Cleric says US faces 'weakness and political isolation'

Over recent months, hardline clerics, parliamentarians, military figures and diplomats have all adopted a similar tone in speeches, television appearances and social media posts: projecting strength through intimidation.

Pro-government religious speakers have threatened domestic critics during large religious gatherings.

Mahmoud Nabavian, a senior lawmaker on parliament’s national security committee, warned Persian Gulf Arab rulers that “none of their palaces would remain intact” in the event of conflict.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has spoken on social media of a “long and painful response” to Iran’s adversaries, while foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei has adopted similarly confrontational language in diplomatic briefings.

Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei has also framed Iran as unwilling to bow to outside pressure, while former Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Kanaani Moghaddam openly described aggressive rhetoric as a method of confronting enemies.

The increasingly coordinated language across state institutions reflects what analysts describe as a deliberate political strategy rather than isolated remarks.

Religious tradition behind the rhetoric

The approach is rooted in a concept drawn from Islamic tradition that emphasizes victory through fear and intimidation.

The idea has historical and religious significance in parts of the Islamic Republic's revolutionary ideology and was widely used during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.

At that time, religious singers and propagandists used emotional chants and battlefield slogans to encourage Iranian fighters and intimidate opponents.

Those performances were largely limited to military fronts and ideological ceremonies.

The same style has now spread into nearly every branch of the Iranian state.

Diplomats increasingly use the language of confrontation rather than negotiation. Members of parliament issue military-style warnings instead of focusing on legislation and economic policy. Judicial officials speak in ideological slogans rather than legal terms.

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Even Iran’s negotiating teams often use the same tone heard in hardline religious gatherings, blurring the line between diplomacy, domestic propaganda and military messaging.

Pressure at home and abroad

The shift reflects the Islamic Republic’s weakening position rather than growing confidence.

Iran continues to face severe economic difficulties, including soaring inflation, unemployment, currency depreciation and repeated public protests.

The government has also struggled to ease international isolation or achieve major diplomatic breakthroughs despite years of regional confrontation.

Therefore, the aggressive rhetoric has become one of the few remaining ways for the leadership to project authority both domestically and internationally.

The strategy appears aimed at two audiences simultaneously: foreign rivals, who are warned of military escalation, and the Iranian public, where activists, journalists and critics continue to face arrests, interrogations and pressure from security agencies.

But the tactic may also carry political costs. Constant threats can eventually signal weakness and anxiety rather than power, particularly to a population already frustrated by economic hardship and political restrictions.

For many Iranians dealing with inflation, internet disruptions and declining living standards, the increasingly dramatic language from officials has become less a source of fear than a sign of a leadership struggling to maintain control.

Woolwich Crown Court on Thursday was told that Nandito Badea, 21, and George Stana, 25, received thousands of pounds through payments linked to Hemroc Ltd, a company based in Park Royal, west London, which was incorporated in 2020 and listed its business as the construction of domestic buildings.

Badea and Stana are accused over the March 2024 stabbing of Zeraati outside his home in Wimbledon, southwest London. They deny the charges.

Prosecutors allege the attack was carried out by criminal proxies acting on behalf of the Islamic Republic, an allegation Iran’s embassy in London has called “baseless.”

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  Iran International journalist stabbed at Tehran's behest, UK court told

Prosecutors said Hemroc had links to another company, Besuch Ltd, which operated “unlicensed restaurants and cafes” and traded under the name Tehran Lounge.

The court was told a man named Constantin Matache was a director of the company and that Hemroc made 183 payments totaling £80,540 to Stana’s sister, Florina, with the reference “loan.”

Florina then made 130 payments to Stana, who mainly passed the money on to others but used some for food, travel, cash withdrawals and other spending, retaining £1,330, prosecutors said.

Badea received 78 payments from Florina, the court heard. Prosecutors said he used the money for daily expenses and payments to Hotel Lily in West Brompton, where the men stayed while conducting surveillance, retaining £8,312.

Earlier in the trial, jurors were shown CCTV that prosecutors said captured the alleged getaway after Zeraati was stabbed three times in the leg in broad daylight.

The court has heard the defendants flew in from Romania and spent about a month carrying out surveillance near Zeraati’s home. On the day of the attack, prosecutors allege, Andrei grabbed Zeraati from behind while Badea stabbed him and Stana waited in a side road as the getaway driver.

The men later took a taxi to Heathrow Airport, changed clothes and boarded a British Airways flight to Geneva, the court was told.

Police found the car two days later. Arrest warrants were issued on October 3, and all three men were arrested in Romania on December 4. Badea and Stana were extradited to Britain 13 days later. Andrei could not be extradited because he was subject to domestic proceedings in Romania.

Iranian authorities in 2022 labeled Iran International a terrorist organization and said anyone working with the broadcaster would be deemed a threat to national security.

That year, posters were put up in Tehran featuring pictures of several journalists, including Zeraati, under the heading “Wanted: dead or alive.”

The court has also heard that police provided armed security for Iran International’s offices in Chiswick in 2022, and that the broadcaster later moved to Washington for a period after being told its employees could not be adequately protected in the UK.

The trial is continuing. The defense case is expected to begin next week.

In a separate case earlier this month, a trial date was set for three defendants charged over an alleged arson incident near Iran International’s studios in northwest London. That trial is scheduled to begin on January 25 next year at the Central Criminal Court.

An Iranian senior cleric said Iran’s adversaries would face new missile strikes and a wider regional war if they attacked the country.

Iran’s armed forces were “more prepared than ever” and threatened disruption to shipping through Bab al-Mandab if the Strait of Hormuz were targeted, Mohammad Javad Haj Ali-Akbari said during Tehran Friday prayers.

He also said attacks on Iran’s infrastructure would trigger retaliation against the “enemy’s supporters” across the region.

A member of parliament’s cultural committee said lawmakers would approve a proposal offering a reward to anyone carrying out clerics’ fatwa against Donald Trump after the measure completes the legal process.

Hassanali Akhlaghi-Amiri told Didban Iran the proposal would “certainly” pass parliament.

He made the remarks while security concerns had forced parliament to continue holding sessions online.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said 35 ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours after obtaining permits and coordinating with IRGC naval forces.

The IRGC Navy’s public relations office said the vessels included oil tankers, container ships and other commercial vessels.

It said the ships passed through the strait with IRGC security coordination.

The statement said that despite what it called insecurity caused by US military action in the Strait of Hormuz, the IRGC Navy had created “a safe waterway” for shipping and the continuation of global trade.