Glenn Diesen - Greater Eurasia Podcast

Einar Tangen, senior fellow at Teihe Institute and CIGI who analyzes international security and economics. He maps three timelines behind the Iran crisis and explains Israel and US roles. He explores Iran’s asymmetric responses, oil shocks that could trigger global recession, and how nuclear rhetoric and declining Western dominance raise the risk of catastrophic escalation.

Ray McGovern, a former CIA analyst who prepared Presidential Daily Briefs, offers a stark take on Israel, Iran and the risk of nuclear use. He discusses how the conflict began, stalled diplomacy in Geneva, shifting U.S. and Gulf calculations, intelligence failures, and why Iran may now hold the upper hand. Short warnings about escalation and geopolitical realignment punctuate the conversation.

Seyed Mohammad Marandi, Tehran University professor and former nuclear negotiation advisor, offers a stark look at Iran's strategic calculations. He argues Kharg Island seizure would be impractical and provoke harsh retaliation. He explains Iran's asymmetric naval defenses, the futility of tanker escorts, risks of wider escalation, and how nuclear use would reshape regional legitimacy and security.

Michael von der Schulenburg, a former UN diplomat who spent nine years in Iran and now serves in the European Parliament, critiques Europe’s stance on the Iran war. He discusses how European support risks abandoning international law, the dangers of decapitation strikes and escalation, the impact on proliferation and Gulf security, and the need for realistic Europe-Russia dialogue.

Scott Ritter, former US Marine intelligence officer and UN weapons inspector, offers sharp geopolitical analysis. He discusses Trump’s call to Putin and the diplomatic dynamics around an Iran off-ramp. He explains Russian strategic restraint, bargaining leverage involving Ukraine, and why military options in the Gulf are impractical.

John Mearsheimer, a University of Chicago international-relations scholar known for realism and strategic analysis, argues the U.S. has already lost a war with Iran and sees no off-ramp. He discusses Iran’s incentives to escalate, Gulf vulnerabilities like oil and desalination, limits of air power and decapitation, and how the conflict reshapes Russian, Chinese, and European calculations.

Seyed Mohammad Marandi, Tehran University professor and former nuclear negotiations advisor, explains why Iran will not accept a ceasefire and insists the old status quo is gone. He discusses civilian infrastructure damage, U.S. battlefield failures and Iranian resilience. Conversation covers regional escalation risks, Gulf economic fallout, and growing ties between Iran, Russia and China.

Jiang Xueqin, academic and Predictive History commentator, uses historical patterns and game theory to forecast geopolitical shifts. He outlines how the Iran war could trigger U.S. imperial decline, regional realignments with Iran and Israel, cascading instability across Europe and East Asia, and shifts toward deindustrialization, remilitarization, and mercantilist blocs.

Ted Postol, MIT professor and national security technologist with decades studying missile systems, outlines why missile defenses are failing in the Iran conflict. He discusses Iranian missile and drone precision, satellite-guided long-range strikes, mass-production overwhelm of defenses, countermeasures like maneuvering warheads and decoys, and the resulting escalation and humanitarian risks.

Rein Müllerson, Estonian professor of international law and former advisor to Gorbachev and deputy foreign minister, brings firsthand diplomatic perspective. He discusses how US policy may be driving China, Russia and Iran closer. He explores Europe’s self-made quagmire, the Ukraine dilemma and emerging signs Europe might seek negotiated settlements.