JM—CENTCOM’s constant propaganda efforts – lies and a blanket refusal to even acknowledge Iranian claims which later too often turn out to be true—must, you would think—undermine the confidence of the American public in Trump’s absurd and of course criminal war.
But the US is a bubble world. A bubble economy. A bubble society in a bubble universe.
American credibility died long ago.
TG—Discussing ground invasion prospects, Mostafa Khoshcheshm underscores Iran’s vast manpower, sophisticated ground forces, and guerrilla-style reserve militias that make large-scale occupations costly and difficult for the U.S. and its allies. The prospect of Israel’s decline is also discussed based on internal socio-economic and political challenges, which are likely to weaken its regional influence.
••••••••
Throughout the interview, Mostafa Khoshcheshm conveys a tone of confidence in Iran’s ability to emerge victorious or at least prevent regime change and disintegration, framing the conflict as a protracted contest that hinges on strategic endurance, indigenous military capacity, and public support rather than quick battlefield successes.
FVB—I have been to some 30 countries all over the globe. In China to more than 50 cities, counties and villages.
I confirm that the police in China is there to serve the people. Nowhere else I have seen such friendly helpful police officers.
JM—Lawrence is arguing that modern Washington operates exactly like Gibbon’s early Roman Empire. It maintains the superficial theater of constitutional governance—elections, congressional debates, and judicial reviews—to project the illusion of a functioning domestic democracy. In reality, the critical decisions regarding global power, surveillance, and military interventions are made by an un-elected national security apparatus (the modern “Imperial Court”).
DW—Critical infrastructure attacks risk regional humanitarian crisis: With Iranian strikes hitting desalination and power plants in Kuwait and potentially other GCC countries, the disruption threatens essential services such as water and electricity, amplifying the conflict’s humanitarian impact beyond immediate military effects. This also reveals a possible Iranian shift toward economic warfare targeting civilian infrastructure for strategic leverage.
EZ—Saudi Arabia has the world’s largest desalination industry. Although it has more large plants than any other country, many of its largest cities depend on water transported hundreds of kilometers from coastal plants. Riyadh, for example, depends heavily on desalinated water pumped inland. The larger number of plants provides some redundancy, but many remain critical nodes.
Iran is different. Most of the country still relies on groundwater, rivers, dams, and reservoirs rather than desalination. Desalination is strategically important for Gulf coastal provinces and islands (such as Qeshm and parts of Hormozgan and Bushehr), but destroying Iran’s desalination plants would not deprive most of the country of water.
