare, packed and durable buckets, and designed to last 25 years when stored properly. This is not the time to assume you'll find out what you need later. Build your 90 days of real food security. This offer ends on September 30th. So go now to prepare with the judge.com.

Professor Miranda, welcome here. I'm sorry for what we have to discuss, which is the outrageous threat President Trump made yesterday. Here's what he said. Chris, cut number 12. But I have a big decision to make. Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create?

a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world. Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations? But I believe we'll make a deal

right after the election. Your thoughts on these statements by the President of the United States of the world's largest international stage. Well, he offered a deal that we can't refuse. It's, you know, the thing that I find disturbing is not the fact that Trump says this. making genocidal statements for a very long time. And during the war, we saw him repeatedly saying he'll wipe out a civilization or he'll take us back to the Stone Age. It's all genocidal.

And of course, he's participating in the genocide, whether in Gaza or the situation in southern Lebanon. But what is disturbing is that, aside from yourself and other friends and I'm sure the overwhelming majority of ordinary people is that the media in the West and parliamentarians across Europe or in Australia or New Zealand or Canada, they're all indifferent. In other words, he can constantly make these genocidal statements threatening to carry out the most horrific Holocaust in human history, yet there's no condemnation, no reaction, not from Europe, not from the UK, not from Canada.

and not from anyone. That I find more disturbing than what he says himself. But in any case, he's not going to change the Iranian position. All he does is create more hatred and contempt among ordinary Iranians. In fact, just today, I was just an hour ago, I was outside on the streets in the city and three young men, four young men, three and then another came and joined, approached me and said, why is the Iranian delegation even in New York? Why are they negotiating? Why, you know, this Trump is, you shouldn't even, I mean, I'm not a negotiator. I'm not a decision maker, but they were angry that the Iranian delegation was there. So this only creates further contempt. Of course, this is anecdotal, but I would assume that these feelings are

pretty widespread. So this only makes Iran more angry and hostile. And it's not just Iran. You You saw what he said about Venezuela that the victor takes the spoils. And he was saying it in front of the representatives of all countries in the world, literally. So Trump, I think the damage that he's actually done last night to the United States is enormous. It truly is. I mean, he's basically saying he can kill whomever he wants and he can steal whatever he wants. and he can steal whatever he wants. Colonel Douglas McGregor, our mutual friend,

said he has a God complex. He's acting as if he makes the rules and decides whether or not he is consistent with them. I mean, if the U.S. invades, again, what makes them think they can accomplish in, I'm going to say November, because he can't do this before the midterms. By the way, if the midterms were held today, both houses of Congress would flip to the Democrats. In some respects, not a delightful proposition, but in respect of restraining Donald

Trump, a lot of us, even many of us that don't typically vote for the Democrats are encouraging our friends and listeners to do so for that reason. However, what I was going to say is he really is acting as what makes him think that if he resumes in November, what he stopped in April, it will work this time. Iran is actually stronger now in the fall than it was last spring. Am I right? No doubt. The Iranian military today is far better prepared. And the got me, you know, Judge, well, first of all, Ayatollah Khomeini, the martyr, he compared Trump to the Pharaoh. And I think it's a pretty good comparison. The further, the more we move forward, the more he resembles the Pharaoh.

But, you know, Judge, if your viewers right now use AI and check, they'll see that Iranian military's expenditure has, for over the last couple of decades if not more being lower than any of the countries in this region so the the the the iranians have always spent a low percentage a low a small amount of money for the military they've invested well with these underground military bases with these uh a missile and drone technology but they spend a lot less than the so or even the small countries in the Persian Gulf or Turkey or the others. But now the administration, the current government, has given the armed forces a huge amount of money for this year. And they are expanding on all fronts, both R&D, but also the number of missiles and drones and the underground bases.

