Podcast
The Iran Breakdown with Mark Dubowitz
Hosted by FDD · EN
Welcome to the Iran Breakdown. Hosted by Mark Dubowitz, this miniseries from FDD is here to guide you through one of the most critical geopolitical and human rights challenges facing the world today.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has been a central player in global headlines for decades: its pursuit of nuclear weapons, funding of terror groups like Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and others; its oppression of its own people, and its growing alliances with global power states like China, Russia, North Korea. But beneath the headlines lies a deeper story, story of a regime that is losing legitimacy, a restless population, hungry for freedom, and a global community with many conflicting ideas about how to respond. And that's what we'll cover in 10 episodes of The Iran Breakdown.
22episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Empire Strikes Back? (feat. Tal Kelman)
Dec 22Tap to summarize📺: Watch this episode on YouTube here. Israel’s 12-day war with Iran upended years of assumptions and may have rewritten the rules of deterrence — but the aftermath could prove more dangerous than the war itself. As Tehran absorbs the shock of defeat, it now faces a stark choice: regroup, retaliate, or retreat. The regime’s next move will determine whether this war was a turning point — or merely an intermission.Retired Maj. Gen. Tal Kelman is one of Israel’s most accomplished fighter pilots and one of its top Iran strategists. He didn’t just help plan Operation Rising Lion — he flew missions in it.Now a colleague at FDD, he joins host Mark Dubowitz to unpack Israel’s air campaign — including a damage assessment of the Islamic Republic's nuclear program — and discern what comes next as Tehran faces hard choices related to its missile forces, proxy network, and nuclear ambitions amidst growing ties with China and Russia and no clear “day after” in sight.
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Snapback to Reality: Using the Almighty Dollar to Force a Regime Reckoning (feat. Miad Maleki)
Sep 27Tap to summarize📺: Watch this episode on YouTube here. One of America’s top sanctions experts, Miad Maleki, now a senior advisor at FDD, joins Mark Dubowitz to pull back the curtain on the Islamic Republic’s mafia state — a regime that controls every corner of the economy, launders terror money through “charities,” and weaponizes humanitarian channels to fund global terror. They break down how U.S. financial power crippled Tehran’s networks, why the myth of “moderating Iran through wealth” is a deadly illusion, and why the next round of snapback sanctions could push the Islamic Republic to the brink.
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