By Gürkan Demir, from Tehran / Iran
A united society
I am in avenues where Iranians gather. After Trump’s talk of “negotiation”, Iranians are determined to continue the war until the US and Israel raise the white flag.
Each life lost, each missile fell on the Iranian soil, further cements Iranian society, strengthens its cohesion, and intensifies the anger. In areas that have been damaged or rendered unusable, when announcements are made like “we will build a hospital, we will build a school, we will rebuild the homes of those hit,” people even bring the gold and jewelry they’ve kept under their pillows.
It also places a heavy burden of responsibility on the leadership. One can say that any political leadership that attempts to enter into negotiations with the US by making concessions at this stage would not be tolerated by the public.
“Assassinations have hardened even moderate leaders”
During the 12-day war, there were disagreements between the Revolutionary Guards and the state administration over whether to continue the war. My sources and interviews confirmed this many times. However, this time, with the US and Israel carrying out assassinations and nearly 1500 civilians having lost their lives, even moderate leaders like Pezeshkian have been hardened. The current focus is taking revenge and forcing the US-Israel to raise the white flag.
This time, offensive war
Another key difference from the 12-day war is that this time Iran has shifted from a defense-oriented strategy to an offensive one. Iran acts with the mindset of “if we take one punch, we will return five”.
Iran’s 5-point ceasefire conditions
Parallelly, Iran seems determined not to accept a ceasefire unless its conditions are met. The terms presented by Iran are as follows:
1- The US will close its bases in the region and end its military presence.
2- Guarantees will be given that Iran will not be attacked again.
3- Attacks on regional countries such as Yemen, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon will stop.
4- Access to the Strait of Hormuz will be regulated through new legal arrangements.
5- Compensation will be provided for the damages Iran has suffered in the war.
4-point action plan against Trump’s threat
Trump’s threat to strike Iran’s energy infrastructure was met with a similar “offensive” response. In the event that the US-Israel carried out this threat, the Khatam al-Anbiya Joint Headquarters, the Revolutionary Guards, outlined a 4-point plan:
1- The Strait of Hormuz will be closed to everyone, including friendly parties, and will not reopen until the energy facilities hit in Iran are fully rebuilt.
2- All Israeli-owned power plants will be targeted.
3- All power plants in which the US has a stake in the region will be targeted.
4- Power plants in countries hosting US bases will become legitimate targets.
The statement also emphasized: “We did not start this war. And we will not be the ones to initiate a new phase targeting power plants. However, if this stage is triggered, we will carry out the actions outlined in these four points.”
Also, Iran’s Energy Minister talked on state television. He said, “The maintenance panels of Iran’s energy plants are fully under our control, and we are not dependent on foreign sources. Any potential damage can be repaired very quickly. Currently, we have a surplus of electricity. The Ministry of Energy’s experts are on full alert.”