Podcasts about iran iraq war

Ralph speaks with Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff for Colin Powell, about the fall of the American Empire and self-proclaimed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth. Then we welcome the CEO and co-founder of the Canadian-based organization Corporate Knights, Toby Heap, to break down Trump's unprecedented trade war with our closest ally. Plus, Ralph has some choice words for Hakeem Jeffries and his meeting with Jared Kushner and for Hillary Clinton and her take on the war with Iran.Lawrence Wilkerson is a retired U.S. Army colonel. Over his 31 years of service, Colonel Wilkerson served as Secretary of State Colin Powell's Chief of Staff from 2002 to 2005, and Special Assistant to General Powell when he was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993. Colonel Wilkerson also served as Deputy Director and Director of the U.S. Marine Corps War College at Quantico, Virginia, and for fifteen years he was the Distinguished Visiting Professor of Government and Public Policy at the College of William and Mary. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the Eisenhower Media Network, senior advisor to the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, and co-founder of the All-Volunteer Force Forum.Two-thirds of the world now thinks that we are an enemy of their state. Two-thirds of the world. And it happens to be the two-third that has the greatest amount of the GDP in the world.Colonel Lawrence WilkersonI've lived for 81 years, almost 82, and I've watched my country go to hell right in front of my face… And the billionaires who want all of this to happen, they do not want a democracy. A democracy is fallible. A democracy can't beat China. A democracy can't beat Russia. A democracy can't even beat Iran. They want a technocracy that is run by them, armed by them, technical revolution by them. They want all of this, and oh by the way they want to live to 150 while they're doing it too.Colonel Lawrence WilkersonEvery freaking hour they create a series of war crimes in Iran. Every freaking hour they perpetrate war crimes in the Persian Gulf. Every freaking hour they perpetrate war crimes in Lebanon with Israel. “What's new?,” I want to say. We are a criminal state. There is no other way to describe it. We are a criminal state. We pay no attention whatsoever to domestic or international law. Only when it benefits the person who is doing the deed do we pay any attention at all.Colonel Lawrence WilkersonToby Heaps is the CEO and co-founder of Corporate Knights, and Editor-in-Chief of Corporate Knights magazine. He spearheaded the first global ranking of the world's 100 most sustainable corporations in 2005, and in 2007 coined the term “clean capitalism.”What we're seeing is a sort of political physics—for every action is an equal and opposite reaction. Canada has in many ways benefited and rallied around our nationhood. We're often not the most boisterous or loudest type of folks. But this continued disrespect for our statehood and the continued attacks and the unreasonableness and the unfair play, our prime minister said something to the effect of: when the United States signs something, it's in pencil. It's really denigrating the United States' reputation globally and in Canadians' minds.Toby HeapsNews 8/28/26* This week, the left-wing insurgency in the Democratic Party scored several new victories. First, NBC reports that in Oklahoma, N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Markwayne Mullin, who Trump selected to lead the Department of Homeland Security following the resignation of Secretary Kristi Noem. Thomas will go up against Republican Congressman Kevin Hern in November. Unfortunately, Thomas stands little chance of winning the state, which has not elected a Democratic Senator since 1990. Thomas is a member of the Chickasaw Nation and identifies as a Democratic Socialist, but is “not yet” a member of DSA.* Next, in California, Democracy Now! reports progressive state lawmaker Aisha Wahab has prevailed in the special election to fill the seat vacated by disgraced former Congressman Eric Swalwell. This piece notes that Wahab “overcame a flood of attack ads from pro-Israel groups,” which sought to bolster her Democratic primary rival, Melissa Hernandez. In an interview, Wahab said that she “appreciates” voters in her district for “seeing through” the “lies that were spread by AIPAC.” Wahab will make history as the first Afghan American in Congress and has called for the United States to engage with the Taliban government and attempt to “[steer] them in the right direction” on human rights.* In Georgia, the Hill reports another progressive – Everton Blair – won the special election to fill the seat of Congressman David Scott, who passed away in April during his 12th term in the seat. Blair, the former chair of the Gwinnett County School Board, defeated Scott's daughter Marcye Scott. However, Blair will only represent this seat until the end of the year. Beginning in January, State Rep. Jasmine Clark, who won the May primary, will fill the seat for the 120th Congress.* Meanwhile, in the Cornhusker State, the Nebraska Examiner reports that the “Legal Marijuana NOW U.S. Senate candidate Mike Marvin announced he can't put more ‘energy' into the Senate race because of health issues and endorsed nonpartisan U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn.” Marvin will remain on the ballot, but is “urging all who supported [him] to now support…Osborn.” This piece notes that this announcement comes on heels of reporting by Flatwater Free Press showing that two staffers from Osborn's 2024 independent Senate campaign joined the Legal Marijuana NOW executive board and sought to dissolve the party from the inside. This, combined with the fact that former Democratic Senate nominee Cindy Burbank paid Mike Marvin's $1,740 candidate filing fee and dropped out of the race one day after the secretary of state verified Osborn's signatures to be on the fall ballot has fueled speculation that these were coordinated efforts to clear the field for Osborn. Marvin for his part disputes this and says he never planned to leave the race. Osborn is quoted saying “We hope to earn the support of the LMN voters and hope that we can represent their concerns well in the US Senate.”* In more third party news, Trump has launched new broadsides against the emerging ex-MAGA clique – consisting of Tucker Carlson, Congressman Thomas Massie, and former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. According to the Hill, Trump attacked the group, said to be exploring the possibility of founding a new right-wing party, calling Carlson “a loser,” Greene “a highly neurotic woman” and Massie a “real JERK” on Truth Social. The president added, “What a team this would be, THREE LOSERS, and a pocketful of change!...The only chance they have is to join the Radical Left Dumocrats, and try breaking into the Primary System. To all of them I say, PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!” The proximate cause of this latest flare-up between the camps is Trump's decision to allow in 300,000 metric tons of ground beef to be imported in the next 90 days, a move Massie called “worse than socialism.” Greene, who has been perhaps the most vocal defector from the MAGA camp, said “He attacks us with such vitriol because we actually are everything he claimed to be…he has proven as President that he is nothing more than a neocon puppet for Israel, corporations, big donors with special interests, and his dear friends in the Epstein class…We never changed, Trump did.”* Another story from this side of the aisle comes to us from NOTUS, which reports that an “unknown actor” has stolen over $16,000 from the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC). This incident, alternatively characterized as a “theft” from a “foreign country” or simply a “fraud,” occurred in early July, when the NRCC “attempted to pay a bill from Ranger Wi-Fi Consulting, a Texas-based firm that specializes in helping clients ‘optimize their wireless networks while ensuring healthy security measures are in place.'” Seeking to assuage the fears of donors, NRCC spokesman Will Kiley told the press that “Protecting donor funds is a top priority for the NRCC,” and vowed that the committee is “working to recover the funds, and…taken steps to ensure it can't happen again.” Listeners might remember that in July, the DNC admitted that they had fallen prey to a scammer, losing almost $30,000 in the process. It would seem that these committees do not have functional safeguards against such schemes.* Our final stories this week all deal with the Middle East. First up, Axios reports that while AIPAC was gearing up for a major ad blitz in Michigan against Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed and on behalf of Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers, those plans have apparently been iced at the behest of the Rogers campaign. According to this story, Rogers believes that AIPAC spending in the Democratic primary – over $30 million on behalf of El-Syed's rival Haley Stevens – actually helped boost El-Sayed's candidacy, making his opposition to AIPAC a “centerpiece of his…campaign, using the group's spending against him to portray Democratic opponent Haley Stevens as beholden to the pro-Israel lobby.” Rogers fears the same fate, so he has sought to keep his distance from AIPAC while his allies are urging AIPAC to “get involved without putting the group's name front and center.” However, Rogers' attempts to put some daylight between his campaign and AIPAC has resulted in the latter turning cold towards the Republican candidate. Republicans now worry that AIPAC will “sit out the general election entirely.” As for the perception of AIPAC in Michigan, a recent poll found that “55% of Michigan voters oppose continued U.S. aid to Israel.”* On the other end of the Michigan political spectrum, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding that he “ensure the immediateand permanent release of U.S. citizen Sama Safi, a 20-year-old university student with a severe complex chronic health condition, who the Israeli military has arbitrarily and wrongfully detained since June 2nd.” This letter goes on to describe how “armed Israeli soldiers raided her family's home in the occupied West Bank in the middle of the night and tore her from her family,” and that since then, she has “suffered under appalling conditions in Israeli military detention including “frequent physical assault, shackling, and the throwing of gas and stun grenades into already overcrowded and poorly ventilated cells,” among other horrors. 40 more members of Congress signed this letter, including six senators, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey and Chris Van Hollen among them. 85 civic groups also signed onto this demand, ranging from faith-based groups to human rights organizations and beyond.* In the region itself, a broad coalition of Muslim states – including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and, perhaps most notably, the United Arab Emirates – have issued a categorical condemnation of Israel's new “E1” settlement plan. This plan relates to new settlement activities east of occupied East Jerusalem and the signatories decry the plan as constituting “a dangerous escalation that further advances settlement expansion and annexation and undermines the geographical contiguity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory…thereby threatening the viability and realization of an independent, contiguous Palestinian State based on the 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital.” The UAE was the most significant state in the region to sign onto the Trump-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020, which sought to normalize relations between Israel and its neighbors at the expense of the Palestinians. Saudi Arabia was said to be on the verge of signing the accords prior to October 7th and Israel's subsequent genocidal military campaign in Gaza. The UAE taking a new stand against Israel on behalf of the Palestinian cause is widely seen as the final death knell of the Abraham Accords and the beginning of a new era of relations in the Middle East.* Finally, the Economist reports that a group of seven top officials within the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is consolidating power in Iran. The man rumored to be leading this junta is Mohsen Rezaei, the new national-security adviser, former presidential candidate and the longest-serving chief of the IRGC, having led the corps though the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. Others include the head of the navy, currently overseeing Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the IRGC's commander-in-chief and founder of the Quds Force. Notably absent from this group is Mojtaba Khamenei, the new Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. This piece judiciously avoids making any definite predictions about whether this new clique will rule as hardliners or pragmatists, but emphasizes that the late Ali Khamenei expertly “balanced the competing interests of his realm” while these military men favor action.This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

