Seyed Mohammad Marandi, a professor at the University of Tehran, has stated that Iran is fully prepared for any potential military escalation from the United States and Israel, dismissing recent diplomatic overtures from the Trump administration as a “nonsense” pretext.
In a social media post, the outspoken academic and former advisor to Iran’s nuclear negotiating team delivered a stark warning regarding President Donald Trump’s recent claims about progress in nuclear talks. “Personally, I believe Trump is probably saying all this nonsense about agreements with Iran so that he can later claim, ‘Iran didn’t keep its promises’ – promises Iran never made,” Marandi wrote, concluding that “the chances of renewed murderous aggression from Trump and Netanyahu are high. Iran is ready”.
Marandi, who is often described as an unofficial spokesperson for the Iranian government, has repeatedly articulated Tehran’s position of “zero trust” in the current US administration. He recently told Al Mayadeen that the Islamic Republic sees little value in negotiations while Washington is reportedly preparing for a ground offensive. His comments come after talks between US and Iranian officials in Islamabad, Pakistan, ended without an agreement.
Marandi’s defiant posture follows President Trump’s unverified claim that Tehran has agreed to a total cessation of uranium enrichment. While Trump characterized this as a “monumental shift,” Marandi has previously emphasized that Iran’s right to enrich uranium is non-negotiable, as it is linked directly to the nation’s energy and economic survival. Iranian officials have consistently maintained that no such agreement has been reached, expressing distrust given the US’s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal.
The professor has warned that the window for diplomacy is closing. He argues that Tehran will only entertain negotiations once the US military’s aggressive posture has been defeated, stating that “now is not the time for negotiations.”
“Right now the United States is preparing itself for a land offensive,” he said recently, vowing that Iran would retaliate fiercely if attacked. Marandi has further accused Gulf states hosting US bases of complicity in the violence and warned that continued aggression could lead to the destruction of critical energy infrastructure across the Persian Gulf.
As diplomatic channels remain strained, Marandi’s assertion that the Islamic Republic is prepared for a “murderous aggression” signals that Iran is bracing for a potentially decisive confrontation in the coming days.