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Interview with Analyst Arnold August about US-Israel attack on Iran. teleSUR
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00:00And we are joined now by Arnold August. He is an international analyst. Arnold, welcome.
00:10Arnold, can you hear me?
00:13Oh, yes.
00:14Welcome. So, President Trump stated today that the nuclear program was obliterated in the June 2025 war,
00:23yet he is citing a revived nuclear threat as the reason for today's strikes.
00:28How would you explain this?
00:31Well, I guess, thanks for having me on this very auspicious day for the peoples of the Middle East and
00:38indeed the world.
00:39And I would say that Trump, yes, he is saying that he wants to obliterate the Iranian missile sites,
00:48blaming the Iran with regard to the talks.
00:52But, you know, when they initially attacked Iran along with Israel, that 12-day war,
01:00he finished those attacks by saying, we obliterated the Iranian nuclear arms base.
01:08But later on, we found out that they did not succeed in obliterating it.
01:14And the fact they did not succeed is proven by the fact that they are trying to do it again,
01:22once again trying to obliterate something that they said was previously obliterated.
01:27But there is another point amongst the reasons that the United States gives to the public,
01:34its own public and the public of the world for attacking Iran alongside Israel is to form a regime change
01:43in Iran.
01:45Now, that is something else.
01:46Now, of course, he is trying to build on upon the demonstrations.
01:50Some of it was spontaneous and logical, but at the same time, in the main,
01:57formatted, paid for by the Mossad and other foreign actors in order to force a regime change in Iran.
02:08But this regime change did not come about at all.
02:11In fact, the Shah of Iran, who was the hero of those rioters in Iran,
02:18has said that we need the help of the United States come and attack the Iranian government.
02:24We need the help of the United States in order to come into power.
02:27So that is easier said than done.
02:31So, by explicitly targeting the supreme leader of Iran, the Ayatollah, and the president,
02:38has the U.S.-Israeli coalition moved past deterrence into an active decapitation strategy?
02:45What are the risks of power back in a nuclear, their whole state?
02:50Yes, of course, they definitely, according to the news today, it corroborates what you're just saying.
02:56They did make specific attacks in those buildings, in those areas where they believe the Ayatollah stays.
03:04In other words, to decapitate the Iranian regime, as they did, of course, in Venezuela when they,
03:12on January 3rd, 2026, they entered with a large military force to kidnap President Maduro and his wife,
03:21the deputy, Celia Flores.
03:22In that sense, it is similar.
03:24They want to decapitate and remove the leadership of Iran.
03:29Now, that is even harder to do, in my view, than obliterating the Iranian missile bases.
03:36Now, you know, I've watched many reports from Iran, direct reports from Iran, objective forces in Iran.
03:44While the demonstrators, many of them, amongst the honest ones, they want changes to come about with regards to prices
03:52and other economic hardships, currency, etc.
03:56But they also say, we don't want the United States to come in to bring this about.
04:00We have to do this ourselves in a form of dialogue with the Iranian government.
04:06And the Iranian government, Ayatollah himself, has said, since the demonstrations broke out in Iran a few months ago,
04:13let us dialogue.
04:14We understand there are issues.
04:15Let us discuss together, as Iranians, how to solve these problems.
04:19So I think that this attempted regime change in Iran may backfire, may backfire against the United States and Israel,
04:29as those people who were, you know, skeptical regarding the problems of the economy
04:36They definitely do not want the U.S. boots, U.S. in Iran, with the help of Mossad and Israel,
04:44to overthrow what they still consider to be their leader, the Ayatollah and the government
04:51and the Revolutionary Guard, as part of the Iranian fabric of society,
04:58from which they want improvements, not to overthrow it.
05:02To overthrow and to improve are two different things.
05:05The United States are calling for overthrow of people in Iran who are dissatisfied to a certain extent.
05:14They want improvements.
05:15Improvements with the Ayatollah, the Revolutionary Guard,
05:20that tradition going back to the 1979 Islamic Revolution that overthrew the Shah of Iran.
05:28Iran, this is what they want.
05:30They do not want a U.S. face on a new government of Iran.
05:38That's the last thing they want.
05:39And I think the Iranian people have a long history of resistance
05:43and a deep felt hatred against U.S. imperialism and, of course, against Israel.
05:49They will not cow down.
05:51They will not back down in the face of this illegal, violent action by Israel and the United States
06:00against the people of Iran.
