It’s been 3 weeks since the United States and Israel attacked Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

And, for 3 weeks, rockets have flown across the Middle East in all directions. The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Iraq have kept their guard up as different assets are targeted.

As these oil-rich nations are thrown into turmoil, gas prices in the U.S. have gone up by nearly a dollar in the last month, with many Americans wondering when the increase will slow down.

More crucially, two different water desalination plants have been hit. These facilities are essential for the hydration of millions of Middle Easterners—and neither the U.S., Israel or Iran have taken responsibility for these destabilizing attacks.

Over 20,000 people are suffering injuries from the war, and over 2,500 people have been killed, with the majority being in Iran and Lebanon.

Babies, not even a year old, have been among the casualties, as have 168 other children at an Iranian elementary school.

And even after Khamenei’s death, it is clear that Iran has pockets brimming with replacement leaders who support the continuance of his extremist regime.

So, in a conflict where death is abundant and instability is crashing in from all sides, it is worth asking: “what do the Iranian people stand to gain from all this chaos?”

To answer this question, I sat down with Erica Kasraie. Kasraie is an Iran-born American, Middle East expert, human rights activist and producer of a short documentary called “Occupied Homeland,” which details the January 2026 massacre of Iranian protesters and the history of the Iranian people. Kasraie was also formerly the Middle East Advisor to a member of the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee.

In this week’s podcast, Kasraie speaks on how the Islamic revolution came to be, the difference between Iranian culture and Islamic culture, the possibility of democracy in Iran and her hopes and fears for the future.

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#iran #khamenei #humanrights #islam #women #war #muslim #christian #jew #jewish #minorities #us #israel #middleast #persian #iranian