'Not A Coward Like Trump': Iranian Strategist On Why Khamenei Refused To Hide Amid War | Exclusive

Last Updated:March 04, 2026, 16:37 IST

Hamidreza Gholamzadeh blamed US and Israel for dragging the Gulf countries into the war and clarified that Iran had no nuclear weapons as it didn’t consider with useful

Hamidreza Gholamzadeh, Director of the House of Diplomacy (DiploHouse) and a senior Iranian strategic analyst based in Tehran, on Wednesday defended Tehran’s stance amid the widening confrontation with the United States and Israel.

Speaking to CNN-News18, Gholamzadeh dismissed claims that Iran’s regional proxies triggered the escalation, insisted that Iran’s deterrence remains intact despite Western assertions, and suggested future changes in nuclear policy could depend on Iran’s next leadership. He also argued that Gulf countries are being drawn into the conflict by Washington and Tel Aviv, not by Tehran’s own decisions, framing Tehran as responding to aggression rather than instigating it.

Edited Excerpts:

Q. Iran says it is responding to aggression, but critics argue that Tehran’s regional proxies triggered the escalation. Is Iran prepared to take responsibility if conflict spiral into full scale Middle East war?

A. Iran had already warned that any attack would translate into a regional war, and it is the nature of this aggression that they have carried out. So, if the United States is attacking Iran with the help of its proxy, the Israeli regime, and with the help of the bases that they have in Arab countries in the region, then the proxy war is something that the Americans have already launched against Iran. So, if there are other players involved in retaliation, there is no blame on Iran. It is actually the way that they [US & Israel] have started it. They have started a war, the result of which is a regional war and they need to pay the price for that and that’s the nature of it.

Q. So Israel and US are claiming they have significantly degraded Iran’s strategic assets and air defence. From Tehran’s perspective, Iran actually lost strategic deterrence or is the real retaliation yet to come?

A. If Iran had lost the deterrence, the Americans would not change the rhetoric and change their objectives. At the beginning, they said they wanted to have a regime change. Now they are changing their goals because they could not achieve that. We are hearing from President Trump that the Iranians are asking for negotiations, which is totally wrong. And we need to translate it in reverse. So, when he says that the Iranians want negotiations, it means that President Trump wants talks. And Iran has already said that it’s not accepting any talks with the United States or with others. So, no, Iran has not been degraded in its strategic assets and its deterrence.

And most of the damages that the Israelis or the Americans have inflected upon Iran are just buildings. They are attacking evacuated buildings and just damaging that. Neither of the, for example, yesterday they attacked the building of the Assembly of Experts, claiming that they have attacked the meeting and the gathering for electing the next leader. It is totally wrong. The building that they gathered in is in Tehran. Or many of the military bases and buildings that they attacked, we have actually evacuated people from there already. So, the damage is not that much. Most of the casualties that you can see in the reports are civilians who were killed in their houses, schools or hospitals. Majority of the casualties are civilians, so the damage is not strategic at all and Iran is responding strongly. Iran has been attacking the American assets in the region and Israeli interest in the region and the occupied lands of Palestine with the Israeli regime as well.

Q. Do you think that Iran will reconsider its nuclear restraint and move closer to weaponisation or the nuclear threshold? It is still a red line for the Iranian leadership.

A. You know, Iran had never wanted to have a nuclear weapon and one of the main reasons was first, it didn’t consider it useful. Second, we had a fatwa from our Supreme Leader Khamenei, banning any acquisition or using or keeping of nuclear weapons. So, with the assassination of the Supreme Leader, the next leader might have a different point of view in terms of religious order and he might not ban access to nuclear weapons because you are being threatened by the Americans and Israelis—both have nuclear weapons. It would be necessary to defend the country. So maybe the next leader thinks and decides that it would be better to reverse the order and to have some nuclear weapon. In that case, yes, Iran might go for that.

Q. So this war is already shaking the Gulf countries, oil routes and other markets. Don’t you think that this is possible without dragging countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE or even some NATO countries?

A. Iran is attacking military bases and any interests of those in the war against us. So yes, Iran has attacked military bases of the United States. Iran has attacked hotels where American forces have been residing in. Iran has attacked a safety port the Americans were using. Iran has attacked airports that the Americans have been using. And Iran has attacked, for example, the database of Amazon, which is giving intelligence and data to Israeli army, so Iran is not dragging them into war. Iran is not attacking those countries and has already mentioned that officially. Iran said we are targeting only anyone who helps the Americans or Israelis in this fight against us. So, everyone who has invested in America and the Israeli-American army or are helping them in one way or the other, they would be targeted because they are helping the war against the country. So, there is no blame. Those who want Arab countries in the war are actually Americans and Israelis because they are running out of ammunition and they are paying a heavy price. So, they want to pay it at the cost of the countries and they want to bring them into the war in order to have their casualties, have their weapons and use them. And after the war, they will again sell the same munition and same weapons to the same Arab countries. So, they are trying to bring them into the war. But Iran has already warned that Gulf countries should not get involved.

Q. Tehran knew it very well that Israel and US will attack the leadership. Why was the Supreme Leader not moved to an undisclosed location earlier?

A. Because he’s not a coward like Netanyahu or Trump. He was in the fight and he was commanding the fight. The fight is not since Saturday, the fight has been going on for decades and he has been the commander-in-chief and he has been responsible. So, that’s how he has been working. He was in his office doing his job and his tasks and his duties as a leader. So, he was not covered with security or taking refuge. He did not accept that.

News world 'Not A Coward Like Trump': Iranian Strategist On Why Khamenei Refused To Hide Amid War | Exclusive

Read More