David N. Yaghoubian, a professor of history at California State University, San Bernardino, made the remarks in an interview with IRNA’s correspondent in New York.
“Iran has demonstrated to the world community and especially to the Global South that there are alternatives to remaining subservient to a waning hegemonic bloc,” he said.
The following is the transcript of the interview:
How do you evaluate Iran’s response to Israel’s missile attack on Tehran’s consulate in Damascus, Syria, in the form of a large-scale military operation?
The “ironclad commitment” of the United States of America to Israeli apartheid, atrocities, and war crimes, including the April 1 missile attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus which it refused to condemn, has resulted in a large-scale retaliatory attack by Iran to simultaneously punish Israel, and to announce the end of its “strategic patience” with the Zionist and American aggressors and their delusional conceptions of proportionality. Virtually the entire world watched in real time as hundreds of indigenously-produced Iranian drones and missiles employed by the IRGC in the hybrid Operation True Promise overwhelmed Israel’s multi-layered air defenses and scored direct hits on military installations involved in the illegal and cowardly Damascus attack. Iranian officials have subsequently made it clear that in the interests of regional peace and stability and in the service of international law, continued recklessness and rogue behavior by Israel or other enemies will be met with legitimate self-defense in the form of increasingly strong military responses launched directly from Iranian territory. Thus deterrence has been clearly and effectively established via this legitimate and well-deserved slap in the face of Zionism and American imperialism, hastening the trajectory of these destructive systems into the dustbin of history. By standing up to the world’s most brazen and arrogant bullies the Islamic Republic of Iran has done humanity a favor.
According to you, given Iran’s missile and drone deterrence and after 46 years of strategic patience against the Israeli regime, what does Tehran’s direct response mean for the Israeli regime, Western and regional governments and especially the US administration?
Tehran’s direct response to Israel’s criminal attack on the Iranian consulate marks the end of strategic patience while initiating a new era of accountability. The effort to test Iranian resolve and continue to push beyond the boundaries of international law and human decency has confirmed yet another series of advancements for Iran and the Resistance Front, to the detriment of the Israeli regime, its regional and Western supporters, and its primary enabler the United States. In short, the days of expected impunity are over. For nations such as the United States, Israel, and the UK, who have attempted to supplant international law with an absurd “rules-based international order” characterized and sustained by unilateral violence, bullying, criminality, and impunity, this will be an especially hard pill to swallow. To paraphrase the martyr Sayyed Mohammad Beheshti, may they be angry and choke on it. Once again, Iran has demonstrated to the world community and especially to the Global South that there are alternatives to remaining subservient to a waning hegemonic bloc, thereby boldly continuing in the vanguard of the movement to advance multipolarity and adherence to international law.
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