"A prize for my head has been awarded" – Prof. Seyed Marandi warns against re-escalation of actions against Iran

• uncut-news.ch 10 May 2026.uncutnews-ch/sie-haben-ein-kopfgeld-auf-mich-ausgesett-prof-sied-marandi-warnt-vor-neuer-escalation-gegen-iran

In an interview ‘They awarded me a prize — Prof. Seyed Marandi on the War of Iran" Iranian political scientist Seyed Mohammad Marandi discusses the danger of a fresh war between the US, Israel and Iran, the function of Zionism in American abroad policy, strategical control of the Strait of Ormuz and individual threats of death at his address. The interview presents a image of the region, which, according to Marandi, only seemingly lives in a ceasefire, while behind the scenes are already preparing for another escalation.

It has been clear from the outset that it considers the fresh US and Israel attack on Iran not only possible but even probable. The United States has massively moved military equipment into the Gulf region in fresh weeks. Large amounts of soldiers and equipment were transferred to Kuwait, Bahrain and the United arabian Emirates. At the same time, many fighters are stationed in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United arabian Emirates. According to Marandi, there is strong evidence that Washington is preparing both large-scale air war and possible land operations.

It is peculiarly worrying that these decisions were not made rationally. The mistake of Western analysts, as he claimed, was the logical perception of the situation. The people around Donald Trump were not rational, however, claimed Marandi. The real driving force of the escalation, as he claimed, was Zionism and the influence of the Israeli lobby on American politics. Even Trump, as Marandi claimed, knew that the war with Iran was not in the interest of the United States, yet he was constantly pushed in this direction.

Marandi cites statements by erstwhile high-ranking American intelligence officer Joe Kent, who stated that Iran is not a atomic threat, and that the real driving force behind the escalation is the Zionist agenda. Nothing has changed in the last fewer months. The forces that started the war stay active and have not lost their influence.

Iranian prof. describes Trump as politically unpredictable. The president of the United States is changing his position regularly in a fewer hours. He so considers that a serious analysis of Trump's individual statements makes no sense. While Western media interpret any fresh message as a strategical signal, he sees it alternatively as impulsive and contradictory communication.

Marandi is peculiarly critical of the Western consequence to Trump's rhetoric about Iran. erstwhile Trump speaks openly of "annihilation" or "the return of Iran to the Stone Age", this is not met with outrage from the Western media or condemnation from the European Parliaments. This shows more about Western political culture than Trump itself.

The central question in the discussion is why the ceasefire after the 39-day war between Iran and the US/Israel is increasingly falling apart. According to Marandi, Iran has repeatedly offered Washington the chance to deescalate. After the first 12-day war, the United States demanded a ceasefire due to the fact that their strategy of "unconditional surrender" failed. Later, the U.S. carried out another attack utilizing massive firepower, this time utilizing the full Gulf region as a military base. Despite this escalation, after 39 days Washington was yet forced to accept the Iranian ten-point plan as the basis for further negotiations.

Marandi describes the subsequent ceasefire as a complex regional agreement, including Gaza and Lebanon. Iran agreed again to let ships from certain Gulf states to flow through the Strait of Ormuz. This passage was previously blocked exclusively for countries actively participating in the US military coalition, including the United arabian Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. On the another hand, Chinese, Russian, Pakistani and Indian vessels were never banned.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deliberately sabotaged this agreement. Shortly after the start of the ceasefire, Israel bombed Lebanon again and attempted to destruct the regional agreement. At the same time, the United States imposed a blockade on Iranian ports – a decision that Marandi defines as a public violation of the ceasefire and an act of war.

Marandi extensively discusses the strategical importance of the Strait of Ormuz. The war fundamentally changed Iran's position. For decades Tehran had not sought permanent control of the Strait. Only utilizing the Gulf as a base for the attacks on Iran changed this policy. From Tehran's perspective, this region must never again be utilized as a military platform against Iran. Therefore, Iran intends to keep permanent control of the safety of the Ormuz Strait in the future.

Marandi blames the United arabian Emirates for this. He argues that the Emirates had a peculiarly close relation with Israel and the United States and actively sought to escalate the conflict. According to Marandi, Mirage fighters – aircraft that the United States itself does not own – were utilized in attacks on Iranian targets during the war. Iran so assumes that the Emirates were straight active in the attacks.

He indirectly accuses UAE president Mohammed bin Zayed of putting his country in danger through close ties with Israel. The Emirates is now the centre of Israel's influence in the Gulf region. Mossad structures have a strong position there, Israeli soldiers operate regularly in the country, and UAE policy is increasingly in line with Israel's interests – both in the Persian Gulf and North Africa and the Horn of Africa.

At the same time, Marandi stresses that Iran was historically not an aggressive regional power. Iran has not waged an aggressive war against neighboring countries in about 300 years. Instead, he himself was repeatedly the mark of wars – especially during the Iraqi-Iran War erstwhile Saddam Hussein attacked Iran with the support of Western states and the Persian Gulf monarchy. Marandi recalls that chemical weapons were utilized against Iran at the time, and he himself survived 2 gas attacks.

The prof. accuses the Gulf States of repeating the same mistakes despite erstwhile reconciliations. During the Syrian War Qatar, Saudi Arabia and another states supported extremist groups specified as ISIS and Al-Qaida. Now the same countries have again made their territories available for attacks on Iran. From Iran's perspective, this has made them sides of the conflict.

The conversation takes a peculiarly stormy turn erstwhile Marandi reveals that during the war a prize for his head was publically appointed. Verified X/Twitter account raised $1 million for his kidnapping. Despite many complaints, the platform initially refused to remove the call for action. He explains that during the war he lived in isolation to avoid others being exposed to danger in the event of an attack.

Marandi explains that the West systematically conceals the actual causes of the conflict. Neither human rights nor terrorism nor Iran's atomic program are the real origin of force on Iran. The real core of the conflict is the support of Iran for the Palestinians and its opposition to the demolition of Palestine. According to Marandi, the West actually supports the Palestinians' “destruction”.

The atomic program is just a pretext. For decades Israeli politicians have said Iran is 1 step distant from building an atomic bomb. At the same time, the CIA, global atomic energy agencies, and even American intelligence services have repeatedly claimed that Iran is not working on atomic weapons. Marandi cites statements by Joe Kent and Tulsi Gabbard, who publically declared that Iran was not working on atomic weapons.

Iran so sees its atomic program as sovereign law. The muslim Revolution was yet a task of national independency – decisions should be made in Tehran, not in Washington. According to Marandi, the West must yet accept it.

At the end of the interview, Marandi warns against the dramatic economical consequences of the fresh war. The harm to the planet economy is already enormous. The cost to the US and the planet economy is already billions. If the conflict escalates, the threat will not be a specified recession, but a depression worse than that of the 1930s. Energy supply, petrochemical, LNG markets and global supply chains would be peculiarly affected.

Marandi is so convinced that the fresh war will not strengthen either the US or Israel. It will only origin even greater destruction, economical collapse and a deeper global crisis.