Claim OwnershipThe Iran Breakdown with Mark Dubowitz
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Welcome to the Iran Breakdown. Hosted by Mark Dubowitz, this miniseries from FDD is here to guide you through one of the most critical geopolitical and human rights challenges facing the world today.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has been a central player in global headlines for decades: its pursuit of nuclear weapons, funding of terror groups like Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and others; its oppression of its own people, and its growing alliances with global power states like China, Russia, North Korea. But beneath the headlines lies a deeper story, story of a regime that is losing legitimacy, a restless population, hungry for freedom, and a global community with many conflicting ideas about how to respond. And that's what we'll cover in 10 episodes of The Iran Breakdown.
36 Episodes
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Retired Maj. Gen. Tal Kelman is one of Israel’s most accomplished fighter pilots and one of its top Iran strategists. He didn’t just help plan Operation Rising Lion — he flew missions in it. Now a colleague at FDD, he joins host Mark Dubowitz to unpack Israel’s air campaign — including a damage assessment of the Islamic Republic's nuclear program — and discern what comes next as Tehran faces hard choices related to its missile forces, proxy network, and nuclear ambitions amidst growing ties with China and Russia and no clear “day after” in sight.
We're bringing you another riveting episode from our sister podcast, Foreign Podicy, repackaged for Iran Breakdown followers: Behnam Ben Taleblu, Senior Director of FDD’s Iran Program, is joined by former senior U.S. intelligence official Norman Roule to assess Iran’s post–12-Day War reality, including the gap between regime propaganda and mounting internal pressure — and what this volatile moment might reveal about the Islamic Republic’s next moves.
With the regime reeling from military humiliation, economic decay, and growing defiance at home, Mark sits down with frontline journalist David Patrikarakos to cut through Tehran’s spin to explain what’s really happening inside the Islamic Republic.
We’re bringing you a riveting discussion from our sister podcast, Foreign Podicy, featuring FDD's Behnam Ben Taleblu in dialogue with Dr. Ali Ansari — one of the world’s foremost scholars of modern Iran. In a sweeping, incisive discussion, they trace the forces now reshaping the Islamic Republic after the 12-Day War.
Putin and Khamenei have sealed a 20-year pact. Mark Dubowitz and Clifford D. May break down this dangerous alliance from imperial rivalries to today’s coordinated campaign to weaken America, divide its allies, and resurrect their empires — and how Washington can still break the axis before it’s too late.
One of America’s top sanctions experts, Miad Maleki, now a senior advisor at FDD, joins Mark Dubowitz to pull back the curtain on the Islamic Republic’s mafia state — a regime that controls every corner of the economy, launders terror money through “charities,” and weaponizes humanitarian channels to fund global terror.
To help break down lessons learned from the 12-Day War, Israel’s strike in Qatar, and how American energy dominance is reshaping the strategic landscape — Rich Goldberg is back with Mark on The Iran Breakdown.
One is the world’s leading state sponsor of terror. The other is the world’s most powerful dictatorship and greatest long-term threat facing the United States. What happens when they join forces? Mark Dubowitz sits down with Craig Singleton (FDD) and Grant Rumley (Washington Institute, formerly FDD) to unpack the dragon–mullah alliance.
Washington has wasted decades chasing pauses and half-measures. But as Mark Dubowitz and Brigadier General Jacob Nagel argue, the only answer to Iran’s nuclear blackmail is total dismantlement — no delay, no suspension, no enrichment, no deal that leaves Tehran’s program intact.
Juan Zarate, the strategist who pioneered U.S. financial warfare, joins Mark to break down how sanctions and isolation bled Iran’s economy and forced concessions—and how the dollar became Washington’s weapon of choice against Tehran, reshaping the regime’s choices and the future of American power.
Host Mark Dubowitz sits down with his FDD colleague Brad Bowman, Senior Director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP), to break down what the 12-Day War taught us about American military and political power — how it’s wielded, where it’s failing, and what comes next.