06:03Arnold, the history of Western interventions in the Middle East has suggested always that
06:11in foreign-imposed regime change only leads to prolonged chaos.
06:16Why is the U.S. trying to repeat the Khadr-Sophic mistakes of Iraq and Libya now in 2026?
06:26Prolonged what, exactly?
06:29I was telling you that the history of Western interventions in the Middle East has suggested
06:35always that change, regime change, imposed regime change in the Middle East has only lead
06:42to prolonged chaos.
06:44So why now the U.S. is trying to repeat the catastrophic mistakes of Iraq and Libya now in 2026?
06:54The United States, unfortunately, my friend, does not learn from history.
06:58And I'm glad that you raised the issue of long-scale chaos.
07:05Now, I specifically have in mind Israel.
07:08Now, Israel was bombed today several times by Iran.
07:13And according to reports that I read, just since the early morning in Tel Aviv and elsewhere in Iran,
07:20some people have had to run to shelters seven times already.
07:26Now, the Israeli regime, Netanyahu regime, which is very increasingly fragile,
07:32the majority of the people do not want that Netanyahu regime.
07:37They do not want Israeli policies of aggression against the Palestinian people,
07:44some on principle, others because that it hurts Israel more than it helps Israel.
07:49I think, speaking of chaos, which you mentioned, this may result in chaos not in Iran.
07:56There might be some problems there, of course.
07:59But chaos specifically will be fostered in Israel.
08:05Just think back to the last war, what Israel had to go through,
08:10the Israeli citizens had to go through while Iran retaliated in self-defense
08:15against the United States and Israel.
08:17Their life was miserable for many days.
08:20And that is why the United States had to stop that war in Iran after 12 days.
08:26They were losing.
08:27And the situation today is even worse.
08:30There will be more chaos in the streets of Israel.
08:34And who knows?
08:35Who knows?
08:35Maybe I'm very hopeful on a day today.
08:38This latest action by the United States and Israel may lead directly in the long or a short term
08:46to the actual demise of Israel in the Middle East rather than it being strengthened.
08:52The U.S. may be strengthened itself, but they may lose their main ally, where chaos can come in there,
09:00where people can register their complete lack of satisfaction that the United States and Israel attacked Iran.
09:10And as a result, bombs are raining down on the population of Israel.
09:16How will the people in Israel react to that?
09:18Will there be demonstrations against the Netanyahu government, more demonstrations calling for his resignation,
09:24because they do not agree with the U.S. aggressive policies, which only results in a disaster for the people
09:31of Iran, of Israel, excuse me?
09:35Arnold, there are reports of explosions in Manama and even in Dubai.
09:41Could this trigger the unity of front strategy in action?
09:46I mean, will Hezbollah or even the Houthis escalate to a full-scale war to relieve pressure on Tehran?
09:55That is a very important question.
09:57I cannot say.
10:00I'm not enough well informed of the situation right now.
10:03I don't think anyone is.
10:04But if, you know, just following up on the previous discussion we were having on chaos,
10:10not so much in Iran, but rather in Israel.
10:12Now, if the resistance movement, which is supported by Iran, such as Hezbollah,
10:20especially the Yemenis who find themselves in a very important strategic spot,
10:25if they decide to join Iran in attacking Israeli bases in the region as well as Israel itself,
10:36this will bring the war closer to a victory for Iran and its allies.
10:43But it's too early to say.
10:44We will see what they do.
10:45I personally think that, it's easy for me to say,
10:49but I personally think that now is the time for Yemen and Hezbollah
10:53and even from the Gaza Strip, the armed forces in the Gaza Strip, to attack Israel now.
11:02Now is the time, now or never.
11:04After all, no one can deny on a world scale that what happened today,
11:09it was United States and Israel hitting the first blow.
11:13They were the ones who attacked Iran rather than continue to carry out negotiations.
11:20And I think the statement by China that just came out a few minutes ago was very important.
11:25China condemned the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran and called for immediate and further negotiations
11:36between Iran and the United States on the issue of nuclear weapons.
11:41And I think this will be the sentiment for the vast majority of the people of the world.
11:45Like, you know, United States, with Trump as the head, is known for its bullying tactics,
11:50its arrogance in attacking countries left, right, and center.
11:54And China, on the other hand, is calling for further negotiations.
11:58I think this call by China and a similar call by Russia will fall on the very sympathetic ears
12:04of the majority of the people across the country, including in the Middle East.
