What do Iranians think about their country’s war with the US and Israel? What is the mood on the streets of the Islamic Republic after Donald Trump’s ceasefire went into effect? And what did mainstream media miss in their coverage of it all? (Hint: a lot). Mehdi sits down with two Iran experts and a live audience at DC’s Busboys and Poets to discuss the often-missed perspective of Iranians on all of this.
“The view that's given by the mainstream narrative about Iran, or really any adversary nation, is a very simplistic black and white view that portrays things in a good or evil light,” says Sina Toossi, a senior nonresident fellow at the Center for International Policy. In Iran’s war with Israel and the US, Toossi says, that framing is not one that Iranians subscribe to, “They don't see Netanyahu or Israel or the US as their savior.”
Toossi is joined by Negar Mortazavi, Editor and Host of The Iran Podcast and Senior Fellow at the Center for International Policy, who tells Mehdi that the effects of the media’s coverage on Iran can be seen on the streets of the US. “If you speak to an average American audience and ask them what is the one country in the Middle East that actually has nuclear weapons, a lot of them tend to say it's Iran, whereas it's Israel.”
Toossi and Mortazavi go on to discuss the state of Iran’s leadership today, how the people of Iran perceive their government, what Iran’s strategy could look like moving forward, and much more. They also take questions from the audience on the factors that have been influencing Iran’s moves and the changing power dynamics within the Islamic Republic.
Watch the full video above to hear the experts’ take on what could make Iran not seek nuclear weapon capabilities, how its latest bout with the US affects its relationships with the Gulf, and what the best-case scenario for Iran could look like.
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In case you missed it, here is Mehdi’s sit-down with California Congressman Ro Khanna from the same event:
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