Shayan — Iranian-born, UK-based extreme metal force behind Trivax — pulls into the Krazy Train and this conversation goes places most podcasts would never have the guts to go. Jasmin St. Claire sits down with a man who discovered Metallica through illegal satellite television in a country where playing heavy metal could get you arrested, packed up a B.C. Rich guitar, left Iran, and built one of the most culturally loaded extreme metal projects in the underground today. Trivax isn't just a band — it's a manifesto. Old-school extreme metal fused with Middle Eastern musical elements, lyrics rooted in Iranian heritage, Zoroastrian philosophy, and a direct, unapologetic assault on the Iranian theocracy. Songs like "Operation Ramadan" dig into the horror of the Iran-Iraq War. The album The Great Satan says exactly what it means. And their fourth record — recorded for Osmose Productions — is already on the way. Shayan's Promethean message of personal agency and accountability hits differently when the man delivering it lived the consequences of what happens when a society strips both from its people.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SYED NOURASHRAFEDDIN;  PhD in Molecular Medicine; Author, "InSearch of Rain: From Motel Qu to Pittsburgh" A Journey from Iran toAmerica; LIVE from Pittsburgh#realconversations #Iran #molecularmedicine #PhD #Author#resilience CONVERSATIONS WITH CALVIN — WE THESPECIESHosted by Calvin SchwartzMeet SEYED NOURASHRAFEDDIN. “With huge anticipation, thiswas one of the most poignant and inspiring interviews I've done in the last 15years. Where do I begin? Grateful to the universe for connecting Seyed and me.Indeed, this is the stuff they make movies about. And there is absolutelynothing political here. Just us humans talking about a special journey. Seyedwas born in Northern Iran in 1974. A large family. A father addicted to drugs.An illiterate mother. He was not a good student, but received a special giftthat energized him. He graduated from a prestigious Iranian university andimmigrated to America in 2012. He got his PhD in Molecular Medicine. He'swritten numerous articles on cancer and reproductive health. AND WHY WE AREHERE TODAY. His amazing memoir, “In Search of Rain from Motel Ou to Pittsburgh:A Memoir for Everyone.” A must-listen-to interview. As I often do, here aresome words and thoughts from Seyed. He buried his father with his hands. Adifficult childhood. Don't ever give up (He said this often). He had aninspiring teacher in a wheelchair in elementary school. A fifth-grade teachertold him that he can be better. What surprised Seyed most about America was itsdiversity; Living with tranquility. Human values. To have impossible dreams. (remindedme of the song). In search of rain means freedom and peace. His memoir took tenyears to write. It's a beautiful and inspiring book. Seyed talked about AndrewCarnegie. And philanthropy. Trying to help people inspires him. Seyed hugelyinspired me.” Calvin

Iran's nuclear program is now more than seven decades old, stretching from the Shah's ambitious Atoms for Peace-era plans to the Islamic Republic's pursuit of enrichment, missile capability and nuclear latency. Iran historian Farzan Sabet joins Decouple to explain how energy development, techno-nationalism, the trauma of the Iran–Iraq War and a persistent sense of strategic isolation transformed a civilian nuclear project into an increasingly important national-security instrument.We trace the program through the Shah's plans for 23,000MW of commercial nuclear power, the revolution, the AQ Khan network, the AMAD weapons effort, the JCPOA and the collapse of Iran's traditional deterrence architecture. Farzan also examines the extraordinary price Iran has paid: sanctions-related economic damage measured in the hundreds of billions of dollars and, by one estimate, comparable to the economic cost of the Iran–Iraq War, yet with neither substantial nuclear power generation nor a nuclear deterrent to show for it.Listen to Decouple on:• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PNr3ml8nEQotWWavE9kQz• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/decouple/id1516526694?uo=4• Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1516526694/decouple• Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/ehbfrn44• RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/23775178/podcast/rssWebsite: https://www.decouple.media

The Peter Boyles Show July 25, 2026 HOUR 1: Peter Boyles previews an upcoming interview with former Cherry Creek School District administrator Patrick Hogarty before turning his attention to the ongoing U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran. He argues that today's war cannot be understood without examining decades of U.S. involvement in Iran, from the 1953 CIA-backed coup to the Iran-Iraq War and beyond. Throughout the hour, Peter questions America's role in the Middle East, whether the U.S. is fighting on Israel's behalf, and how the current conflict can realistically end. He challenges listeners to look beyond headlines and consider the historical events that continue to shape the region today.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz joins Decouple to examine the history of Iran's nuclear program and the negotiations that produced the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. As the agreement's lead American technical negotiator, Moniz offers a rare inside account of his intensive discussions with Iranian nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi, explaining how personal trust helped make an extraordinarily difficult negotiation possible. He details the JCPOA's restrictions on uranium enrichment and argues that its unprecedented inspection, verification and transparency provisions were even more important than its limits on nuclear technology.The conversation also explores the origins of Iran's nuclear ambitions, including the formative impact of the Iran–Iraq War, the country's former structured weapons program and its subsequent accumulation of uranium enriched to 60 percent. Moniz assesses the consequences of the United States' 2018 withdrawal from the JCPOA, the limits of military action, the weakening of Iran's civilian leadership and the increasingly difficult prospects for renewed negotiations. Despite these obstacles, he argues that diplomacy remains the only durable path to resolving Iran's nuclear program, and potentially the wider challenges posed by its missiles, drones and regional proxies.Listen to Decouple on:• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PNr3ml8nEQotWWavE9kQz• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/decouple/id1516526694?uo=4• Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1516526694/decouple• Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/ehbfrn44• RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/23775178/podcast/rssWebsite: https://www.decouple.media

In Episode 487 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Vali Nasr — professor of international affairs and Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University, non-resident senior advisor in the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and author of Iran's Grand Strategy: A Political History — about the argument that the Islamic Republic's conduct is driven far less by religious ideology than by national insecurity and historical grievance, how that reframing bears on US and Western policy and the nuclear negotiations, the forces that forged the Islamic Republic into what it is today, and the range of likely outcomes for Iran, the region, and the global economy. The first hour examines the central argument of Vali's work—drawn from his book and a recent Foreign Affairs article co-authored with Narges Bajoghli—that the Islamic Republic's conduct is driven far less by religious ideology than by a deeply entrenched sense of national insecurity and historical grievance rooted in Iran's long experience of foreign domination. They trace that experience through Iran's centuries of isolation and weakness, the imperial penetration of the nineteenth century, and the 1953 coup against Mohammad Mossadegh, before turning to why the distinction between ideology and rational national interest is so consequential for how the United States, Tel Aviv, and the West approach Iran—nowhere more so than in the nuclear negotiations. The second hour turns to the forces that made the Islamic Republic what it is today, beginning with the eight-year Iran-Iraq War—the crucible in which its current leadership, its institutions, and the Revolutionary Guards were formed, and from which Iran drew its doctrine of forward defense and proxy warfare. From there they examine Iran's nuclear program as an instrument of negotiation and deterrence rather than an end in itself, the effects of the maximum pressure campaign and sanctions, and how the latest war has accelerated cultural change inside the country. The conversation closes by drawing a parallel between the collapse of the Safavid state in 1722 and China's century of humiliation before considering the range of likely outcomes—including whether a grand bargain is possible and what the default scenario looks like for Iran, the region, and the global economy if the status quo persists. Subscribe to our premium content—including our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports—by visiting HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you'd like to join the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community—with benefits like Q&A calls with guests, exclusive research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners—you can also sign up on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed today's episode of Hidden Forces, please support the show by: Subscribing on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Stitcher, SoundCloud, CastBox, or via our RSS Feed Writing us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Join our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and support the podcast at https://hiddenforces.io. Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 07/06/2026

Welcome to Day 1 of American Ground Radio's 10th Annual Fourth of July Special — What Makes America Great — with Stephen Parr and Louis R. Avallone. We're celebrating America's 250th birthday with some of the most inspiring voices in the country. We kick things off with country music legend Clint Black, who calls the Constitution America's greatest gift — not because it created a perfect nation, but because the framers built in the wisdom to know they weren't perfect and gave the people the tools to correct course. He reflects on John Adams making those horseback rides from Boston to Philadelphia at an age Clint was when he was reading about it — knowing the punishment for failure was death — and what that kind of courage means to the rest of us. Then Joe Piscopo — Frank Sinatra's vice chairman of the board — joins us from New Jersey, talking about his grandfather's manifest on the German freighter that brought him to Ellis Island, his father fighting for the United States Army Air Corps in World War II, and why every morning on the radio he feels like he's on a mission in their name to keep the legacy of this country alive. Singer-songwriter Don McLean, author of American Pie, tells us about falling in love with an Israeli woman, living outside Tel Aviv while he could hear the Iran-Iraq War a hundred miles away, and coming home to America thinking — we have no idea how safe we are here. He also tells us about a new documentary on the making of American Pie and his brand new album American Boys. Mattress Mack — Jim McIngvale of Gallery Furniture in Houston — gives us the three-word formula he's lived by his whole life: late to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise. He talks about opening his furniture store as a shelter during Houston floods and hurricanes, about a man who spent six years in Angola Penitentiary and is now one of his best employees, and about why the Judeo-Christian work ethic is the foundation of everything he's built. He also shares that in 1900, the average American household had 10.5 people. Today it's under two. And one, he says, is the loneliest number. Gary Sinise — Lieutenant Dan himself, founder of the Gary Sinise Foundation, author of Grateful American — talks about standing at the DMZ between North and South Korea and staring into the eyes of a North Korean guard who has never known freedom, and what that does to your appreciation for everything the men and women who serve under our flag have given us. He also shares that the 30th anniversary of Forrest Gump is coming up on July 6th. Our American Mamas Teri Netterville and Kimberly Burleson join us to talk about their 23rd annual Fourth of July family gathering — a tradition they started as young newlyweds so their children would always have a reason to come home — and what it means now that those children have children of their own. Teri talks about the new urgency she feels as a patriot, the sense that this 250-year experiment is teetering, and why that makes the celebration more important, not less. Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church in Dallas opens with the observation that Benjamin Franklin — a deist who didn't believe God intervened in human affairs — stood at the Constitutional Convention and said, the longer I live, the more I'm convinced God governs the affairs of men. He also makes a sober point that America has no biblical promise of eternal endurance the way Israel does — and that our future depends entirely on our response to God's call to repentance. And Dr. Carol Swain — one of 12 children who grew up in poverty in the rural South, dropped out of school after eighth grade, and went on to earn a Ph.D. and become a university professor — says it was the people who made her great, many of them white men who saw something in her worth believing in. She says the most positive indoctrination in the world is being told you live in the greatest country on earth and that hard work will get you somewhere — and she credits not being exposed to critical race theory and victimology as part of why she was able to succeed. Throughout the special, we return to the central truth that runs through every one of these interviews — America doesn't manufacture greatness. It unleashes it. May your pursuit of happiness bring you joy. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, visit AmericanGroundRadio.com, and join the conversation at 866-AGR-1776!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Subscribe now for an ad-free experience. Sina Azodi, assistant professor of Middle East politics and director of the Middle East Studies program at George Washington University, returns to the show to talk about Iran's nuclear program. The group discusses the Shah's nuclear agenda, Atoms for Peace, Iran's signing of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, how the Iran-Iraq War influenced Iran's nuclear policy, missed opportunities for diplomacy after 9/11, Trump's withdrawal from the JCPOA and why Biden didn't revive the deal, and the recent war with Iran. Grab a copy of Sina's book Iran and the Bomb: The United States, Iran, and the Nuclear Question. And contribute to GiveDirectly's campaign to help survivors of the earthquake in Venezuela. Note: In lieu of a news episode this week, we will be posting an interview about the holiday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sina Azodi, assistant professor of Middle East politics and director of the Middle East Studies program at George Washington University, returns to the show to talk about Iran's nuclear program. The group discusses the Shah's nuclear agenda, Atoms for Peace, Iran's signing of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, how the Iran-Iraq War influenced Iran's nuclear policy, missed opportunities for diplomacy after 9/11, Trump's withdrawal from the JCPOA and why Biden didn't revive the deal, and the recent war with Iran.Grab a copy of Sina's book Iran and the Bomb: The United States, Iran, and the Nuclear Question.And contribute to ⁠GiveDirectly's campaign to help survivors of the earthquake in Venezuela⁠.Note: In lieu of a news episode this week, we will be posting an interview relevant to the holiday.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We welcome Naval officer, diplomat, strategist and author Tom Duffy for a conversation about a largely forgotten Cold War–era naval campaign: Operation Earnest Will. During the final years of the Iran–Iraq War, the Persian Gulf became the scene of a dangerous maritime struggle known as the “Tanker War.” Iran and Iraq attacked oil tankers to cripple each other's economies and pressure international shipping. In response, the United States launched Operation Earnest Will—the largest naval convoy operation since World War II—escorting Kuwaiti oil tankers through hostile waters and confronting Iranian threats at sea. The mission began when Kuwaiti tankers were re-flagged under the U.S. flag so they could legally sail under American naval protection. U.S. warships then escorted the tankers through the Gulf while surveillance aircraft, helicopters, and special operations forces hunted for mines and small-boat attackers. The danger became clear immediately. On the very first escort mission, the reflagged tanker Bridgeton struck an Iranian mine in the Gulf—an early reminder that even a powerful navy could not fully control the narrow and volatile waters of the Persian Gulf. Over the next fourteen months, dozens of U.S. warships rotated through the region while Navy SEALs, special operations aviators, and patrol boat crews conducted night operations to stop Iranian mining and harassment of shipping. In his book Tanker War in the Gulf, Duffy draws on his experience as a U.S. Navy officer who participated in the operation and later as a Foreign Service officer stationed across the Middle East. He reconstructs the tense months when American warships escorted vulnerable tankers through minefields, missile threats, and political uncertainty—while trying to prevent a regional war from spiraling into a superpower confrontation. The story includes dramatic moments such as the USS Stark incident, the shadow presence of Soviet naval forces monitoring U.S. movements, and retaliatory clashes between U.S. and Iranian forces that nearly escalated into a wider war. Though often overlooked in American military history, Operation Earnest Will marked the first sustained U.S. military confrontation with Iran—a precursor to tensions that continue today. The operation also offers timely lessons about limited warfare, maritime security, and the strategic importance of protecting global energy routes—issues that echo in today's crises in the Red Sea and across the wider Middle East. Duffy will also reflect on his unusual career path—from naval officer to U.S. diplomat—including postings in Bogotá during the Pablo Escobar era, Saudi Arabia during the early al-Qaeda bombings, and Baghdad during the turbulent early years of the Iraq War. His stories offer a rare view of how military operations, diplomacy, and global politics intersect in real time. Join us for a fascinating discussion about a little-known naval campaign that still shapes how the United States uses sea power today—and hear firsthand how history, strategy, and lived experience come together in one remarkable career.

