"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 57th barrage of Khorramshahr and Zolfaghar missiles with cluster warheads strikes Israel, overwhelming

Iron Dome, Patriot, and THAAD. With about 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.

March 16, 2026.

 

March 16, 2026. 
 

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."

Funeral Ceremony of Martyred Hezbollah Leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah

 February 23, 2025.

Mourners in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley walk on foot through the biting cold, heading over the Jebel Libnan to Beirut to participate in the funeral ceremony of martyred Hezbollah leaders Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine.

 

  » There is no legal and legitimate state called Israel. 

As long as there is imperialism, lasting peace is impossible. «

Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah

 

Mourners in Beirut gather for the funeral.

 

Beirut, at the stadium, right before the funeral ceremony: 100,000 people inside, at least 300,000 outside. Despite obstacles preventing hundreds of thousands from coming from Iran, there were still significant numbers of participants from various countries, including 140,000 from Iraq, 106,000 from Iran, 18,000 from Kuwait, 9,000 from Bahrain, 9,000 from Oman, 27,000 from Yemen, and 80,000 from various other locations.

A Lebanese military source told AFP that over one million people attended the funeral of Hezbollah’s former Secretary-General, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah. Hezbollah sources estimated the crowd at around 800,000, while organizers, through Lebanon’s National News Agency, put the number at 1.4 million.
 

 

 

 
 

 

The moment Israeli jets flew low over the venue of the ceremony,

the whole stadium instantly mocked them: "Death to Israel!"

 

 

Beirut's Sports City and surrounding roads filled with mourners.

 

Zainab Nasrallah reflects on her iconic father’s life and legacy.

 

» If you want Arab countries to fight Israel, tell them Israel has converted to Shia Islam. «
Lebanese Sunni scholar Sheikh Maher Hamoud, February 23, 2025.

 

了解你的敌人
Know your Enemies.

Iran's Crushing Blow to the Israeli Regime is Coming | Mohammad Marandi

Iran will definitely respond to Israel's attack on October 26th because it needs to create deterrence. The Zionist regime is not a normal state; it is a genocidal entity that is carrying out a Holocaust before the eyes of the world. It conducts genocidal airstrikes on Lebanon, slaughters people in Gaza and the West Bank, regularly bombs Syria, and attacks Iran. It is a lawless regime, and the only way to stop it is to slap it down.

  » We are approaching the conclusion of what is termed Israel. «

In the past, Iran has demonstrated a significant amount of strategic patience. It can certainly outgun the Israeli regime, possessing numerous missile and drone facilities across the country. These facilities were created to protect against a potential American attack and are well secured, situated deep underground. The reason the Americans have never attacked Iran is its ability to defend itself.

The Israeli regime, on the other hand, is small, vulnerable, and entirely dependent on the West. In any major exchange, its infrastructure would be swiftly destroyed. However, Iran does not want a regional war, and neither does anyone else. It is only the Israelis who seek a regional conflict, hoping for American involvement. Iran aims to demonstrate to the world, particularly to the Global South, that it is not trying to instigate a regional war, as such a conflict would jeopardize the global economy—something no one desires.

If the Americans become involved, their military bases in the Persian Gulf region, Iraq, and Syria would be swept away. More importantly, the family dictatorships in the Persian Gulf would lose their oil and gas installations, leading to the collapse of these regimes. This scenario would further contribute to the downfall of the global economy. That is not what any sane person wants. Yet, the Israeli regime appears willing to sacrifice everyone for its genocidal interests.

 » The influential Israeli rabbi Yitzhak Yosef warns that ultra-Orthodox Jews or Haredis
could leave Israel en masse, if forced to enlist in the army. «
 

This time around, however, the Iranians will strike Israel significantly harder. Iran has hundreds of thousands of drones and missiles prepared for war and can launch nearly 2,000 drones and missiles in a single wave, with the capability to fire multiple waves thereafter—something the Israelis cannot counter.

The Iranian drones used in previous retaliations were outdated, but Iran possesses very advanced drones and missiles, including hypersonic missiles that have not yet been utilized. There are many capabilities Iran has not revealed; until now, it has focused on gathering intelligence and assessing the Israeli regime's lack of defensive ability. When the time comes, Iran will undoubtedly strike the Israeli regime, which could happen any day now, possibly tonight or tomorrow. It is inevitable.

Greater Israel—From the Euphrates to the Nile.

Conditions are expected to worsen for the Israeli regime. It has failed to make any real inroads into southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah has punished them. As this battle progresses, the situation will only deteriorate for the Israeli regime, which has bitten off more than it can chew. It is currently being hammered in both the north and in Gaza, and its global image has been severely damaged.

