25.03.2026 20:41
Alex Younger, the former head of the UK’s foreign intelligence service MI6, stated that Iran has "gained the upper hand" in the war with the US and Israel and that Washington has "lost the initiative," downplaying the difficulty of the task. Younger mentioned that control over the Strait of Hormuz gives Iran an advantage, stating that it provides Iran with "superiority" in the war.
Alex Younger, who served as the head of the British foreign intelligence service MI6 from 2014 to 2020, commented on the war that began with attacks by the US and Israel on Iran in a podcast interview with "The Economist" magazine.
"THE US LOST INITIATIVE TO IRAN TWO WEEKS AGO" Younger stated, "The truth is that the US underestimated the difficulty of the mission, and I think it lost the initiative to Iran about two weeks ago." He shared the view that the Iranian government is actually more resilient than expected.
Younger said, "As early as last June, they made some good decisions regarding the distribution of their military capabilities and the delegation of authority to use these weapons. This provided them with significant additional resilience against extremely powerful air operations."
Alex Younger "IRAN HAS THE UPPER HAND IN THE WAR" Younger expressed that Iran is following a "horizontal escalation strategy," stating, "They acted by launching rockets at Gulf countries and thereby exerting pressure on the US."
The former MI6 Chief stated, "They understood the importance of the energy war and globalized the conflict in a way that would give them an advantage by keeping the Strait (of Hormuz) under threat. This provided them with some tools. They played their weak card well."
Younger, who said that control over the Strait of Hormuz gives Iran an advantage, stated that this gives Iran "superiority" in the war.
Alex Younger expressed regret about concluding that Iran is in a superior position, stating that he has fought against the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps throughout his career.
US-ISRAEL ATTACKS ON IRAN While negotiations continued between Tehran and Washington, Israel and the US launched a military attack on Iran on February 28. Iran responded with attacks on targets it identified in several regional countries, including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain, where US bases are located, in addition to Israel. In the US-Israel attacks, former Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, along with many high-ranking officials, was killed.