Former CIA Iran ops officer Mark Fowler joins Jerry and John to explain why Iran is one of the hardest targets on earth. From running agents and sources, Fowler has insight into the Iranian worldview: a persecuted Shia minority that sees walls behind every wall, craves American attention while calling us the Great Satan, and negotiates by treating signed contracts as opening bids. He separates the educated, reform-minded Iranian people from a regime led by men forged in the trenches of the Iran-Iraq War and traces the IRGC's rise from teenage revolutionary militia to a corrupt, self-sufficient parallel army that controls Iran's missiles, ports, and economy. On the current conflict, Trump jumped in without preparation against an adversary that has spent a generation planning for exactly this. Watch Mission Implausible on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MissionImplausiblePod

This episode, we bring you Marjane Satrapi. She gave this talk on April 7, 2008, just about one year after the film adaptation of her comic Persepolis had been featured at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for best animated feature. Sastrapi's death was announced on June 4, 2026. President Emmanual Macron of France said in the announcement, “Her passing marks the loss of a leading figure in French culture and a freedom-loving artist whose work carried a universal message and earned her immense international acclaim.” Satrapi was an Iranian born French author and film director and is considered one of the greatest contemporary graphic novelists.  Her work includes critically acclaimed and canonical books Persepolis and Persepolis 2, graphic narratives which both feature a protagonist, Marji, whose life parallels Satrapi's. The books follow Marji from a childhood in Iran to spanning some of the most intense years of contemporary Iranian history during the Iranian revolution and the Iran-Iraq War, with Marji leaving the country as a teenager to study in Europe, returning to Tehran for a period before eventually setting in Paris. Satrapi was an Iranian women, working in France, and became one the bestselling writers & artists in the United States. The specifics of her story are of course, unique to her, but like great storytellers she connected with millions of readers because of the universal nature of her work. In addition to Persepolis and Persepolis 2, she wrote several children’s books and other graphic novels, and she directed several feature films, including 2019's “Radioactive,” about the life of Marie Curie, adapted from the graphic novel by Lauren Redniss and starring Rosamund Pike. Though she continued living in Paris, she remained an activist against Iran's Islamic regime, in particular protesting the restrictions on women. She said, “We artists must be humble but doing nothing is worse, being indifferent is worse. In this talk, Satrapi is wry, ironic and occasionally sarcastic.  She references the influence of Persian miniatures and Art Speigelman's Pulitzer Prize winning graphic narrative Maus – the first comic ever to win the Pulitzer Prize.  I use the work “comic” here instead of graphic novel intentionally since Satrapi rejects the term “graphic novel” as pretentious.  To the end, she is grounded and funny, whether she is talking about American culture in Tehran in the 1970s or the personal challenges she faced as an artist working for the first time on film and being forced to collaborate with a huge group of people – a process she at first disliked, then came to appreciate. “Any intellectual and any artistic work, by definition, is an anti-fanatic work. Fanaticism presses on the button of emotion…When you make an intellectual and artistic work— when you don't pretend that you have the answers, but you only have questions to ask—when you make this work, for the person who listens to or reads you, not only do you ask them to be smart, but to work—to try to find the answers themselves.” Marjane Satrapi is an Iranian-born French graphic novelist, illustrator, film director, and children's book author. She was born in Iran in 1969 and grew up in Tehran in a middle-class Iranian family, attending the Lycee Francais until she left for Vienna and, later, Strasbourg to study Decorative Arts. She eventually moved to France, where she now lives with her husband, Mattias Ripa. Satrapi has worked on many graphic novels and animated films, but she attracted worldwide attention for her autobiographical comic series Persepolis. The work chronicles her childhood in Iran and her adolescence in Europe. In 2007, Persepolis was adapted into a critically acclaimed animated film of the same name that received over 25 major international award nominations and over 15 major international awards.

In memory of the recently passed Marjane Satrapi (1969-2026), re-airring our chat about Persepolis from July 2024). Rest In Peace/Power.https://www.npr.org/2026/06/04/nx-s1-5846531/marjane-satrapi-obituary“The normalization of things being taken away. You see all the things going on in Tehran in 1979 — you see them here as well, which makes it a sad, scary, and timeless tale.”PERSEPOLIS, by Marjane Satrapi is an award winning, now banned graphic autobiography from the early 2000s about a young girl growing up in Iran, and becoming a woman overseas, returning home, and dealing with everything in between.Originally published in French, Persepolis has sold millions of copies worldwide, and Satrapi also produced an award-winning film of the same name. In Persepolis, we meet young Marjane “Marji” Satrapi growing up in Tehran just before and during the Iranian Revolution of 1979, as well as thru the start of the Iran + Iraq War in the 1980s. Her parents are secular, upper-middle class activists, who worry for their precocious daughter's safety in the increasingly conservative and dangerous Iran, so send her off to Austria to become a teenager. Her teen years are fraught with all the drama you can expect from such an experience, but Marji - now becoming a young woman - always maintains the experience of an outsider looking in - with her feet in both worlds. Marji eventually returns to Iran to find that not only has her mother country changed, but she as well. This book was a surprise and illuminating for us in many ways, making us question - what would WE do in such a situation? This conversation is originally from from Quarantined Comics, where Raman + friends read comics that are so much more than just superheroes. PERSEPOLIS is a very Modern Minorities appropriate work, especially for the times we're living in, which you'll get to here us reflect on. Longtime friend of THAT pod Joshua joins from his most excellent podcast RABBIT FIGHTERS, where they pretty much do the same thing, but about movies and music. 

What happens when life repeatedly knocks you down? In this powerful episode of TALK! with AUDREY, host Audrey Adams sits down with scientist and author Matin Miryeganeh to discuss her memoir All Is Well. Born during the Iran-Iraq War, Matin experienced childhood loss, emotional neglect, profound loneliness, sexual violence, and institutional betrayal. Yet through every challenge, she chose resilience over victimhood. During this candid conversation, Matin shares: • Why she believes we should normalize telling the truth about our lives • The difference between victimhood and survival • How she learned to become her own source of strength • Why trauma does not have to define your future • The surprising relationship between pain, resilience, and self-love Her story is both heartbreaking and inspiring—and a reminder that healing is possible even after life's most difficult experiences.

What happens when life repeatedly knocks you down? In this powerful episode of TALK! with AUDREY, host Audrey Adams sits down with scientist and author Matin Miryeganeh to discuss her memoir All Is Well. Born during the Iran-Iraq War, Matin experienced childhood loss, emotional neglect, profound loneliness, sexual violence, and institutional betrayal. Yet through every challenge, she chose resilience over victimhood. During this candid conversation, Matin shares: • Why she believes we should normalize telling the truth about our lives • The difference between victimhood and survival • How she learned to become her own source of strength • Why trauma does not have to define your future • The surprising relationship between pain, resilience, and self-love Her story is both heartbreaking and inspiring—and a reminder that healing is possible even after life's most difficult experiences.

When it comes to wars in the Middle East, the U.S. never seems to learn from its own mistakes (and crimes). In this video, Mehdi explains why President Donald Trump should have known his war on Iran was bound to go on longer than anticipated – and why the Iranians weren't just going to roll over so quickly. SUBSCRIBE TO ZETEO TO SUPPORT INDEPENDENT AND UNFILTERED JOURNALISM: https://zeteo.com/subscribe   WATCH 'MEHDI UNFILTERED' ON SUBSTACK: https://zeteo.com/s/mehdi-unfiltered   FIND ZETEO: Twitter: https://twitter.com/zeteo_news Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zeteonews TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zeteonews   FIND MEHDI: Substack: https://substack.com/@mehdirhasan Twitter: https://twitter.com/@mehdirhasan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@mehdirhasan TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mehdirhasan   To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/Zeteo This video is being shared without a paywall. If you believe in the work we do and want to see more of it, do consider becoming a paid subscriber. And if you're not ready for the commitment, then a donation would still go a long way.  

Akar Bharadvaj is designer of the upcoming game Chalice of Poison about the Iran-Iraq War from GMT and the Zenobia Award-Winning Tyranny of Blood. We chat about both designs, the future of the Zenobia awards, and much more. Hellcouch designed by Carol Mertz and Francesca Caletto-Leon also came up in conversation, and we are all about giving credit where due. Outro music: Lifeguard "It Will Get Worse"Send us Fan Mail

The major turning points in Iran's nuclear program were not the JCPOA or the latest wars, but the Shah's defiance of Henry Kissinger and the Iran-Iraq War, says Dr. Sina Azodi, Assistant Professor of Middle East Politics at George Washington University and author of Iran and the Bomb: The United States, Iran and the Nuclear Question.

