Iran, Lebanon, and the Destruction of Civilian Life

About this episode

The episode discusses the escalating tensions in Iran and Lebanon amid U.S.-Israeli airstrikes and the potential consequences for civilian life.

As heavy U.S.-Israeli airstrikes pounded targets across Iran on Tuesday, President Donald Trump reiterated his extreme threats against all Iranians in a post on social media, writing: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.” Trump had previously given a deadline of Tuesday 8 p.m. ET to “Open the F****n’ Strait, you crazy b******s” otherwise the U.S. would heavily target civilian infrastructure in Iran. Iran’s revolutionary guard warned on Tuesday that it would “deprive the U.S and its allies of the region’s oil and gas for years” if Trump carried out his threat. “We have exercised great restraint and had considerations in choosing retaliatory targets, but from now on all these considerations have been removed,” the IRGC said. Last-ditch diplomatic efforts are under way to avert a further escalation of the war. The Iranian government has repeatedly and consistently laid out its own demands for an agreement setting out a permanent end to the war—trading concessions on its nuclear program for sanctions relief and recognition of its ability to exercise control over the Strait of Hormuz. Drop Site’s…

People in this episode

Hosts: Sharif Abdel Kouddous, Murtaza Hussain

Guest: Sina Azodi

Topics covered

• U.S.-Israeli airstrikes
• Iran
• Lebanon
• civilian infrastructure
• diplomatic efforts
• Middle East politics

Keywords

• airstrikes
• Iran
• Lebanon
• civilian life
• diplomacy
• nuclear program
• sanctions relief

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Iran’s revolutionary guard, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University

Places: Iran, Lebanon, Strait of Hormuz

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