Jacobin Radio Behind the News: The Decades-Long War on Iran w/ Behrooz Ghamari
Mar 9, 2026
Anatol Lieven, a foreign policy analyst focused on geopolitics and regional fallout. Behrooz Ghamari, historian of Iranian politics and culture. They discuss Iran's hybrid theocracy and elections. They trace repression, the limits of mass uprisings, and the role of foreign pressure. They analyze Israel's influence, regional destabilization, and why large-scale intervention is unlikely to produce lasting change.
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Oppose Foreign Intervention To Protect Domestic Struggle
- Oppose foreign intervention rather than endorse a hostile government's actions.
- Ghamari urges leftists outside Iran to pressure their own governments to stop interference and sanctions, creating space for domestic movements to develop autonomously.
Women's Mobility Grew Despite Patriarchal Laws
- Iranian women have expanded social space despite restrictive laws.
- Ghamari cites literacy rising from ~30% to over 90%, women as 60% of university students, and legal/administrative gains like easier access to abortion driven by pressure from below.
Decapitation Likely Won't Collapse Iran Quickly
- Iran's political authority is decentralized enough to survive decapitation attempts.
- Ghamari notes reforms after prior attacks gave provinces autonomy, contingency plans for leadership losses, and preparedness for shocks including succession of an elderly supreme leader.
