Judging Freedom - Judge Andrew Napolitano - Prof. Mohammad Marandi : FROM TEHRAN: How Iran Stays Strong.
Aired: 2026-04-01
Duration: 20:55


=== Solidarity Among the Streets (10:44) ===

[00:00:04]  Undeclared wars are commonplace.
[00:00:07]  Tragically, our government engages in preemptive war, otherwise known as aggression, with no complaints from the American people.
[00:00:15]  Sadly, we have become accustomed to living with the illegitimate use of force by government.
[00:00:21]  To develop a truly free society, the issue of initiating force must be understood and rejected.
[00:00:29]  What if sometimes to love your country, you had to alter or abolish the government?
[00:00:34]  What if Jefferson was right?
[00:00:36]  What if that government is best which governs least?
[00:00:40]  What if it is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong?
[00:00:44]  What if it is better to perish fighting for freedom than to live as a slave?
[00:00:49]  What if freedom's greatest hour of danger is now?
[00:01:04]  Hi, everyone.
[00:01:05]  Judge Andrew Napolitano here for Judging Freedom.
[00:01:08]  Today is Wednesday, April 1st, 2026.
[00:01:13]  My guest is the great Professor Mohamed Mirandi, who joins us live from Tehran.
[00:01:18]  Professor Mirandi, thank you for your personal courage in coming to the camera and microphones as you do every weekly.
[00:01:25]  It is deeply and profoundly appreciated by the enormous audiences that you draw.
[00:01:32]  How are you, my dear friend?
[00:01:35]  I'm good, Judge.
[00:01:36]  Thank you very much for inviting me.
[00:01:38]  It's always a great honor being on your show.
[00:01:41]  And I'm a fan of your show and I listen to it often.
[00:01:46]  What is life like in Tehran today?
[00:01:50]  Do people go to work?
[00:01:52]  Do they do shopping?
[00:01:54]  Do students go to school?
[00:01:56]  Do the police do their job?
[00:01:59]  Does the fire department do theirs?
[00:02:01]  Does the sanitation department do theirs?
[00:02:07]  The sanitation department actually does their work quite well because last night I was moving around and I saw them working near where I live.
[00:02:21]  The streets are clean.
[00:02:23]  But actually, this period is the best time for the country to be waging war because this is a national holiday.
[00:02:34]  We've been the Iranian New Year.
[00:02:36]  Was 12 days ago.
[00:02:37]  It's the first day of spring, No Ruz.
[00:02:40]  And we're effectively, the country is closed for like two weeks.
[00:02:43]  And so this is the second week of the holiday.
[00:02:46]  Schools will open on Monday, and so will universities.
[00:02:51]  And government agencies are sort of half open during the second week, meaning these days.
[00:02:58]  And then next week they open.
[00:03:00]  But under the circumstances next week, it'll be like during Corona, where schools and universities will be online.
[00:03:11]  And government agencies, they will, I think, a lot of the employees will be working from home or from wherever they are.
[00:03:20]  Are people out in the streets?
[00:03:22]  I mean, we're going to play a clip in a few minutes of Foreign Minister Arachi just amiably walking with large crowds in Tehran.
[00:03:33]  But in terms of buying food, going to shops, buying clothing, putting fuel in your car, is that part of life normal?
[00:03:46]  Yes, that is all very normal, although in Tehran, because of the war and because of the New Year holiday, traffic is very light.
[00:03:55]  Most shops are not open, but they will open on Monday.
[00:04:02]  In other cities, though, it's very different because a lot of people who've left Tehran have gone for vacation or they've gone to stay with family, depending on whether it's for vacation or it's because they want to be away from the airstrikes.
[00:04:17]  But other cities are more crowded and businesses are open, I would assume, in tourist cities.
[00:04:26]  But in Tehran, the last two weeks, businesses have been closed like every other year.
[00:04:34]  But before the new year, many were closed because of the war.
[00:04:38]  But we'll have to see how things evolve on Monday.
[00:04:41]  I think it'll probably get more crowded.
[00:04:43]  There'll be more businesses open.
[00:04:44]  But again, it won't be normal because of the war.
[00:04:47]  We have a clip of Foreign Minister Arachi in the streets of Tehran last night.
[00:04:54]  It's about 46 seconds long.
[00:04:57]  Because of the system that we're using to communicate with each other between Tehran and New York City, you and I will not be able to see or hear it, but our viewers will.
