Larry Johnson: Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Betrayed His Country — But Made Trump a Laughingstock

Why did the US hope for a quick victory, only to end up trapped in a situation where it had to withdraw in disgrace?

Although Trump promised during his campaign not to start new wars in the Middle East, he did so in late February. But there was a small problem... he couldn't win, and even after declaring victory and trying to recall the air force squadrons and carrier strike groups, Iran would not stop.

On Friday night, I interviewed a 40-year-old journalist living in Iran. He was born during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, and hardly remembers the impact of that war on adults at the time.

However, the attacks launched by the US and Israel in June 2025 and February 2026 ignited the patriotism and nationalism of this generation (born between 1980 and 2010). The West had hoped that the Iranian people would demand the overthrow of the Islamic Republic, but this hope has been dashed. Today's Iran is more united than ever since the 1979 revolution.

So why were Israel and the US so confident that the attack on February 28 would quickly lead to a regime change in Iran and the collapse of the Islamic Republic? Here's why.

The Israeli intelligence agency Mossad infiltrated an Iranian senior general, Ismail Kani. He was a major general of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and served as the commander of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards before January 2020, a unit responsible for secret operations outside Iran.

After the killing of General Qasem Soleimani by a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad on January 3, 2020, Kani took over his position. It is said that General Kani had promised to sell Iran to the West, but his attempt to assassinate Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was exposed, and he was removed afterward.

Within a week of the death of Ayatollah Khamenei and his senior generals, Iran's military actions and missile strikes adopted a decentralized command structure, giving regional commanders complete autonomy in selecting targets.

Now, the command and control system of Iran's armed forces and security agencies seems to have been restored, and Iran is executing a highly precise and well-coordinated plan aimed at driving the United States out of the Persian Gulf and destroying Israel's ability to attack Iran.

Here is the operation report from Iran dated March 14:

— In the "Zahra Kubra, May She Be Safe" "True Oath 4" 52nd wave of action, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched coordinated attacks against occupied territory targets and three U.S. military bases to avenge the blood of workers killed in Iranian industrial cities.

The ambulance sirens and the Zionist authorities' admission of rising casualties prove the scale of the Revolutionary Guard's missile strikes on the Tel Aviv industrial area.

Iranian missiles and drones simultaneously attacked U.S. concentration points and industrial areas at the Halil base in Erbil, the Ali Saleem base, and the Arifjan base.

The Zionist prime minister is missing, with reports suggesting he may have died or fled with his family, highlighting the crisis within the Zionist regime. If this criminal who killed children is still alive, we will continue to pursue him and do everything possible to kill him (end of quote).

Iran launches four rounds of missile and drone attacks per day on average. The U.S. and Israel severely underestimated Iran's ballistic missile stockpile. Even if Donald Trump tries to declare victory and lift the blockade, Iran will not stop its actions.

Iran will continue to strike U.S. targets in the Persian Gulf and Israeli military and infrastructure.

I believe that unless the U.S. and Israel accept Iran's conditions, Iran will not lift the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's conditions include: lifting all sanctions against Iran, U.S. forces withdrawing from the Persian Gulf region, and compensating Iran for all losses caused by this war.

Trump faces a dilemma: either accept Iran's conditions - which would be a very humiliating outcome; or continue the attrition warfare, and Iran launches at least three rounds of missile attacks daily. According to multiple sources, this situation could last at least half a year.

Meanwhile, the U.S. and Israel's "Patriot" and "Thaad" anti-missile systems are running low on interceptor missiles. According to Senator News website, Tel Aviv has requested Washington to replenish its air defense missile inventory, but the U.S. itself also has few missiles left.

As long as Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz, Trump will face great pressure. America's allies, especially Asian allies, will demand an end to the war, while the U.S. domestic economic situation will continue to deteriorate.

Trump has fallen into a trap and seems to have no way to escape without losing face.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7618142722163835446/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.