In Part II of their conversation, Mark Dubowitz and Reuel Marc Gerecht dive into what the 12-Day War exposed about the Islamic Republic and why Iran’s leaders, even after decades of hostility, were caught flat-footed.
1Mark Dubowitz sits down with Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former Iranian-targets officer in the CIA turned FDD resident scholar, to discuss the covert odyssey that is his career.
Mark Dubowitz is joined by former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Michael Ratney to break down the complex Saudi–Iran stalemate — from the 1979 Siege of Mecca and Khomeini’s revolution, to today’s regime-backed Houthis raining fire into Saudi Arabia from Yemen.
In the last week, U.S. and Israeli forces have hit the heart of the Islamic Republic’s power from Fordow and Natanz to Evin Prison and the Basij headquarters. Khamenei has gone dark. The Islamic Republic is on the defensive. But moments like this can go two ways: collapse or crackdown. Is this the moment the opposition seizes — or one the regime survives?Mehdi Parpanchi is one of the sharpest voices covering Iran today and the executive editor of Iran International, the 24/7 Persian-language channel the regime fears most.He joins host Mark Dubowitz to unpack what’s breaking inside the regime — and what might be rising to replace it.
The shadow war is over. This weekend, the United States took direct military action against Iran’s nuclear program for the first time, in a coordinated operation with Israel that targeted the regime’s most heavily fortified enrichment sites.The strikes were historic. The question now: Did they actually work? What was hit — and is anything still operational?Host Mark Dubowitz is joined by David Albright — president and founder of the Institute for Science and International Security and one of the world’s leading nuclear experts — to break down the damage, the regime’s next moves, and what comes after Operation Midnight Hammer.
Mossad strikes inside Iran. Top scientists and IRGC leaders are dead. Mark Dubowitz and Eyal Hulata, Israel’s former national security advisor and 23-year Mossad veteran, break down Israel’s boldest op yet—and what happens if the job isn’t finished.Our intro and outro music samples (with artist's permission) Liraz Charhi's single, "Roya" — check out the full version of the song and the meaning behind it here: https://youtu.be/1Ab4XFaWnOk?si=aIdBdvY1mkMiQPN9
To unpack the latest developments in Israel's ongoing operation against Iran's nuclear infrastructure, Chief Executive Mark Dubowitz hosts a special live edition of FDD's The Iran Breakdown with Israeli journalists Barak Ravid and Nadav Eyal.
About the EpisodeIn 2015 while serving in the Obama administration, Dan Shapiro supported the Iran nuclear deal. Mark Dubowitz led the fight to stop it.A decade later, Iran is a nuclear threshold state. The regime has enriched enough uranium for multiple bombs, deterrence has broken down, and Washington still hasn’t figured out how to stop a nuclear Iran.Today, Mark and Dan are in the same strategic corner—not because the politics have shifted but because reality has.And they're both asking the same question: With diplomacy failing and enrichment advancing, what’s next? About the MusicOur intro and outro music samples (with artist's permission) Liraz Charhi's single, "Roya" — check out the full version of the song and the meaning behind it here: https://youtu.be/1Ab4XFaWnOk?si=aIdBdvY1mkMiQPN9
About the EpisodeMehdi Yahyanejad was raised in the Islamic Republic. Now, he's fighting it from the outside... with code.From founding the digital platform that helped power Iran’s Green Movement in 2009 to coordinating resistance through online activism, Mehdi has seen firsthand how technology empowers dissidents and fuels regime resistance.As the Islamic Republic faces external challenges coupled with internal decay, the regime is cracking. Mehdi and Mark discuss how the right digital tools can help the Iranian people finish the job. About the MusicOur intro and outro music samples (with artist's permission) Liraz Charhi's single, "Roya" — check out the full version of the song and the meaning behind it here: https://youtu.be/1Ab4XFaWnOk?si=aIdBdvY1mkMiQPN9
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Hi! I ran is experiencing its largest uprising since 1979, hundreds of people killed, internet blackouts to hide it, would you consider an episode? the Iranians need voice like yours, Thanks 😊