Eye For Iran

Can the Islamic Republic survive a deepening economic crisis, growing resistance at home and a war with the United States?On this week’s episode of Eye for Iran, British-Iranian comedian Omid Djalili and Iran International’s Arash Sohrabi examine the dark humor spreading across Iran as people struggling to afford basic necessities publicly mock the regime and turn its own language of fear against it. Djalili explains why he believes the phenomenon shows that “the fear is gone.”The episode also looks at what Washington is prepared to do to help Iranians challenge the Islamic Republic. After President Donald Trump told Iranians that “the hour of your freedom is at hand” and urged them to take over their government once the US is “finished,” Middle East expert Dr. Eric Mandel examines what those words could mean in practice, particularly amid reports that the US-Iran war could continue through the end of Trump’s presidency.Finally, Eye for Iran examines the hidden cost of surviving Iran’s crackdowns. Shahin Abdolghaderi, who was shot in the head with hundreds of pellets during the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests, and her son Ardalan Mameh describe the chronic pain, displacement and uncertainty they still live with nearly four years later. Their story offers a chilling warning of what may lie ahead for survivors wounded in Iran’s January 8 and 9 crackdown.Guests: Omid Djalili, Arash Sohrabi, Dr. Eric Mandel, Dr. Sara Raza, Shahin Abdolghaderi and Ardalan Mameh.Chapters: 00:00 — Iranians mock Islamic Republic as economic crisis fuels resistanceGuests: Omid Djalili and Arash Sohrabi37:10 — Trump tells Iranians to “take over your government” as war drags onGuest: Dr. Eric Mandel1:00:07 — The hidden cost of surviving Iran’s crackdownsGuests: Shahin Abdolghaderi, Ardalan Mameh and Dr. Sara Raza#iran #iraneconomy #iranuswar #trump #iranprotests #iranpodcast #news #youtubeshorts #youtube #podcast

Iran is still striking back — but is Tehran choosing smaller attacks, or are its military options narrowing?Former CENTCOM commander Gen. Joseph Votel, now a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute, and Farzin Nadimi, Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, examine why Iran is turning to sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz, what it reveals about its remaining military capabilities, and how Tehran may still try to make the conflict painful for the United States and its regional partners.Then, inside Iran, the pressure is coming from somewhere else. Inflation and shortages are squeezing families while the state prepares to meet renewed unrest with force. Iranian-American economist Ali Dadpay, based in Texas, and Kamran Bokhari, Strategic Forecaster and Senior Resident Fellow with the Middle East Policy Council in Washington, ask: how long can force contain an economic crisis that keeps getting worse?And finally, a very different sign of a regime under pressure. After nearly two decades abroad, musician Mohsen Namjoo is back in Iran despite having crossed some of the Islamic Republic’s most sensitive religious and political red lines. Iranian popular-culture expert Siavash Rokni and historian Shahram Kholdi examine what his return reveals about a system willing to bend its own ideological rules when it needs to.Military power. Economic survival. Ideological retreat.This week on Eye for Iran.Subscribe here and never miss an episode. Eye for Iran is out every Friday — watch on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.Chapters:00:00 — Introduction02:12 — Iran turns to sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz | Gen. Joseph Votel & Farzin Nadimi22:59 — Iran’s economic crisis and the threat of unrest | Ali Dadpay & Kamran Bokhari46:51 — Mohsen Namjoo’s return to Iran: What does it reveal? | Siavash Rokni & Shahram Kholdi #iran #hormuz #usa #mines #economy #iraneconomy #inflation #iranprotests #namjoon

