Iran’s senior security official, Ali Larijani, has claimed that the United States miscalculated its military confrontation with Iran, saying Washington expected the country to collapse quickly but is now trapped in a prolonged conflict.
Larijani made the remark on Saturday during a live broadcast on Iranian state television.
According to him, the United States believed Iran would face a situation similar to Venezuela, where external pressure and political instability weakened the government. However, he argued that the strategy has failed in Iran because the U.S. underestimated the country’s political and regional realities.
“The US thought Iran would be like Venezuela but got stuck,” Larijani said.
He added that American policymakers failed to understand the local dynamics in the Middle East, particularly Iran’s internal structure and regional alliances, which has complicated Washington’s military and political strategy.
The current crisis began on February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel launched large-scale air and missile strikes on multiple targets inside Iran. The attacks targeted military installations and high-ranking officials in Tehran and other cities.
During the initial strikes, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and several top government and military officials were reportedly killed, creating a leadership crisis in the country.
The strikes triggered a major escalation across the region, with Iran retaliating through missile and drone attacks on U.S. and allied military facilities in several Middle Eastern countries.
Since then, the conflict has intensified with repeated exchanges of missiles and air strikes between the parties involved, causing casualties and raising fears of a wider regional war.
Global leaders and international organizations have continued to call for restraint and diplomatic engagement to prevent the situation from spiraling further and destabilizing the broader Middle East.
