Top Iranian Official Mohsen Rezai: American Forces Are Vulnerable in Iraq and Afghanistan

Following are excerpts from an interview by Secretary of the Iranian Expediency Council Mohsen Rezai, aired on Channel 2, Iranian TV, on March 16, 2006.

Mohsen Rezai: The Americans are facing political and military restrictions in Iran. They need much greater capabilities to confront Iran than they needed in Iraq. They don't have such capabilities. We know about the divisions stationed in Iraq. We know about the American battleships. We know the location of the American air bases. In particular, we know about the ground divisions in Iraq, their numbers and locations, how many of them are off duty, what they are doing, and what missions they have been charged with. Therefore, in their confrontation with Iran, the Americans are limited, both politically and militarily. That's why they have taken refuge in the "soft strategy."

Interviewer: The issue of the "hard strategy," the hard confrontation, is still on the agenda. There is a group of people in America - such as John Bolton, the radical neo-cons, and Mr. Dick Cheney - who are still pursuing this. As for what you said about our neighboring countries - the [neo-cons] believe that since they now have a military presence in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and in the Persian Gulf, and since Pakistan and Turkey are also somehow considered America's friends, and so is the Republic of Azerbaijan... From this radical viewpoint, they say that Iran is somehow besieged by American military forces.

Mohsen Rezai: That is one interpretation. Another interpretation is that America is vulnerable for precisely this reason. In other words, the Americans have become vulnerable in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and everywhere else.

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Let's assume that, economically speaking, they print and circulate dollars throughout the world... That in itself is a serious offense of the Americans. Every year they print over 200 billion dollars with no bullions to cover them, and inject them into the global economy. Even if we assume they can finance a war, they are extremely limited politically and militarily.

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America cannot organize international sanctions against us. China and many East Asian countries are looking for markets. They will not comply with such sanctions, even if countries like France, England, Germany, and Japan may comply.

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One of Iran's problems is that it does not have lobbies in America. The Zionists and even the Armenians have such lobbies. These are very strong lobbies. They convey very biased information to the public, and even to the American politicians. Iran's lobbying power is weak. We have Iranians there who are very...

Interviewer: They are the mode educated and have the highest incomes.

Mohsen Rezai: Yes, the have the highest incomes. In my opinion, our friends in the foreign ministry should work hard to build strong lobbies within America itself.