Iran shifted to offensive posture,
will shape new global order:
Hezbollah MP
September 10th, 2:26pm
(PressTV)
A senior Hezbollah lawmaker has declared that Iran has
successfully transitioned from a defensive to an
offensive military posture ---- shattering US
hegemony in West Asia and positioning
the Islamic Republic to help shape a
new, multipolar international order.
Speaking at a ceremony honouring a fallen fighter, MP
Hassan Ezzeddine of the Loyalty to the Resistance
Bloc praised Tehran’s steadfastness, asserting
that the era of US intimidation --- is over.
"Iran today is no longer just defending itself; it is defending all
free, oppressed, and honourable people across the world,
both governments and populations," Ezzeddine stated.
He said that Washington's empire of intimidation has "shattered
against the rock of Iranian steadfastness," leading to profound
strategic shifts in the region.
According to the parliamentarian, Iran has emerged as the most
critical and capable power in West Asia -- for two main reasons.
"First, regarding the security of the Persian Gulf and the region,
no one can bypass the Islamic Republic of Iran anymore,"
he said.
Secondly, Ezzeddine highlighted Tehran's
enhanced military deterrence.
"Iran has transitioned from defense to offense, meaning it can strike
sites that pose a threat and respond to any planned aggression or
crime by the US," he explained, adding... that this evolution will
grant Iran a pivotal role in establishing a new global system
"based on multipolarity, justice, and humanity."
Lebanon at forefront of future negotiations
Ezzeddine emphasized that these regional transformations will
directly benefit Lebanon, noting: that Tehran has consistently
prioritized Lebanese interests in its diplomatic engagements.
"In any new negotiations between the US and Iran,
Lebanon ---- will be the first item on the agenda,"
he asserted.
He expressed confidence that Hezbollah and Iran, working together,
can establish new equations that will force Israel to withdraw from
all Lebanese territories, returning the situation to its pre-2023
status quo.
"We must be patient, for victory is only
an hour of patience away," he added.
Rebuke of Lebanese government
The lawmaker also delivered a critique of the Lebanese political
leadership, blaming them for their silence in the face of recent
Israeli massacres in southern towns, including Mansouri,
Zebdin, Kafr Tebnit, and Kafr Ruman, where women
and children were killed.
He described the ruling authority as a "partner in the blood"
spilled across the South, Beirut's southern suburbs
(Dahiyeh), and the Bekaa Valley.
Ezzeddine questioned whether the government has properly
assessed the shifting regional dynamics, particularly the
evolving power balance between the US and Iran, and
demanded an end to direct negotiations with the
"Israeli enemy."
"Every time... the authority makes further concessions to the
enemy, the enemy becomes more ferocious in its genocide,
killing, destruction, and displacement," Ezzeddine warned.
He condemned the government for stubbornly pursuing
negotiations that have failed to secure a real ceasefire
or halt the ongoing devastation, urging a complete
reassessment of their failed diplomatic strategy.
_________________________________________________
US tanker strikes fail to deter Iran,
drain interceptors: Bloomberg
September 10th, 11:31am
(Al Mayadeen English)
US attacks on Iranian oil tankers have failed to prevent further
Iranian missile operations against US naval forces, while
repeated strikes are forcing Washington to expend
costly and increasingly scarce air-defense
interceptors, Bloomberg reported.
The report examined the limits of Washington's policy of attacking
Iranian tankers in response to operations targeting US warships,
noting that the strategy has so far failed to establish the
deterrence sought by the Trump administration.
US Central Command claimed it destroyed eight Iranian tankers
over recent days following two Iranian missile attacks against
US Navy vessels.
Washington has presented the attacks on the tankers.. as a punitive
measure aimed at raising the cost of targeting US forces. Analysts
cited by Bloomberg, however, said the calculation may favour
Tehran, particularly as Iran can continue threatening vastly
more expensive US naval assets while forcing US vessels
to consume large quantities of defensive missiles.