And Iran has learned a lot from its experiences in the war. And in addition to that Trump, Yemen has learned a lot from both its experience with war in war with the United States last year, but also Iran's experiences. So it's going to be much harder for the United States to deal with Iran next month or the month after or with Yemen. But also I'd like to point out that, Judge, one thing that Trump does say that is correct among all the things that he, the nonsense that he says, is that Iran is looking to the elections. Not that the Iranians believe the war will end after the elections, but Iran would like to see him lose. And that's why they are keeping up the pressure. The Iranians don't want to drive up oil prices too high. They don't want the global economy to collapse.

After all, the global south sides with Iran, China is siding with Iran. Others are siding with Iran, and we don't want people. Iran doesn't want people to starve. But Iran is keeping up the price of oil just enough so that Trump's rating, and the approval ratings go down. And Iran is noticing what's going on in the House and what is going on in the Senate. And even though they don't, you know,

they're not fans of the Democrats either, but because of the contempt that the Democrats have for Trump, but also the fact that the base of the Democrats is hostile towards war and hostile towards the Israeli regime, they see that as useful for the country. So that one thing is actually true. And I think Trump, Trump is actually very worried about the midterms.

He says he doesn't care. But the very fact that he says we're going to have a deal right after the midterm elections is basically to say to his base that, no, I'm going to get this done. Just as Bant says, give us another chance and so that he won't lose the House, but more importantly, the Senate. I mean, a lot of people in the U.S. are worried that by his use of the word annihilation, he was referring to the unthinkable, which is nuclear weapons. I mean, his vanity, his self-absorption is well known, and it's truly extraordinary and it's psychotic, but he would probably love to be in the same category as president.

and Harry Truman. Now, in my opinion, Harry Truman is one of the great mass murderers of all time because of his use of atomic weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If you measure mass murderers by the numbers of human beings slaughtered in the shortest period of time. I don't want to argue history. I want to talk about the present and the future. What will Iran do if they have reason to believe that this maniac is going to dispatch nuclear weapons over Tehran. That is a very difficult question, Judge. First of all, I think it would be very hard for anyone to use nuclear weapons because it will have implications in the world that we live in that I think would be devastating for themselves.

And also, Iran is a huge country, and it has assets, it has a high-tech capabilities and assets that the United States cannot destroy. And so if Iran is pushed, if Iran is even if there's an existential threat to Iran, its nuclear posture will change. And that has been said by the current chair of the Supreme National Security Council, but also Dr. Larajani, who was martyred during the war, Dr. Karazi, the former foreign minister who was martyred during the war. So Iran can, Iran would, under such circumstances,

changes its nuclear posture as they say. But one other thing, Judge, and I don't really want to get into religion. But there's a lot of antagonism towards Iran. And another, they spent a lot of money antagonizing Shia Islam for decades. The West has antagonized Islam for decades. There's a lot of nonsense out there. Shia Muslims and Shia Islam, they love life. That's why they want to save the Palestinian people from genocide because they deserve life.

But they're also willing to make sacrifices to preserve their lives. So it's not a death culture or anything like that. However, one of the most important ideological elements in Shia Islam is about standing up to injustice, standing up to the despot in support of the disenfranchised and oppressed. And the, let's say the high point in Shia history after the demise of the Holy Prophet was Imam Hussein's march to them, his grandson's march to them in Kharbalah and his sister and the role she played. And in Shia's calm, this is a huge event. And so the main slogan of, let's say, of Karbalah of those events was that we are, far from humiliation.

In other words, we will, and on the anniversary of his martyrdom, every year, that's what people chant. Religious or secular, you'll have Iranians who don't pray, they don't fast. But when it comes to the Ashura, the anniversary of Imam Hussein, everyone suddenly becomes a part of it. And this is a chief slogan. This is a key slogan, the note to history, to humiliation. We are far from humiliation. So that sort of threat is not going to make Iran back down. It's not going to happen.

The only thing that it will do is that it's going to make Iran more steadfast. I really think that the Americans don't comprehend this. Again, this is no death cult, but this is you to prefer dying, standing, rather than living on your knees. And it's not, I mean, I have not seen, again, this was last night, but Trump has made these just Trump has made these genocidal statements time and time again. I have not seen, well, I can't say for sure. I may have not heard anyone, at most one or two people, come up to me and say, you think they'll use a nuclear weapon.

