Ralph welcomes sociologist and historian Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi to discuss the United States' war of aggression on Iran.
Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi is an Iranian-born American historian and sociologist. He is a Research Fellow at the Center for Place, Culture, and Politics at the CUNY Graduate Center. He was the Chair of the Department of Near Eastern Studies and Director of the Sharmin and Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies at Princeton University. He is the author of four books on different aspects and historical context of the Iranian revolution of 1979 and its aftermath.
The only countries that I see that are in constant violation of international law is the United States and Israel. And frankly, I am speechless, although I’m speaking, but I am speechless—in what universe can this war be justified as self-defense? You listened to Secretary Rubio’s speech in Munich where he laments 400 years of colonial rule being lost to this international law and laws of fighting wars because they want to go back to the way things were in the 18th and 19th century. This is a naked expansionist, extortionist administration here, and that’s the only reason they have launched this war, and there is absolutely no justification for it.
Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi
For years and years, the Israelis have been assassinating Iranian scientists. They were sabotaging Iranian industries. And actually, the Iranian government showed tremendous restraint in responding to these Israeli provocations because they didn’t want to create the situation in which we find ourselves today. But then at the end of the day, calling Iran the aggressor here I think is a total ignorance of history and the context in which this war has started.
Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi
All these things are not to suggest that the Iranian government in any form or shape is a democratic and just state. But the question here is about the sovereignty of the Iranian state. And the only inheritance of the revolution that has been kept throughout these forty-odd years was the question of sovereignty. Because that was one of the demands of the revolution. The question of social justice was thrown out of the window after the revolution. The question of civil liberties was thrown out of the window after the revolution. The only thing that is left is Iranian sovereignty. And according to every single intelligence study, what Iranians do outside their borders is a defensive posture. Iran does not have an expansionist agenda.
Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi
News 3/6/26
* Last week, Bill and Hillary Clinton testified before the House Oversight Committee on their respective relationships with financier and sexual predator, Jeffrey Epstein. Hillary Clinton, in a deposition described as contentious, maintained that she had virtually zero connections with Epstein, stating at one point “I am so tired of answering that question,” per PBS. Former President Bill Clinton meanwhile, tried to downplay his relationship with Epstein, describing it as “cordial,” and claiming that he had come to an arrangement with Epstein where the financier provided his private jet for humanitarian trips in exchange for Clinton discussing politics and economics with him. The committee pressed Clinton on this point, noting that Epstein visited the White House numerous times during Clinton’s presidency and that there are photos of the two men shaking hands. Clinton told lawmakers he “did not recall those interactions.” These answers leave much to be desired.
* Meanwhile, another Epstein associate occupies the Oval Office today – Donald Trump – and on February 26th the Wall Street Journal reported that the Department of Justice, under the stewardship of Attorney General Pam Bondi, has been withholding interviews with a woman who accused President Donald Trump of sexual assault back in the 1980s. As the Journal writes, the suppression of this interview “raises new questions about the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files release and the pages that have been kept private.” The Journal adds that “Trump officials initially opposed the release of the files and then fumbled their response, including inconsistent redactions that exposed dozens of Epstein victims and initially kept some prominent men’s names hidden.” However, on March 5th, POLITICO reported that the FBI has now published a trio of FBI interviews with the woman who accused the president of sexually assaulting her in collusion with Jeffrey Epstein. Trump and his allies categorically deny any wrongdoing on the part of the president, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt calling the allegations “completely baseless…backed by zero credible evidence, from a sadly disturbed woman who has an extensive criminal history.” This story also highlights what is sure to be the next flashpoint in this saga: on Wednesday, a House committee voted to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify about her handling of the Epstein files.
* Turning to media news, last week we covered how Paramount-Skydance, led by the Ellison family and backed by the Trump administration, outmaneuvered Netflix to close a deal acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery – including CNN. Throughout this process, many have raised the alarm that if the Ellisons were to get their hands on CNN, they would turn it over to their ideological attack dog, Bari Weiss, as they did with CBS News. Variety is now echoing those concerns, reporting that “It’s expected that Weiss will have a big role in steering CNN.” Just what exactly this role will be remains to be seen, but given her tenure as editor-in-chief of CBS News, there is much cause for concern.
* In related news, Variety reports Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has filed to sell 4,004,149 shares – over $114 million worth of stock – in the company following the announcement of the sale to Paramount, including Paramount’s eye-popping offer of $31 per share. Zaslav retains additional stock and options which he could cash out as the deal moves forward. Curiously, even as the Trump administration backed the Paramount buyout over the Netflix deal, the president himself continues to bank on the fiscal stability of the streaming giant, with the Hollywood Reporter documenting that Trump bought between $600,000 and $1.25 million worth of Netflix debt in January, adding to the $500,000 to $1 million in Netflix bonds that he purchased in December. This story notes that while the Netflix-Warner deal fell through, Netflix walked away with a $2.8 billion “break-up fee,” and an investment grade credit rating, unlike both WBD and Paramount.