12:08I mean, people in Qatar, why would they want bombs falling on them as a result of the arbitrary decision
12:15by the United States and Israel to cut off negotiations with Iran and instead bomb it,
12:22thus resulting in bombs falling on their own country, the military bases of the United States in Qatar.
12:29Arnold, you mentioned China condemning these actions of the United States government and Israel.
12:36Do you think that China could change its stance regarding condemnatory stance to more involved in, let's say, military actions
12:49with Iran?
12:51No, I don't think China, a lot of people are asking this question with regards to Venezuela,
12:57with regards to Cuba, like, you know, can China do more?
13:01China does not want to be a policeman of the world, you know.
13:06What China is doing is offering the most concrete support, for example, Cuba with regards to solar farm,
13:15solar energy as an alternative to petroleum, and now today calling on the United States and Israel to stop that
13:23war.
13:23And the same thing that is going on in Russia, I don't think they could do anything more than that.
13:27You know, perhaps this will come out in the United Nations, where China and Russia will be able to take
13:33a strong stand
13:34against this latest attack by the United States and Israel against Iran, and perhaps, who knows,
13:42they may even find some allies among the Middle East who were formerly or part of the U.S. alliance.
13:50They might break with the U.S. on this issue because they do not want to be bombed by Iran.
13:56So I think the statement is very important by China, and the statement will take on more meaning in the
14:04coming hours and days
14:06when there will probably be a United Nations Security Council meeting where China will have a chance once again
14:13to speak boldly of the, you know, second most important country in the world against the United States,
14:20a country with which, by the way, China, a country with which, by the way,
14:25the United States wants to have good relations.
14:27In fact, Trump is planning to travel to Beijing in the coming months.
14:32Does Trump want to go to China in the backdrop of this war that has been carried on
14:39and which is opposed vehemently by China?
14:42I think that this puts the United States in a very difficult situation.
14:48And what about Russia?
14:49Could Russia be involved in this kind of conflict also?
14:53They are also being condemned in this recent escalation of attacks against Iran.
14:59But they have also very deep bilateral ties with Iran.
15:04Is it possible for them to move to a more supportive military,
15:09military speaking, with Iran?
15:14I think I would be going out on the limb to say that Russia will increase its opposition to the
15:23Israeli-U.S. attack on Iran
15:25by opening up a military side of the struggle.
15:30I think, I doubt if they will or doubt if they can.
15:35At the same time, just the fact that Russia is opposing it is very important.
15:40Russia has influence all over the world, for example, in Africa and other countries of the world.
15:45This will increase the number of countries and any further U.N. national security resolution
15:52or countries will take a very strong stand, hopefully in a unanimous way,
15:58against U.S., the latest U.S.-Israeli aggressive action,
16:03which can create danger through the Middle East
16:06and put the whole world into chaos, the economy into chaos.
16:12Now, what happens if Iran attacks further in the Red Sea
16:17or if the Yemeni forces attacks American seas in the Red Sea
16:23where oil is being transported on a large scale?
16:28This will create problems not only for the Middle East.
16:32It will have a great impact, chaos, as you say, on the international economy.
16:38Now, which countries in the world want chaos in the international economy now?
16:43Which countries in the world will oppose the chaos that can result economically on a world scale
16:50as a result of oil being a very important factor in that area
16:53rather than taking a strong stand, even if it goes, even if it takes a certain amount of heroic stand
17:03against the U.S.-Israeli position, the U.S.-Israeli aggressive attack today.
17:08I'm optimistic.
17:10I think that this is going to backfire because not only chaos in the region,
17:14not only chaos in Iran, but also chaos in the overall global economy,
17:20which does not sit well with the peoples of the world.
17:24They do not, peoples of the world, in many countries, there are already many economic problems.
17:30For example, United States, for example, Europe.
17:34Do the peoples of the world want an economy in chaos as a blowout,
17:40as a result of the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran?
17:45I think, perhaps I'm overly optimistic,
17:48I think that many countries in the world who may otherwise not have taken a strong stand
17:53against the latest U.S.-Israeli attack against Iran will change sides
17:59and will, in fact, take a strong stand in international organizations
18:03or by statements by its respective governments.
18:06This, I think, is quite possible.
18:09So, you mentioned chaos, economic chaos, and that leads me to my next question.
18:16As the aerospace closes across the Middle East,
18:20what is the red line for a total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz?
18:24Let's remember that the Strait of Hormuz is one of the main corridors of oil in the Middle East.
