How the War May Reshape Iran's Political Future

How the War May Reshape Iran's Political Future

April 16, 2026 · 43 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the impact of the US-Israel-Iran war on ordinary Iranians and their political aspirations.

As the international community focuses on the regional and economic reverberations of the US-Israel-Iran war, the wartime experiences of ordinary Iranians and their aspirations for the future have received much less attention. Arash Azizi, a postdoctoral associate at Yale University and contributing writer at The Atlantic , joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to discuss the war's repercussions for the Iranian population and how the outcome of the conflict may shape the peoples' lives going forward. Together, they explore Iran's internal politics, the viability of the opposition, and the conditions needed to achieve democracy in Iran. Read Arash's analysis of the fractured the Iranian opposition here , and his argument for why talks with Washington could ultimately benefit the Iranian people here . Recorded on April 15, 2026.

People in this episode

Hosts: Alistair Taylor, Matthew Czekaj

Guest: Arash Azizi

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Yale University, The Atlantic

Places: Iran, US, Israel

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