US retaliation fails to halt Iranian operations
Kelly Grieco, a senior fellow at the Stimson Centre, said
the possibility of successfully striking a US naval
vessel could outweigh the losses Iran incurs
from US attacks on its tanker fleet.
“A successful hit would send the message that US naval forces
cannot operate with impunity, giving Tehran something it could
portray both domestically and internationally as a success,”
Grieco said. “Losing the tankers certainly hurts, but
Tehran may well think it is worth it.”
US tanker strikes fail to halt Iranian operations
Significantly, Bloomberg noted that an earlier wave of US attacks
on Iranian tankers did not prevent Tehran from subsequently
launching further operations against US warships.
The latest confrontations are unfolding amid Washington's
continued naval blockade targeting Iranian oil exports
and renewed tensions over navigation through the
Strait of Hormuz following the expiration of the
previous ceasefire arrangement.
Iran has sought to enforce restrictions on maritime traffic
through the strategic waterway as the US continues its
campaign aimed at choking off Tehran's oil revenues.
Rubio vows to continue tanker retaliation
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio nevertheless defended
Washington's policy on Tuesday, signaling that the
administration intends to.... continue attacking
Iranian tankers in retaliation for operations
against US vessels.
“When they try to hit US naval ships.... they will get hit themselves,”
Rubio told reporters. “The back and forth is pretty straightforward.
For every time they do that, or try to do that, they’re going to..
lose tankers.”
Meanwhile, Bloomberg stressed that Iran can still impose
substantial costs on the US Navy, even when incoming
missiles are intercepted.
Iran operations drain costly US interceptor arsenal
The Pentagon has said that many of the weapons launched toward
US vessels were ballistic missiles, although Washington.. has not
disclosed the exact missiles involved or the defensive systems
used during the latest confrontations.
US warships depend on several layers of missile defenses,
including SM-3 Block IIA interceptors, SM-6 missiles, and
short-range Rolling Airframe Missiles.
According to Bloomberg, a single SM-3 interceptor produced
by Raytheon costs roughly $15 million, while each SM-6
costs around $5 million.
Cost imbalance favours repeated Iranian attacks
Iranian missiles are believed to cost substantially less --- and can be
produced more readily than the advanced interceptors Washington
must expend to defeat them, creating a widening cost imbalance
with every new attack.
Becca Wasser, defense lead for Bloomberg Economics, said
repeated missile operations can therefore benefit Tehran
even without producing a direct hit on a US vessel.
The same challenge previously emerged during US naval
confrontations with Yemen's Ansar Allah. Wasser said
the Yemeni Armed Forces launched around 480
relatively basic cruise missiles toward US
Navy vessels between November 2024
and January 2025 ---- compelling
Washington, to expend billions
of dollars' worth of weapons.
US struggles to replenish interceptor stockpiles
Heavy interceptor consumption during the ongoing US war
on Iran ---- has further compounded the problem, with
Washington and its allies --- already struggling
to replenish air-defense stockpiles.
“The sheer amount of air-defense interceptors consumed in
every attack continues to be unsustainable,” Wasser said.
“The US risks running bare, and the continued costs on
US stockpiles ..may lead Washington to reevaluate
its approach.”
The assessment highlights -- a broader vulnerability facing US
naval forces: Tehran does not necessarily have to penetrate
US defenses ....in order to inflict strategic costs.
Tanker strikes fail to establish deterrence
By compelling US warships to repeatedly launch multimillion-dollar
interceptors, Iranian operations ---- can steadily erode US missile
inventories, increase the financial burden of maintaining the
US naval presence, and place additional pressure on
already strained Western defense production.
Meanwhile, Washington's destruction of Iranian tankers has yet
to demonstrate that it can prevent Tehran from continuing
operations against US forces, raising further questions
over the sustainability of the Trump administration's
attempt to impose deterrence through attacks
on Iranian maritime assets.
