Podcast Summary

Podcast: Drop Site News
Episode: How the U.S. and Israel Are Trying to Co-opt Iran's Protests
Date: January 13, 2026
Host: Jeremy Scahill
Guests:

• Murtaza Hussain (Co-Host/Reporter, Drop Site News)
• Samira Mohaddin (Founder, On the Line Media)
• Nargis Bajogli (Anthropology & Middle East Studies Professor, Johns Hopkins)

Overview

This episode investigates the origins and evolution of the mass protests shaking Iran, focusing on the profound economic distress driving the unrest and the layered attempts by the U.S., Israel, and elements in the Iranian diaspora to co-opt or exacerbate the situation. The hosts and guests dig into Western media narratives, Iranian government responses, foreign intervention, and the real fears of civil war and foreign-imposed disintegration within Iranian society. The discussion also highlights how ordinary Iranians' demands and experiences are drowned out or manipulated—by both their government and external powers.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins and Drivers of the Current Protests (01:28–13:28)

• Immediate Causes:

  • Protests began on December 28 in Tehran's Grand Bazaar by merchants in response to the devastating crash of the Iranian rial and spiraling inflation (10:11).
  • The costs of basic goods have risen by over 70% in a year; inflation hovers around 40% (01:28).
  • Economic hardship, not regime change per se, was the initial motivator; protesters such as oil sector workers voiced material, not ideological, grievances (01:28; 06:52).

• Escalation:

  • Protests expanded to university students and other groups, drawing in outside actors and diverging agendas, leading to both state and protester-perpetrated violence (01:28).
  • "In the first couple days of this protest, [President] Peseskian... said people have a right to protest. Our economy is in shambles, we need to fix it." — Samira Mohaddin (10:40)
  • State violence escalated after Israeli and US officials openly signaled support for the protests, feeding official claims of foreign interference (10:50–11:22).

• Scale of Violence:

  • Death tolls are difficult to verify due to internet blackouts; estimates range from hundreds (human rights groups) to around 2,000 (government sources) in several days, including both protesters and security forces (01:28; 12:27).

Notable Quote:
"Effectively we've seen a situation where life is becoming unlivable for tremendous numbers of people in Iran... basic things like meat, the necessities of life are becoming increasingly out of reach." — Murtaza Hussain (06:52)

2. Foreign Involvement and Efforts to Co-opt the Protests (10:11–21:59)

• U.S. and Israeli Actions:

  • Public announcements and online posts by figures like Mike Pompeo and Israeli ministers signal open support for regime change, which inflames state violence and undermines local legitimacy (10:11–11:00).
  • "Israel's heritage minister... said our operatives are on the ground, they're working there... direct quote was 'we have a hand in this.'" — Samira Mohaddin (10:50)

• Diasporic and Exiled Actors:

  • Monarchists and personalities like Reza Pahlavi (the Shah's son) attempt to claim leadership for the movement, often with Western media amplification but little concrete support inside Iran (18:19, 34:02, 35:17).

• Media Narratives:

  • Western media frames the dissent as inherently about regime change while erasing complex local views and ignoring voices rejecting foreign intervention (01:28, 17:52).

Notable Quote:
"Those are the voices that really are being drowned out in this... students were out, you know, giving that message of 'we don't want intervention here... but they were also talking about human rights, democracy, etc.'—those are the voices that you don't hear." — Samira Mohaddin (17:52–18:19)

3. Civil Society and the True Diversity of Iranian Sentiment (21:59–29:52)

• Active but Diverse Civil Society:

  • Iran hosts vibrant, longstanding civil organizations and activism spanning student groups, women's organizations, and more; these do not neatly align with Western narratives (21:59).
  • Many Iranians seek reform or incremental change, not sudden regime collapse, fearing a descent into civil war or foreign-imposed "Balkanization" (17:52, 18:19, 21:59).

• Competing Fears:

  • Surveys show Iranians fear civil war or becoming a new Syria/Iraq far more than they demand a sudden regime overthrow (18:19).

Notable Quote:
"There was a research done that showed about 20%... is backing their government. 20 of 90 million people is about 18 million... you can't just do away with 18 million people."
— Samira Mohaddin (18:57)

4. Sanctions, Geopolitics, and the Limits of Reform (25:59–29:52)

• Sanctions as Structural Cause:

  • U.S. and Western sanctions are directly aimed at collapsing Iran's economy, making reform nearly impossible without easing international pressure (06:52, 25:59).

