Episode 358: The Long Arm of Tehran: Proxies, Criminals and State-Backed Threats with Edmund Fitton-Brown

Episode 358: The Long Arm of Tehran: Proxies, Criminals and State-Backed Threats with Edmund Fitton-Brown

From The International Risk Podcast by Dominic Bowen

May 6, 2026 · 43 min

About this episode

Edmund Fitton-Brown discusses Iran's methods of projecting power through various networks and operations beyond its borders.

In this episode, we host Edmund Fitton-Brown to explore how Iran projects power beyond its borders through proxies, criminal networks, intelligence services, and deniable operations. Drawing on his experience as a former British Ambassador to Yemen and former senior United Nations expert on ISIS, al-Qaeda and the Taliban, Edmund explains why Iran’s external operations cannot be understood simply through the language of “sleeper cells” or conventional state espionage. We discuss why Iran’s thr...

People in this episode

Host: Dominic Bowen

Guest: Edmund Fitton-Brown

Topics covered

  • Iran
  • proxies
  • criminal networks
  • state-backed threats
  • intelligence services
  • foreign policy

Keywords

  • Iran
  • proxies
  • criminal networks
  • state threats
  • intelligence
  • foreign policy
  • Edmund Fitton-Brown

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: United Nations, ISIS, al-Qaeda, the Taliban

Places: Iran, Yemen

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