[News] Iran could outlast US in six-month war

[Anti-Imperialist News]

english.almayadeen.net
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/iran-could-outlast-us-in-six-month-war--exclusive>
Iran could outlast US in six-month war: Exclusive
Al Mayadeen English
August 29, 2026
------------------------------

Speaking on Al Mayadeen's The Great Standoff: Iran and the World, Professor
Mohammad Marandi and Michael Maloof discuss how the Iran war exposed the
limits of Washington’s military, economic, and geopolitical leverage.

   - [image: Iranian Professor at the University of Tehran Mohammad Marandi
   and former Pentagon analyst Michael Maloof, on the show The Great Standoff:
   Iran and the World, August 28, 2026 (Al Mayadeen)]
   <https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2026/8/29/27f1b554-344d-4a40-a0ef-8a73bea74984.jpg?width=1000>
   Iranian Professor at the University of Tehran Mohammad Marandi and former
   Pentagon analyst Michael Maloof, on the show The Great Standoff: Iran and
   the World, August 28, 2026 *(Screengrab/Al Mayadeen TV)*

Iran will ultimately outlast the United States in the ongoing six-month war
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/irgc-navy--our-control-over-hormuz-is--completely-decisive>,
according to Professor Mohammad Marandi, who described the sanctions
imposed on Tehran as unprecedented in human history. Former Pentagon Senior
Security Policy Analyst Michael Maloof, meanwhile, characterized the
conflict as the most catastrophic outcome of a longstanding US policy
shaped by flawed Israeli intelligence.

On *Al Mayadeen*'s *The Great Standoff: Iran and the World*, Marandi stated
that "The United States has been engaged in a type of warfare
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/araghchi-says-iran-will-defend-its-interests-through-diploma>
for well over a year now, since the 12-Day War, or a bit before that",
noting that "this war in particular, the Ramadan War, it has been ongoing
for six months".

Marandi said the current phase of the war is siege warfare
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/trump-s-war-on-iran-is-an--abject-failure---schumer-says>,
which he emphasized is a war crime. "Instead of bombing the Minab school
and slaughtering 168 little girls, or instead of bombing the sports complex
in Lomert and killing large numbers of teenage girls who are practicing
volleyball, they're targeting all teenagers and all elementary school
children across the country through siege warfare", he said.
Iran has outlasted US in previous phases and will do so again

Marandi stated that current sanctions are unprecedented in their severity.
"These sanctions today are sanctions that have never existed, the likes of
which have never existed in human history," Marandi said. "But the Iranians
continue to remain steadfast
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/sayyed-khamenei-warns-against-actions-that-undermine-iran-so>,
and they will punish the aggressor".

He argued that Iran has consistently outlasted the United States
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/the-war-on-iran-is-creating-risks-for-the-us-far-beyond-west>
in previous phases of the war, citing the 40-day war, the siege warfare
period, and the 13 days of fighting after the United States undermined a
memorandum of understanding. "Each phase was an attempt by one side to
overcome the other, to outlast the other," he said. "And so far, we've seen
that both during the 40 days, siege warfare, the 13 days, it was the
Iranians who outlasted the United States".

Marandi acknowledged that the current siege warfare will harm Iranians and
make life more difficult, but maintained that Iran will prevail. "The
Iranians know that this is a war
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/hormuz-shipping-drops-sharply-as-talks-focus-on-restoring-tr>
for survival," he said, adding that "the Iranians have a resilience, along
with its partners and allies across the axis of resistance, that is, to be
very blunt, unique in the world that we live in today."
Chance of renewed war significant, substantial: Marandi

Regarding the possibility of renewed military war, Marandi said the chances
are "significant and substantial." He said Iran has warned the United
States that if it tries
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/iranian-business-still-active-in-uae-despite-us--economic-d>
to crush the Iranian economy and if regional governments cooperate, "the
Iranian response will be swift and decisive," which he said would include
the use of Iran's military capabilities.

He noted that the United States may also launch a strike on Iran, and that
renewed war could occur after the elections. "But we are in such a
situation," he said.

