Is Iran the 'Leading State Sponsor of Terrorism?' (w/ John Kiriakou) | The Chris Hedges Report
About this episode
Chris Hedges interviews John Kiriakou about the US designation of Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism and the implications of such labels in foreign policy.
In an attempt to justify and garner popular support for the American-Israeli war on Iran, the Trump administration is pressuring its allied nations to join the US in designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as the world’s greatest sponsor of state terrorism. The administration points to Iran’s participation in the Axis of Resistance, which includes Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Palestine and Ansar Allah in Yemen, as evidence for its position. This raises the question of whether Iran, by supporting proxy organizations, is doing anything differently from what US intelligence agencies have done for many decades. To answer this question, Chris Hedges speaks with John Kiriakou, a former CIA analyst and counterterrorism operations officer who worked in West Asia. Kiriakou is known for blowing the whistle on the CIA’s torture program, for which he was the sixth person convicted under the Espionage Act. In this interview, Kiriakou makes the distinction between organizations that carry out terrorism and those that are fighting for national liberation from foreign oppressors. Kiriakou explains that throughout recent history, many countries or organizations backed by the United States…
More episodes of The Chris Hedges Report
- Is There a Way out of the Iran War? (w/ John Mearsheimer) | The Chris Hedges Report
- Is Hezbollah Beating Israel in Lebanon? (w/ Laith Marouf) | The Chris Hedges Report
- The Trump Administration's War on Cuba (w/ Medea Benjamin) | The Chris Hedges Report
- America’s Suez Crisis (w/ Alastair Crooke) | The Chris Hedges Report
- Is the Iranian War About to Become Apocalyptic? (w/ Trita Parsi) | The Chris Hedges Report
- Making the Film 'Palestine 36' (w/ director Annemarie Jacir) | The Chris Hedges Report
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Chris Hedges Report podcast page.