More: US Patriot missile stockpiles
fall below 1,700 amid Iran war.
Source: Bloomberg
____________________________________________
Marandi: Ending wars, sieges in region
'the least --- that should be demanded'
September 10th, 11:21am
(Al Mayadeen English)
Marandi says Iran’s response will extend beyond US military
positions, warning regional states supporting Washington
that continued involvement.. warrants consequences.
Iran will not agree to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz - unless all
elements of the memorandum of understanding with the US are
implemented, including the removal of sanctions and the
withdrawal of US forces, Iranian academic and
political analyst, Dr. Mohammad Marandi,
said on Wednesday.
Speaking on Al Mayadeen’s The Grand Standoff: Iran and the World,
Marandi said Iran is insisting that the commitments contained in
the MoU be fully implemented, including an end to US threats
against Iran, US meddling in Iraq, Israeli occupation of
Lebanon, and the genocide in Gaza.
“These are parts of the MoU that were agreed upon,
and Trump himself signed,” Marandi said.
MoU conditions must be met
He said Iran was reiterating the conditions --- because of
unconfirmed reports that the US or US President Donald
Trump could seek to walk away from the agreement
while declaring victory. Marandi said such an
outcome - would not be sufficient for the
Strait of Hormuz to return to normal.
“Those conditions that were agreed upon
in the MoU have to be met,” he stressed.
Marandi argued that the agreement also required an end to wars
across the region, including the siege on Yemen, the genocide
in Gaza, and the Israeli occupation of South Lebanon.
He also said that the death toll in Gaza --------- is far higher than the
reported figures because of malnutrition and untreated illnesses,
attributing the deaths to restrictions on the entry of medicines
and hospital equipment. In this context, Marandi asserted
that the siege on Yemen, the war in Gaza, & the Israeli
occupation of Lebanon --- must end, as part of any
regional normalization.
“The region has to have peace for the situation to normalize and for,
straight up, for most to normalize. That is what was agreed upon
between Iran and the United States. And Iran will settle for
no less,” he emphasized.
Iran has endured war, sanctions
The top Iranian figure said Iran had accepted war, sanctions, and a
siege while maintaining its foreign policy principles and defending
Palestinian and Lebanese people, as well as its own sovereignty.
“We have been bombed, we have been sanctioned, we have been
besieged. But the country remains steadfast,” he stressed.
Marandi argued that the United States would face greater
consequences if it continued the war, saying Iran would
suffer from sanctions and airstrikes ---- but the impact
would extend to the wider world and the US itself.
“The more the United States carries on with this war, the more
it tries to change the equation, the worse things are going to
become ------- for the entire world,” Marandi stressed.
'Sieges and sanctions - as deadly as airstrikes'
Marandi also cited a recent report in the medical journal The Lancet,
stating that Western sanctions imposed between 1971 and 2021
had contributed to 38 million deaths worldwide. He used the
figure to argue -------- that sanctions and sieges.. could be
as deadly as military attacks.
“So sieges and sanctions are just
as deadly as airstrikes,” he said.
Iran preparing for prolonged war
Marandi said Iran was closely monitoring economic, political, and
social developments in the US, including the US bond market,
the Japanese yen, and the approaching midterm elections.
He said Iran viewed weaknesses in the US economy as potential
pressure points and argued that Tehran would respond to US
efforts to increase hardship for Iranians --- by increasing
the pressure on US citizens.
Marandi said Iran is not relying on a potential US electoral setback
to end the aggression and is preparing for a prolonged war.
He said Iran had moved toward a wartime economy and
is prepared to continue fighting - through to the end
of Trump’s presidency.
“Iran is prepared for a very long war, and Iran's military doctrine
has shifted from defensive to offensive because Iran is going
to put sustained pressure on the US from here onwards,
regardless of how long this war lasts,” he said.
