The Iran Podcast

Negar Mortazavi speaks to Murtaza Hussain, foreign policy correspondent at Dropsite News, and Hooman Majd, Iranian-American journalist and author, about President Trump’s new Middle East policy. Episode 127.

Negar Mortazavi, Senior Fellow at the Center for International Policy, speaks with Benjamin Friedman, policy director at Defense Priorities, and Trita Parsi, executive vice president at the Quincy Institute in Washington, about Donald Trump’s second term and his policy towards Iran. Episode 126.

Dispatch from Rome: Negar Mortazavi speaks to Yousuf Al Bulushi, Sara Bazoobandi, and Abdulaziz Sager, about the future of Iran-GCC relations, Oman’s crucial role in mediation, the challenges and opportunities of the Iran-Saudi deal, and the path forward for the countries of the Persian Gulf. This conversation was part of the Mediterranean Dialogue 2024 hosted by ISPI in Rome, Italy. The Iran Podc...

Negar Mortazavi in conversation with Steven Simon, Lara Friedman, Nader Hashemi, and Jon Hoffman, discussing US policy in the Middle East under Biden and Trump. This panel was hosted in person by the National Iranian American Council.

Negar Mortazavi speaks to Harrison Mann, a former U.S. Army Officer and Middle East intelligence analyst who resigned over U.S. policy in Gaza. He is now a Senior Fellow at Win Without War in Washington.

Negar Mortazavi discusses Israel-Iran tensions in an interview on CNN with Becky Anderson, on the Australian Radio, and on TRT World television.

Negar Mortazavi speaks to journalist Ali Hashem in Doha about rising tensions between Israel, Iran and Lebanon as ceasefire talks continue in Qatar.

Negar Mortazavi speaks to Eldar Memedov, a European foreign policy expert based in Brussels, about Europe’s deteriorating relationship with Iran and whether Iran’s new reformist president can improve with the West.

Negar Mortazavi speaks to Aljazeera English television about Israeli attacks on Hezbollah and Hamas leaders in Beirut and Tehran, and how Iran and its allies are planning to retaliate.

Negar Mortazavi joins a University of South Florida podcast to discuss Iran’s snap presidential election, the surprise win of a moderate, and how the new President Masoud Pezeshkian can cha ge the country.

Who is Iran’s new reformist president, Dr Masoud Pezeshkian, and can he bring change? Negar Mortazavi speaks to Sina Toosi, Senior Nonresident Fellow at the Center for International Policy in Washington.

Negar Mortazavi speaks to Mehran Kamrava, a professor of government at Georgetown University Qatar and Director of Iranian Studies at the Arab Center.

Negar Mortazavi speaks to NPR radio about the six candidates cleared to run in Iran’s upcoming presidential election. The snap election comes less than a month after former President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash. The winner of the June 28 election will have to contend with a struggling economy, social discontent, and the ongoing challenge of U.S. sanctions.

Will Iran change its nuclear strategy after the death of its president Ebrahim Raisi? Negar Mortazavi speaks to Kelsey Davenport of the Arms Control Association and Sina Azodi of George Washington University.

Negar Mortazavi speaks to Giorgio Cafiero, CEO of Gulf States Analytics and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, about the Israel-Hamas war and the GCC countries.

Negar Mortazavi speaks to Barbara Slavin, a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington, about the Israel-Hamas war, US-Iran tensions, the Axis of Resistance, the influence of Arab countries, and the impact of this war in the Middle East on the upcoming US presidential elections.

Negar Mortazavi speaks to Benjamin Friedman, policy director at Defense Priorities in Washington. Friedman previously worked as a defense analyst at the Cato Institute and at the Center for Defense Information. He has edited three books on defense policy and strategy and has published academic essays in International Security, Political Science Quarterly, Foreign Affairs, and World Affairs.

Negar Mortazavi speaks to Mehran Kamrava, Professor of Government at Georgetown University in Qatar and director of the Iranian Studies Unit at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies. Kamrava is the author of a number of books including Righteous Politics: Power and Resilience in Iran; A Dynastic History of Iran: From the Qajars to the Pahlavis; Triumph and Despair: In Search of Iran's Is...

Negar Mortazavi speaks to Matt Duss, Executive Vice President, and Sina Toosi, Senior Fellow, at the Center for International Policy, about the Israel-Hamas war, the Biden administration’s policy, and the role of Iran and its regional allies.

Negar Mortazavi speaks to Nader Hashemi, Director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and Associate Professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics at Georgetown University.

Negar Mortazavi speaks to Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft in Washington DC.

Negar Mortazavi speaks with Alex Vatanka about Iran’s domestic politics and mass protests, the crisis of legitimacy and the issue of leadership succession, Tehran’s deescalation with Washington and regional engagement with Arab rivals, and the continuous shift to the East towards Russia and China. Guest: Alex Vatanka, Director of Iran Program at the Middle East Institute, and author of “The Battle...

A year has passed since the death in custody of Mahsa Amini and the Woman, Life, Freedom protests in Iran. This panel discusses the current state of Iran’s domestic dissent, Tehran’s foreign policy and shift to the East, the prisoner swap and nuclear tensions with the US, and Iran’s engagement with its regional rivals. Negar Mortazavi joins Farnaz Fassihi from the New York Times, Kelsey Davenport...

In this episode we discuss Iran’s shift to the East towards big powers in Asia, mainly Russia and China, and engaging with regional rivals like Saudi Arabia, and most recently joining the BRICS, and what this all means in a shifting global order. Host Negar Mortazavi speaks to Nicole Grajewsky at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Mathieu Droin at the Center for Strategic and Inter...

Washington and Tehran have reached a deal to swap prisoners and unblock Iran’s frozen assets in South Korea. Iran will release a number of American prisoners in exchange for the U.S. releasing a number of Iranian prisoners and unblocking $6 billion of Iranian funds to be used for humanitarian transactions. What does this agreement mean for each side? Will this be a prelude for more deescalation be...