Reflecting on his childhood during the Iran-Iraq War, Abdul-Ahad recalls the pervasive militarization of society, where children wore military uniforms and celebrated hollow "victories." Saddam Hussein was revered as the "Leader of Necessity," justifying his absolute authority. Crucially, Abdul-Ahad argues that pre-2003 Iraq was defined by class and geography rather than sectarianism — the Sunni-Shia divide was a narrative largely "imposed" by exiles and the conditions created by the American-led war. (2)1746

Keep the narrative flow going in 2026. Subscribe now for early access, ad-free listening, and bonus content! Over eight long years in the 1980s, Iraq and Iran pulverized each other in an unwinnable, pointless war that nonetheless began as an existential threat to the new revolutionary government in Tehran. In the crucible of war, the Islamic Republic cemented hardline clerical rule, crushed dissent, forged an identity, demonstrated its resilience, ensured the country's independence, and created a powerful national narrative to challenge hostile "imperialists" in the West and East. In this episode, political scientist Hussein Banai, an expert on U.S.-Iran relations, discusses the enduring relevance of the Iran-Iraq War as the theocratic regime attempts to survive a U.S.-Israeli onslaught in 2026. Recommended reading: Republics of Myth: National Narratives and the US-Iran Conflict by Hussein Banai, Malcolm Byrne, and John Tirman Iran-Iraq War (Encyclopedia Britannica)

An estimated 20,000 seafarers are stranded in the Gulf - what is it really like to sail through a war zone in a commercial tanker? In this gripping episode, we hear from Arjun Vikram Singh, CEO & MD of Quantum and former ship captain, as he recounts his experiences sailing through the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran-Iraq War.Arjun shares firsthand accounts of navigating dangerous waters in a large tanker and the events that unfolded a voyage on the VLCC Caribbean Breeze when it was struck by an Iranian missileThe conversation between Arjun and host Marcus Hand Editor Seatrade Maritime News, explores the risks seafarers face in war zones and how his past experiences resonate with today's situation in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. Join us for a deep dive into the realities of seafaring in conflict zones.The conversation coversArjun's background and life as seafarer in the 80'sTypical voyages through the Strait and the Gulf during the Iran – Iraq warThe experience of the missile strike on the VLCC Caribbean BreezeReflections on risk and safetyComparing seafaring past and present in conflict zonesListen now to hear Arjun's full storyIf you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to ensure you don't miss our latest uploads. For the latest news on the shipping and maritime industries, visit www.searade-maritime.com.Connect with Marcus Hand, Editor of Seatrade Maritime News:Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/marcushand1 Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-hand-b00a317/Don't forget to join the conversation and let us know what topics you want us to cover in future on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn

In this episode, we break down: Why Iran and Israel weren't always enemies The secret cooperation between the two during the Cold War How oil pipelines and geography shaped Middle Eastern politics The turning point after the 1967 war The impact of the 1979 Iranian Revolution The Iran-Iraq War and covert Israel-Iran cooperation Why everything changed after the fall of the Soviet Union And how this relationship slowly collapsed into today's hostility This isn't a simple story of “good vs bad” — it's a story of strategy, survival, and shifting power. If you want to understand the current conflict, this is the context you've been missing. TIMESTAMPS: 01:00 – Current Iran-US War Context 11:00 – Ancient Iran & Jewish Relations 14:45 – What Changed? (Birth of Israel) 20:00 – Secret Cooperation (Oil & Intelligence) 24:00 – Pipeline Politics Explained 32:00 – The Arab Cold War & Regional Power 36:00 – Israel's Rise After 1967 38:00 – Breakdown Begins 42:00 – Yom Kippur War & Iran's Strategy 55:00 – 1979 Iranian Revolution 58:30 – Iran-Iraq War & Survival Strategy 01:02:00 – Ideology vs Pragmatism 01:04:00 – Hezbollah & Regional Influence 01:10:00 – Post-Cold War Shift 01:13:00 – Missiles, Nuclear Program & Rising Tension 01:16:00 – Final Breakdown of the Relationship Links to our other stuff on the interwebs: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BroHistory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://brohistory.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ #346 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recorded 4-2-2026

Check out BeerBiceps SkillHouse Courses Here - https://www.bbskillhouse.comFor all BeerBiceps vlog content Watch Life Of BeerBiceps - https://www.youtube.com/@LifeOfBeerBicepsCheck out my Mind Performance app: Level SuperMindLink:- https://level4665.u9ilnk.me/d/F1ZOZV4OnTShare your guest suggestions hereMail - connect@beerbiceps.comLink - https://forms.gle/aoMHY9EE3Cg3Tqdx9Join the Level Community Here:https://linktr.ee/levelsupermindcommunityFollow BeerBiceps SkillHouse's Social Media Handles:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeerBicepsSkillHouseInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/beerbiceps_skillhouseWebsite : https://beerbicepsskillhouse.inFor any other queries EMAIL: support@beerbicepsskillhouse.comIn case of any payment-related issues, kindly write to support@tagmango.comFollow Abhijit Chavda's Social Media Handles:-YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AbhijitChavdaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/theabhijitchavda/X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/AbhijitChavdaIn this special episode #486 of The Ranveer Show, we are joined by geopolitical analyst and historian Abhijit Chavda, who shares deep insights into the escalating Iran vs. USA conflict, the history of the Middle East, Global Economics, and Geopolitics. This episode provides an in-depth analysis of the 2026 crisis, the potential for nuclear fallout, and how these global tensions directly impact India's economy and security.In this conversation with Abhijit Chavda, we talk about the 1953 CIA-backed coup, the nationalization of oil by Mohammad Mossadegh, and the 1979 Islamic Revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini. We also understand the brutal history of the Iran-Iraq War, the use of chemical warfare, and the rise and fall of Saddam Hussein.This episode also covers the Petro-Dollar System, the significance of the Strait of Hormuz, and the threat of global De-dollarization. We delve into the science of oil discovery, the strategic importance of India's naval presence in the Andaman Sea, and the potential triggers for World War III. Chavda breaks down the "End Game" of the US and China and the impact of rising oil prices on the common man.This podcast is a valuable resource for anyone interested in Geopolitics, Global History, Military Strategy, Indian Economy, International Relations, and the future of Global Power.(00:00) – Start of the episode(00:44) – Nuclear Fallout Threat to India(02:12) – Oil Crisis & Indian Economy(04:58) – PM Modi's Diplomatic Strategy(08:00) – How US Sanctions Destroy Nations(11:37) – Who Benefits from Global War?(16:06) – The Era of Drone Warfare(21:53) – Donald Trump's 2026 Threat(24:18) – 1953: The Great Oil Theft(28:08) – Operation Ajax: CIA's Secret Role(32:31) – 1979: The Iranian Revolution(41:42) – US vs. China: The Oil End Game(45:09) – Hidden Oil Reserves in India?(52:13) – Truth Behind the Nuclear Deal(59:09) – Chemical Warfare & Brutal History(1:04:42) – The Rise & Fall of Saddam Hussein(1:12:00) – Why the Petro-Dollar is Dying(1:18:21) – Are We Heading to World War 3?(1:22:31) – Global Inflation & Food Crisis(1:27:09) – Iran's Decentralized Military Node(1:30:02) – End of the episode

Stay informed on current events, visit www.NaturalNews.com  - Trump's Delusional Claims and Military Recruitment Issues (0:10) - USS Gerald R. Ford's Extensive Damage and Iran's Demands (2:59) - Historical Context and Global Impact of U.S. Policies (6:28) - Economic and Social Consequences of Trump's Policies (11:44) - Preparation for Economic and Energy Collapse (28:58) - The Role of Zionism and the Depopulation Agenda (53:03) - The Impact of Trump's Policies on Global Stability (1:02:29) - The Importance of Privacy and Decentralization (1:02:48) - The Role of the CIA and Intelligence Gathering (1:03:09) - The Future of the U.S. and Global Economy (1:15:18) - Iran-Iraq War and U.S. Involvement (1:18:40) - U.S. Support for Iraq and Iran's Reactions (1:24:58) - Trump's Potential Agreement with Iran (1:26:06) - Iranian Jews and Religious Education (1:27:29) - U.S. Military Incompetence and Technology (1:32:07) - Iran's Strategy and U.S. Military Plans (1:36:12) - Iran's Missile Attacks and Israel's Role (1:39:43) - Website and Support for Larry's Work (1:43:40) - Upcoming U.S. Military Strikes (1:45:35) - CIA's Role and Trump's Decision (1:49:07) Watch more independent videos at http://www.brighteon.com/channel/hrreport  ▶️ Support our mission by shopping at the Health Ranger Store - https://www.healthrangerstore.com ▶️ Check out exclusive deals and special offers at https://rangerdeals.com ▶️ Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed: https://www.naturalnews.com/Readerregistration.html Watch more exclusive videos here:

William and Anita are joined by renowned British-Iranian journalist, Christiane Amanpour, to discuss the war in Iran, and how it has echoes of the events she has covered since leaving Tehran in 1979.  How did the Iran-Iraq War of 1980 shape the military tactics of today's Islamic Regime? What is the endgame for the US-Israeli strikes? Is the war strengthening Iranian nationalism? Join the Empire Club: Unlock the full Empire experience – with bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to miniseries and live show tickets, exclusive book discounts, a members-only newsletter, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at empirepoduk.com  For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com. Email: empire@goalhanger.com Instagram: @empirepoduk Blue Sky: @empirepoduk X: @empirepoduk Assistant Producer: Alfie Norris Editor: James Clayden Producer: Anouska Lewis Executive Producer: Dom Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

حلقة جديدة من البودكاسترز مع الدكتور وسيم السيسي، بنتكلم فيها عن تاريخ إيران من بداياته القديمة لحد شكل الدولة الإيرانية الحديثة، وإزاي التحولات السياسية والدينية والعسكرية أثّرت على المنطقة كلها لحد النهاردة. بنبدأ من إيران القديمة، ونتعرف على أصل فارس والإمبراطورية الأخمينية، وبعدها ننتقل لفترة الإسكندر الأكبر وسقوط الفرس، ثم قيام الدولة الساسانية، والتحولات الكبيرة اللي غيّرت شكل إيران عبر التاريخ. كمان بنفهم إزاي دخل الإسلام إلى إيران، وإزاي حصل التحول التدريجي لحد ما بقت إيران دولة شيعية.

In this episode, we unpack the long road to the Iraq War, from the 1953 CIA-backed coup in Iran and U.S. support for Saddam Hussein during the Iran–Iraq War to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, the Gulf War, sanctions, weapons inspections, and the Bush administration's false claims about weapons of mass destruction. We dig into how 9/11 reshaped U.S. foreign policy, how figures tied to PNAC pushed for regime change, and how intelligence around WMDs, yellowcake uranium, and Curveball helped sell the 2003 invasion of Iraq. We also cover shock and awe, Abu Ghraib, torture, Halliburton, Blackwater, civilian deaths, veteran trauma, and the trillions of dollars lost in a war that destabilized the region and left behind questions that still have not been answered.

