Iran is Neutralizing U.S. ‘Psychological War’: IRGC Commander

Iran is defeating the  ‘Psychological War’ of the U.S. said an IRGC Commander on Thursday. The Aerospace Division commander said that the U.S. spy drone that was shot down in June is part of a wider and ongoing psychological campaign to scare Iran’s population into thinking that war is imminent. 

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Amir Ali Hayizade, of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) spoke Thursday about what he believes to be a ‘psychological war’, aimed at forcing Iran’s hand. Referring to the US spy drone that entered Iran’s airspace in June, he said; “This was a tactic to force Iran to sit at the dialogue table. The shadow of war moved away from the country when Iran knocked down the United States drone. ”

Hayizade said however, that such attempts have failed, because firm action by Iran has exposed U.S. weakness, pointing out;  "With the demolition of the American drone, for the first time in the world, people realized that American power is fictitious"

When Iran downed the spy drone, the U.S. threatened dramatic action, but Donald Trump quickly backtracked. Hayizade, points to this as a victory against the U.S. ‘psychological war’. 

Iran has stated that they will not enter negotiations with the U.S. unless unilateral economic sanctions are lifted first, it’s this position that Hayizade believes the U.S. wants to undermine and to force them “to sit at the dialogue table” in a weakened position. 

Earlier in the week, it was announced that Iran has been stepping up economic cooperation with China, as a route out of sanctions imposed by the Trump administration, aimed at isolating the country and punishing it for opposing US foreign policy in the Middle East.