badlands podcast by borzou daragahi

Tuesday, April 21, 2026, Paris Plans to arrange another round of talks between Iran and the US hit an apparent impasse as a deadline US President Donald Trump set for resuming the war looms. The United Arab Emirates asks for a bailout, and China offers a peace plan. Watch or listen to me discuss the latest on India’s NewsX . This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscr...

Monday, April 20, 2026 The US fired upon and damaged the Iranian commercial ship Touska on Sunday as it tried to traverse the Strait of Hormuz and head into the Persian Gulf. The incident showed the US is serious about imposing a blockade on Iranian traffic into the Strait, an attempt to pressure Iran to open up the waterway to international traffic. The US believes that impeding Iran’s access to...

Friday, April 17, 2026, Istanbul A blockbuster report by the Financial Times alleged that China had sold Iran a satellite likely being used for precision targeting of US and potentially Israeli assets during the war. The revelation brought to the fore the long-term relationship between Tehran and Beijing, which provides Iran with capital, military equipment, and diplomatic support. But scholar Ahm...

Thursday, April 16, 2026, Istanbul With a shaky US-enforced ceasefire in its war against Iran, ongoing fighting in Lebanon, and continued violence against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, you would think Israel has enough on its plate. Apparently not. For some reason, Israel and its assets in the US have decided this is the right moment to also pick a fight with Turkey, a NATO member that b...

Wednesday, April 15, 2026, Istanbul After weeks of spewing venom at Iran through various surrogates, United Arab Emirates deputy prime minister Mansour bin Zayed picked up the phone Wednesday and rang up Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Iran’s speaker of the parliament and a major power broker in Tehran. During the call, the two “ discussed regional developments and ways to de-escalate tensions in the regi...

Monday, April 13, 2026, Istanbul Iran has retrofitted its arms indusrty and security posture several times in the last few decades. After the Iran-Iraq war, it committed to developing an expansive missiles program to fend off any attacks from neighbors in the Arab world. Following the 2003 US war against Iraq, it developed the mosaic defnse doctrine under which it granted authority to regional com...

Saturday, April 11, 2026, Istanbul Diplomatic delegations gathered in the Pakistani capital on Saturday for the start of historic talks between the the US and Iran aimed at re-opening the Strait of Hormuz and establishing a more durable peace. For the latest podcast I spoke with Hossam Rossam, a former political analyst for the UK embassy in Tehran and ex senior analyst at Iran International. We d...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit borzou.substack.com Friday, April 10, 2026, Istanbul You can’t totally blame Donald Trump for not being able to imagine that Iran would close Strait of Hormuz. Nader Itayim, Mideast Gulf editor at energy and commodities focused Argus Media, said many energy analysts long doubted Iran would pull off such a move, even as it regularly warn...

Tuesday, Aptil 7, 2026, Istanbul Hungary’s April 12 elettions could finally end the political career of Viktor Orban, rhe rightwing populist and Vladimir Putin ally who has ruled the country since 2010. Orban, mired in allegations of corruption, is losing to challlenger Peter Magyar. He is a one-time loyalist to Orban who broke with him two years ago. Marc Roscoe Loustau of the Central European Un...

Sunday, April 5, 2026, Istanbul The Iran war escalates after a US plane was shot down over southern Iran, prompting an ambitious search-and-rescue mission. Join me and a panel of experts as we discuss the latest in the Iran war, along with other news stories on France 24’s The World This Week. badlands is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a...

Saturday, April 4, 2026, Istanbul For weeks US and Israeli officials have been telling nervous domestic audiences that their war against Iran was going swimmingly. As much as 90% of Iran’s ability to fire missiles had been eroded and the country had no air defences, air force, or navy to speak of, they contended. But on Friday, two US military aircraft were shot down by Iranian forces, including a...

Friday, April 3, 2026, Istanbul While Iran is combatting US and Israeli forces in the skies and seas, it continues a crackdown on dissidents, many of whom have been jailed or summoned for questioning. But one particular target of its ire is baffling. Iran’s Baha’i minority has never been a component of the Iranian regime and in fact takes a quetist approach politics. Baha’i community spokeswoman P...

Thursday, April 2, 2026, Istanbul Iran’s nuclear program was supposedly the reason that Israel and the US launched their war against Iran. Some US foreign policy critics considered it a ruse, an excuse to launch a war to weaken the only country capable of challenging the US and Israel for dominance in the Middle East. The US may be considering a daring operation to deploy special forces in central...

