Novara Live

Trita Parsi, foreign policy expert and Quincy Institute EVP, outlines Iran strategy and regional fallout. He discusses Israel’s targeted strikes and their aim to degrade Iran’s capacity. He explains how the South Pars attack could draw Gulf states in and why planners misjudged Iran’s resilience. He also covers risks to energy routes like the Strait of Hormuz and potential for prolonged escalation.

Daniel Levy, British‑Israeli political analyst and former Oslo negotiator, offers sharp commentary on Israel-Iran strategy. He discusses the assassination of a top Iranian leader and whether targeted killings aim to obstruct diplomacy. They probe Israel’s wider regional ambitions, risks of escalation via proxies, missile defenses, and the political fallout in the US and Israel.

Anel Shaleen, a Quincy Institute research fellow and former State Department official who resigned over Gaza policy, joins to unpack the Iran conflict. She discusses US unpreparedness and drone warfare. Conversations cover why Gulf states resist escalation, the impracticality of reopening the Strait of Hormuz by force, and shifting regional and global power dynamics.

Simon Childs, investigative journalist known for exposing AI-driven political disinformation, joins to discuss AI-generated influence operations. He explains the Node Project and links to Advance UK. The conversation also covers AI content’s reach, platform responses, and gaps in electoral safeguards. Short, sharp takes on how synthetic media is reshaping political campaigns.

Discussion of Israel's claim of striking an Iranian nuclear site and reports of civilian displacement and media blackouts. Examination of Pentagon findings on a girls' school strike and broader US troop injury reports. Analysis of regional attacks, oil disruptions and the geopolitics that make the Middle East a target. Political fallout over Mandelson files and Labour's electoral challenges are also raised.

Mamad Ali Shagzadeh, an Iranian-American commentator and Persian-teacher who speaks as an anti-war, pro-humanist voice in the diaspora. He discusses polarization within the Iranian diaspora, media platforming that amplifies pro-war voices, and the rise of anti-war sentiment as civilian suffering becomes visible. He also describes doxxing, demonetisation and legal pressures faced online.

Vali Nasr, Middle East scholar and Iran expert, discusses why US planners misread Tehran and how Iran’s strategy and resilience surprised Washington. Short takes cover US internal contradictions, failures in planning, regional escalation risks, and the wider humanitarian and political fallout across Lebanon and Europe.

Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi, a St Andrews Iran expert, and Jasmine El-Gamal, a former Pentagon Middle East advisor, discuss the fallout from strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure. They cover soaring oil prices, risks to global markets, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, regional strategic calculations, and how Iran’s internal power shift shapes the crisis.

Nate Soares, AI researcher warning about civilization-scale AI risk. David Waring, Gulf specialist on energy and economic fallout. Sina Toossi, Iran analyst on military-diplomatic resilience. They discuss Trump's demand for Iran's unconditional surrender. They examine Iran's strategy, regional strikes, nuclear risk, Strait of Hormuz vulnerabilities, and global economic consequences in short, sharp conversations.

Megan Baudet, Director of Research at the Kurdish Peace Institute, speaks from Iraqi Kurdistan with on‑the‑ground Kurdish politics and security expertise. She discusses Kurdish border dynamics and why Iraqi Kurdistan seeks neutrality. She unpacks confusion over different Kurdish groups and explains motives behind strikes on Erbil and western Iran.