Who is running Iran? And what can the Iran–Iraq War tell us about the current conflict? These were just two of the questions I asked Mateo Mohammad Farzaneh, a full professor and chair of the History Department at Northeastern Illinois University. We discussed his journey from Iran to the United States, what led him to study history, his perspective on the war against Iran launched by the United States and Israel on February 28, and why the regime in Tehran may be far more resilient than the West tends to assume. Listen to our conversation. And if you enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/amatisak

This week we talk about Khamenei, Trump, and Netanyahu.We also discuss Venezuela, Cuba, and cartels.Recommended Book: Plagues upon the Earth by Kyle HarperTranscriptAli Hosseini Khamenei was an opposition politician in the lead-up to the Iranian Revolution that, in 1979, resulted in the overthrow of the Shah—the country's generally Western government-approved royal leader—and installed the Islamic Republic, an extremely conservative Shia government that took the reins of Iran following the Shah's toppling.Khamenei was Iran's third president, post-Shah, and he was president during the Iran-Iraq War from 1981-1989, during which the Supreme Leader of Iran, the head of the country, Ruhollah Khomeini sought the overthrow of then Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Khomeini died the same year the war ended, 1989, and Khamenei was elected to the role of Supreme Leader by the country's Assembly of Experts, which is responsible for determining such roles.The new Supreme Leader Khamenei was reportedly initially concerned that he wasn't suitable for the role, as his predecessor was a Grand Ayatollah of the faith, while he was just a mid-rank cleric, but the constitution of Iran was amended so that higher religious office was no longer required in a Supreme Leader, and in short order Khamenei moved to expound upon Iran's non-military nuclear program, to expand the use and reach of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in-country and throughout the region, and he doubled-down on supporting regional proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and Hamas in Gaza, incorporating them into the so-called Axis of Resistance that stands against Western interests in the region—the specifics of which have varied over the decades, but which currently includes the aforementioned Hezbollah and Houthis, alongside smaller groups in neighboring countries, like Shiite militias in Bahrain, and forces that operate in other regional spheres of influence, like North Korea, Venezuela, and at times, portions of the Syrian government.Khamenei also reinforced the Iranian government's power over pretty much every aspect of state function, disempowering political opponents, cracking down on anyone who doesn't toe a very conservative extremist line—women showing their hair in public, for instance, have been black-bagged and sometimes killed while in custody—and thoroughly entangled the functions of state with the Iranian military, consolidating essentially all power under his office, Supreme Leader, while violently cracking down on anyone who opposed his doing whatever he pleased, as was the case with a wave of late-2025, early 2026 protests across the country, during which Iranian government forces massacred civilians, killing somewhere between 3,000 and 35,000 people, depending on whose numbers you believe.What I'd like to talk about today is a new war with Iran, kicked off by attacks on the country from Israel and the United States that led with the killing of Khamenei and a bunch of his higher-up officers, how this conflict is spreading across the region and concerns about that spreading, and what might happen next.—On February 28, 2026, the US and Israel launched a wave of joint air attacks against Iran, hitting mostly military and government sites across the country. One of the targets was Khamenei's compound, and his presence there, above-ground, which was unusual for him, as he spent most of his time deep underground in difficult-to-hit bunkers, alongside a bunch of government and military higher-ups, may have been the rationale for launching all of these attacks on that day, as the attackers were able to kill him and five other top-level Iranian leaders, who he was meeting with, at the same time.This wave of attacks followed the largest military buildup of US forces in the Middle East since the invasion of Iraq back in 2003, and while military and government targets were prioritized, that initial wave also demolished a lot of civilian structures, including schools, hospitals, and the Grand Bazaar in Tehran, leading to a whole lot of civilian casualties and fatalities, as well.In response, Iran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones at Israel, and at US bases throughout the region—these bases located in otherwise uninvolved countries, including Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. Iranian missiles and drones also hit non-military targets, and in some cases maybe accidentally hit civilian infrastructure, in Azerbaijan, and Oman, alongside a British military base on the island of Cyprus.The Iranian president apologized in early March for his country's lashing out at pretty much everyone, saying that there were miscommunications within the Iranian military, and that Iran wouldn't hit anyone else, including countries with US bases, so long as US attacks didn't originate from those bases.Despite that apology, though, Iranian missiles and drones continued to land in many of those neighboring countries following his remarks, raising questions about communications and control within the now-decapitated Iranian military.This new conflict follows long-simmering tensions between Iran and Israel—the former of which has said it will someday wipe the latter from the face of the Earth, considering its existence an abomination—and long-simmering tensions related to Iran's nuclear program, which the government has continuously said is just for civilian, energy purposes, but which pretty much everyone suspects, with a fair bit of evidence, is, in parallel, also a weapons program.Iran's influence throughout the region has been truncated in recent years, due to a sequence of successes by the Israeli military and intelligence services, which allowed them to hobble or nearly wipe out traditional Iranian proxy forces like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, which have collectively surrounded and menaced Israel for decades.Those menacing forces more or less handled, Israel has become more aggressive in its confrontations with Iran, exchanging large air attacks several times over the past handful of years, and the US under Trump's second term continues to see Iran as the main opposition to their efforts to build a US-aligned counterbalance against Russian and Chinese influence in the Middle East, with Israel, Saudi Arabia, and increasingly entities like Qatar and the UAE playing ball with the West, while Iran and its allies stand firm against the West.Trump has regularly threatened to act in Iran, usually waiting for the Iranian government to do something really bad, like that recent massacre of civilians following those large anti-government protests in late-2025, early 2026, and that to some degree has served as justification for the massing of US military assets in the region, leading up to this attack.Now that the attack has launched, a new war triggered, the question is how big it will get and how long it will last.For the moment, it looks like Iran's government and military is very much on the back foot, a lot of their assets taken out in that initial wave, and they're still scrambling to put someone in charge to replace Khamenei and those other higher-ups who were assassinated at the outset of this war—that'll likely change soon, maybe even before this episode goes live. But whomever takes the reins will have quite the task ahead of them, probably—according to many analysts, at least—aiming to just hold out until the US runs out of ammunition, which is expected to happen within a week or so, at which point Iran can launch surgical attacks, aiming to make this war too expensive, in terms of money and US lives, for the Trump administration to continue investing in, as money and lives are especially expensive in an election year, which 2026 is. So the idea is to grind the US down until it makes more political sense for Trump to just declare victory and leave, rather than allowing this to become a Vietnam or Afghanistan situation for his administration.It's also generally expected that when the US pulls out, Israel probably will too, as they've already made their point, tallied a bunch of victories, and set Iran back in a lot of ways; they could walk away whenever they like and say they won. And Iran would probably be incentivized to, at that point, avoid doing anything that would lead to more punishment, though they would almost certainly immediately begin rebuilding the same exact centralized, militarized infrastructure that was damaged, the only difference being they would have someone else on top, as the Supreme Leader. Relations could be even worse moving forward, but it would probably be at least a few years before Iran could do anything too significant to their regional enemies, which I guess if you're Israel does, in fact, represent a win.But considering the unlikelihood of permanent change in Iran, the big question here, in the minds of many, is what this war, this attack, is even for.For Israel, the main purpose of any attack against Iran is to weaken or destroy an enemy that has made no secret about wanting to weaken and destroy them. For the US, though, and the Trump administration more specifically, the point of all this isn't as clear.Some contend that this is another effort to steal attention and headlines from the increasingly horrifying revelations coming out of the investigation into the Epstein files, which seem to indicate Trump himself was involved in all sorts of horrible, pedophilic sexual assault activities with the late human-trafficker.Some suspect that the apparent victory in grabbing former Venezuelan president Maduro from his own country and whisking him away to the US without suffering any US casualties has emboldened Trump, and that he's going to use the time he's got to take out anyone he doesn't like, and may even specifically target authoritarian leaders who will not be missed—who oppress and kill their own people—because then it's difficult for his political opponents to call him out on these efforts.Most Venezuelans are happy to see Maduro gone, and many Iranians celebrated when Khamenei was assassinated. Trump has publicly stated that he intends to go after Cuba, next, and continues to suggest he wants a war of sorts with Mexican and south and central American cartels, which follows this same pattern of demonstrating a muscular, aggressive, militarized United States doing whatever it wants, even to the point of kidnapping or assassinating foreign leaders, but doing so in a way that is difficult to argue against, because the leaders and other forces being taken out are so horrible, at times to the point of being monstrous, that these acts, as illegal as they are according to internal laws, can still seem very justified, through some lenses.Still others have said they believe this is purely an Israeli op, and the US under Trump is just helping out one of Trump's buddies, Israel's Netanyahu, who wants to keep his country embroiled in war in order to avoid being charged for corruption.The real rationale could be a combination of these and other considerations, but the threat here, regionally, is real, especially if Iran continues to lash out at its neighbors.This part of the world is renowned for its fuel reserves and exports, and every time there's a Middle Eastern conflict, energy prices rise, globally, and other nations that produce such exports, like Russia, benefit financially because they can charge more for their oil and gas for a while—gas prices in the US have already increased by 14% over the past week as a result of the conflict—and those increases also then the raises the price of all sorts of other goods, spiking inflation.Another huge concern here, though, is that this part of the world is highly reliant on the desalination of water just to survive; massive desalination plants, most located along the coast, where they are very exposed to military threats, are at risk if Iran and Saudi Arabia, or Kuwait, or Oman start firing at each other in earnest.About 90% of Kuwait's drinking water comes from these sorts of plants, and about 86% of Oman's and 70% of Saudi Arabia's do, as well.Earlier in this war, a US strike damaged an Iranian desalination plant, and the Iranian foreign minister made a not-so-veiled threat against such plants in neighboring countries, saying the US set the precedent of attacking such infrastructure, not them.Worth noting here, too, is that many desalination plants are attached to power stations, located within the same facility, so attacks on power infrastructure, which are already common in any conflict, could also lead to more damaged desalination plants, all of which could in turn create massive humanitarian crises, as people living in some of the hottest, driest parts of the world find themselves, in the millions, without drinkable water.The potential for a spiraling humanitarian disaster increases with each passing day, then, which would seem to increase the likelihood that someone will stop, declare victory, and move on to the next conflict. But there's always the chance the one or more of the involved forces will clamp down and decide that it's in their best interest to keep things going as long as possible, instead—and in this case, it would likely be Iran playing that role, locking the US and Israel and their allies into a grinding, long-term conflict that no one would actually win.Show Noteshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_of_Resistancehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_and_state_funeral_of_Ruhollah_Khomeinihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Iran_massacreshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Khameneihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Ali_Khameneihttps://www.eurasiareview.com/08032026-strikes-continue-despite-iranian-presidents-apology/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/trump-rejects-settling-iran-war-raises-prospect-killing-all-its-potential-2026-03-08/https://www.reuters.com/world/us/irans-retaliation-began-us-officials-scrambled-arrange-evacuations-2026-03-07/https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/mapping-crisis-iran-visual-explainer-2026-03-06/https://apnews.com/live/iran-war-israel-trump-03-08-2026https://apnews.com/article/iran-israel-us-march-8-2026-f0b20dbffaea9351ae1e54183ffe53ffhttps://apnews.com/article/iran-war-desalination-water-oil-middle-east-12b23f2fa26ed5c4a10f80c4077e61cehttps://apnews.com/video/trump-says-us-will-turn-attention-to-cuba-after-war-with-iran-91c3f239c18349fdb409f901c50b7e71https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/03/08/world/iran-war-trump-israel-lebanonhttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/08/us/politics/trump-russia-ukraine-iran-war.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/us/politics/iran-war-first-week.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/03/08/opinion/iran-war-ayatollah.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Iran_war This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsknowthings.substack.com/subscribe