It's not something that people think about that much. But their support for the war effort for the defense of the country is almost universal. As I said, when I walk down on the streets, I don't recall anyone saying we should back down. If sometimes people, if they know me, they'll approach me and say hi, but if they do want to argue with me, they'll say, why aren't the leaders being tougher with the United States? I'm not saying that the government is doing the wrong thing or the right thing.

I usually don't want to get this become personally involved in the debate, because I think the best thing to do is to state what the Iranian, the general Iranian position. But I should point out, Judge, because there's a lot of criticism of the government for going to New York and the president for going. And again, my personal opinion aside, I may not think that this was the best decision to make. However, what the Iranians do take into account is not just the United States or Trump. It is the Chinese. It is the countries that are friendly to Iran. They want Iran to be seen as trying to solve the issue.

So Iran does make these take some of these steps that Iran takes is because the Chinese want to make sure that the Iranians are. So right now, for example, when President Xi meets Trump, President Xi can tell Trump, look, the Iranians have signed on to a deal. All you have to do is implement it. It makes it easier for Iran's friends at the negotiating table or when they're under pressure from the United States to have Iran be seen. as trying to resolve the issue. Otherwise, Iran's pretty stead— Iran is steadfast in its demands, the implementation of the MOU, the five conditions for having negotiations to move forward and to open up the Strait of Hormos.

Yesterday, President Trump claimed that shortly after his speech, he didn't use names, but I'm assuming he was referring to foreign members. Minister Arachi and his two envoys Steve Whitkoff and Jared Kushner claiming that they met somewhere in the UN. Now, do you know if this happened? And if it did, is it just performative? Because I can't imagine that Foreign Minister Arachi, who in my view is up there with Foreign Minister Lavrov as a serious and universally respected extraordinarily experienced diplomat. Could possibly trust anything that Whitkoff and Kushner, who also worked for Netanyahu as well as Trump, would say to him.

Well, I think they probably worked for Netanyahu, not for Trump. But he didn't meet. These were indirect talks, and the Iranians conveyed their position. There hasn't been a change in position, but they did not meet. And the Iranians are not naive about the United States. But again, my personal view on this trip is irrelevant. But we have to take into account that tomorrow, President Xi, I think it's tomorrow, President Xi is meeting Trump. And Trump, obviously, one of the things that he wants to talk about is Iran.

And the Chinese are not going to bow to the Americans. The relationship between Iran and China is actually growing stronger by the day, literally, because of this war. But when Iran is seen, these were not direct negotiations. They did not actually meet each other, but messages were being set back and forth by a mediator. as the Qataris. And this is something that we're already doing. We constantly get messages do go back and forth. So strictly speaking, nothing has changed, except for that the two sides were in the same building and the more messages went back and forth. But we do have to keep in mind that the Iranians

want to be seen as the side that is prepared to resolve the issue while it sticks to its guns on its principles. It is important for our relationship with countries. across the global south, the global majority, and for public opinion, although there's a lot of people who inside Iran and abroad who are saying that the government should not have gone, but I think there is a logic behind us, whether that is enough to justify the trip or not. That's, of course, up to debate. Wow. What effect on Iran or on the Middle East, as you understand it, has come about by the victory

of Ansarala over the Saudis? Oh, it's been a big boost to Iran. No doubt about that. Of course, it's not directly linked to the war. I mean, during the 12-day war, when Trump and Netanyahu has attacked Iran last year, they didn't get involved. During the 40-day war, the first 40 days of this war,

when Trump and Netanyahu carried out their assault with the support of the regimes in the Persian Gulf, They didn't enter the fighting. So they're not proxies. They don't do what Iran demands, but they are allies. But this war between Yemen and Saudi Arabia began by the Saudis bombing the capital of Yemen, the international airport. And because of that, they've been striking back, demanding that the siege that the Saudis have imposed on Yemen for years against women and children come to an end. And it's not going well for the Saudis, as we all know.