[00:05:09]  So Chris is going to play it now, and then I will read you the transcript of it so that you'll be familiar with what he says.
[00:05:18]  He's walking through the streets.
[00:05:20]  He has a hooded jacket on.
[00:05:21]  He's recognized by a reporter.
[00:05:23]  I don't know if he has security or not.
[00:05:24]  They're not visible in the clip.
[00:05:26]  He takes the hood off, he brushes his hair, and then he very happily answers the reporter's questions.
[00:05:32]  Chris, cut number 23.
[00:05:35]  I feel like you wanted to be among the people in a different way.
[00:05:39]  Why?
[00:05:41]  In the name of God, the most compassionate, the most merciful.
[00:05:44]  I just came to lift my spirits.
[00:05:47]  Seeing these people truly gives everyone a great sense of morale, and I am just a drop from among these people.
[00:05:52]  I wanted to come among them.
[00:05:54]  Participate in this movement on the ground, lift my own spirits, and truly enjoy this unity and solidarity among the people.
[00:06:01]  So, how did you find it, Doctor?
[00:06:03]  It was excellent.
[00:06:04]  It was excellent.
[00:06:05]  One truly envies these people who, with so much motivation, passion, and such high spirits, are serving their country like this, protecting it, persevering, and maintaining social cohesion.
[00:06:17]  May God give them all strength.
[00:06:22]  So here's the communication with Foreign Minister Arachi.
[00:06:28]  The reporter says, I feel like you wanted to be among the people in a different way.
[00:06:32]  Why, the Foreign Minister?
[00:06:35]  In the name of God, the most compassionate, the most merciful, I just came to lift my spirits.
[00:06:41]  Seeing these people truly gives everyone a great sense of morale, and I am just a drop among these people.
[00:06:47]  I wanted to come among them, participate in this movement on the ground, lift my own spirits, and truly enjoy this unity.
[00:06:55]  And solidarity among the people.
[00:06:58]  Reporter.
[00:06:59]  So, how did you find it, Doctor?
[00:07:01]  Answer the foreign minister.
[00:07:03]  It was excellent.
[00:07:04]  It was excellent.
[00:07:05]  One truly envies these people who, with so much motivation, passion, and such high spirits, are serving their country like this, protecting it, preserving, and maintaining social cohesion.
[00:07:18]  May God give them all strength.
[00:07:20]  Is that consistent with your observations of the Iranian people?
[00:07:25]  Or, stated differently, how?
[00:07:28]  Does Iran stay strong in the face of this horrific bombardment from the US and the Israelis?
[00:07:39]  You know, Judge, the best example I can give where no one can say that this is AI or propaganda is the first week of the war.
[00:07:51]  Immediately after the initial airstrikes, people began to worry about.
[00:08:00]  The safety of the martyr Ayatollah Khamenei.
[00:08:07]  And early next morning, it was declared that he and other senior people were martyred, senior commanders were martyred.
[00:08:16]  So for a week, we didn't have a leader.
[00:08:20]  And in accordance with the Constitution, of course, there was a council, but still, we didn't have a leader.
[00:08:27]  And people went to the streets every night and during the days and in huge numbers.
[00:08:33]  And they're doing it every night, by the way, till right now.
[00:08:36]  Every night, I drive across the city to go to a studio and you could pass different groups, sometimes huge in the tens of thousands, sometimes just in a neighborhood, like 50 people, 100.
[00:08:48]  It's just amazing.
[00:08:50]  And so during that week, the country, Was completely calm.
[00:08:56]  There were no queues or lines for gasoline.
[00:08:59]  None of the supermarkets were full of people.
[00:09:03]  No one was buying bread or anything else in an extraordinary way or out of fear.
[00:09:10]  It was business as usual.
[00:09:13]  The people kept the country moving forward.
[00:09:18]  And the armed forces, of course, immediately began responding within less than an hour, if I'm not mistaken.
[00:09:24]  So that just shows the high degree of legitimacy of the Islamic Republic, whether it's antagonist like that or not.
[00:09:35]  And every night these people are on the streets, every night across Tehran.
[00:09:40]  And Judge, three nights ago, I think, very near where I am right now, a walking distance from here, in one of those local gatherings near a square called Artish Square.
[00:09:56]  They fired a missile at this gathering and a woman was martyred.
[00:10:02]  So they continue to fire missiles at gatherings as they did on another one that I attended where another woman was murdered.
[00:10:11]  And I think I told you this on this show.