Iran has chosen its new Supreme Leader: Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the recently assassinated Ayatollah Khamenei. Who is he? What does he believe? And most importantly, is his coming to power the fulfilment of ancient prophecy? Aimen and Thomas discuss: Mojtaba's youth and his experience fighting in the Iran-Iraq War as a 17 year old How he became his father's primary gatekeeper, and how he used this to amass great power and wealth Mojtaba's self-belief: that he is "the Khorasani", a long-expected End Times figure in Shia eschatology The long story of Islamic apocalypticism and how the Islamic Republic has used medieval prophecies to justify its ambitions Join the Conflicted Community here: ⁠⁠https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/⁠⁠ Find us on X: ⁠⁠https://x.com/MHconflicted⁠⁠ And Facebook: ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted⁠⁠ And Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices⁠⁠ Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. Produced and edited by Thomas Small. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In part two of our history of Iran and the Middle East, we move from the 1979 Iranian Revolution to the bombing of Tehran today. This is the story of how America's Cold War obsession with the Soviet Union mutated into something else entirely: the gradual Israelisation of U.S. policy in the region. Along the way we trace the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, America's backing of the Mujahideen, the rise of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Iran-Iraq War, the Iran-Contra scandal, the Intifadas, Oslo, Netanyahu, Hamas, and the long collapse of any serious Palestinian settlement. What began as a struggle over oil, empire, and superpower rivalry became a different kind of conflict altogether, one driven by proxy wars, sectarian alliances, occupation, and political miscalculation. If part one explained how the West lost Iran, part two explains how the region was remade in the decades that followed, and how all of it leads directly to the crisis we are watching now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hawk breaks down the full arc of US-Iran relations, from the cordial diplomatic ties of the 1720s all the way to the current war that Secretary of State Marco Rubio openly admitted was triggered by Israel. Starting with Persia's constitutional revolution, American economic advisors in the 1920s, and the cordial relations that held through World War II, the story takes a sharp turn in 1953 when the CIA and British intelligence MI6 orchestrated a coup overthrowing Iran's democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddegh, who had nationalized the country's oil industry. The US then reinstalled the Shah of Iran and helped build his brutal secret police force SAVAK, and in a stunning irony, it was President Dwight D. Eisenhower who launched Iran's nuclear program and provided the country's first nuclear reactor and enriched uranium in 1967. The 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini, the 444-day hostage crisis, the Iran-Iraq War, Reagan's support for Saddam Hussein, Hezbollah, the Iran-Contra affair, the JCPOA under Obama, Trump pulling out of the nuclear deal, and the killing of General Qassem Soleimani all connect in a straight line to the current US-Iran war. Marco Rubio told congressional leaders that the US entered the war preemptively because Israel was going to attack Iran, and Iran would have retaliated against American forces. Rubio's admission drew reaction from Congressman Joaquin Castro and even conservative commentator Matt Walsh, who called it the worst possible thing Rubio could have said. Six US service members are dead. Hawk also shares a personal story about Sean Penn, Lars Ulrich of Metallica, and a surreal afternoon in San Francisco tied directly to Iran's 2005 presidential election. SUPPORT & CONNECT WITH HAWK- Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mdg650hawk - Hawk's Merch Store: https://hawkmerchstore.com - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mdg650hawk7thacct - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hawkeyewhackamole - Connect on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mdg650hawk.bsky.social - Connect on Substack: https://mdg650hawk.substack.com - Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hawkpodcasts - Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mdg650hawk - Connect on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mdg650hawk ALL HAWK PODCASTS INFO- Additional Content Available Here: https://www.hawkpodcasts.comhttps://www.youtube.com/@hawkpodcasts- Listen to Hawk Podcasts On Your Favorite Platform:Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3RWeJfyApple Podcasts: https://apple.co/422GDuLYouTube: https://youtube.com/@hawkpodcastsiHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/47vVBdPPandora: https://bit.ly/48COaTB

Cal State Monterey Bay lecturer, Ava Homa, survived the Iran-Iraq War as a child in the 1980s and is urging people to keep their attention on Iran as the death toll rises.

On Hancock and Kelley Week in Politics, Scott Jagow and guests put today's dramatic U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran into context. They review Iran's history from the 1979 Revolution through the Iran-Iraq War and how past conflicts shaped the current regime. Then they break down the latest: a major joint U.S.-Israel campaign of airstrikes across Iran, including strikes deep inside Tehran that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

How can the visual arts be used to promote peace? Professor Mitchell investigates how the visual arts can not only incite violence, but also bear witness, reveal dangerous memories, transform violence, contribute to healing trauma and imagine more hopeful futures. Examples are taken from both current conflicts (Russia-Ukraine, Israel-Palestine) and past wars (Paul Nash and Otto Dix in the First World War, local artists in the Iran-Iraq War and the 1984 Rwandan genocide). Professor Mitchell analyses the ambivalent role of the visual arts in building peace.This lecture was recorded by professor Jolyon Mitchell on 11th February 2026 at Bernard's Inn Hall, LondonProfessor Jolyon Mitchell is Principal of St John's College, Durham and a Professor at Durham University who specialises in Religion, Violence and Peacebuilding, with reference to the arts and media. Educated at the Universities of Cambridge, Durham and Edinburgh, Professor Mitchell worked as a Producer and Journalist with BBC World service and Radio 4 before moving to the University of Edinburgh where he served as Director of CTPI (the Centre for Theology and Public Issues at the University of Edinburgh) and Academic Director for IASH (Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities). He is a former President of TRS-UK (2012-2018 - the national association for Theology and Religious Studies in the UK). He is author or editor of over a dozen books, as well as many chapters and articles, including Promoting Peace and Inciting Violence: The Role of Religion and Media (Routledge, 2012); Martyrdom: A Very Short Introduction (OUP, 2012); Religion and War: A Very Short Introduction (OUP, 2021), Religion and Peace (Wiley Blackwell, 2022), Picturing Peace: Photography, Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding (Bloomsbury, 2025) and Media Violence and Christian Ethics (CUP, 2007). He is currently finishing a book on A Passion for Performance: The mysterious resurgence of religious drama (OUP, 2027). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), an honorary fellow at the University of Edinburgh, and a life member of Clare Hall, at the University of Cambridge. Professor Mitchell has also served on international film juries at the Cannes, Berlin and Venice film festivals. He directs several projects on Peacebuilding, including one which led to a widely used co-edited volume on Peacebuilding and the Arts (Palgrave MacMillan, 2020). He has also worked with Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious leaders, as well as Palestinian and Israeli journalists, on a peace building project in Jerusalem and beyond. A keen cricketer and former marathon runner, he has lectured all over the world. The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/peacebuilding-artsGresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham's mission, please consider making a donation: https://gresham.ac.uk/support/Website:  https://gresham.ac.ukTwitter:  https://twitter.com/greshamcollegeFacebook: https://facebook.com/greshamcollegeInstagram: https://instagram.com/greshamcollegeSupport the show

THE HOSTAGE CRISIS, THE IRAN-IRAQ WAR, AND THE CARTER DOCTRINE Colleague Brandon Weichert. Focusing on the aftermath of the 1979 revolution, this segment explores the American hostage crisis and the subsequent Iran-Iraq War initiated by Saddam Hussein in 1980. Hussein attacked to exploit Iran's post-revolutionary chaos and seize the Shatt al-Arab waterway, fearing the spread of radical Islamism. Weichert explains the Carter Doctrine, which committed the US to military intervention to protect Persian Gulf interests, a policy expanded by the "Reagan Corollary." The discussion notes that neither the American public nor the administration fully grasped the deep-seated grievances fueling the Iranian revolution. SHADOW WAR BY BRANDON WEICHERT NUMBER 21917 BAGHDAD

The discussion delves into the complex historical eras of Iraq, challenging binary understandings of its past and present. A professor at Haverford College and author of "Political Undesirables: Citizen Denaturalization and Reclamation in Iraq and Return to Ruin: Iraqi Narratives of Exile and Nostalgia", Zainab Saleh discusses how the Iraq she grew up in—during the Ba'ath Party reign and under Saddam Hussein—was a time of fear and repression, despite the earlier period of high hopes and political aspirations in the 1940s and 1950s. She explores the concept of nostalgia for the Saddam era, which exists even among those who suffered under the regime, because of the basic services that were provided. The conversation offers a nuanced timeline of modern Iraqi history, from World War I's role in creating Middle Eastern nation-states through the Ottoman and British rules, the monarchy, and the Ba'ath Party. A key focus is placed on the 1990s as a major turning point, with the 1991 bombardment and subsequent sanctions leading to the rapid deterioration of infrastructure, increased social problems like begging and corruption, and environmental collapse. We consider the argument that the Iran-Iraq War, the Gulf War, and the US invasion should be viewed as one long, continuous war. Saleh critiques the simplistic narrative that Americans brought to Iraq after 2003, arguing that it institutionalized a sectarian political system. She emphasizes that the American discourse—classifying Sunnis as loyalists and Shia or Kurds as oppressed—ignored the reality of mixed communities and complex political loyalties. Saleh explores the historical use of denaturalization in Iraq, a topic central to her latest book. She details how the British and subsequent Iraqi regimes used the pretext of "political undesirables" to strip citizens of their rights, citing examples such as Iraqi Jews in the 1950s and Iraqis of Iranian origin in the 1980s. 0:00 Introduction 1:50 When Did The Iraq You Grew Up In Start?2:54 The High Hopes of the 1940s and 1950s3:33 Nostalgia, Time, and Loss7:09 The Broad Phases of Iraqi History9:33 Cultural Renaissance Under the Monarchy10:00 Vibrant Leftist Politics in the Monarchy Era11:39 Nostalgia for the Monarchy13:00 The Largest Effect on Daily Life: 1991 Bombardment and Sanctions16:29 Connecting the Wars: One Long War17:59 The Lead-up to Saddam's Invasion of Kuwait19:33 The Vision of the Neoconservatives20:40 Misunderstandings about US Imperialism22:11 The Myth of Iraqi Sectarianism23:24 The Institutionalization of a Sectarian System25:27 The Role of the Iraqi Opposition Abroad28:29 Phases of Post-2003 Iraq29:12 The Civil War and Proxy War (2006-2008)30:20 Displacement and the Reorganization of Iraqi Society30:52 Social Mobilization: 2011 and the Tishreen Uprising (2019)31:24 The Catastrophe of ISIS34:29 The Problem with Nostalgic Photos40:14 When One Dictator Becomes a Source of Nostalgia41:16 The Book: Political Undesirables and Denaturalization41:59 The Deportation of Iraqis of Iranian Origin (1980)44:48 Denaturalization as a Systemic Pattern48:19 Issuing Passports After World War I51:00 The Expulsion of Iraqi Jews (1950)51:25 Iraqi Jews as an Integral Part of Society52:44 The Ancient History of Babylonian Jews55:20 The Basis for Expulsion58:19 Recommended Readings on Iraqi History Zainab Saleh is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Haverford College and the author of books "Return to Ruin: Iraqi Narratives of Exile and Nostalgia" (2020) and "Political Undesirables: Citizenship, Denaturalization, and Reclamation in Iraq" (2025).Connect with Zainab Saleh

