Episode description

Iran nuclear deal negotiations appear frozen and the Biden administration is busy pouring fuel onto the Ukrainian fire and trying to encircle China. 

To help us understand why attempts to salvage an agreement with Iran have not succeeded, Rania Khalek was joined by Mohammad Marandi, professor of English literature and orientalism at the University of Tehran. Prof. Marandi also speaks about recent events in the region.

TIME CODES

0:00 Intro

1:56 Why is there no agreement yet? Who’s at fault?

11:55 Western dishonesty

18:34 What do the Europeans want?

22:56 Did Russia obstruct an agreement?

28:12 American sanctions 

31:23 What’s wrong with Biden’s negotiating team? What do the Americans want?

36:27 An escalatory cycle? 

41:56 Yemen, Syria, Palestine

45:50 Saudi-Iranian talks

58:42 Increased cooperation between UAE & Iran

1:04:33 America is starving Afghanistan

1:11:58 Assassination of IRGC officer in Tehran (we recorded this before the Israelis took credit)

1:22:23 The PKK in the region