Chinese historian Jiang Xueqin’s 2024 lecture is going viral as he predicted that Donald Trump would return as US president and there would be war with Iran. The lecture was part of his “predictive History” series in which he explained how a new Trump administration would be pushed toward war with Iran because of political pressure from the Israel lobby, Saudi Arabian interests and America’s reliance on global hegemony for financial gains. When the Beijing-based professor gave this lecture, Joe Biden was still the president. The lecture went unnoticed but now social media users are sharing clips from that lecture. Jiang outlined a scenario he called “Operation Iranian Freedom”—a joint invasion by the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and allies, including the UK and UAE. He suggested Trump would justify the war by pointing to Iran’s nuclear program, proxy attacks, threats to allies, and a call to spread democracy.Jiang, however, gave a more intensive prediction that US troops would be deployed into Iran and would be held hostage. Conquering Iran would require at least 3 to 4 million soldiers, far beyond US military capacity. Jiang continued offering his explanations after Donald Trump ordered Operation Midnight Hammer, in which the US destroyed three nuclear sites. Jiang explained the scenario through his game theory. But now with Donald Trump announcing a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, social media users observed that the historian went too far in his prediction, as US is not engaging in any war with Iran.
Who is Jiang Xueqin?
Jiang Xueqin is a Beijing-based educator, writer, and advocate for education reform, known for his work in promoting creativity, critical thinking, and global citizenship in Chinese schools. A Canadian citizen of Chinese descent, he graduated with distinction in English literature from Yale College in 1999. Jiang contributes to Chinese and global media, including columns for the New York Times Chinese website and China Youth Daily, with articles in the Wall Street Journal, Chronicle of Higher Education, and others. He authored Creative China (2014), detailing his education reform efforts