The people of the Zionist entity are unaware of how deeply despised they are worldwide and how poorly their armed forces are performing in Gaza and Lebanon. The Israeli regime is despised across all continents, particularly among the youth. Slaughter is not an achievement. Israelis may perceive the killing of women and children as a success because they view them as Amalek, but every child killed generates more hatred globally. On the battlefield, Hezbollah has shown its ability to significantly harm the regime, not only inflicting casualties but also damaging the Israeli economy. We must always remember that the Israeli regime has far more to lose than Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Iran, which are under US and Western sanctions.

 

Ultimately, when a ceasefire occurs, it will signify the failure of the Israeli regime. Once ordinary Israelis wake up to the reality that they cannot win this war against the Palestinian people, the Lebanese people, and others in the region, and once they recognize the world's disgust towards them, it will mark the end of the Zionist project. This may take a few years, but we are approaching the conclusion of what is termed Israel.

Quoted from:
Seyed Mohammad Marandi (October 31, 2024) - Iran's Crushing Blow is Coming (video)

 

 

To date the US has funded 73% of military costs associated with Israel’s war on Gaza. Washington has provided $22.76 billion in military aid to Israel from October 7, 2023, to September 30, 2024, according to an analysis by Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. This is why AIPAC sponsors the US government.

Touring the Destroyed Suburbs of Beirut | Laith Marouf & Mohammad Marandi

Dahieh, Beirut, Lebanon — October 3, 2024: Hezbollah's Media Relations Office organized a tour of Beirut's southern suburb, Dahieh, for all international journalists to give the world a glimpse of the mass destruction of civilian infrastructure as a result of the Zionist regime's indiscriminate bombardment of the area. We look at the destruction, the war crimes, and the purposeful targeting of civilians and civilian homes. The day after the first strikes, the Israelis targeted the south and east of Beirut and slaughtered 500 people. It's amazing how barbaric and brutal these people are. This is Western civilization. People across the world despise the West because of what they do.

They knew exactly that there were no military targets in these buildings. They wanted to humiliate our people and break our will, especially our warrior men. But Sayyidna Ali says: 'Hayhat aminna dulla; woe to us if we accept humiliation.' God willing, we will all meet in a free Palestine very soon. I am optimistic. Victory is nearing—a victory also for Jews. Those who are anti-Zionists will see the benefits of the collapse of the Zionist regime. Humanity will benefit from it. These elites in the West will lose, but everyone else will win. Inshallah.

A few hours ago, the leader of France, Macron, issued a statement saying that France is deploying all its military assets in the region to defend the Zionist colony. Brits and Americans are practically saying the same thing, indicating that these colonial powers, will actually participate in attacks on Iran.

Israel’s Reckless Pager Operation: Who Can We Trust And Rely On? | Shen Yi

I've been studying international relations and politics for decades, and I'm shocked by this pager attack in Lebanon. This is not something a normal country would do; it's way past the moral red line of international norms. What we're looking at is a commercial electronic device, the pager, being modified into a military-style mini-grenade. Even though the operation targets Hezbollah members, the action is equivalent to igniting several cluster bombs in a market populated with Hezbollah members, their families, and other innocent civilians.

 » This is truly evil and shocking ... they've proven themselves willing to do outrageous, immoral things. «

Shen Yi, Director at Research Center for the Governance of Global Cyberspace, Fudan University.

 

The psychological effect of this operation is similar to the earliest Batman movie, where the Joker randomly poisoned hygiene products to create chaos in Gotham City. This isn't even using the pager to collect intel and destroy evidence. This can be considered a mass terrorist operation. It's like putting poison in bottled water and exporting it to your enemy city, expecting enemy soldiers to drink it, and disregarding innocent victims, oh well, sucks to be them.

 » Children lost their eyes while playing in the street. Mothers lost their limbs while shopping in a mall.
Doctors suffered severe injuries while driving to a hospital. This is horror and cruelty beyond imagination. «
China representative to the UN.

Assuming Israel's involvement, considering their current strike against Lebanon, there are two possibilities for this mass bombing. Either the bomb was installed during manufacturing in Taiwan, possibly through a joint operation between Taiwan and Israel, or the middleman modified the device. In China, Jewish people are considered the smartest and most cunning of all the peoples on this planet. Modifying this device into a bomb and activating it in mass volume is truly evil and shocking. However, I also consider this operation stupid and reckless, ignoring consequences and hiding behind the United States. The operation against Iran's nuclear enrichment facility might be within the rules of engagement, but this pager bombing is unacceptable. The United States swapped out hospital devices before the operation, showing awareness. The United States, Israel, and Taiwan governments remain quiet. 

 

How can we trust products from these regions in the future? This has impacted global supply chain trust. China now understands why the US considers Huawei cell phones and network devices national security issues - because they think China is as evil and immoral as they are. The problem isn't technical feasibility; today's technology makes it easy. The problem is who crosses the moral red line. Israel, backed by the United States, has shown willingness to cross it. This is a dangerous psychological barrier. 

