I’ve been trying to find the complete speech by the President of Iran, but no luck. Here’s the CNN summary, which is the most concise, yet comprehensible, that I’ve encountered:
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian addressed the nation today and claimed the country achieved a “historic victory” following the conflict that was “imposed” by Israel, according to the state-run news agency IRIB.
“After the courageous resistance of your great and history-making nation, we are witnessing a ceasefire and cessation of the 12-day war that was imposed on the Iranian nation by the adventurism and incitement” of the Israeli government, Pezeshkian said, according to IRIB.
Which I suppose might be best interpreted as “We’re not dead, yet.” Sun Tzu, a Chinese philosopher from centuries ago, once remarked that, in order to claim victory in war, the defender must merely survive.
Perhaps that’s the idea here.
But Iran has, if I’m to believe news reports, certainly engaged in provocative behaviors, allying with Hamas, Hezbollah, and other regional militias of dubious nature, so Sun Tzu and his observations may be inapplicable.
While the status of their nuclear energy program remains unclear following the Israeli and American attacks, it does appear that Iran stands alone. None of the other autocratic powers, such as China, North Korea, Russia, or others, came leaping to defend Iran. I wonder if Supreme Leader Khamenei considers that important?