Marandi also addressed the link between the war in Ukraine and the war in
West Asia, stating that Russia and Iran have benefited from each other's
resistance
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/iran-vows-battlefield-surprises-after-doubling-weapons-produ>
to the United States and Europe. "The Russians benefit enormously from the
fact that Iran has defeated the United States," he said. "And the Iranians
have benefited enormously from the fact that the Russians have severely
weakened the United States and the Europeans as well."
War reveals limitations of US power and flawed Israeli intelligence

For his part, former Pentagon Senior Security Policy Analyst Michael Maloof
offered a broader critique of US policy, describing the war as "the most
tragic and volatile consequence so far to date" of what he said was a
longstanding
US approach to
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/war-on-iran-decisive-factor-behind-missile-stocks-depletion>West
Asia.

"Every time the United States has followed the intelligence of the
Israelis, and it's turned out to be wrong," Maloof said, adding, "And so
consequently, this is just the latest iteration. It's the most catastrophic
so far."

He said the war has revealed the limitations of US power
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/diplomacy-can-still-be-revived--if-us-learns-pressure-fails>.
"It has shown that a country such as Iran, which is far less capable
militarily, can stand up to a superpower, and did so successfully, to the
point that it's at a stalemate," he said. "Economically, it has withstood
years and years of sanctions. It has withstood them."
Iran has learned to live with sanctions, reshaping Middle East dynamics

Maloof argued that Iran, like Russia and China, has learned to live with
sanctions and reduce its reliance on the US dollar. "They've learned to no
longer rely solely upon the US dollar," he said. "They have learned ways
now to get out under the dependency on the dollar and its weaponization."

"As a consequence, it has shown the world that a power such as Iran can
stand up to a superpower
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/rezaei--strait-of-hormuz-tied-to-ending-regional-wars>,"
Maloof said. "And I think this has created a whole new perspective and
outlook now throughout the Middle East, even with the GCC countries on new
security arrangements."

He said Gulf Arab countries are now having to reevaluate whether they want
US bases to remain, noting that those bases, which were meant to be a
deterrent, "turned out to be a detriment to the United States in
particular, and to those countries, because they were involved in a
preemptive strike on Iran." He added that "the Middle East of old is no
longer going to return to what it was."
US military readiness diminishing, Trump leadership criticized

Maloof was critical of US President Donald Trump's leadership, describing
his statements as "bluster". "He likes to paint a good picture when it's
all falling apart," Maloof said. "And he's not to be believed. He lies. He
even lies to the American people."

Regarding the US military posture, Maloof said readiness is suffering. "As
each day goes by, it is diminishing, and it's diminishing tremendously
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/trump-may-claim-victory-if-hormuz-reopens--the-atlantic>,
especially in this climate in the Middle East," he said. He also noted that
the United States is "critically short on the ability to rearm" and cannot
keep its naval flotilla in place indefinitely without replacement.

Maloof said he does not believe a military approach can succeed. "I don't
see that anything would be worthwhile pursuing a military approach
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/us-allies-doubt-trump-claim-that-hormuz-is-mine-free>,
once again, knowing that it has failed once," he said. "And there is a
limitation on everything across the board."
War on Iran part of struggle between unipolar, multipolar world orders

Maloof also addressed the broader geopolitical context, describing the war
as part of a larger struggle between a US-led unipolar world order and a
rising multipolar order. "Trump is seeing the rise of this," Maloof said. "The
sanctions that he's trying to impose
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/iran-vows-response-if-us-moves-to-seize-its-oil-at-sea--nour>
and get everybody else involved, including China, isn't going to work
because they've been sanctioned to death."

He said the multipolar world order is now developing its own financial
system, which Trump views as a threat to the dollar and the Western
financial system overall. "This is what he's really fighting against,"
Maloof said. "And Iran is just an instrument of that fight, even though he
uses nuclear weapons as an excuse."

Maloof said the wars in Ukraine and Iran are becoming intertwined. "It all
has to do with sanctions and with hegemony and with influence in order to
challenge the rise of the multipolar world order," he said. "And Trump
realizes now that he cannot stop it."
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