There’s a divide between Scotland and Ireland as fierce as the Protestant/Catholic split during the Thirty Years’ War or the battles between Sunnis and Shias in the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. It’s the debate over who invented whisky. Both Ireland and Scotland claim to have originated the spirit. Ireland cites its early monastic traditions and the term "uisce beatha" (Gaelic for "water of life") as evidence of whisky production dating back to the 12th century. Scotland, however, argues that its distillation practices, documented in the 1494 Exchequer Rolls mentioning "aqua vitae," predate Ireland’s clear records and point to their refined techniques in the Highlands. Irish advocates emphasize that their missionaries spread distillation knowledge to Scotland, while Scots counter that their innovations in barrel aging and malting set whisky apart as a distinctly Scottish craft. The argument often hinges on differing definitions of what constitutes "whisky," with no definitive proof resolving the dispute, leaving both sides to proudly defend their heritage. Whisky stands out from other alcohols, like beer, due to its intricate production process, which relies on advanced distillation technology to create a high-potency spirit from fermented grains. The use of oak barrels for aging imparts complex flavors, such as vanilla, caramel, and smoky notes, giving whisky its distinctive depth and character. Today’s guest is Noah Rothbaum, a world-renowned drinks expert and author of The Whiskey Bible: A Complete Guide to the World’s Greatest Spirit. He reveals the history and lore of whisky. We discuss the possibly 5,000-year history of distillation and whisky, how phylloxera wiped out Europe’s vineyards and decimated the market for wine in the early 19th century but kickstarted interest in spirits, how Americans created a separate and distinct spirit, and the future of the drink.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amir Moosavi discusses the profound impact of the Iran-Iraq War – the longest two-state war of the 20th century – on the literature of both nations. Through his book "Dust That Never Settles: Literary Afterlives of the Iran-Iraq War," he explores in this conversation the official state-sanctioned narratives that emerged during and after the war, comparing them with the more nuanced, critical, and often experimental literary responses from writers in Iraq and Iran, including those in the diaspora. The conversation also highlights how these diverse literary works grapple with the war's legacy, from its human and environmental costs to its enduring presence in collective memory. 0:00 The Enduring Legacy of the Iran-Iraq War1:03 Introducing Amir Moosavi's Book3:39 A Historical Primer on the Iran-Iraq War7:16 Shifting Narratives: Qadisiyyat Saddam and Operation Karbala11:49 Bridging Arabic and Persian Literary Worlds15:51 Understanding State Literature and Propaganda20:11 Examples of State Literature and Narrative Shifts29:36 Post-War Writers: Challenging Official Narratives35:26 Warfront Depictions and the Quest for Truth38:31 Artistic Communities and Collective Memory40:41 The Meaning Behind "Dust That Never Settles"43:18 Ecological Damage in War Literature48:22 Misconceptions and Nuances in War Literature50:39 Diaspora Authors and Freedom of Expression Amir Moosavi is an assistant Professor in the Department of English at Rutgers University- Newark. He started teaching at Rutgers-Newark in the fall of 2018, following a year-long EUME postdoc funded by the Volkswagenstiftung and Mellon Foundation in Berlin (2016-17) and a visiting assistant professorship in modern Iranian studies at Brown University (2017-18). His research and teaching interests cover modern Arabic and Persian literatures and the cultural history of the Middle East, with an emphasis on Iran, Iraq, and the Levant. At RU-N, he teaches courses on Arabic and Persian fiction and film, world literature, translation studies, and war culture. He is particularly interested in how cultural production deals with violent pasts, wars, notions of transitional justice, representations of urban space, and the climate crisis. He has written a book manuscript titled "Dust That Never Settles: Literary Afterlives of the Iran-Iraq War."Connect with Amir Moosavi

Lasting from September 1980 to August 1988, the Iran-Iraq War was the longest conventional war fought between two states in the twentieth century. It marked a period that began just after a revolutionary government in Iran became an Islamic Republic and Saddam Hussein consolidated power in Iraq. It ended with both wartime governments still in power, borders unchanged, yet hundreds of thousands of people dead. Neither side emerged as a clear victor, but both sides would eventually claim victory in some form. Dust That Never Settles: Literary Afterlives of the Iran-Iraq War (Stanford UP, 2025) considers how Iraqi and Iranian writers have wrestled with representing the Iran-Iraq War and its legacy, from wartime to the present. It demonstrates how writers from both countries have transformed once militarized, officially sanctioned war literatures into literatures of mourning, and eventually, into vehicles of protest that presented powerful counternarratives to the official state narratives. In writing the first comparative study of the literary output of this war, Amir Moosavi presents a new paradigm for the study of modern Middle Eastern literatures. He brings Persian and Arabic fiction into conversation with debates on the political importance of cultural production across the Middle East and North Africa, and he puts an important new canon of works in conversation with comparative literary and cultural studies within the Global South. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Lasting from September 1980 to August 1988, the Iran-Iraq War was the longest conventional war fought between two states in the twentieth century. It marked a period that began just after a revolutionary government in Iran became an Islamic Republic and Saddam Hussein consolidated power in Iraq. It ended with both wartime governments still in power, borders unchanged, yet hundreds of thousands of people dead. Neither side emerged as a clear victor, but both sides would eventually claim victory in some form. Dust That Never Settles: Literary Afterlives of the Iran-Iraq War (Stanford UP, 2025) considers how Iraqi and Iranian writers have wrestled with representing the Iran-Iraq War and its legacy, from wartime to the present. It demonstrates how writers from both countries have transformed once militarized, officially sanctioned war literatures into literatures of mourning, and eventually, into vehicles of protest that presented powerful counternarratives to the official state narratives. In writing the first comparative study of the literary output of this war, Amir Moosavi presents a new paradigm for the study of modern Middle Eastern literatures. He brings Persian and Arabic fiction into conversation with debates on the political importance of cultural production across the Middle East and North Africa, and he puts an important new canon of works in conversation with comparative literary and cultural studies within the Global South. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

Lasting from September 1980 to August 1988, the Iran-Iraq War was the longest conventional war fought between two states in the twentieth century. It marked a period that began just after a revolutionary government in Iran became an Islamic Republic and Saddam Hussein consolidated power in Iraq. It ended with both wartime governments still in power, borders unchanged, yet hundreds of thousands of people dead. Neither side emerged as a clear victor, but both sides would eventually claim victory in some form. Dust That Never Settles: Literary Afterlives of the Iran-Iraq War (Stanford UP, 2025) considers how Iraqi and Iranian writers have wrestled with representing the Iran-Iraq War and its legacy, from wartime to the present. It demonstrates how writers from both countries have transformed once militarized, officially sanctioned war literatures into literatures of mourning, and eventually, into vehicles of protest that presented powerful counternarratives to the official state narratives. In writing the first comparative study of the literary output of this war, Amir Moosavi presents a new paradigm for the study of modern Middle Eastern literatures. He brings Persian and Arabic fiction into conversation with debates on the political importance of cultural production across the Middle East and North Africa, and he puts an important new canon of works in conversation with comparative literary and cultural studies within the Global South. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/middle-eastern-studies

Geoff Gilson is a retired lawyer, development consultant, and political strategist and speechwriter. He began his career crafting speeches for Margaret Thatcher and leveraged his dual British-US citizenship to navigate elite political circles. With decades of front-row access to senior UK and US officials, Gilson served as a key operative for the British Conservative Party, gaining unparalleled insight into global power structures. His book, Maggie's Hammer, is a meticulously researched and gripping exposé that unravels a complex web of money laundering, arms deals, and political collusion, that leads all the way to connections between Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, Margaret Thatcher, and Vladimir Putin. Gilson's 30-year investigation traces covert operations from the Iran-Iraq War to Russian financial schemes, revealing covert ties to Robert Maxwell, Israeli Intelligence, and the Russian Mob.  On one side, MAGA loyalists are laser-focused on the Russia “hoax,” demanding accountability from Hillary Clinton, James Comey, John Brennan, and others they believe orchestrated a coordinated effort to kneecap Trump's presidency. On the other side, the mainstream media and Trump's fiercest opponents are pouring energy into the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, a labyrinth of abuse and influence implicating elites across finance, politics, and culture. At first glance, these two narratives look like the personification of a political cage match, each side weaponizing its own “third rail” issue for political advantage. But Gilson argues they're not separate stories at all. They are two faces of the same beast. Behind the headlines, he sees overlapping power structures—shared interests among intelligence agencies, global financiers, and political dynasties—that profit from distraction, division, and the erosion of public trust. Both scandals, he says, reveal a deeper bipartisan rot that neither party wants fully exposed.   Want to watch: YouTube Meisterkhan Pod (Please subscribe)    

Stalemate breaks in a surprise operation. An apathetic America gets involved, and, it's soon revealed, involved on both sides. The fighting stops, but nothing is the same after 1988. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This terrible war fought in the 1980's and it changed everything. Both in the Middle East, and America. We tell the story in two parts. We are part of Airwave Media network Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Eric Mills talks with Marine Corps Second Lieutenant Quentin Zimmer about his article on Iran-Iraq War that bled into the maritime sphere in the 1980's. To read the article, visit: https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history/2025/june/tanker-war

