Iran is at a boiling point. In January, mass protests broke out across the country, and many thousands of people were wounded and killed by their own government. US President Trump appeared to egg the protesters on, though no tangible aid or succour materialised. On the other hand, the US has now moved an aircraft carrier and a number of destroyers close to Iran in a military threat which remains unclear in its aims.
The immediate reason for the demonstrations was money: the Iranian economy is dire, and sliding still further into the abyss. But the context is broader and more complex: an autocratic and dictatorial regime that cares only for itself and its survival; and a regime unwilling to engage with the world’s efforts to curb its nuclear ambitions, and the resulting heavy sanctions burden.
To untangle these and many other threads, and to gain a sense of the broader Iranian position — and the evolving regional interests — Ilana Bet-El welcomes back Iran specialist Roxane Farmanfarmaian, Senior Associate Fellow at ELN, for a deep and fascinating examination of Iran at a crossroads.
This episode was recorded on 5 February 2026
Chapters
- Understanding the Iranian protests
- The role of the Revolutionary Guards
- Economic factors and aspirations of the Iranian people
- How the Iranian regime functions
Mentions
- New York Times opinion “In Counting the Dead in Iran, a Picture of Ferocity”
- Military.com “US Forces Headed to the Middle East as Tensions with Iran Rise”
- ELN “Europe and the end of New START Treaty”
Follow
- Dr. Roxane Farmanfarmaian LinkedIn and articles on European Leadership Network website
- Ilana Bet-El
- Instagram @women_leaders_podcast
- Listen this episode on our YouTube channel
- Our partner European Leadership Network Twitter LinkedIn Facebook website
Credits
- Production: Florence Ferrando
- Music: Let Good Times Roll, RA from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/ra/let-good-times-rollLicense code: ZXIIIJUU2ISPZIJT
The European Leadership Network itself as an institution holds no formal policy positions. The opinions articulated above represent the views of the authors rather than the European Leadership Network or its members. The ELN aims to encourage debates that will help develop Europe’s capacity to address the pressing foreign, defence, and security policy challenges of our time, to further its charitable purposes.
Image credit: Florence Ferrando
