As Israel’s military campaign against Iran’s nuclear program escalates, Tehran’s leadership is grappling with existential questions about survival, deterrence, and internal cohesion. Can the Islamic Republic navigate simultaneous military strikes, elite fractures, and growing public dissent—without conceding on the very ideological pillars that have sustained it for decades? On June 20, 2025, Wikistrat hosted a podcast with Dr. Saeid Golkar, a leading expert on Iran, to explore the regime’s strategic calculations, the shifting mood inside Iran, and the potential endgames now confronting one of the region’s most entrenched autocracies.

Dr. Saeid Golkar is a senior fellow at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.