Iran is at a critical juncture. Thousands of protesters have filled the streets for days, but what's really happening behind the scenes? With crippling economic sanctions and Mossad operatives allegedly active on the ground, this situation is anything but a sudden crisis.

In this urgent episode of The Tea, we welcome author and scholar Narges Bajoghli, an associate professor of Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, to delve into the underlying causes of the current protests. We will also explore the geopolitical dynamics at play and examine who is trying to exploit these developments for their own purposes. 

Our guest argues that both Israel and the United States have little interest in a sovereign and stable Iran. Instead, they favour chaos, fragmentation, and prolonged internal conflict, which align with their goals for regional military dominance. The patterns observed in conflicts from Syria to Libya are all too familiar, and now Iran is firmly in the crosshairs. 

We discuss how overt signals from Mossad and public claims of having "agents on the ground" escalate state violence, making protesters more vulnerable. This dynamic provides the Iranian government with the perfect justification to frame dissent as foreign-instigated sabotage.

We also unpack:

⚡ Sanctions as collective punishment — crushing populations, enriching elites

⚡ Trump, war pretexts & the explotitation of legitimate grievances

⚡ De-dollarisation & the global pushback to U.S. economic warfare

⚡ Why is the far-right calling for the overthrow of the Iranian regime

⚡ Palestine beyond Iran — why resistance outlasts alliances

⚡ Anti-imperialism at a crossroads — what needs to change in the 21st century

⚡ The revival of the Shah — who is pushing this narrative

Narges argues that “Iranians need to be liberated from their regime, but they also need freedom from sanctions”. “And those of us on the outside can help by demanding an end to this economic strangulation.” 

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#TheTeaWithMyriamFrancois #NargesBajoghli #Iran #MiddleEastPolitics #Sanctions #RegimeChange #Israel #iranprotests #Mossad #USForeignPolicy #Trump #DeDollarization #Palestine #Imperialism #Geopolitics #RezaPahlavi

AUDIO CREDITS

Presenter–Producer: Dr. Myriam François

Guest: Narges Bajoghli 

Senior Producer: Sara Farolfi

Producer: Nadège Bizimungu

Assistant Producer: Poppy Jacobs

Research: Dahlia Melaine

Video Editor: Max Bubnov

An MPWR Productions show.

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