[00:10:13]  So it's basically a walking distance from where I am, maybe a 20 minute walk where she was killed just three nights ago.
[00:10:19]  But even though that happened last night, last night, The square was more crowded than it was the night when she was murdered.
[00:10:29]  Wow.
[00:10:31]  The American Defense Department, the Secretary of Defense, who calls himself the Secretary of War, a lot of people call him a lot of things, which I can't repeat on air, claims that the Supreme Leader is injured and disfigured.

=== Escalation and New Leadership (10:05) ===

[00:10:49]  Can you comment on that?
[00:10:53]  No, I don't think that there's anything wrong with him at all.
[00:10:57]  He is well protected for obvious reasons, just as the Speaker of Parliament has also been well protected.
[00:11:05]  And right now, all of our leaders are being taken special care of because the Israeli regime assassinates.
[00:11:15]  They're good at assassinations.
[00:11:16]  That's the only thing they're good at.
[00:11:17]  They're good at bombing homes and assassinating.
[00:11:21]  They've been doing it since JFK was killed, I suppose.
[00:11:26]  He is in charge.
[00:11:27]  And this is one of the myths that Trump is trying to, where Trump and his people are trying to promote, which is absolutely wrong.
[00:11:37]  He keeps talking about the fact that he keeps claiming that he's talking to people in Iran.
[00:11:43]  Nothing is different today from what it was a month and a half ago.
[00:11:48]  Right now, we have a new leader.
[00:11:50]  The chair of the Supreme National Security Council, the replacement for Dr. Larry Jenny, has been chosen.
[00:11:57]  Everyone who's All the positions are occupied.
[00:12:02]  So the affairs of state are carried out just as they were a year and a half ago.
[00:12:08]  So whoever wants to communicate with the Iranian government or with anyone in the Iranian government, it is done just as it was a month and a half ago.
[00:12:17]  There are no people who are carrying out their own separate agenda.
[00:12:21]  And everything works within the framework of the Supreme National Security Council.
[00:12:25]  Is the Iranian government negotiating either directly or indirectly?
[00:12:32]  With the Americans, as President Trump has been claiming consistently for the past week or so?
[00:12:41]  I can say with 100% confidence that no negotiations are taking place.
[00:12:49]  No negotiations have taken place either.
[00:12:52]  What does happen is that messages are exchanged, sometimes through Oman, now through Pakistan.
[00:13:00]  That is not you.
[00:13:03]  This has been going on for many years, or from, let's say, Russia or some other third party.
[00:13:10]  Sometimes the messages are direct through the Swiss embassy or other means, because sometimes when there is a concern that third parties may be pursuing their own interests and there's something that they must make sure that it's passed along with precision, sometimes the messages are sent directly.
[00:13:34]  But there are no negotiations taking place, and the Iranians have no interest in any ceasefire at all.
[00:13:41]  About five minutes before we came on air, so about 20 minutes ago, President Trump said Iran's president has asked for a ceasefire, but the United States wants the Strait of Hormuz to be open first.
[00:14:02]  Is this a credible statement?
[00:14:05]  No, not at all.
[00:14:06]  The president has not made such a proposal or request or anything like that.
[00:14:14]  The conditions that the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, which he is the head of, are very much the current demands, and they're not going to change those demands.
[00:14:30]  The only thing that can bring an end to this war is that if the facts on the ground change, And some things have already been solved without needing any negotiations.
[00:14:41]  For example, the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranians have changed its status, and that will remain the case permanently.
[00:14:49]  And the Iranians have also discovered that a lot of the U.S. assets in the Persian Gulf that were used against Iran were brought to Iran by ships.
[00:14:58]  So it's not just about importing or exporting oil or other goods.
[00:15:02]  It's also about Iran's national security.
[00:15:05]  So the issue of the Strait of Hormuz.
[00:15:07]  Thanks to Trump, it has been permanently changed, and the Iranians will make sure that that remains the case.
[00:15:15]  Isn't it bitterly ironic?
[00:15:18]  The president has dropped his claim for a change of government, he calls regime change, in Tehran.
[00:15:26]  He has dropped his claim for the surrender of nuclear enriched material.
[00:15:34]  He has dropped his claim for a destruction.
[00:15:38]  A self destruction by Iran of its own ballistic missiles is now, and now his demand is opening the Strait of Hormuz, which was open before he started his war.
[00:15:54]  Yes, but Judge, you forget where you are, it's still morning.
