How Iran managed to take on a superpower

Over the past months, the entire world watched in surprise as Iran stood up to the most powerful militaries in the world.On February 28, when the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran, killing its head of state, Trump was hoping for a quick, Venezuela-style regime change. Instead, Iran fought back, attacking Arab states in the region which host American military bases and even successfully closing off the Strait of Hormuz, a major thoroughfare for the world's oil.On this episode of Scroll Adda, writer and anthropologist Alex Reza Shams explains that one should not be surprised by this dogged Iranian resistance. For decades now, sanctions have made Iran self-sufficient in a way few countries are. Moreover, for the Iranian government this is an existential war. There is no option of surrender.In fact, Shams argues that this war might end up strengthening extremist elements within Iran. The fact that the United States has broken all agreements with Tehran has greatly weakened the moderate Iranians who championed dialogue.Rather than being a monolith, the current Iranian system has seen liberal, democratic movements in the past. But long years of sanctions and now war mean that these political actors risk being shut out by extreme elements, who favour conflict with US and Israel, given that trying for peace has only seen Tehran being double crossed.Producer: Kritika PantHost: Shoaib DaniyalHave any feedback? Email us at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.