Iran sends a clear message to the US
Marandi said Iran’s shift toward an offensive posture followed the
appointment of a new chair of the Supreme National Security
Council, and statements by Iranian officials.
He further said that Iran had significantly intensified its attacks on
US positions and other targets following US aggression on Iran.
“I think it was something that was done to send a clear message to
Trump and the United States that - by continuing this war - Iran is
going to be much more punishing in its response,” Marandi said.
Regional US partners could face consequences
The Iranian academic warned that countries in the region
that assisted the United States in the war ...could also
face consequences if the war continued.
He specifically named Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and
the United Arab Emirates, accusing them of providing support
to US military operations.
“All of these countries --- are fully complicit in
this war,” he said. “They are partners in war.”
Marandi said Iran would not limit its responses to US military
bases and stated that Iranian forces had already struck
targets in and around Kuwait, Bahrain, and the
Strait of Hormuz.
Iran moves toward - greater control of Hormuz
He said Iran had moved toward taking greater control of the
Strait and surrounding areas, adding: that ships that defy
Iranian demands - could face consequences.
Marandi described the regional states that support US military
operations as “co-conspirators against our people” and said
their governments would have to decide ---- whether to
continue cooperating with Washington.
Consequently, according to Marandi, relations between Iran
and those countries could change if they asserted greater
independence from the US - and ended cooperation..
with the US aggression on Iran.
Iran has capabilities to sustain war
On Iran's military capabilities, Marandi said the country possesses
large numbers of missiles and drones ......and is continuing to
produce them during the war.
He credited the martyred Iranian Leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei
with preparing Iran for the possibility of a US aggression,
describing him as a leader with exceptional foresight.
Marandi also reiterated that Iran had captured an unmanned
submarine through electronic warfare and said that this
demonstrates Iranian military capabilities.
“The fact that the Iranians were able to capture this unmanned
submarine through electronic warfare shows how capable the
Iranians are,” he said.
Iran faces many Western schemes
He further stated.... that US and Western intelligence agencies are
conducting efforts inside Iran to encourage unrest, infiltration,
and terrorism amid a broader campaign involving economic
pressure, sanctions, military attacks, and attempts to
create instability.
“That is why ,,,they are trying to weaken the economy, so
that there will be unrest and so that they can infiltrate
that unrest,” he stressed.
Marandi raises disputed claims about 9/11
Toward the end of the program, Marandi raised a series
of disputed claims concerning ''September 11, 2001,
attacks'' in the United States.
He referred to a September 12, 2012, email that he said Jake
Sullivan, who later became US national security advisor,
sent to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton while
serving as her advisor. Marandi cited the email as
stating that “al-Qaeda is on our side” in Syria.
He argued that the US cooperation with al-Qaeda-linked forces in
Syria and Libya raised questions about the group’s relationship
with Western intelligence agencies.
Marandi also cited relevant reports concerning "dancing Israelis"
in New York - and the collapse of a building that he said: was
not struck.
He cited former US General Wesley Clark’s account that
Washington had a plan to take out seven countries
within five years, with Iran reportedly being
the final target.
With the other six "taken out", he questioned,
"Was this the plan from the very beginning?"
"Was 9-11 carried out, so that the United States would
carry out these wars on behalf of the Israeli regime?"
'Al-Qaeda functioned as a proxy
for the United States and Israel'
Marandi said he was not "100% sure" that the September 11
attacks had been carried out as part of such a plan but
argued that questions about the attacks warranted
further examination.
“I'm not saying I'm 100% sure about this, but there are important
documentaries that have been produced in this regard,” he said.
He cited a documentary by Tucker Carlson - as raising
serious questions about the events of September 11.
Marandi ultimately expressed his personal belief that
al-Qaeda is a "proxy of the United States and Israel."
“I personally think that al-Qaeda was a proxy, and has always
been a proxy, and will remain a proxy, like ISIS, ---- of the
United States and the Israeli regime,” he concluded.