Wednesday, April 1, 2026, Istanbul Both Iran and the US appeared to offer diplomatic olive branches, but none seemed sincere. The US continues to amass forces for a possible military ground attack on Iranian territory while Iran continues to fire missiles at Israel and the Gulf, and Israel continues to hammer Iranian infrastracture. I spoke recently with India’s NewsX in an interview about why nei...

Tues, March 31, 2026, Istanbul A deadline set by the US for a a possible ratcheting up of action agaisnt Iran is rapidly appraoch. In the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula everyone is on edge. The war has already cost billions and frayed diplomatic relations between Iran and the Gulf States, as well as between the Gulf States and their US patrons. I was on France 24’s Debate show with the alw...

Tuesday, March 31, 2026, Istanbul Israel’s offensive in Lebanon is raging. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced and hundreds killed as Israel targets Hezbollah strongholds throughout the country’s south. I spoke with NPR Here & Now’s Scott Tong about whether the impact of the offensive. badlands is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider be...

Monday, March 30, 2026, Istanbul Yemen’s Houthi-led government fired a missile at Israel for the first time since hte war began on Saturday, marking its debut in the war launched by Israel and the US against Iran. The missile was easily shot down, the Israelis said. But the Iran-allied group’s participation in the conflict will complicate any US attempt to seize Iranian territory. The Houthis are...

Sunday, March 29, 2026, Istanbul When most people think of Iranian propaganda, they think of the grafitti in Tehran showing the Statue of Liberty with a skull face. But in this war, Iran’s propaganda has leveled up. Its AI-generated Lego animations mocking President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and lionizing Iran’s military commanders have gone viral, as have its meme...

Friday, March 27, 2026, Istanbul Yemen and Ukraine are now being drawn into the war by the US and Israel against Iran. Kyiv wants to offer its know-how on fending off Iranian drone swarms to the Gulf states, likely in an attempt to curry favor with the oil-rich monarchs and secure funding to fight off Russia. Yemen’s Houthis have threatened to close the Bab al-Mandib strait, a crucial chokepoint t...

Wednesday, March 25, 2026, Istanbul As the war by US and Israel against Iran heads toward a month, some are wondering whether the US seriously underestimated Iran’s willingness to fight. Why did the US get it wrong, and is there now an exit strategy to end a conflict that has already killed hundreds of civilians and is roiling the global economy. badlands is a reader-supported publication. To rece...

Tuesday, March 24, 2026, Istanbul I discuss the impact of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran’s political scene and its infrastructure, the tough talk by Donald Trump in his social media posts, and the attempts by the US and Israel to drag Europe into the war. All this an update from the Iran-Turkey border during a brief interview with India’s NewsX. badlands is a reader-supported publication. To re...

Monday, March 23, 2026, Van, Turkey Former Chinese diplomat and host of the podcast “ Devil’s Advocate ” Han Yang me on his show to answer some of his tough questions about the origins of the Iran war, the state of the Iranian opposition, and prospects for Iranian democracy. He was also the first to interview me about my visit this weekend to the Iran-Turkey border, where I interviewed many Irania...

Sunday, March 22, 2026 (Above: I discuss the situation in Iran with Algeria’s 24-hour news channel.) When Europe opted to cut off natural gas supplies from Russia following President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, it turned to Algeria for supply. Now that parts of Qatar’s huge Persian Gulf gas refinery have been knocked out by an Iranian attack, Europe is again hitting up Algeria. Bloomberg...

Saturday, March 21, 2026, eastern Turkey The discussion over the ongoing US-Israeli war against Iran has become a toxic and divisive issue in the Iranian American community, Just look at online to see yelling matches erupting on Twitter. There are videos of Iranians storming into shops of compatriots in the Diaspora, demanding that people put up flags or posters showing allegiance to to Reza Pahla...

Friday, March, 20, 2026, Istanbul Nowrouz pirouz and eid mubarak to all those celebrating on this rare convergence of both the Persian and Muslim calendars. Wishing everyone some joy and light at this time of the year. I guess we should enjoy while we can. The International Energy Agency warned that the war against Iran has caused the greatest shock to world energy markets in history. “The war in...