18:31You are talking about a blockade by who of the Strait of Hormuz?
18:38Iran can close the Strait of Hormuz.
18:42So, if they block this, what is the red line?
18:46I'm glad you raised that.
18:48Speaking about chaos, we can delve into that a bit further.
18:51If Iran decides, in my view, a just retaliation to block that Strait of Hormuz,
18:59where a very important portion of oil transit,
19:03this will create chaos and have a direct result on the United States of America,
19:09which relies, to a large extent, to that waterway, that sea being open
19:15and able to navigate for the United States to get its oil,
19:20and also the oil for the military bases,
19:24which they have in various parts of that, various regions, such as in Qatar.
19:28So, this is, I think, an important point.
19:30If Iran decides to close it,
19:33I think that this was raised in previous struggles,
19:37previous contradiction between Iran, on the one hand,
19:42and U.S. and Israel, on the other hand.
19:44Watch out.
19:45Iran is saying we can close that Strait of Hormuz
19:48and therefore create major chaos,
19:50major economic problems for the people in the region
19:53and inside the United States,
19:55who are already, in the majority,
19:59dissatisfied with the economic policy of Trump,
20:02dissatisfied in general with the Trump administration.
20:07This is increasing every single day.
20:09How will the United States,
20:11the people in the United States react
20:12if the Strait of Hormuz is blocked by Iran,
20:17not because it's Iran's fault,
20:18but as a retaliation,
20:22against a very cowboy-like, arrogant attack
20:28by the United States and Mossad against Iran.
20:31Let us also mention that in countries such as the United States
20:35and even Canada,
20:36there's an increasing feeling of support for the Palestinian people
20:41and a very rapidly decreasing support of Israel.
20:46Now, this is before this morning,
20:48before this attack.
20:49So this popular sentiment against Israel in support of Palestine
20:56may increase more,
20:58and thus that will ricochet against the government of the United States
21:03and Trump being a very strong supporter.
21:06He has his whole allies there in Washington
21:10of wealthy Jewish families
21:11who are pushing for war in order to eliminate Iran.
21:16But this may very well rebound against the Trump regime
21:21and rebound in a mass movement in the United States
21:27to oppose that war against Iran by the United States
21:31and the equally unpopular Israel
21:33so that it does not affect the daily lives
21:37to the economic situation of the people in the United States,
21:41which is already very, very seriously bad.
21:46Let's stay on topic about the Hormuz corridor.
21:50Do you think, I mean,
21:51how long can global markets sustain this level of kinetic activity
21:56in the world's primary oil corridor?
22:00Well, to tell you the truth,
22:01I'm not quite as good an expert to answer that question precisely.
22:07How long will it take?
22:08It's a very good question.
22:09Let's say Iran closes that straight today or tomorrow or the day after.
22:13How long can the world economy sustain itself with that straight close?
22:19I don't know, but I don't think it could be very long
22:21because the need for oil is a commodity that the West needs daily,
22:30including the United States,
22:32and it could backfire on them very rapidly
22:37as the closing of that straight will dilapidate the reserves
22:44that the U.S. has in terms of oil on its own ground
22:47as well as amongst its allies in the Middle East.
22:51So I can't say how long will it take,
22:53but my feeling is it probably could take much less time
22:57for the chaos to install itself, to establish itself
23:02as a result of the straight of our Moods closing.
23:05It may take much less time than many of us would think.
23:09We're talking questions of days or weeks, not long-term months.
23:14How can the international community justify these strikes
23:19given the fact that they were launched while Iran was actively engaged
23:24in Omani brokerage diplomatic talks?
23:29Well, we are seeing this right now.
23:32I mean, there's been no convocation so far of the United Nations Security Council.
23:38But however, just to take two examples,
23:40China and Russia acted immediately condemning the U.S.-Israeli attack.
23:47Now, when it actually comes up in the United Nations Security Council,
23:51we will see what resolutions are being put forward by China, Iran, Russia,
23:57and other countries against this brazen attack by the U.S.
24:01And I think that the U.S. may be in for some surprises
24:06because some of their former allies may actually vote
24:10along with Russia and China and other countries
24:14to condemn the U.S.-Israeli attack against Iran.
24:19As you pointed out several times, the main thing is negotiations were going on.
24:25Iran did not cut off negotiations.
24:28They did not say we are building nuclear weapons.
24:32The United States arbitrarily stopped.