• Negotiations Unlikely:

  • The U.S. demands (ending nuclear enrichment, giving up missile programs) are perceived as existential threats by Iran, leaving little room for detente (27:12).
  • "The question becomes how long or what are they willing to give up—the missile program, for now, I don't see any indications... I think they're going to continue to try to maneuver on the nuclear program." — Nargis Bajogli (29:20)

5. Media Wars, Diaspora Tensions, and Information Manipulation (32:19–41:05)

• Satellite TV and Information Flows:

  • State and anti-state media (TV, social media, foreign satellite) deeply shape both domestic and diasporic Iranian perceptions, often fueling racism or revisionist nostalgia (46:03).

• Manipulation of Narratives:

  • Both the state and its adversaries highlight or even manufacture atrocities to justify their own narratives; images of overflowing morgues now appear on Iranian state TV (13:28).
  • This narrative war is used to justify repression but also to warn the population of “foreign hands” (41:05).

Notable Quote:
"It's a horrible time to be a person with critical thinking skills... The moment you apply any of that, you are labeled an Iranian government supporter."
— Samira Mohaddin (32:19)

6. Fears of State Collapse, Civil War, or Foreign Imposed Fragmentation (49:19–53:35, 55:46)

• Risk of Balkanization:

  • Israeli and U.S. policies (openly stated in places) favor weakening or splitting Iran among ethnic lines, aiming for a smaller, less capable regional actor (18:19, 51:27).
  • Both the Iranian state and many ordinary Iranians distrust U.S. and Israeli motives, fearing not "liberation," but the deliberate destruction of Iranian sovereignty and territorial integrity (51:27).

• Brutal Repression vs. Foreign Threats:

  • The Iranian government is expected to respond harshly to existential threats; past foreign interventions (e.g., Iraq, Libya, Syria) haunt the contemporary Iranian imagination (51:27–53:35).

Notable Quote:
"Iran will dissolve into anarchy. Iran will dissolve into a civil war. That's, that's really the, the fear and that's really what I see." — Samira Mohaddin (51:27)

7. Paths Forward and the Bleak Outlook (58:09–61:57)

• Attempts at internal reform or negotiation are drowned out by the escalation and foreign intervention:

  • Early appeals by 17 activists for restraint and coalition have been buried (59:26).
  • The Islamic Republic has survived past protest waves, but the scale of foreign involvement is unprecedented (59:26–60:32).

• Extreme uncertainty persists about whether the state can maintain legitimacy or control—or whether Iran may face more violence and fragmentation (59:26–61:57).

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Episode Introduction & Framing: 01:28–06:52
• Economic Collapse & Origins of Protest: 06:52–13:28
• Western and Israeli Attempts to Co-opt: 10:11–21:59
• Civil Society and Competing Iranian Narratives: 21:59–29:52
• Sanctions and Geopolitical Deadlock: 25:59–29:52
• Media, Diaspora, and Information Manipulation: 32:19–41:05
• State Response and Fears of Fragmentation: 51:27–55:46
• Prospects for Reform or Survival: 58:09–61:57

Memorable Quotes

• "Protests started on December 28 in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar by merchants when the rial dramatically dropped..."
  — Samira Mohaddin (10:11)

• "Effectively we've seen a situation where life is becoming unlivable for... people working in the oil sector, people who in businesses which rely on imports... people will revolt out of hunger."
  — Murtaza Hussain (06:52)

• "It's a horrible time to be a person with critical thinking skills... The moment that you apply any of that, you are labeled an Iranian government supporter..."
  — Samira Mohaddin (32:19)

• "Revolutions are not vibes, right? It's not enough for people to be angry. Revolutions require actual institution building that can take over power."
  — Nargis Bajogli (35:17)

• "Iran's biggest crime since 1979 has been not to allow Western hegemony to just take over the entire region. It has acted as a bulwark..."
  — Samira Mohaddin (55:46)

Tone and Discussion Style

The discussion was clear-eyed, deeply knowledgeable, and often urgent. The hosts and guests avoided simplistic binaries, foregrounding the suffering and agency of ordinary Iranians while criticizing both state repression and the destructive agendas of outside powers. They engaged with nuance about internal divisions, external manipulation, and media distortions.

For Listeners Who Haven't Tuned In

This episode offers a rigorous counter-narrative to Western media coverage, emphasizing that Iran’s unrest is less about instant regime change and more about unbearable daily hardship exacerbated by foreign-imposed sanctions, with all sides—state, diaspora, Western and Israeli powers—trying to manipulate or hijack grassroots anger to their own ends. The stakes, as the guests explain, are not only the rights of protesters, but the very survival of the Iranian state in a region reshaped by militarism and imperial rivalry.