Former CIA analyst Larry Johnson joined me on Press TV’s Spotlight program to discuss the latest Russia-Iran naval drills and the likelihood of another major US attack on Iran.

Transcript:

Welcome, everyone. Iran and Russia have held naval exercises in the Sea of Oman and northern Indian Ocean to boost military cooperation and regional security. And topping the drills, maritime counter-piracy and counter-terrorism operations, IRGC forces also closed the Strait of Hormuz for a brief episode during their exercises just a day earlier. Annual drills are meant to send a clear message that the region is capable of providing its own security and stability and does not need or welcome, in fact, foreign players or intervention in this regard.

In fact, this Moscow to Iran cooperation is also giving way to the south north south transit corridor, a revolutionary transit route on land to run from St. Petersburg, Russia to the middle of India. And it runs primarily right through Iran, an economic game changer.

But first, let’s start with this quick report. Iran and Russia have wrapped up a series of joint naval exercises in the Sea of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean, aimed at boosting military cooperation and maritime security across the region. The drills focused on expanding operational coordination between the two navies, particularly in planning and executing combined missions. Special operations units from the Iranian Army, the IRGC, and the Russian Navy carried out a complex simulation to retake a hijacked vessel. In a coordinated air and sea assault, special forces boarded the target ship, detained the mock hijackers, and secured the vessel.

Military officials say the exercises were designed to improve joint readiness in countering maritime threats, including piracy and terrorism.Rear Admiral Hassan Mafzoudlu, spokesperson for the Iran-Russia joint drill, said all planned objectives have been successfully achieved.In the end, all the objectives planned by the designers in the operations room were successfully achieved.

The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy routinely participates in various defense diplomacy exercises around the world. Joint exercises with Russia in the Caspian Sea and in southern waters are also part of Iran’s annual defense diplomacy planning. As defense ties between Tehran and Moscow continue to deepen, Russian naval official Alexei Sergeev emphasized that the two countries are capable of addressing a wide range of maritime challenges together, highlighting a growing atmosphere of trust and cooperation. The level of interaction and cooperation between Iran and Russia shows that together we can manage and resolve many maritime and coastal challenges.

Moscow is ready to hold joint exercises in any region, including specialized drills such as maritime counterterrorism operations carried out by naval vessels and patrol boats from both countries. With Iran and Russia expanding collaboration across multiple sectors in recent years, the latest Navy drills underscored deepening strategic partnership between the two countries. The exercises also demonstrate the ability of both countries to safeguard regional maritime security without reliance on outside powers.

The drills come at a time of heightened tensions in the region, as the United States has stepped up its threats against Iran in recent weeks. Tehran has asserted that it is fully prepared to respond to any force threatening its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

And now for our guests for our program. Joining us, Mr. Larry Johnson, former CIA analyst from Florida. And also Kevin Barrett joining us from Saidia, Morocco. Gentlemen, pleasure to have you both. Welcome to our spotlight program. I guess Mr. Johnson, we’ll start with you down there in sunny Florida. Your initial take, please, on these naval drills between Moscow and Tehran and what they signify, especially in the scope of recent tensions.

Well, I think it’s important to understand that it’s not just with Russia. China’s also been involved. I mean, China, Russia, and Iran started a series, an annual joint naval exercise. They started that back in 2019. It’s always been scheduled around mid-February to mid-March. And anybody that’s ever been involved with military exercises before knows that the planning for this, they didn’t come up with this because of recent tensions with the United States. These exercises are usually planned days to months in advance.

And so it’s a reminder that now because of the tensions, it does take on added importance. It’s possible that they added in an additional dimension to this with just Russia. But you know the Chinese are also in the area. They have a an intelligence ship tailing the US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln. So I think it’s important to understand that unlike what happened in June’s surprise attack by Israel, Iran now enjoys the full backing of Russia and China, based in part on a trilateral agreement that was assigned at the end of January of this year.

Thank you there, Mr. Johnson. Dr. Kevin Barrett, pleasure to have you join us, sir. And thank you for your presence, in fact. And your opening thoughts as well on these annual drills that we witnessed. And to Mr. Johnson’s point, he’s very correct on that, that it’s been Russia, Iran, and China. And even China was supposed to be part of this, and it just opted out in the last minute. But nevertheless, the timing of the drills, the geopolitical relevance, and the message they sent this year, forget about the other years, but this year, with the buildup of tensions.

Well, first, I’d like to say it’s an honor to be on the show with Larry Johnson. He’s doing great work. I wish we had more government service people in the United States with his analytical skills and integrity. So yeah, these drills show that this time this is yet another aspect of the way that Iran is prepared now in a way that it wasn’t last June. That is, Iran has had more than half a year to figure out what went wrong, what went right in June, and to coordinate its response with Russia and China.

And of course, Russia is the world’s leading nuclear power with a lot of battle-tested people. They’ve been fighting a very serious war now that’s dragged on. And so they’re used to fighting an existential war in a way that the United States, of course, is not.

China is the world’s biggest economic and technological power by quite a bit now. And China has, according to many analysts, made a lot of progress in the intelligence fields relevant to the Iranian response to any US attack. We know that Iran now has access to radars that are specifically directed to going after stealth aircraft. And China, of course, had with its technological edge in many fields, is known not only for their ability to deal with cyber communications and satellite communications, but of course, also they’ve been apparently involved in helping Iran develop its missile technology. I believe there were Sunburn missiles more than two decades ago that already at that point could have shut down the Persian Gulf.

So Iran is totally prepared for this. Dick Cheney backed off. Obama didn’t even want to think about it. And now we’ve got an apparently Epstein-blackmailed Zionist stooge lunatic in the White House who is willing to gamble with the future of the region and the world. And so it’s a very, very dangerous situation. And with Russia and Chinese involvement, this of course sets the stage for escalation that could get out of control.

And thank you there, Dr. Barrett. And Mr. Johnson, Iran said time and again that the anti-terror operations and anti-piracy operations and other dimensions to the drills are meant to convey that, hey, we have regional players that can handle regional security and do not need, in fact, do not want outside forces in the region for any assistance in this regard. But is anyone listening when it comes to this point being driven home?

Well, the only terrorism threat that Iran has really faced has been that which has been ginned up by the United States and Israel. In particular, let’s recall that in after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003 and identified the MEK, the Mujahideen al-Khalq, they then, in 2004, realized, “hey, we can use these guys to attack Iran.” And even though the MEK was still on the list of international terrorists that my old office used to classify as organizations that were bad, the CIA and the US military started working with these guys. They weren’t removed from the terrorist list until 2012. And yet they became US proxies.

So to my knowledge, the MEK has never been responsible for carrying out a maritime attack. I think the maritime platform is, I’ll call it an excuse, to bring Russia and China together. What happens in these exercises is the officers, they get to know each other. You develop friendships. You learn how to communicate. You learn what kind of systems work best, and you try to simulate a crisis situation. And can you communicate in that situation? And if there’s a breakdown, what kind of workarounds do you come up with?

So they used the anti-terrorism thing as sort of the script, but that’s not the real purpose of this exercise. The purpose of this exercise is to ensure that Russian military personnel, Chinese military personnel, and both the c...