Watch this: ElBaradei on Iran

Watch this interview with Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, former Vice President of Egypt and former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in which he discusses Iran and the current war.

ElBaradei speaks with David Hearst of Middle East Eye.

Mohamed ElBaradei was heading the IAEA when it began talks with Iran in 2009. He was also leading the UN’s nuclear watchdog in 2003 when he stated explicitly that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction.

What is happening to Iran, the Nobel Peace award laureate says, reminds him of Iraq—perhaps even worse, to be honest.

At least George W. Bush went to the UN Security Council, while Donald Trump effectively sidelined the UN and its institutions.

ElBaradei also spoke about Iran’s security chief, Ali Larijani, who was recently killed in an Israeli strike. He described Larijani as both a hardliner and a pragmatist, noting his capacity for serious philosophical reflection and effective negotiation.

ElBaradei and Larijani in Tehran in 2009 "UPI"

On the other hand, such sophistication is largely absent from our media when it comes to guests. It has been years since Mohamed ElBaradei last spoke to the mainstream media.

ElBaradei has been outspoken in his criticism of the US-Israeli war on Iran on his social media accounts.

This is the latest thing he tweeted on his official Twitter account in Arabic.

هناك مسؤولية أخلاقية كبيرة- قبل هدم المعبد على رؤوس الجميع-ان تقوم قيادة عربية تمثل كل المنطقة وبالنيابة عن كل شعوبها بمطالبة #ترامب اليوم وبشكل مباشر وحازم بوقف هذه الحرب التى لن تجني المنطقة من ورائها غير الدمار والخراب والتفكك والتى لن يستفيد منها للأسف سوى اسرائيل …

موقف…

— Mohamed ElBaradei (@ElBaradei) March 22, 2026

“There is a great moral responsibility—before the temple is demolished on everyone's heads—for an Arab leadership representing the entire region and on behalf of all its peoples to demand today, directly and firmly, that Trump halt this war, from which the region will reap nothing but destruction, ruin, and fragmentation, and from which, regrettably, only Israel will benefit… The position of the observer and the statements are no longer an option…”

Unfortunately, Arab leadership is not doing this. In fact, no one is—neither in the West nor the East. Someone needs to tell Trump that he is the naked emperor—the emperor in the famous tale. But let’s be honest: it wasn’t the adults who said it—it was the children who struck him with the ugly truth.

Speaking of Larijani, many Egyptians have expressed sadness over his assassination. He was arguably on his way to becoming one of the most admired Iranian figures in Egypt—second perhaps only to former Iranian Prime Minister Mohamed Mossadeq.

Beyond his credentials as a political philosopher and pragmatic negotiator, a video of Larijani discussing his 2015 meeting with Henry Kissinger in the United States struck a chord with many Egyptians.

Martyr Larijani on his meeting with Kissinger https://t.co/CotQSZY0KE pic.twitter.com/ta4Y9afFvv

— Christopher Helali (@ChrisHelali) March 22, 2026

That clip has gone viral in Egypt. 

It resonated particularly with Egyptians, who saw voices like his acknowledging Egypt in this way while Egyptians are being attacked and insulted online — especially by some Gulf commentators — for rejecting the war on Iran, placing responsibility on Israel and the United States for igniting it, and protesting the use of US military bases in the region to strike Iran, which effectively turns their neighbors into human shields.