Trump leaning on false narratives to exit unwinnable war on Iran: Ex-diplomat

By Press TV Website Staff

US President Donald Trump is leaning on false narratives and military posturing to engineer an exit from his war of aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which its military cannot win, says a former Iranian diplomat.

Speaking to the Press TV website, Ramin Mehmanparast, a former spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry, said the US is finding itself in a difficult position in its war on Iran.

“The conditions are such that it seems the Americans still feel that if they try to create fear in the Iranian side with a psychological war and a show of power in the military sector, they can force them to accept some of America’s maximalist demands,” he said.

His remarks come in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s claims in the past few days that Iran had agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again and that its enriched uranium stockpile would be transferred to the US, claims Tehran swiftly rejected as total fabrications.

According to the former diplomat, Washington and Tel Aviv harbored “truly sinister goals” from the onset of the unprovoked and illegal war of aggression against the Islamic Republic.

“They aimed to dismember Iran, destroy its national infrastructure, and force the country’s total surrender,” he told the Press TV website. 

To achieve this, the invading coalition employed “cowardly” tactics as they started the aggression amid nuclear talks and assassinated the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and many senior military commanders, Mehmanparast said.

The aggression also included severe bombardment of civilian areas, such as the barbaric strike on a Minab elementary school that killed nearly 170 people, mostly children.

“The objective of the attacks was to cripple defense systems and embolden separatist groups working alongside foreign enemies to sow domestic chaos,” Mehmanparast stated.

Aggressor's strategy failed

However, the strategy failed spectacularly as Iranian armed forces retaliated forcefully, decimating US and Israeli assets and military bases across the region.

Furthermore, Tehran’s strategic closure of the Strait of Hormuz to US and allied vessels triggered severe global economic backlash.

The former diplomat noted that the US president's failure to secure a rapid victory led him to repeatedly shift the war's objectives in contradictory statements.

Faced with alienated European allies who refused to join his war coalition, domestic Republican backlash, regional panic, and a global rise in the price of energy and food, the US was forced to return to the negotiating table and “seek an end to the war,” noted Mehmanparast.

Accordingly, Washington submitted to a 10-point Iranian proposal, which resulted in a two-week ceasefire that commenced on April 8, mediated by Pakistan.

Despite the ceasefire, last week’s diplomatic talks in Islamabad stalled due to Washington’s excessive and unrealistic demands, Iranian officials noted.

Mehmanparast said that the US is now desperately seeking an off-ramp.

“Their issue is essentially finding a way out of the actions they have taken so far, but this exit must be face-saving for the Americans; it must show that they have had an achievement.”

Because Washington failed to deliver tangible results to its domestic audience—such as so-called “regime change” or neutralizing Iran’s defensive capabilities or controlling the Strait of Hormuz—Trump is deploying a strategy of diplomatic fabrications combined with threats, said the former diplomat, adding that Washington tried to put forward some of these “maximalist” demands in Islamabad talks which were rejected by the Iranian negotiators.

Adding to Washington’s urgency to end the war is the forthcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup to be co-hosted by the United States, said Mehmanparast.

“The World Cup is not merely a sports competition; it is a major political event followed by billions,” the expert stated. “It is very bad for the US to want to host the World Cup under conditions where they have started an illegal war against our nation.”

On the Lebanon ceasefire

As part of the ongoing ceasefire deal with the US, Iran insisted on including a ceasefire in Lebanon, where the Israeli regime has launched a devastating aggression.

The US initially backtracked from its early acceptance of this condition, but the Lebanon ceasefire was eventually announced on Thursday.

Mehmanparast emphasized that ignoring the broader Axis of Resistance would play directly into Israel's devious plots for the wider region.

With unyielding US support, Israel’s policy is to divide Islamic countries and defeat them sequentially—from Syria and Gaza to Lebanon, and eventually Iran, Turkey, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia—to achieve the so-called “Greater Israel,” noted the former diplomat.

“If we want our country not to be harmed and the war to stop, we must show that the Resistance front is powerful, can defend itself, is united, and supports one another,” he said.

Securing the Lebanese ceasefire was, therefore, a monumental strategic achievement, he said, "established with the insistence and emphasis of our officials in Lebanon, represented a very large political victory for our country.”

‘Critical juncture’

“Now, the US stands at a critical and dangerous juncture,” Mehmanparast said, adding that Washington must either secure a stable, face-saving agreement by dropping its maximalist demands or risk a joint ground, naval, and commando operation.

While Iranians are defending their homeland and have shown a willingness to endure sacrifices and martyrdom, the American public has no such tolerance for overseas wars, he highlighted, adding that any aggression resulting in significant US casualties or prisoners would be an “unmitigated disaster” for Washington, both domestically and internationally.

The US, he said, must either take a “big decision: either step back from those maximalist demands and take the interests of the Iranian people into account so that it can establish lasting calm in the region — something our negotiating officials are ready to pursue within a framework that can be fair — or they can continue insisting on demands which will never happen.”

Ultimately, attempting a larger military escalation carries “apocalyptic risks” for the global economy, said the former diplomat.

“If the US proceeds down the path of wider conflict instead of respecting the Iranian nation’s interests, it will undoubtedly mark the final breaking point for American hegemony in the global order,” Mehmanparast said.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk