The Iran Breakdown with Mark Dubowitz

About the Episode

Host Mark Dubowitz is joined by author Roya Hakakian to trace the Islamic Republic’s decades-long war on dissent — both inside Iran and across the globe. Roya shares her personal journey from a hopeful 12-year-old during the 1979 revolution to a refugee, writer, and fierce advocate for democracy.

At the heart of their discussion is the Mykonos trial, the landmark 1997 case in Berlin that exposed Tehran’s direct role in assassinating Iranian dissidents on European soil and forced a Western reckoning. They unpack how Tehran uses lies, violence, and intimidation as tools of statecraft. From Khomeini’s infamous “I lied” to the chilling reach of regime assassins in places like Berlin and Brooklyn, this episode is a warning: the Islamic Republic hasn’t changed, and the stakes are higher than ever.

Watch this episode on YouTube here.

 

About the Music

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.

About the Episode

Host Mark Dubowitz is joined by Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of FDD's Iran Program and author of Arsenal: Assessing Iran's Ballistic Missile Program, for a masterclass on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s expansive — and still growing — weapons arsenal and the central role it plays in Tehran’s broader military strategy.

From the Islamic Republic's ballistic missile and drone programs, military doctrine, and global proliferation links with North Korea, China, and Russia — or, as Mark calls it, "The Axis of Misery" — to its precision strike systems, proxy warfare, and unprecedented missile attacks on nuclear-armed states, Behnam and Mark explore how the regime combines these elements to coerce, deter, and dominate.

Watch this episode on YouTube here.

 

About the Music

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.

About the Episode

In this episode of The Iran Breakdown, host Mark Dubowitz continues to expose and examine Tehran’s proxy wars. This time, we unravel Tehran’s relationship with the Houthis in Yemen; the Shi’a militias in Iraq; and Hamas in Gaza, specifically looking at the Regime’s hand in the October 7 attack against Israel.

Admiral Mark Montgomery, Bill Roggio, and Beni Sabti, join Mark to scrutinize the Islamic Republic's weaponization of these militias to project power and carry out its agenda while dodging blame — and what America and its allies should do about it. 

Watch this episode on YouTube here.

 

About the Music

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.

About the Episode

It's the world’s most dangerous nuclear standoff. Can President Trump get Iran to dismantle its nuclear program — or is Tehran just playing for time? In this episode of The Iran Breakdown, Mark sits down with award-winning journalist Barak Ravid for an insider’s look at the nuclear talks now underway in Oman. 

From enrichment red lines and snapback deadlines to Israel’s strategic calculus and Trump’s next move, Mark and Barak break down hard truths behind the headlines surrounding: Will the Iranians blink? Will Trump hold the line? And is Israel finally ready to act alone? 

Watch this episode on YouTube here.

About the Music

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.

About the Episode

Hezbollah is not a rogue actor. It’s a tool of the Islamic Republic.  

That’s because Iran doesn’t just fund terror — it runs a global terror empire. And Hezbollah is the crown jewel.

In this episode of The Iran Breakdown, host Mark Dubowitz sits down with Dr. Matthew Levitt, a top authority on Hezbollah and Iran’s proxy warfare, to break down how Hezbollah operates as Iran’s most powerful proxy; its deep involvement in terror plots, weapons trafficking, and criminal finance; the group’s expanding footprint around the world; what the US, Israel, and allies must do to dismantle this network; and why Hezbollah’s role is central to Tehran’s long-term strategy — and its survival.

Watch this episode on YouTube here.

About the Music

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 

About the Episode

Mark Dubowitz sits down with journalist Jay Solomon to unpack the new round of U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations and trace the arc from Obama’s secret backchannels to Trump’s second shot at a deal — raising the question: are we about to do the fatally flawed, Obama-era JCPOA all over again?  

They unpack the early U.S. concessions that shaped the first deal, Iran’s global terror playbook, and what the new talks reveal about the regime’s leverage — and ours. 

They also discuss Iran’s growing boldness in global terror operations, including plots on American soil, and what it means for the future of U.S. foreign policy. 

Is history repeating itself? And if so, what lessons still haven’t been learned?

Watch this episode on YouTube here.

About the Music

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

About the Episode

"Death to Israel, the little satan!"

