Katja Theodorakis speaks to Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior fellow at FDD, about Iran’s military power and how the country is investing in asymmetric capabilities. They also discuss the challenges posed by anti-status quo powers and Iran’s deterrence strategy.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Albanese and Deputy Prime Minister Marles announced that there would be a Defence Strategic Review focused on ‘force structure, force posture and preparedness, and investment prioritization to ensure Defence has the right capabilities to meet our growing strategic needs.’ Dr Marcus Hellyer speaks to Michael Shoebridge about some of the challenges for the review, including its short timeline for delivery.

Baani Grewal speaks to Dr Teesta Prakash about the relationship dynamics between India and Southeast Asia and their growing strategic convergence as they tackle shared challenges.

Mentioned in this episode:

ASPI report ‘Marles’s Defence Strategic Review—an exploding suitcase of challenges to resolve by March 2023’: https://www.aspi.org.au/report/marles-defence-strategic-review

Guests (in order of appearance):

Katja Theodorakis: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/katja-theodorakis

Behnam Ben Taleblu: https://www.fdd.org/team/behnam-ben-taleblu/

Dr Marcus Hellyer: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/marcus-hellyer

Michael Shoebridge: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/michael-shoebridge

Baani Grewal: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/baani-grewal

Dr Teesta Prakash: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/people/experts/bio/teesta-prakash

Music: c/ FreeMusicArchive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/viscid/disconnected/climb/

Image: c/ Wikimedia: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IRIA_soldiers_marching_in_formation_%281%29.jpg