A senior adviser to one of Iran’s most powerful figures has told the JC that the regime sees terror attacks against UK Jews as a way to turn “battlefield achievements into political gains”.
The regime insider, who works closely with chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said of attacks on British Jews: “The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the current ruling establishment… welcome any action that weakens the [enemy] in any form: martyrdom operations, sabotage, explosions, attacks, cyber operations, media campaigns, or anything else.
“There is a kind of calculated rationality within this system. Negotiation is not the goal in itself. What matters is turning battlefield achievements into political gains. That is why, when opportunities for diplomacy arise, they use them.”
The adviser also celebrated what he believed was the regime’s success in capturing the support of the West’s progressive left.
“We have direct and indirect influence globally. We developed an ideology that appeals to many people, from non-Muslim left-wing groups fighting imperialism to Muslim groups, including Sunnis who do not necessarily support our Shia ideology,” he said. “We have managed to build a broad front against the West. I think the depth of our ideological power is only now beginning to be understood by the West.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran today is like the Soviet Union in the 1970s,” he added, saying the regime had a radical but adaptable ideological approach, a fact Iranian opposition groups have long argued the West underestimated.
Asked whether the ongoing foreign terror operations may backfire in the form of an international coalition aimed at toppling the regime, the senior adviser suggested Tehran believed it was managing that risk.
“I would have expected, for instance, that incidents like attacks in the UK or violent plots in the United States, could be used against us, just as the September 11 attacks were used to eliminate al-Qaeda,” he said. “But there is also a form of rational tension management in their strategy.
“We understand how far resistance can go because we have been doing this for decades. Once our strength and resistance are understood by the enemy, then there will be a fairer opportunity to make a deal.”
Since the beginning of the war, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly spoken of what he calls the “total surrender” of the regime, at times suggesting that the Islamic Republic had effectively been replaced by a new political order with which Washington was now negotiating.
Speaking about the US-Iran negotiations, the adviser said: “They want total surrender, and the Islamic Republic will never accept that.
“Iran has already shown maximum flexibility given the domestic situation and cannot go any further. Tehran either wants a full ceasefire or it prefers to continue fighting.
“But Iran still has leverage. Right now, Iran sees itself in a position of strength: the United States did not achieve its objectives. There was no regime change, the ruling establishment did not collapse, and the majority of people did not rise up. The Islamic Republic’s core supporters, both inside Iran and across the region, remain intact and are, in some cases, even more mobilised.”
The adviser pointed to nightly pro-regime rallies across Iran, continued Hezbollah attacks on Israel, and what he described as mounting pressure on Jewish communities in Europe and the UK.
“We believe time works more against the US and its allies than against Iran,” he said, speaking from inside Iran. “Iran has learnt how to endure and remain patient while disrupting everyday life across the globe.”
Amid all the rhetoric from Washington and Tehran, one crucial player remains largely absent from the conversation: the Iranian people themselves.
Millions of Iranians took to the streets during the nationwide uprising of January 2026, calling for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic. Thousands were reportedly killed in the crackdown that followed. Protesters openly appealed for support from the United States and Israel, hoping external pressure on Tehran could ultimately lead to the collapse of the regime.
But as the conflict has evolved, many opposition activists now fear their demands have been pushed aside by geopolitical bargaining and military calculations.
While the regime projects confidence and speaks of “resistance”, the unresolved question of Iran’s missing stockpile of enriched uranium continues to overshadow any prospect of a lasting settlement and raises fresh concerns about what Tehran may still be capable of if the confrontation deepens further.
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