In week three of the war started by US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran, the main outcome appears to be destruction: of buildings and gas fields and military hardware; of the world energy market; of US credibility. The conflict has spread to Lebanon courtesy of Hezbollah, and Israel is being hit by missiles from there and Iran. The Gulf states, living under attack too, are seeing their economic model of a luxury bubble financed by high spenders dwindle away. The Straits of Hormuz, the crucial waterway through which energy, fertilisers and much else travels, is now closed. And while still shooting its ballistic missiles and many drones, Iran is being pummelled daily while seeing its ranks of leadership picked off faster than appointments are possible.
So what do the Iranian people make of the war? What are their horizons and options? In fact, it is difficult to tell, as the Ayatollahs keep the internet closed and for many contact with the outside world is difficult. But information is getting out, and as ever, it is far more nuanced and complex than the simple narratives for or against the regime that have been supplied so far.
Iran historian Dr Liora Hendelman-Baavur of Tel Aviv University and Maneli Mirkhan, strategist and Iran expert, join ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El, providing fascinating insights into the thinking of and possibilities for the Iranian people, as well as many other analyses of how this war came about, and why it is difficult to predict how it ends.
This episode was recorded on 19 March 2026
Chapters
- An expected war between Israel and Iran?
- Public sentiment and reactions in Iran and Israel
- Regional Dynamics: Iran and the Gulf States
- What comes next with the war?
Mentions
- Dorna website
- Liora’s book, Creating the Modern Iranian Woman: Popular Culture Between Two Revolutions
Follow
- Liora Hendelman-Baavur LinkedIn & Tel-Aviv University page
- Maneli Mirkhan LinkedIn & website
- Ilana Bet-El
- Instagram @women_leaders_podcast
- Listen this episode on our YouTube channel
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