It's all too familiar, this rallying cry of Islamic Republic regime officials and their sympathizers — they've been chanting this for almost 50 years now. But make no mistake: they mean what they say.

With its terrorist proxies across the region, the Iran threat has been knocking at Israel's door for decades. But on October 7, 2023, they knocked down the door—what was previously considered a "war between wars" came out of the shadows and into plain sight.

Tehran activated its regional terror proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi rebels in Yemen to pile on with direct rocket attacks in an attempt to overwhelm Israel's already-taxed security apparatus. And in an unprecedented move — not once but twice in recent months — a missile attack on Israel was launched directly from Tehran.

As the new Trump administration grapples with how to face the Iran threat, understanding the Israeli perspective will be vital.

To help us do just that, host Mark Dubowitz speaks with Israel's former Prime Minister Yair Lapid as well as with former Israeli national security advisor Eyal Hulata, now a senior international fellow at FDD.

About the Music

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.

About the Episode

In today’s episode, host Mark Dubowitz is joined by one of the Iranian regime's most fearless enemies, Masih Alinejad. Masih is not just a journalist or an activist—she’s a one-woman revolution. Born in Iran, exiled for speaking truth to power, and now living under constant threat, Masih has become a voice for the voiceless, especially for Iranian women fighting back against the regime's brutality. Her campaigns, My Stealthy Freedom, White Wednesdays, and United for Navid all went viral. Her social media platforms have become lifelines for Iranians risking everything to protest.

The regime sees her as a threat, and they've tried to silence her the only way they know how, through violence. In the past few years, the Islamic Republic has made multiple attempts to kidnap or assassinate her on US soil. A New York court recently convicted two men for their roles in a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by Iranian operatives to assassinate Masih right in Brooklyn. We break down her story, the verdict, and what it tells us about the regime's global terror machine. 

About the Music

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.

About the Episode

Welcome to The Iran Breakdown, hosted by Mark Dubowitz.

If you know anything about Mark, you know he lives and breathes one mission: stopping a nuclear Iran and ending the Islamic Republic.

Back in 2018, The New York Times put it this way: “Mark Dubowitz’s campaign to draw attention to what he saw as the flaws in the Iran nuclear deal has taken its place among the most consequential ever undertaken by a Washington think tank leader.”

This excerpt was actually a hit piece that blamed Mark for President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal — the Times later issued multiple corrections to the piece because it was riddled with so many errors.

A year later, The Atlantic dubbed FDD “D.C.’s ground zero for research and policy recommendations aimed at highlighting and fixing what Dubowitz saw as the flaws in the nuclear agreement.”

Even Tehran took notice. In 2019, the Islamic Republic sanctioned FDD and Mark, accusing them of being “the designing and executing arm of the U.S. administration” on Iran policy. Guilty as charged.

Why? Because a nuclear Iran isn’t just a threat — it’s the threat. The regime’s race for the bomb is the most dangerous challenge coming out of Tehran, and in this episode, you'll learn why.

About the Guest

Here to help Mark break down Iran's nuclear file is Rich Goldberg, who served on the National Security Council as the director for countering Iranian weapons of mass destruction. He helped architect key parts of President Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign — a campaign that aimed to block Iran’s every pathway to nuclear weapons. Or as the regime calls the campaign: "economic terrorism." Rich also served in the Senate and the House where he drafted many of the key pieces of legislation sanctioning the Islamic Republic. Like Mark, Rich is proudly sanctioned by the Islamic Republic.

About the Music

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.

About the Episode

Whether you’re a seasoned Iran watcher or just starting to explore the topic, understanding the Islamic Republic requires going back to the events that led to the 1979 Islamic Revolution. And to do that we need to revisit 1953, the year a coup overthrew Iran’s Prime Minister, Mohammad Mossadegh. If you think you already know this story, think again.

About the Guest

Host Mark Dubowitz is joined by Ray Takeyh—renowned Iran scholar and author of "The Last Shah: America, Iran, and the Fall of the Pahlavi Dynasty." His research has challenged, clarified, and reshaped the traditional narrative surrounding these pivotal events.

Ray’s work isn’t just essential for understanding U.S.-Iran relations—it’s a guide for policymakers seeking to grasp the reality of an Iranian people who continue to defy the oppressive regime in Tehran. By the end of this episode, you’ll understand why.

About the Music

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.