Iran’s oil revenues could effectively fall to zero within months if the US blockade holds, according to Kpler senior oil analyst Homayoun Falakshahi.On this episode of Eye for Iran, Falakshahi and former US Treasury OFAC official Max Meizlish examine Washington’s expanding economic pressure campaign, China’s crucial role in buying Iranian oil, the financial networks running through Hong Kong and Dubai, and whether the United States is actually prepared to close the regime’s remaining sanctions-evasion routes.But what happens when economic pressure on the Islamic Republic also deepens the suffering of ordinary Iranians? With inflation soaring, food prices climbing and gasoline shortages worsening, the discussion turns to the possibility of renewed unrest — and the danger of another violent crackdown.Then, a letter expressing solidarity with Iran’s political prisoners triggers an extraordinary ideological backlash. Human rights advocates Gissou Nia and Roya Boroumand and journalist Jay Solomon examine why condemning the imprisonment and torture of Iranians has become entangled in arguments over American imperialism, Israel and the legacy of the 1979 revolution — and what political prisoners actually endure inside and outside Iran.Finally, journalist Mohamed Fahmy who has been in and out of Lebanon this month tells us how Hezbollah can resist disarmament and Tehran’s influence remains deeply entrenched. After speaking with Lebanese people across the country, Fahmy asks whether Iran has really lost its grip on Lebanon — and who ultimately speaks for the Lebanese state.Watch this week’s episode of Eye for Iran — and subscribe so you never miss a new episode, out every Friday.You can also listen to Eye for Iran on your favorite podcast platform.Chapters:00:00 Coming Up02:02 CHAPTER 1: Iran’s economic endgame: Can Washington choke off Tehran’s lifelines?Max Meizlish & Homayoun Falakshahi — Iran’s oil revenues could fall to zero32:54 CHAPTER 2 :Why defending Iran’s political prisoners became controversialGissou Nia, Roya Boroumand & Jay Solomon 53:31 CHAPTER 3: Hezbollah, Iran and the battle over Lebanon’s futureMohamed Fahmy #Iran #IranNews #IranEconomy #StraitOfHormuz #Oil #OilPrices #Sanctions #Hezbollah #Lebanon #PoliticalPrisoners #HumanRights #EyeForIran

Could Iran’s crackdown leave behind a generation with permanent disabilities and dependent on opioids for chronic pain? Dr. Sarah Raza, a trauma physician helping wounded protesters inside Iran, has documented hundreds of metal pellets embedded in victims’ bodies, including a six-year-old with pellets lodged in his face and skull. Her warning: “This is making someone’s body a prison.”Iran feels the pressure, but will it bend? Raz Zimmt of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) says Tehran increasingly recognizes the economic situation is working against it, yet its leadership may still view another war with the United States as preferable to concessions it considers capitulation. We examine what that calculation could mean for what comes next.And 31 years for helping children: Afshin Heyratian, a Bahá’í children’s rights activist who devoted his life to helping some of Iran’s most vulnerable children, has received prison sentences totaling 31 years. His brother, Ramin Heyratian, tells us about the man behind the extraordinary punishment and the family fighting for him.Watch Eye for Iran, Episode 117, with Negar Mojtahedi. Subscribe for a new episode every Friday. Or listen on any podcast platform. Chapters:00:00 Coming Up02:26 CHAPTER 1: Dr. Sarah Raza | Iran’s generation at risk of permanent disability and opioid dependenceA trauma physician documents the lifelong consequences of pellet injuries sustained during Iran’s crackdown.20:31 CHAPTER 2 — Raz Zimmt | Why Iran’s regime may risk another warDespite mounting economic pressure, Tehran may see another war with the US as preferable to concessions it considers capitulation.47:22 CHAPTER 3 - Ramin Heyratian - Afshin's brother | 31 years in prison for helping childrenAfshin Heyratian’s brother - Ramin- tells the story of the Bahá’í children’s rights activist facing decades behind bars.#iran #iranprotests #irgc #usa #hormuz #war #bahai