The Saudis have lost this war. They're losing badly. Their proxies have been routed. and they continue to be pushed back. But the fact that these two wars are taking place simultaneously is very bad for the United States because the Persian Gulf itself and the Strait of Hormuz was troubled enough for Trump, for the regimes in the Persian Gulf, for the West, Trump's allies. But now when you have Bobul Mandab and strikes on Saudi targets, oil and petrochemical and refineries,

being bombed, that adds pressure. And as I said, the Yemenis today are more prepared for war than they were before. Iran is more prepared for war. So when these two fronts are open simultaneously, that makes it all the more difficult. And perhaps that is one reason why Trump backed off, at least for now, on attacking Yemen. Of course, the belief is that there will be war. The belief in Tehran is that the United States will ultimately attack Iran or Yemen or both. But at least for now, the Americans are the American government, the Trump regime, is worried about being overwhelmed.

And one other thing, Judge, and we've discussed this over since the beginning of the war. Back then, I was saying if Yemen enters the war, it will become much worse for the United States. And I also mentioned Iraq. Iraq has not yet really entered the war. I mean, they had been active during the first 40 days, and they helped Iran, especially against U.S. targets in Iraq and a few missiles at Israel or drones at Israel, but also the terrorists, Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq. But the Iraqi resistance is huge. It is larger than Hezbollah, very well equipped. So if there is a war, then one could also add their capabilities to the rest of the

access of resistance on the battlefield. Tomorrow, Thursday afternoon, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu will address a largely empty United Nations General Assembly Chamber. When he spoke last year, he filled the place with his supporters, but in terms of the delegations that were there,

I think it was just the U.S., the British, and the Israelis themselves. What do you expect him to say? Oh, how evil we are. I wish you would say something about me. I've tried my best to make them hate me as much as possible, but they ignore them. But I'm sure he's going to say... We know they hate Max Blumenthal, but I doubt that Netanyahu will use Max's name.

Yeah, I mean, I have to admit, I can't outdo Max in evilness. I mean, I saw his interview with Tucker Carlson. It was fantastic. I advise all your viewers to watch it. And he also mentioned your show and how your show gets him into trouble. So you're you can be considered as pretty evil too. But in any case, you know what upset me is that the Border Patrol guys couldn't pronounce my last name. I've only been on television five days a week for 30 years.

and these people couldn't pronounce my last name. Only in America. Here's, we just got this. Bear with me a second. Here's Secretary of State Rubio yesterday with his opinion. This is scurrilous, but I want you to respond to it. And then we have to run of the Iranian leadership. Chris.

I think it's really important to remind everybody. at the end of the day. At the core of all this, we talk about oil, we talk about the Straits of Hormuz. The central issue here is Iran is run by lunatic clerics, okay, by lunatic clerics that have a radical view of their religion. A few moments later. Strike and strike and strike and strike and strike and strike and strike and strike and strike and strike and two you have victory. Fika hata and da Ata, Orabata Rataataata, and I hear the sound of the sound of victory I hear the sound of victory now that crazy woman is Trump's spiritual Christian

spiritual advisor and the crazy guy on before her is nominally I don't know if he's actually nominally the secretary of state of the United States he seems only to be interested in Cuba and Venezuela nothing to do with Iran nothing to do with Ukraine nothing to do with national security which one sorry which one was the spiritual advisor and which one was that? I would say only in America, but I don't even know if these people were in America when they were saying this nonsense. You don't even have to respond. It just shows how absurd they are and how they want us to accept a version of propaganda that bears no relationship to reality. I have to run. Muhammad, what a delight to be with

you. Thank you. All the best. If I can get a chance to mention your name to President Poseskin or Foreign Minister Arachi tomorrow, rest assured I will do so. Thank you, Judge. Thank you. All the best. All the best. Thank you. Coming up later today, sure, coming up later today at 3 o'clock this afternoon, Phil Giraldi at 3.30 this afternoon with his view of what he expects Prime Minister Netanyahu to tell a largely empty General Assembly tomorrow, Professor Jeffrey Sacks. Judge Napolitano for judging freedom.