"Iran Must Destroy Israel to Survive or It Will Be Nuked" | Paul Craig Roberts

The real issue in this conflict is the Zionist agenda of "Greater Israel." Nobody in the Western media mentions it, but it is the central fact that explains the war. As long as Israel maintains that agenda, there can be no peace, no mediation, and no negotiated settlement. The nuclear issue is merely the pretext. The real objective is to remove Iran as an obstacle to Greater Israel—just as Iraq, Libya, and Syria were removed before it. This war is part of the same process.
 

» There is no room for Iran, no room for Turkey, no room for Saudi Arabia.

Either Iran prevails, or Iran is destroyed. There is no middle ground. «

 

The Zionist agenda historically envisioned Israel stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates. Now the concept has been expanded even further. In such a vision there is no room for Iran, no room for Turkey, no room for Saudi Arabia. If that agenda is pursued, the continued existence of Iran as a sovereign state becomes incompatible with it. That means Iran cannot negotiate its survival. How does a country negotiate its own disappearance? If Israel maintains the Greater Israel agenda, there is only one outcome: either Iran prevails, or Iran is destroyed. There is no middle ground.
 

» Iran cannot negotiate its survival. «
March 16, 2026: Iran’s Khorramshahr and Zolfaghar missiles, with cluster warheads, strike Israel, overwhelming

Iron Dome, Patriot, and THAAD. With ~2,500 missiles and layered tactics, Tehran could sustain attacks for months.

Yet the Iranian leadership has repeatedly made the same fatal mistake. They wait to be attacked. They waited to be attacked once. They waited to be attacked again. And now they risk waiting until nuclear weapons are used. This is not how wars are won. Every successful general in history understands that victory belongs to the side that takes the initiative. Napoleon understood it. Robert E. Lee understood it. George Patton understood it. Iran does not.

» Waiting to suffer catastrophic destruction before acting makes no sense. «

March 16, 2026: US-Israeli missiles bombing Tehran.

 

Iran waits until it is hit, until it loses men, facilities, and cities, and only then responds. That is not strategy. That is paralysis. If Iran has the capability to respond after a nuclear attack, then it certainly has the capability to respond before one. Waiting to suffer catastrophic destruction before acting makes no sense. The strategic reality is simple: Israel has nuclear weapons. Iran does not. That alone places Iran at a severe disadvantage if it continues to leave the initiative in Israeli and American hands. Therefore Iran faces a stark choice. Either it destroys the military capacity threatening it, or eventually those forces destroy Iran. There is no diplomatic solution to a war whose real purpose is the elimination of your country.

» Russia and China are useless as allies. «
March 16, 2026: Yan Xuetong, Chinese political scientist, confronts Israeli general at a conference, accusing
Israel of killing 70,000+ Palestinian children; the general denies, citing efforts to avoid civilian casualties.

At the same time, Iran finds itself essentially alone. Russia and China talk about multipolarity, they talk about cooperation, they talk about organizations like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and Iran is even a member of that organization. Yet when a SCO member is fighting for its survival, Russia and China stand aside. They issue statements. They talk about trade. They talk about negotiations. But when it comes to confronting the United States and Israel directly, they disappear. This demonstrates that Russia and China are useless as allies. They are governed by leaderships that appear to have no strategic vision. They behave as if trade deals are more important than geopolitical survival. They think in terms of commerce while their partners face existential threats.

» Russia, China are not Iran's friends. Russia is an occupied
country. PUTIN is a traitor in bed with the Chabad Lubavitch. «

A few words from Moscow and Beijing—such as a mutual defense commitment—could have prevented this war from ever starting. But those words were never spoken. Instead, Iran stands alone while Russia and China pursue negotiations and trade arrangements with the very power that is trying to destroy Iran. That means Iran cannot rely on anyone else for its survival. It cannot rely on Russia. It cannot rely on China. It cannot rely on international institutions. It can only rely on itself.

» Waiting for the next attack—especially when the enemy possesses nuclear
 weapons—is not a strategy for survival. It is a strategy for extinction. « 

March 16, 2026: Israeli white phosphorus munitions exploding over Khiam in southern

Lebanon. Its use against civilians is prohibited under international humanitarian law.

Which brings the situation back to the fundamental reality: the existence of Iran is incompatible with the Greater Israel agenda. As long as that agenda exists, Iran will remain a target. Therefore Iran has only two possibilities. Either Iran destroys the forces threatening it, or those forces destroy Iran. There is no negotiation that resolves this contradiction. There is no mediation that reconciles it.

Iran must recognize that it is fighting for its life. It cannot continue to sit back, absorb blows, and respond after the fact. That approach only invites escalation to nuclear weapons. If nuclear weapons are used, the conflict will not remain regional. Once that threshold is crossed, the danger becomes global nuclear war. That is why the initiative matters. Waiting for the next attack—especially when the enemy possesses nuclear weapons—is not a strategy for survival. It is a strategy for extinction.

Reference:
Nima R. Alkhorshid (March 16, 2026) - Paul Craig Roberts: Iran is Winning. (video)

Paul Craig Roberts (b. 1939) is an American economist, columnist, and former public official who served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy under Ronald Reagan. A proponent of supply-side economics, he helped shape the Reagan administration’s economic program. Roberts later became a syndicated commentator and author, known for critiques of globalization, US foreign policy, and the financial system.

See also:

Paul Craig Roberts (March 16, 2026) - Either Iran or Israel Has to Go.

Col. Lawrence Wilkerson (October 5, 2025) - "If I Were Iran, I’d Wipe Israel Out Preemptively."