Iran-Backed Houthis Seize Strategic Red Sea Territory as War Escalates (with Professor Mohammad Marandi)
September 12, 2026
AI Summary
5 min read“The longer the war lasts, the less people pay attention to what Trump says,” Professor Mohammad Marandi of the University of Tehran observes, describing a strategic indifference that has settled over Iranian society as the U.S.-Iran conflict grinds on. In a wide-ranging interview, Marandi explains why the U.S. is losing a war it started, how Iran’s decades of preparation have made it resilient, and why the rapid Houthi advance in Yemen signals a broader regional shift that the Trump administration cannot reverse.
Why the U.S. military advantage has evaporated
Marandi argues that the war’s fundamental asymmetry is structural. Iran spent decades building underground missile and drone cities, burying its key assets deep inside a mountainous country. “Not a single missile base, not a single drone base has been destroyed in this war because they’re all deep underground,” he says. By contrast, U.S. assets sit exposed on bases across the Persian Gulf and Jordan. One Iranian missile strike can destroy helicopters, planes, and other equipment. Meanwhile, American air defenses are so expensive to operate that “firing them sometimes costs more than if they just let the missile go through and strike a target.” The result, Marandi says, is that “the Americans are fighting a 20th century war; the Iranians are fighting effectively a 21st century war.”
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:46) **Opening: Iran's Pincer Strategy and the Red Sea Seizure** - The host outlines Iran's strategic position, controlling the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea via Houthi allies who have seized the Bab el-Mandeb strait.
- 2 (02:41) **Houthi Territorial Gains and Saudi Weakness** - The host details the Houthis' rapid advance across Western Yemen and the strategic implications of their new territorial control.
- 3 (04:54) **U.S. Blames China; Iran Welcomed at BRICS** - The host discusses the Trump administration's blame-shifting and Iran's diplomatic success at the BRICS summit in New Delhi.
- 4 (08:38) **Interview Begins: Professor Marandi on the War's Strategic Reality** - The host introduces Professor Mohammad Marandi from the University of Tehran, who was part of the negotiating team for the MOU that Trump breached.
- 5 (12:54) **The Asymmetry of the Conflict** - Professor Marandi contrasts the vulnerability of U.S. assets with the resilience of Iran's underground infrastructure.
- 6 (14:18) **Trump's Lack of Credibility in Tehran** - Professor Marandi explains how Trump's erratic behavior and broken promises have rendered him completely untrustworthy in the eyes of Iranian leadership and the public.
- 7 (19:22) **The Houthi Advance: Moral Victory and Collapse of Saudi-Backed Forces** - Professor Marandi analyzes the reasons behind the rapid Houthi territorial gains in Yemen.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on major new developments in the U.S. war on Iran before his interview with University of Tehran Professor Mohammad Marandi. Meiselas examines Iran-aligned Houthi forces advancing along Yemen's Red Sea coast and reaching the strategic island of Perim at the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely disrupted and Saudi Arabia seeks additional U.S. assistance against the Houthis. Meiselas also discusses Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's arrival in New Delhi ahead of the BRICS summit and what these rapidly developing events could mean as Trump has destroyed the standing of the United States in the world.
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