The war with Iran was supposed to change the equation.But before bombs fall, before presidents decide on war and peace, and before negotiators ever sit across from one another, there is intelligence.So what does someone who spent decades trying to understand Iran from inside the CIA see happening next?Eye for Iran’s Negar Mojtahedi spoke with Mark Fowler, a decorated former CIA case officer and Farsi speaker who spent 22 years at the agency, rising to the number two position on Iran and Iraq within the CIA and serving overseas as a Chief of Station.“We are in a test of wills,” Fowler said. “I just don’t know who will blink first.”Then, inside Iran, some very familiar faces are being put back in charge.The unseen Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has appointed six senior commanders across Iran’s armed forces, Revolutionary Guards and Basij, while veteran Guards commander Mohsen Rezaei has been handed one of the most powerful national security positions in the country.These aren’t young commanders being elevated to build a new Islamic Republic.They are veterans of the old one.So is Mojtaba Khamenei rebuilding the command structure for the next phase of war, consolidating his own power or preparing for unrest at home?Joining the discussion are Kamran Bokhari, senior resident fellow at the Middle East Policy Council and a strategic forecaster, Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, and Omid Memarian, senior Iran analyst at DAWN.“There’s been an undeclared coup by the Guard,” Bokhari said.Brodsky sees signs of an effort to balance competing power centers inside the IRGC.“I think we have some hints here that the system is trying to thread the needle among different camps within the IRGC, to try to hand out different positions to basically allow these different factions to have different aspects of the system under their control,” Brodsky said.Memarian argues one appointment in particular may reveal what the regime fears most.“Putting a veteran intelligence chief in charge of the Basij suggests that Tehran increasingly sees the foreign battlefield and the domestic street as two fronts of the same security challenge,” Memarian said. “The appointment was a sign of anxiety, not confidence.”And finally, preparations for unrest may extend beyond who controls the streets to how those streets themselves are designed.In some of Tehran’s most historic areas, the municipality is tearing up cobblestones and replacing them with asphalt.Iran International journalist Mehdi Sepahvand investigated what is happening and the long history of designing cities with security and social control in mind.“They are creating plain sight and direct shooting range for their forces,” Sepahvand said.His reporting examines why replacing cobblestones with asphalt could make it harder for protesters to congregate and easier for security forces and their vehicles to move through the streets.Taken together, the changes raise a bigger question: Is the Islamic Republic preparing not only for another confrontation abroad, but for the possibility of major unrest at home?And when the war ends, what happens at home?Watch Eye for Iran every Friday for three segments on the stories shaping Iran and its future.Subscribe on YouTube or listen on the podcast platform of your choice.Chapters:00:00 Coming Up02:41 CHAPTER 1: Inside the CIA’s Iran PlaybookMark Fowler — decorated former CIA case officer, Iran specialist and former Chief of StationFowler spent 22 years at the CIA, rising to the number two position on Iran and Iraq. He explains how human intelligence on Iran actually works, how intelligence reaches the president and why he believes the US and Iran have entered a “test of wills.”34:35 CHAPTER 2 — Who Really Controls Iran Now?Kamran Bokhari — Senior Resident Fellow, Middle East Policy Council and Strategic ForecasterJason Brodsky — Policy Director, United Against Nuclear IranOmid Memarian — Senior Iran Analyst, DAWNThe panel breaks down the return of Iran’s old guard, the unanswered questions surrounding Mojtaba Khamenei and whether the IRGC is consolidating power. Bokhari argues there has been an “undeclared coup by the Guard,” while Memarian says the appointments reveal a regime preparing simultaneously for conflict abroad and unrest at home.1:07:41 CHAPTER 3 - Tehran Is Redesigning Its Streets for ProtestMehdi Sepahvand — Iran International journalistSepahvand investigates why Tehran is replacing cobblestones with asphalt in historic pedestrian areas. His reporting connects the changes to security control, including making it easier for security vehicles to move through protest areas and creating clearer lines of sight for forces#iran #irgc #cia #iranprotests #iranwar #mojtabakhamenei #iranpodcast #irannews #youtubeshorts #youtube #news #podcast