Growing number of Iranians believe war seeks to destroy their nation, not just regime, says Vali Nasr

About this episode

Vali Nasr discusses how rising civilian casualties and cultural destruction are shifting Iranian perspectives on the US-Israeli war.

Iranian-American academic Vali Nasr says rising civilian deaths and the destruction of iconic sites such as the Qajar-era Golestan Palace are turning even the most anti-regime Iranians against the US‑Israeli war, which many now see as a threat to the nation itself. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

People in this episode

Host: Amberin Zaman

Guest: Vali Nasr

Topics covered

• Iran
• US-Israeli war
• civilian deaths
• anti-regime sentiment
• national identity

Keywords

• Iran
• Vali Nasr
• US-Israeli war
• civilian deaths
• Golestan Palace

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: US, Israel

Places: Iran, Qajar-era Golestan Palace

More episodes of On the Middle East with Amberin Zaman

• Armenia's pro-Western prime minister won elections, but peace with Turkey & Azerbaijan remains a challenge · June 10, 2026 · 32 min
• Turkey's outsize influence in Somalia fuels corruption and autocracy, says MEI's Gonul Tol · May 15, 2026 · 20 min
• Don’t blame the PKK for all the Kurds’ losses in Syria, says Kurdish expert Aliza Marcus · May 5, 2026 · 27 min
• Saudi Arabia hates Iran’s regime but did not want war, says former US ambassador to Riyadh Michael Ratney · May 4, 2026 · 30 min
• Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei ‘running the show’ despite public absence, says academic Hassan Ahmadian · April 23, 2026 · 28 min
• Lebanon’s Ghassan Salame: Israel talks ‘not negotiations,’ Hezbollah disarmament by force ‘illusion’ · April 13, 2026 · 34 min