This week we talk about tit-for-tat warfare, conflict off-ramps, and Israel's renewed attacks on Iran's nuclear program.We also discuss the Iron Dome, the Iran-Iraq War, and regime change.Recommended Book: How Much is Enough? by Robert and Edward SkidelskyTranscriptIn late-October of 2024, Israel launched a wave of airstrikes against targets in Iran and Syria. These strikes were code-named Operation Days of Repentance, and it marked the largest such attack on Iran by Israel since the 1980s, during the height of the Iran-Iraq War.Operation Days of Repentance was ostensibly a response to Iran's attack on Israel earlier than same month, that attack code-named Operation True Promise II, which involved the launch of around 200 ballistic missiles against Israeli targets. Operation True Promise II was itself a response to Israel's assassination of the leader of Hamas, the leader of Hezbollah, and the Deputy of Operations for Iran's Revolutionary Guard.If you feel like there might be a tit-for-tat pattern here, you're right. Iran and Israel have been at each other's throats since 1979, following the Islamic Revolution when Iran cut off all diplomatic relations with Israel; some backchannel relations continued between the two countries, even through part of the Iran-Iraq War, when Israel often supported Iran in that conflict, but things got tense in the early 1980s when Iran, partnering with the Syrian government, started backing Hezbollah and their effort to boot Israel out of Southern Lebanon, while also partnering with Islamist militants in Iraq and Yemen, including the Houthis, and at times Hamas in Gaza, as well.Most of these attacks have, until recently, been fairly restrained, all things considered. There's long been bravado by politicians on both sides of the mostly cold war-ish conflict, but they've generally told the other side what they would be hitting, and signaled just how far they would be going, telling them the extent of the damage they would cause, and why, which provides the other side ample opportunity to step off the escalatory ladder; everyone has the chance to posture for their constituents and then step back, finding an off-ramp and claiming victory in that specific scuffle.That back-and-forth in late-2024 largely stuck to that larger pattern, and both sides stuck with what typically works for them, in terms of doing damage: Israel flew more than 100 aircraft to just beyond or just inside Iran's borders and struck a bunch of military targets, like air defense batteries and missile production facilities, while Iran launched a few hundred far less-accurate missiles at broad portions of Israel—a type of attack that could conceivably result in a lot of civilian casualties, not just damage to military targets, which would typically be a no-no if you're trying to keep the tit-for-tat strikes regulated and avoid escalation, but because Israel has a fairly effective anti-missile system called the Iron Dome, Iran could be fairly confident that just hurling a large number of missiles in their general direction would be okay, as most of those missiles would be shot down by the Iron Dome, the rest by Israel's allies in the region, and the few that made it through or struck unoccupied land in the general vicinity would make their point.While this conflict has been fairly stable for decades, though, the tenor and tone seems to have changed substantially in 2025, and a recent wave of attacks by Israel is generally being seen as the culmination of several other efforts, and possibly an attempt by the Israeli government to change the nature of this conflict, perhaps permanently.And that's what I'd like to talk about today; Operation Rising Lion, and the implications of Israel's seeming expansion and evolution of their approach to dealing with Iran.—In mid-June of 2025, Israel's military launched early morning strikes against more than a dozen targets across Iran, most of the targets either fundamental to Iran's nuclear program or its military.The strikes were very targeted, and some were assassinations of top Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists, like the Commander of the Revolutionary Guard, along with their families, including twenty children, who were presumably collateral damage. Some came from beyond Iran's borders, some were conducted by assets smuggled into Iran earlier: car bombs and drones, things like that.More attacks followed that initial wave, which resulted in the collapse of nuclear sites and airport structures, along with several residential buildings in the country's capitol, Tehran.This attack was ostensibly meant to hobble Iran's nuclear program, which the Iranian government has long claimed is for purely peaceful, energy-generation purposes, but which independent watchdog organizations, and pretty much every other non-Iranian-allied government says is probably dual-purpose, allowing Iran to produce nuclear energy, but also nuclear weapons.There was a deal on the books for a while that had Iran getting some benefits in exchange for allowing international regulators to monitor its nuclear program, but that deal, considered imperfect by many, but also relatively effective compared to having no deal at all, went away under the first Trump administration, and the nuclear program has apparently been chugging along since then with relative success; claims that Iran is just weeks from having enough fissile material to make a nuclear weapon have been common for years, now, but they apparently now have enough nuclear weapons-grade materials to make several bombs, and Israel in particular is quite keen to keep them from building such a weapon, as Iran's leaders, over the years, have said they'd like to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth, and nuclear weapons would be a relatively quick and easy way to make that happen.Of course, even without using such a weapon, simply having one or more is a sort of insurance policy against conventionally armed enemies. It ups the stakes in every type of conflict, and allows the nuclear-armed belligerent to persistently raise the specter of nuclear war if anyone threatens them, which is truly terrifying because of how many nuclear-related failsafes are in place around the world: one launch or detonation potentially becoming many, all at once, because of Dr. Strangelove-like automated systems that many militaries have readied, just in case.So the possibility that Iran might be on the brink of actually, really, truly this time making a nuclear weapon is part of the impetus for this new strike by Israel.But this is also probably a continuation of the larger effort to dismantle Iran's influence across the region by the current Israeli government, which, following the sneak attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent invasion of the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces, has been trying to undermine Iran's proxies, which again, include quite a few militant organizations, the most powerful of which, in recent years, have been the trio of Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen, and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, right on Israel's border.Israel's invasion of Gaza, which has led to an absolutely catastrophic humanitarian situation for Gazan civilians, but has also led to the near-total collapse of Hamas as a functioning militant organization in the Strip, could be construed as a successful mission, if you ignore all those civilians casualties and fatalities, and the near-leveling of a good portion of the Strip.Israel was also able to take out a significant portion of Hezbollah's leadership via conventional aerial attacks and ground-assaults, and a bizarrely effective asymmetric attack using bombs installed in the pagers used by the organization, and it's been able to significantly decrease the Houthis' ability to menace ships passing through the Red Sea, using their own military, but also through their relationship with the US, which has significant naval assets in the area.Iran has long projected power in the region through its relationship with these proxies, providing them training and weapons and money in exchange for their flanking of Israel. That flanking was meant to keep Israel perpetually off-balance with the knowledge that if they ever do anything too serious, beyond the bounds of the controllable tit-for-tat, Cold War-style conflict in which they were engaged with Iran, they could suffer significant damage at home, from the north via Lebanon, from their southwestern flank via Gaza, or from a little ways to the south and via their coast from Yemen.Those proxies now largely hobbled, though, Israel found itself suddenly freed-up to do something more significant, and this attack is being seen by analysts as the initial stages of what might be a more substantial, perhaps permanent solution to the Iran problem. Rather than being a show of force or a tit-for-tat play, these might be the beginning days of an assault that's meant to enact not just a dismantling of Iran's nuclear program, but full-on regime change in Iran.And regime change means exactly what it sounds like: Iran's government is Islamist, meaning that it wants to enforce a fairly brutal, repressive version of Islam globally, and it already does so against its people. There have periodically been successful protests against these measures by Iranian citizens, especially by severely repressed women and minority groups in the country, including folks of different religions and LGBTQ identifying folks, among others, almost always these protests, and any other attempts to attain more rights and equality for people who aren't strictly Islamist men, generally result in violence, the black-bagging of protest leaders, extrajudicial killings and lifetime imprisonment and torture; a whole lot of really authoritarian, generally just villain-scale behavior by the Iranian government against anyone who steps out of line.So the Iranian government is pretty monstrous by most modern, democratic standards, and the Israeli government's seeming desire to crush it—to cry false on the regime's projection of strength, and create the circumstances for revolution, if that is indeed what they're doing—could be construed as a fairly noble goal.It perhaps serves the purposes of Israel, as again, Iran has said, over and over, that they want to destroy Israel and would totally do so, given the chance. But it arguably also serves the purpose of democratic-leaning people, and perhaps even more so folks who are suffering under the current Iranian regime, and maybe even other, similar regimes in the region. Which again, in terms of spreading democracy and human rights, sounds pretty good to some ears.That said, Israel is killing a lot of Iranian civilians alongside military targets, and its efforts in Gaza have led to accusations that it's committing genocide in the region. Israeli leaders have themselves been accused of anti-democratic actions, basically doubling-down on the nation's furthest-right, most militant, and most authoritarian and theocratic impulses, which makes any claims of moral superiority a little tricky for them to make, at this point.There's a chance, of course, that all this speculation and analysis ends up being completely off-base, and Israel is really, truly just trying to hobble Iran a bit, taking out some of their missile launchers and missile- and drone-manufacturing capacity, while also pushing back their acquisition of nuclear weapons by some meaningful amount of time; that amount of time currently unknown, as initial reports, at least, indicate that many of the attacks on Iran's most vital nuclear research and development facilities were perhaps not as effective as Israel had hoped. There's a chance that if enough overall damage is done, Iran's government will enthusiastically return to the negotiating table and perhaps be convinced to set their nuclear program aside willingly, but at the moment both Iran and Israel seem committed to hurting each other, physically.On that note, so far, as of the day I'm recording this, Iran has launched around 100 missiles, killed a few dozen Israelis, and injured more than 500 of the same. The Iranian government has said Israel's strikes have killed at least 224 people and wounded more than 1,200; though a human rights group says the death toll in Iran could be quite a bit higher than official government numbers, with more than 400 people killed, around half of them civilians, so far.It's been nearly a week of this, and it looks likely that these strikes will continue for at least another few days, though many analysts are now saying they expect this to go one for at least a few weeks, if indeed Israel is trying to knock out some of Iran's more hardened nuclear program-related targets; several of which are buried deep down in the ground, thus requiring bunker-buster-style missiles to reach and destroy, and Israel doesn't have such weapons in their arsenal.Neutralizing those targets would therefore mean either getting those kinds of weapons from the US or other allies, taking them out via some other means, which would probably take more time and entail more risk, or doing enough damage quickly than Iran's government is forced to the negotiation table.And if that ends up being the case, if Israel is really just gunning for the nuclear program and nothing else, this could be remembered as a significant strike, but one that mostly maintains the current status quo; same Iranian leadership, same perpetual conflict between these two nations, but Israel boasting even more of an upper-hand than before, with less to worry about in terms of serious damage from Iran or its proxies for the next several years, minimum.It does seem like a good moment to undertake regime change in Iran, though, as doing so could help Israel polish up its reputation, at least a little, following the reputational drubbing it has taken because of its actions in Gaza. I doubt people who have really turned on Israel would be convinced, as doing away with an abusive, extremist regime, while doing abusive, extremist regime stuff yourself the homefront, probably won't be an argument that convinces many Palestinian liberation-oriented people; there's a chance some of those people will even take up the cause of Iranian civilians, which is true to a point, as many Iranian civilians are suffering and will continue to suffer under Israel's attacks—though of course that leaves out the part about them also suffering, for much longer, under their current government.That said, taking Iran out of the geopolitical equation would serve a lot of international interests, including those of the US—which has long hated Iran—and Ukraine, the latter of which because Russia has allied itself with the Iranian government, and buys a lot of drones, among other weapons, from Iran. That regime falling could make life more difficult for Russia, at least in the short term, and it would mean another ally lost in the region, following the fall of the Assad regime in Syria in late-2024.There's a chance that these same geopolitical variables could pull other players into this conflict, though: Russia could help Iran, for instance, directly or indirectly, by sending supplies, taking out Israeli missiles and drones, maybe, while the US could help Israel (more directly, that is, as it's apparently already helping them by shooting down some of Iran's counterstrike projectiles) by providing bunker-buster weapons, or striking vital military targets from a distance.Such an escalation, on either side, would probably be pretty bad for everyone except possibly Iran, though Israel has said it wants the US to join in on its side, as that would likely result in a much quicker victory and far fewer casualties on its side.The US government is pretty keen to keep out of foreign conflicts right now, though, at least directly, and Russia is pretty bogged down by its invasion of Ukraine; there's a chance other regional powers, even smaller ones, could act as proxies for these larger, outside forces—the Saudis taking the opportunity to score some damage on their long-time rival, Iran, for instance, by helping out Israel—but any such acts would expand the scope of the conflict, and it's seldom politically expedient to do anything that might require your people make any kind of sacrifice, so most everyone will probably stay out of this as long as they can, unless there are serious benefits to doing so.Show Noteshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_2025_Israeli_strikes_on_Iranhttps://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/06/13/israel-iran-regime-attack-goal-column-00405153https://www.foreignaffairs.com/israel/real-threat-iran-tehran-most-dangerous-option-responding-israelhttps://www.twz.com/news-features/could-iran-carry-out-its-threat-to-shut-the-strait-of-hormuzhttps://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-857713https://kyivindependent.com/israel-asks-us-to-join-strikes-on-irans-nuclear-sites-officials-told-axios/https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-june-15-2025/https://www.twz.com/air/israel-escalates-to-attacking-iranian-energy-targets-after-ballistic-missiles-hit-tel-avivhttps://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/israel-iran-strikes-news-06-14-25https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-confirms-irgc-air-force-chief-top-echelon-killed-in-israeli-strike/https://time.com/7294186/israel-warns-tehran-will-burn-deadly-strikes-traded-nuclear-program/https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06/14/world/israel-iran-newshttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/opinion/israel-iran-strikes.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/14/world/middleeast/drones-smuggled-israel-iran-ukraine-russia.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06/15/world/iran-israel-nuclearhttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/15/world/middleeast/iran-military-leaders-killed.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/14/world/europe/israel-iron-dome-defense.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/14/world/middleeast/israel-iran-missile-attack.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/14/world/middleeast/iran-israel-energy-facility-strikes-tehran.htmlhttps://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/israel-iran-strikes-news-06-15-25https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/was-israel-s-strike-on-iran-a-good-idea--four-questions-to-askhttps://apnews.com/article/israel-iran-missile-attacks-nuclear-news-06-16-2025-c98074e62ce5afd4c3f6d33edaffa069https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/world/middleeast/iran-israel-war-off-ramp.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_2024_Iranian_strikes_on_Israelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_2024_Israeli_strikes_on_Iranhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_of_Resistancehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Lebanon_electronic_device_attacks This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsknowthings.substack.com/subscribe