We’re marking one year of The Iran Breakdown by bringing you a special conversation from our sister FDD podcast.

In this episode of Foreign Podicy, host Cliff May sits down with Mark Dubowitz to unpack a question at the core of this show: what the Islamic Republic actually believes — and how it has waged war on the United States and its allies since 1979.

It’s a conversation about ideology, strategy, and a threat too often misunderstood.

If you want to understand the regime in order to make sense of the war, start here.