 

How will China assure consumers of safety when buying US and Israel products? Shouldn't these products be inspected for tampering, with the US and Israel paying additional costs? This isn't unfair competition; they've proven themselves willing to do outrageous, immoral things. China can't wait until 5,000 Apple cell phones blow up to set up security. Considering the US views China as its biggest rival, China needs its own products, supply chain, communication, and banking systems. It's no longer about Chinese or US-made CPU preferences; it's about foreign entities willing to weaponize devices against you. It's not about faster cell phones; it's about safety. Maybe the quality of some Chinese products still lag behind, but we can tell the world we won't make products that explode intentionally. That should be a new standard. 

 

This chain of events shows that peace, safety, stability, and prosperity - elements of a great society - are rare globally. Many Chinese took these for granted. I believe China should lead promoting peace, growth, and stability around the world.

Quoted from:
Shen Yi (September 21, 2024) - Chinese response to Lebanon Pager Attack. (video)

Syria Warns the US: "Stop the Oil and Gas Robbery! Get Out Immediately!"

The United States tries to overthrow Syrian governments through different proxies like Israel and the Muslim Brotherhood since the 1970ies, and since 2011 through al-Qaeda, Jabhat al-Nusra, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, more radical Jihadi terrorists and militias as well as through substantial US military forces inside of Syria. As a consequence more than half of Syria's population of 23 million is displaced from their homes, 5.5 million fled the country, and estimates of the total number of deaths, in what is framed as 'the Syrian civil war' by the West, vary between 603,064 and about 620,000 as of August 2023. 

 

On September 10, 2023 the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres and the President of the Security Council Ferit Hoxha, demanding that they put an end to aggressive practices and violations of the principles of international law and the provisions of the UN Charter, which are being committed by the United States of America and its military forces that are illegally present on one third of the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic - on more than sixty thousand square kilometers - in the northeast and in the Al-Tanf region in the southeast of the country (yellowish and light green on the map below). 

 

While the United Nations so far does not even recognize the illegal US presence and occupation in Syria as a fact,
the rate of theft was around 100-130 thousand barrels per day and recently reached 150 thousand barrels per
day in addition to 59.9 million cubic meters of natural gas and 413 thousand tons of domestic gas.

The Ministry pointed out that the United States of America and its tools continue to violate sovereignty and plunder the country’s wealth and strategic resources, with the aim of exacerbating the effects of illegal unilateral coercive measures and depriving Syrians of the capabilities of their homeland and increasing their suffering. The Ministry added that the value of the damage caused to the Syrian oil and mineral wealth sector as a result of acts of aggression, looting and sabotage committed by the US forces and their terrorist tools amounted to a total of $ 115.2 billion during the period from 2011 until the end of the first half of the year 2023. The Ministry stated that the latest statistics and estimates of the losses of the oil sector in Syria show that the value of direct losses amounted to $ 27.5 billion, resulting from the following: The theft, waste and burning of extracted oil quantities estimated at 341 million barrels. The rate of theft was around 100-130 thousand barrels per day and recently reached 150 thousand barrels per day in addition to 59.9 million cubic meters of natural gas and 413 thousand tons of domestic gas. The value is $21.4 billion. Vandalism and theft of facilities, resulting in damages amounting to $ 3.2 billion. 

 

Dana Stroul, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East, US-Department of Defense, October 2019:
"The US now owns one third of Syria, all of the hidrocarbons, and the country's food basket. The rest is rubble."

The so-called ‘international coalition’ bombed oil and gas facilities in Syria, with the amount of damage amounting to $2.9 billion. The Ministry continued that the indirect losses amount to $87.7 billion, which represents the value of the lost benefits (from crude oil, natural gas, and domestic gas) as a result of a decrease in production below the planned rates under normal working conditions. Syria demanded that American officials be held accountable for these thefts and that the American administration be forced to compensate for them, end the illegal presence of American forces, and return the lands it occupies, oil and gas fields and other natural resources to the Syrian state to ensure improving the humanitarian and living conditions of the Syrians.

Reference:
SANA (Sep 10, 2023) - Syria: Washington and its terrorist tools continue to plunder Syrian strategic resources.

Map of Syrian Civil War - Syria news and incidents today (live map)
Kevork Almassian (Sep 15, 2023) - Syria's Warning to America: Get Out Immediately and Cease Oil Robbery! (video)

South Front Analysis & Intelligence (2023) - Updates on the Military Situation in Syria.
Wikipedia (2023) - Casualties of the Syrian civil war.

MFA of the People's Republic of China (2023) - US Hegemony and Its Perils.