The Iran Breakdown with Mark Dubowitz

📺: Watch this episode on YouTube here.

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.

From the failures of counterintelligence to the delusions of anti-Semitic ideology, they break down how the regime misjudged Israeli capabilities, misunderstood American politics, and underestimated both. Through his on-brand blending of spycraft, ideology, and dark humor, Reuel shares a rare glimpse inside the mind of the regime — and why, despite its repression and resilience, it may be closer to collapse than it thinks.

📺: Watch this episode on YouTube here.

Mark 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.

From the origins of his fascination with Iran to what ultimately became an obsession — one that compelled him to smuggle himself into the country — they spend Part I of the conversation breaking down the hard-won insights that shaped Reuel’s expertise on the Islamic Republic.

In Part II, we’ll put his insights to work, dissecting last month’s joint U.S.–Israeli air raids in Iran and assessing America’s intelligence wins and misses.

📺: Watch this episode on YouTube here.

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, which forced Riyadh into a hard-line Sunni revival and Tehran into expansionist zeal, to today’s regime-backed Houthis raining fire into Saudi Arabia from Yemen, with China’s covert diplomacy maintaining a brittle détente. Already fragile relations hang by a thread — and one misstep could ignite the region’s next inferno.

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.

In 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?

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

Mehdi 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.

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

Liraz Charhi is an Israeli artist with deep Iranian roots, and her voice is shaking the walls of the Islamic Republic. 

Known for her role on the hit Apple TV+ series Tehran, Liraz joins Mark Dubowitz to reveal how her art became real-life defiance: from secretly collaborating with Iranian women banned from singing, to recording underground albums across encrypted apps, and turning her song "Roya" — a song you're familiar with, as it's the theme music to this podcast series — into an anthem for the Woman, Life, Freedom movement.

This is a story of identity, rebellion, and the dream of a free Iran — sung loud enough to rattle the regime and inspire a generation.

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