[00:15:59]  Till night, his objectives could change three or four times.
[00:16:02]  So maybe he will have those objectives by night time.
[00:16:07]  Who knows?
[00:16:09]  But the only thing, though, that is important for Iran. is that the aggression against the country is defeated and to make sure that it is never repeated again.
[00:16:20]  And the Iranians are not buying this notion that things are about over.
[00:16:23]  In fact, the belief here is that escalation is on its way, that a major assault by the Americans will happen, and there will be a lot.
[00:16:34]  And the belief is that the Americans will start increasing attacks and the Israeli regime, on vital infrastructure.
[00:16:44]  And we've already seen that happen.
[00:16:46]  And these attacks, of course, are fully coordinated.
[00:16:48]  So the Israelis are now bombing.
[00:16:50]  They bombed a key pharmaceutical factory, which is a crime against humanity.
[00:16:55]  They've been bombing key industries.
[00:17:00]  They've even been bombing poultry farms across the country.
[00:17:05]  So you can imagine they're just striking at anything that they think can hurt ordinary people.
[00:17:12]  Iranians.
[00:17:13]  And of course, the Iranians are going to retaliate.
[00:17:15]  And I think that today, probably, and tomorrow, the Iranians are going to be hitting hard in response.
[00:17:21]  But I think it's quite possible that on Friday, because you have a three day weekend and the markets will be closed for three days, I think there's a good chance that Trump will escalate during that period.
[00:17:34]  The president is going to address the country tonight at 9 o'clock Eastern Time, New York City time.
[00:17:44]  Last night, he told a reporter in an offhanded way I think this will be over in two or three weeks.
[00:17:50]  The troops will be home.
[00:17:52]  So some people expect him to declare a fanciful victory.
[00:17:56]  And some people think that if he announces that the troops are coming home, it's just a subterfuge to lull the Iranians into a false sense of security as he attempts.
[00:18:06]  To do in June with the negotiations and in February with the negotiations.
[00:18:12]  You are a student of American politics as well as literature, as well as Iranian politics.
[00:18:19]  What do you expect?
[00:18:20]  What do you think the Iranians expect, the Iranian government, to hear from President Trump tonight?
[00:18:30]  Well, Judge, you are the expert, and I would never dare act as an expert in front of you.
[00:18:36]  But I don't think that the Iranians have any idea what he's going to say because, as I was joking earlier, it's morning where you are now, and by tonight, who knows what is going to change.
[00:18:49]  And even if he says something tonight, who knows what he's going to be saying tomorrow or the day after?
[00:18:56]  I think in Iran, they don't really take note of what he says anymore.
[00:19:04]  We've already seen him carry out deception multiple times.
[00:19:09]  Nine months ago, we were negotiating, and then it turned out that all along he was deceiving Iran and he was planning for a blitzkrieg attack with Netanyahu.
[00:19:19]  And then before this war, we were negotiating.
[00:19:22]  The foreign minister of Oman said there was progress, and then again, he carried out war.
[00:19:28]  Nothing that he says will have any impact in Tehran.
[00:19:33]  In Tehran, the only thing that is important is that this war must end in a way where we feel. secure and that we feel that we will never be attacked again and that reparations are made and Iran will make sure that these Arab countries in the Persian Gulf that have been complicit, that if the U.S. is not going to pay for it, that they will.
[00:19:56]  And as I said, the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, it will be under a new type of management.
[00:20:04]  And of course, Iran's allies across the region, they too have to be safe and secure.
[00:20:11]  Wow.
[00:20:12]  Professor Mirandi, thank you very much, my dear friend.
[00:20:16]  May God be with you and your family and all your students and all your friends.
[00:20:21]  Thank you very much for your intellectual honesty and personal courage.
[00:20:25]  As always, we'll look forward to seeing you next week.
[00:20:27]  Thank you, Muhammad.
[00:20:28]  God bless you.
[00:20:30]  Thank you, Judge.
[00:20:31]  God be with you.
[00:20:32]  Thank you.
[00:20:33]  Coming up later today at 10 o'clock this morning, Aaron Mate at 1 this afternoon.
[00:20:41]  I'm not sure where he is, but we'll find him.
[00:20:44]  Friend of Professor Mirandi.
[00:20:45]  Mirandi's and mine, the great Pepe Escobar at 1 45, Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski at 3 o'clock, the great Phil Giraldi.
[00:20:53]  Judge Napolitano for Judging Freedom.