Glenn Diesen - Greater Eurasia Podcast Alastair Crooke: Decline, Irrationality & War on Iran
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Jan 7, 2026 
In this insightful conversation, Alastair Crooke, a former British diplomat and expert on Middle Eastern geopolitics, delves into the growing tensions between the US and Iran. He highlights the irrational desperation driving potential conflict, linking it to historical precedents in Venezuela and Syria. Crooke scrutinizes Netanyahu's political troubles as a motivation for war and discusses signs of orchestrated unrest in Iran. He warns against simplistic views of Iran’s resilience and explores the destabilizing aftermath for US-Israel relations and the geopolitical landscape.
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Syria Model Repeated In Venezuela
- Crooke recounts the Syria model: elites pressured to pivot West, parallel engagement with Russia, then abrupt leadership removal.
- He says Venezuela follows a similar playbook of management buyouts and elite reshuffling.
War As Political Lifeline For Netanyahu
- Netanyahu faces legal and political crises and may seek a major external conflict as an escape valve.
- Crooke says war with Iran offers him a popular 'big balloon' to shift domestic momentum.
Recent Protests May Be Orchestrated
- Crooke describes recent Iranian unrest as orchestrated and influenced from abroad, not a spontaneous nationwide uprising.
- He points to currency attacks and armed provocations concentrated in small cities as evidence of external manipulation.