* Looking at domestic politics, this week primaries were held in Texas and North Carolina which yielded the nomination of James Talarico in Texas, beating out Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett for the Democratic nod, and the razor thin victory of incumbent Valerie Foushee over her progressive challenger Nida Allam in the Durham-Chapel Hill region. But many more primary battles lay ahead, perhaps the most interesting of which is unfolding in Maine, where the Bernie Sanders-backed veteran-turned-oysterman Graham Platner is duking it out with Chuck Schumer’s preferred candidate, outgoing Governor Janet Mills. Platner, despite damaging stories, has continued to draw massive crowds and enjoys a huge polling advantage. Last week, Platner’s allies, led by United Autoworkers President Shawn Fain, staged a sort of intervention with Schumer, with Fain lambasting the “shortcomings” in Democratic leaders’ approach to the 2026 midterms, “particularly their failure to adequately listen to working-class voters.” Michael Monahan, a high-level official in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, also sent a letter to the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee strongly urging the DSCC to “refrain from intervening further in [the Maine] primary.” A mid-February independent poll found Platner with a 38-point lead over Mills among likely Democratic primary voters, yet the party continues to back Mills to the hilt. This from NBC.
* Our remaining stories this week concern foreign affairs. First, in South Africa, it seems the forces of the Left are looking to pool their support by entering into a political alliance. According to TimesLIVE, a prominent South African online newspaper, the country’s largest standalone Left party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has convened with the South African Communist Party (SACP) to discuss such an electoral pact. The SACP has long participated in a tripartite alliance with the African National Congress party (ANC), which has ruled South Africa since the end of Apartheid, but recently announced they would contest elections independently. The EFF and SACP emphasized that their priorities align on the “deep crises confronting South Africa: de-industrialisation, austerity-driven fiscal consolidation, collapsing energy security, mass unemployment, and extreme poverty.”
* In another major political realignment, the Green Party of England and Wales is surging as the Labour Party, under the centrist leadership of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, continues to lose ground to the Nigel Farage-led far right party, Reform UK. The rise of the Green Party has been bubbling for some time, as progressive voters feel betrayed by Labour and the momentum behind Jeremy Corbyn’s “Your Party” has fizzled, but the first major test occurred recently in the Labour stronghold riding of Groton and Denton in Greater Manchester. According to the BBC, this marks the first ever win for the Greens in a by-election, with 34-year-old plumber Hannah Spencer becoming the party’s first ever MP in northern England. Reform ran second, with Labour dropping by 25% into third place. Moreover, Zeteo reports the Greens have leapfrogged ahead of Labour in national polling, second only to Reform and has become the single most popular party among voters under 50. For the past five months, the Greens have been led by self-described “eco-populist” Zack Polanski, and have espoused policies including giving councils the power to control rents, extending free school meals to all children, and imposing a new ‘wealth tax’ on assets above £10m.
* In Congress, Representative Ro Khanna has introduced the West Bank Human Rights Resolution to Condemn Israeli Settlement Expansion. This resolution is described as utilizing far more specific language to condemn “Israeli settler violence and referencing potential sanctions tools while also calling for a review of US policies that may indirectly subsidise settlement activity,” per the Middle East Eye. In part, this resolution is a response to the Israeli government’s February 8th approval of “sweeping changes to land registration and civil control in Areas A and B of the West Bank, which Palestinians say breach the Oslo Accords and advance de facto annexation.” This resolution was drafted in conjunction with Cameron Kasky, the survivor of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting who has become a leading activist on rights for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. In a statement upon the introduction of this resolution, Kasky wrote “this is a necessary measure for Democrats and Republicans to unite behind the upholding of international law. Democrats and Republicans can agree that U.S. taxpayer money being used to subsidize the violation of international law is an outrage.”
* Our final two stories concern the U.S. attacks on Iran. First, a bizarre sequence of conflicting claims between the U.S. and Spain have left many observers puzzled. First, on March 3rd, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez addressed the Iberian nation, saying “Very often great wars start with a chain of events spiralling out of control due to miscalculations, technical failures, and unforeseen circumstances. Therefore, we must learn from history and cannot play Russian roulette with the fate of millions.” Sánchez warned of “repeating the mistakes of the past,” and drew a comparison with the invasion of Iraq, concluding his government’s position is “No to war,” per CNBC. More pointedly, the Spanish government prevented two jointly operated bases in its territory from being used in the strikes on Iran. Trump responded on the 4th by vowing to cut off all trade with Madrid, saying “Spain has been terrible…We don’t want anything to do with Spain.” Then, on March 5th, Karoline Leavitt told the press that “With respect to Spain, I think they heard the president’s message yesterday loud and clear, and it’s my understanding, over the past several hours, they’ve agreed to cooperate with the U.S. military.” Yet, the Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares immediately responded that “The Spanish government’s position on the war in the Middle East ... and the use of our bases has not changed at all.” This also from CNBC. Trump’s threat to cut off trade with Spain would be difficult to follow through on, given that the 27 nations in the European Union negotiate trade agreements collectively,
* Finally, far from assuaging concerns about the attacks on Iran leading to blowback, the Hill reports that, when asked during a phone call with Time magazine about whether Americans should be worried about a potential strike on the homeland, Trump replied, “I guess.” Trump went on to say “We think about it all the time. We plan for it. But yeah…we expect some things…some people will die. When you go to war, some people will die.” Stunningly, despite Trump openly declaring that we are at war with Iran sans congressional authorization and even casually admitting Americans could be killed on home soil, the feckless Congress has voted down War Powers resolutions in the House and Senate. In the upper house, the bill introduced by Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, failed 47-53, with Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky crossing party lines to support it while Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania crossed party lines to vote nay, per the AP. A similar measure in the House, introduced by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie – the duo behind the Epstein Files Transparency Act and other war powers resolutions including on Venezuela – failed by a vote of 212-219. In addition to Massie, Republican Rep. Warren Davison of Ohio voted in favor of the resolution, while four House Democrats voted nay, per Axios. Again the question is presented to us, if this won’t shock Congress to action, what will?
This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven’t Heard.
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