10 Years After the Deal, Iran is a Nuclear Threshold State (featuring Amb. Dan Shapiro)
About the EpisodeIn 2015 while serving in the Obama administration, Dan Shapiro supported the Iran nuclear deal. Mark Dubowitz led the fight to stop it.A decade later, Iran is a nuclear threshold state. The regime has enriched enough uranium for multiple bombs, deterrence has broken down, and Washington still hasn’t figured out how to stop a nuclear Iran.Today, Mark and Dan are in the same strategic corner—not because the politics have shifted but because reality has.And they're both asking the same question: With diplomacy failing and enrichment advancing, what’s next? About the MusicOur intro and outro music samples (with artist's permission) Liraz Charhi's single, "Roya" — check out the full version of the song and the meaning behind it here: https://youtu.be/1Ab4XFaWnOk?si=aIdBdvY1mkMiQPN9
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1:17:33
Digital Resistance: Using Tech to Empower Iranians and Take Down the Regime (featuring Mehdi Yahyanejad)
About the EpisodeMehdi Yahyanejad was raised in the Islamic Republic. Now, he's fighting it from the outside... with code.From founding the digital platform that helped power Iran’s Green Movement in 2009 to coordinating resistance through online activism, Mehdi has seen firsthand how technology empowers dissidents and fuels regime resistance.As the Islamic Republic faces external challenges coupled with internal decay, the regime is cracking. Mehdi and Mark discuss how the right digital tools can help the Iranian people finish the job. About the MusicOur intro and outro music samples (with artist's permission) Liraz Charhi's single, "Roya" — check out the full version of the song and the meaning behind it here: https://youtu.be/1Ab4XFaWnOk?si=aIdBdvY1mkMiQPN9
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1:05:34
Rage Against the Regime: Music as Rebellion (featuring Liraz Charhi)
About the EpisodeLiraz Charhi is an Israeli artist with deep Iranian roots, and her voice is shaking the walls of the Islamic Republic. Known for her role on the hit Apple TV+ series Tehran, Liraz joins Mark Dubowitz to reveal how her art became real-life defiance: from secretly collaborating with Iranian women banned from singing, to recording underground albums across encrypted apps, and turning her song "Roya" — a song you're familiar with, as it's the theme music to this podcast series — into an anthem for the Woman, Life, Freedom movement.This is a story of identity, rebellion, and the dream of a free Iran — sung loud enough to rattle the regime and inspire a generation.About the MusicOur intro and outro music samples (with artist's permission) Liraz Charhi's single, "Roya" — check out the full version of the song and the meaning behind it here: https://youtu.be/1Ab4XFaWnOk?si=aIdBdvY1mkMiQPN9
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1:00:08
Assassins Abroad: Iran's Global War on Dissent (featuring Roya Hakakian)
About the EpisodeHost Mark Dubowitz is joined by author Roya Hakakian to trace the Islamic Republic’s decades-long war on dissent — both inside Iran and across the globe. Roya shares her personal journey from a hopeful 12-year-old during the 1979 revolution to a refugee, writer, and fierce advocate for democracy.At the heart of their discussion is the Mykonos trial, the landmark 1997 case in Berlin that exposed Tehran’s direct role in assassinating Iranian dissidents on European soil and forced a Western reckoning. They unpack how Tehran uses lies, violence, and intimidation as tools of statecraft. From Khomeini’s infamous “I lied” to the chilling reach of regime assassins in places like Berlin and Brooklyn, this episode is a warning: the Islamic Republic hasn’t changed, and the stakes are higher than ever.Watch this episode on YouTube here. About the MusicOur intro and outro music samples (with artist’s permission) Liraz Charhi’s single, “Roya” — check out the full version of the song and the meaning behind it here.
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1:05:46
Going Ballistic: Inside Iran's Military Strategy and Arsenal (featuring Behnam Ben Taleblu)
About the EpisodeHost Mark Dubowitz is joined by Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of FDD's Iran Program and author of Arsenal: Assessing Iran's Ballistic Missile Program, for a masterclass on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s expansive — and still growing — weapons arsenal and the central role it plays in Tehran’s broader military strategy.From the Islamic Republic's ballistic missile and drone programs, military doctrine, and global proliferation links with North Korea, China, and Russia — or, as Mark calls it, "The Axis of Misery" — to its precision strike systems, proxy warfare, and unprecedented missile attacks on nuclear-armed states, Behnam and Mark explore how the regime combines these elements to coerce, deter, and dominate.Watch this episode on YouTube here. About the MusicOur intro and outro music samples (with artist’s permission) Liraz Charhi’s single, “Roya” — check out the full version of the song and the meaning behind it here.
Welcome to the Iran Breakdown. Hosted by Mark Dubowitz, this miniseries from FDD is here to guide you through one of the most critical geopolitical and human rights challenges facing the world today. The Islamic Republic of Iran has been a central player in global headlines for decades: its pursuit of nuclear weapons, funding of terror groups like Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and others; its oppression of its own people, and its growing alliances with global power states like China, Russia, North Korea. But beneath the headlines lies a deeper story, story of a regime that is losing legitimacy, a restless population, hungry for freedom, and a global community with many conflicting ideas about how to respond. And that's what we'll cover in 10 episodes of The Iran Breakdown.
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