UNAPOLOGETIC with Ashfaaq Carim

In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, Mamoun Fandy, former professor of politics at Georgetown University and current head of the Global Strategy Institute in London, breaks down the escalating conflict involving Israel, the United States, and Iran.

He argues this is not one war, but three overlapping wars, each with its own logic: regime change, regional dominance, and economic pressure. Together, they risk destabilising the Middle East and severely disrupting the global economy.

We explore how this conflict could weaken entire states, threaten Gulf economies, and reshape global power, potentially benefiting actors like China.

Beyond the headlines, this is a conversation about escalation, miscalculation, and why this may be a war that no one truly wins.

In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, Rabbi Elhanan Beck delivers one of the most striking critiques of Zionism and the current Israeli-US wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, you'll hear.

He argues that, according to the Torah, the state of Israel has no right to exist, and goes further—describing Benjamin Netanyahu as “Amalek,” a force that pulls people away from God.

The Rabbi also claims that if necessary, Israel would use nuclear weapons and that “no price is too high,” even suggesting they would kill millions to secure their goals.

We explore the theology behind these views, including the Messiah, the Temple, and the idea of Greater Israel - alongside his belief in Jewish-Muslim coexistence.

In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, Dr. Roy Casagranda unpacks 125 years of Iranian history - from the 1901 oil concession and the fall of the Qajar dynasty, to the rise of the Pahlavis, the 1953 CIA-backed coup, the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the Iran–Iraq War, and the emergence of the IRGC, the reform movement in Iran and the JCPOA.

He then connects this history to the present moment - where a US-Israel war on Iran threatens to escalate into a much wider far-reaching war.

Neil Quilliam, who is a political analyst at Chatham House, joined the UNAPOLOGETIC podcast to discuss how Israel is plunging the USA, the GCC and Iran into an all-out war.

By continuing to kill credible leaders and hit key economic infrastructure in Iran, it is diminishing the opportunity for this war to end via a settled compromise, and antagonising Iran to lash out with retaliatory strikes against its neighbours who also host US bases in the region.

Who or what will rein Israel in?

David Hearst, editor in chief of Middle East Eye, appeared on the UNAPOLOGETIC podcast to discuss how Donald Trump may be losing control of the war he started against Iran.

When will the war end? Will Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump achieve their goals? What will happen to the Iranian government? What is the future of relations between the GCC and Iran? Could the conflict escalate into a regional war - and could Israel resort to using a nuclear weapon if it finds itself losing?

Foad Izadi is a professor of communication at Tehran University. He has been making the rounds across broadcasters recently where he generally conveys the Iranian government’s position.

He spoke to UNAPOLOGETIC to discuss the rationale behind Iran’s defence strategy, how he sees Iranian society rallying behind the Iranian state under this attack, the legacy of US-Iranian relations, Iran’s own exercising of ‘brute’ foreign policy, as well as Israel’s attempt to fashion the region according to its own designs.

In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, we speak to foreign policy analyst Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute about how long the US-Israel war on Iran will likely last and what its consequences will likely be.

The conversation examines Iran’s incentives to keep fighting, Trump’s political calculations, pressure from Gulf states, Netanyahu's opportunism, and how powers like China and Russia may respond if the war drags on

In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, we speak to writer and activist Hoda Katebi about the war involving Iran, the United States and Israel, and the complex political forces shaping Iran’s future.

Katebi argues that the Iranian government is deeply repressive, but also warns that foreign intervention by the US and Israel risks strengthening that repression rather than weakening it. She explains why many Iranians reject both the Islamic government and attempts to reinstall the Pahlavi monarchy, and why outside military pressure can undermine internal democratic movements.

The conversation also explores the fear many Iranians are experiencing as bombing escalates and communication with family members inside Iran becomes difficult. Katebi reflects on her own Iranian American identity, growing up in the United States after 9/11, and how those experiences shaped her political views.

Gulf security expert Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at King’s College London, joined the UNAPOLOGETIC podcast to discuss Iran’s response to the US-Israel war against it and the potential ramifications of it.

In this episode of UNAPOLOGETIC, we speak to writer, historian, and lifelong anti-imperialist Tariq Ali about the state of the US empire in an increasingly unstable world.

From Trump’s erratic posture on Iran to the long arc of American imperial power, Ali places today’s crises in a deep historical context—stretching from Iran in 1953 to Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Gaza.

The conversation examines how US power has adapted rather than declined, how Trump differs from previous presidents in style rather than substance, and why imperial violence is now increasingly exposed rather than hidden.

We explore the limits of American dominance, the rise of China as an economic counterweight, and whether the global balance of power is truly shifting.

Ali also reflects on Gaza, Western complicity, Arab state paralysis, and what he describes as a process of recolonisation in the Middle East—alongside the dangers and possibilities that lie ahead.