Iranian academic Mohsen Farkhani calls Donald Trump’s actions against Iran “war crimes” for media attention. He argues the symbolic strikes are for Trump’s personal narrative, not US interests, and predicts Iran’s ultimate victory.
An Iranian academic has slammed US President Donald Trump’s actions as “war crimes” driven by a desire for media attention and personal gain. Mohsen Farkhani, Assistant Professor at the University of Isfahan, said Trump’s strikes on Iran are symbolic and lack strategic value. While speaking to ANI, Farkhani said, “Trump, from the first day of the election, is just looking for some media shows. He is addicted to show(ing) himself. Even those targets that they do aggression in Iran, they are normally some symbolism. For example, a bridge has nothing to do with, for example, missiles, war, nothing. That’s a war crime because it’s infrastructure.”
Farkhani believes Trump’s actions are driven by a desire to boost his personal narrative, rather than serving American interests. “But since he loves spreading the narratives of himself and his war method, research that’s why he’s doing such awful acts. He is always trying to make waves of narratives. That’s what strategists and academics believe that he’s doing. And these narratives are not for the sake of the American people, but for the sake of Trump’s family businesses,” he added.
Academic Predicts Iran’s Victory
The academic predicts Iran will emerge victorious, citing its ancient history and resilience. “Iran is an ancient country and knows how to defeat enemies as we did, you know, in past centuries. And therefore I could say that this war will not bring the US to the Stone Age because it is so much older than the US. But it will bring the US to the past 200 years ago that there were too many less stars on this flag, on its flag. And the US, has lost its hegemonic discourse. And in the world, I mean, and Iran causes chain of defeats for the US, but it’s by its resistance and also its own technology,” Farkhani said.
Dispute Over Strait of Hormuz
Farkhani criticised Trump’s approach to the Strait of Hormuz, saying Trump is “enjoying the ambiguity of strategies” and announcing different scenarios each time. Farkhani argues that since the Strait of Hormuz is in Iran’s territorial waters, Iran shouldn’t be bound by international laws that the US has already abandoned and asserts Iran’s right to control its territorial waters.
He points out that the US has exited over 66 international organisations, so why should Iran maintain its commitments? He believes Iran has the right to control its territorial waters and even monetise vessels passing through the strait. “You know, first of all, should say that Trump is enjoying ambiguity of strategies and a kind of ambiguity in his scenarios that he would every time announce. And secondly, the Strait of Hormuz is in our territorial waters. Therefore, why should we still keep and maintain laws that Trump has already exited and abolished them. He has signed exits in the United States from more than 66 international organizations. When America doesn’t maintain its commitments to these international orders and laws, then why should Iran keep doing that?,” he said.
Farkhani added, “While this actually, straight to the foremost, is in our territorial waters, then we have the right to use it also to even monetize actually the vessels. Then therefore, therefore it is not against any kind of international law because also Egypt is doing that and we want to have this right and we want to use this right.”
‘No Ceasefire’
Farkhani rules out a ceasefire, saying the US is begging for one. “There would be no ceasefire, there would be no ceasefire and the one is begging for ceasefire is the United States. The people are every day and night in streets in Iran and they just want continuation of the war to establish and to settle the full deterrence and our conditions in the region and against the United States,” he said.
Trump’s ‘Stone Ages’ Warning
Earlier on Thursday, US President Donald Trump said that they are going to bring Iran back to the Stone Ages. He said, “We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We’re going to bring them back to the stone ages, where they belong. In the meantime, discussions are ongoing. Regime change was not our goal.” (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)