Source: Al Mayadeen
__________________________________________
YAF take control of key areas,
and military sites in Mokha,
west of Taiz
September 10th, 8:27am
(Al Mayadeen English)
Sanaa's Foreign Ministry says Yemen’s Armed Forces:
are tasked with defending national sovereignty and
protecting citizens ---- as the Saudi aggression
continues across several provinces.
The Yemeni forces have taken control of key areas and military
positions in the coastal district of al-Mokha, west of Taiz
Governorate, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported.
In detail, our correspondent revealed that the Yemeni Armed
Forces have taken control of Khalid Camp Base and Jabal
al-Nar Camp, which serves as the command H.Q. for
military forces on the western coast.
This development comes as the YAF made advances in several
areas, capturing al-Wazi'iyah, al-Khokha, and Hays, before
reaching the outskirts of the city of al-Mokha.
It is worth noting that the area of the districts of Hays and al-Khokha
to the south of the coastal Hodeidah governorate on the Red Sea ---
exceeds 1,050 sq. kilometres, local sources told Al Mayadeen.
The YAF advances come as the Saudi aggression across Yemen
continues, with the aim of supporting and reinforcing Saudi
military mobilizations on the ground.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported that Saudi aircraft
had carried out around 40 airstrikes over the previous
several hours in the governorates of Taiz,
Hodeidah, al-Jawf, and Marib.
Continued Saudi aggression
warrants a response until
---- it stops: Sanaa
The Yemeni Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sanaa said
the continued Saudi aggression and violations of
Yemen’s sovereignty - warrant a response
until the attacks stop.
In a statement, the Ministry said the Saudi regime’s continued
airstrikes targeting Yemeni provinces and its violations of
Yemen’s sovereignty necessitate a response ---- until
the aggression ends.
It asserted that the Yemeni Armed Forces are responsible for
defending the country’s sovereignty, protecting its citizens,
and responding to the sources of fire, adding that such
actions are carried out in a manner that does not
conflict with international law.
Saudi military build-up necessitated YAF response
The Ministry also said the Saudi regime’s recent military
build-up on Yemeni territory ---- has necessitated a
Yemeni Armed Forces' response.
It further accused the Saudi regime of using continued “wailing and
outcry” to cover up ongoing crimes against the Yemeni people. It
said the latest aggression included hundreds of airstrikes on
several Yemeni provinces.
The Ministry also said Yemen “has not and will not pose a threat,”
arguing that the country seeks to build relations based on
mutual respect. It noted - that Yemen was prepared
to participate in a regional security system,
particularly in protecting navigation,
in partnership with coastal states.
The Ministry called on the international community to assess
the course of events objectively -- and compel the Saudi
regime, as it put it, to stop targeting Yemen, violating
its sovereignty, and tampering with its resources.
Saleh -- orders establishment of
an alternative command centre
Vice Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council
Lieutenant General Tariq Saleh, meanwhile,
instructed the Saudi-backed forces on
the western coast: to reorganize
their ranks.
“We ordered the establishment of an alternative command
centre... in a safe location... to regroup the forces in
consultation with..... the leadership of the Arab
coalition and the Presidential Leadership
Council,” he said.
What you need to know
The accelerating developments follow the Yemeni Armed
Forces’ announcement in July that the 2022 truce with
Saudi Arabia had collapsed following Saudi Arabia’s
aggression on Sanaa International Airport.
In response, the Yemeni forces targeted several Saudi
economic facilities, including oil refineries operated
by Aramco and Abha Airport.
They also imposed a maritime ban on vessels arriving in
or departing from Saudi Arabia, as part of the “airport
for airport and siege for siege” equation.
Recently, the Yemeni Armed Forces have been engaging in
confrontations with Saudi-backed forces - across several
provinces, after launching preemptive strikes against
their military mobilizations.
Source: Al Mayadeen + Agencies