24:37Arnold, does the U.S. actually,
24:40do you think that the U.S. actually intended to reach a deal with Iran
24:44or does was merely an intention of cover for this military mobilization?
24:54I think that's a tough question to answer.
24:57I think the United States never really was interested under the Trump administration
25:03to reach a deal with Iran.
25:05Their main objective in Iran was regime change.
25:10And the discussion and negotiations over nuclear weapons
25:16was just part of this scheme that they are building up
25:21for regime change against the government of Islam.
25:26I never thought they were serious about negotiations.
25:31If not, the question, why did not continue?
25:34What's the hurry?
25:35Why did they not continue negotiations now as we speak
25:38rather than attack Iran and closing the door on future negotiations?
25:43The United States has shown over, once again,
25:46especially the Trump and those who are taking from the deep state
25:50or taking a hard-line stance against Iran, against other countries,
25:55they are not interested in negotiations.
25:57They are interested in regime change.
26:00They cannot live, the United States and Israel especially,
26:04but both, cannot live with a country that is led by the Islamic Republic leadership,
26:11which has a very strong stand against U.S. imperialism,
26:15a very strong stand in support of Palestine,
26:19both in terms of words as well as materially.
26:22United States cannot live with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
26:26This has been the case since 1979.
26:28You know, the United States regret the revolution that took place in 79
26:33and would have liked to go back many times, they said that,
26:37to what the situation was before 1979,
26:41while, of course, giving lip service to the need to negotiation,
26:44giving lip service to the, you know,
26:46having discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
26:50But the United States cannot commit itself,
26:54cannot align themselves, cannot feel at all free in the world
26:58while the Islamic Republic of Iran is established and is still strong.
27:04Now, Arnold, does Iran have any legal resources
27:08to hold the Zionist-American coalition accountable
27:12for this flagrant violation of international law?
27:16I think, you know, that's a tough question
27:20because the only logical answer would be the United Nations
27:24and the United Nations Security Council.
27:26At the same time, we have witnessed the United Nations Security Council
27:30has been relatively weak on all important issues,
27:33even on the issue of Palestine.
27:35I mean, when the Palestine was and is still being the victim of genocide
27:41by the United States and Israel,
27:43the U.S. representative to the United Nations Security Council,
27:48whether it's under Biden or whether it's under Trump now,
27:52they voted against ceasefire.
27:54I mean, the opposition to Palestinian liberation
28:00is part of the fabric of the U.S. foreign policy,
28:04and it transcends political parties.
28:07I mean, when the elections were taking place
28:09between Kamala Harris and Trump,
28:14AOC, so-called left of the Democratic Party,
28:17carried water for the Kamala Harris candidacy
28:23and the Democratic Party by saying falsely
28:27that Kamala Harris is working tirelessly
28:30for a ceasefire in the Gaza.
28:35That is false.
28:36The United States have completely,
28:38have a policy which is in full support
28:42of the analyzation of the genocide of the Palestinian people.
28:48There's a so-called ceasefire going on right now,
28:51for example, over the last few months.
28:52But what's ceasefire?
28:54You know, they want Palestine to ceasefire
28:57while the United States is carrying on
28:59their aggressions against the people,
29:01not only in Palestine, but also in southern Lebanon.
29:05So, you know, will the United Nations
29:08for once in a Security Council or in a General Assembly
29:12rise to the occasion and take a strong stand
29:16against the U.S.-Israeli attack against Iran
29:20by putting very concrete measures
29:25to stop that regress to take place,
29:28not just in words,
29:29to stop that aggression to take place
29:31that is going on now.
29:34We have reports of a university strike
29:38in Tehran's residential neighborhoods also,
29:42and even a girls' school that left 60 people dead,
29:47including 40 minors, 40 girls.
29:50How should the global human rights community
29:54categorize this deliberate targeting of civilian areas
29:57under the guise of military necessity
30:00as it was framed by Donald Trump?
30:04Just to be clear, you're talking about today,
30:06when the current, when the attacks
30:08of the United States and Israel combined
30:11hit those civilian areas and killed people there?
30:14Is that what you're referring to?
30:19So, thank you, Arnold, for your time with us.
30:22It has been a pleasure to have you.
30:23We go now with our correspondent, Junos Sonner.
30:28Junos, can you hear us?
30:30Yes, I can hear you.
30:32Hello.
30:32Tell us what updates you have about these attacks today.
30:37What is the newest information?
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