Middle East

A Brutal Occupation Begets a Brutal War Between Israel and Hamas – Trita Parsi

A Brutal Occupation Begets a Brutal War Between Israel and Hamas – Trita Parsi

Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, analyzes Iran’s role in supporting Hamas’ brutal coordinated attack on civilians in Israel. Parsi unpacks Palestinian grievances, as well as Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment and illegal blockade of Gaza. With host Talia Baroncelli.

Corruption in Lebanon Propped up by the Transnational Capitalist Elite – Nadim Houry
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Corruption in Lebanon Propped up by the Transnational Capitalist Elite – Nadim Houry

Widespread corruption in Lebanon is fostered by the country’s ruling class, whose business interests are enmeshed with those of international finance. Nadim Houry, executive director of the Arab Reform Initiative, explains how Lebanon’s culture of political impunity is tied to the reconstruction agreements put in place in 1990, at the end of the 15-year civil war. The ongoing political deadlock shields the authorities from scrutiny and allows for vulture capitalists such as the former governor of Lebanon’s Central Bank, Riad Salameh, to embezzle the country’s resources. At the same time, ordinary people are faced with crushing inflation.

U.S.-Iran: An Unwritten Agreement on the Horizon? – Trita Parsi

U.S.-Iran: An Unwritten Agreement on the Horizon? – Trita Parsi

Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, discusses reported negotiations between the U.S. and Iran to agree to an unwritten deal. The JCPOA, or Iran nuclear deal, which was a legacy of the Obama administration, seems to be a thing of the past; yet de-escalation and an agreement on a smaller range of issues would be advantageous to both the U.S. and Iranian administrations. As in the case of Saudi-Iranian rapprochement, the role of China, Oman, and Iraq in facilitating these discussions is politically noteworthy. While the U.S. and Iran are nowhere near signing a comprehensive written deal which could be legally enforced and regulated internationally, a more limited unwritten deal would unfreeze at least 7 billion US dollars’ worth of Iranian assets, which would go towards purchasing food and medicine for Iranians.

Libyans Caught Between Warring Elites and Foreign Powers
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Libyans Caught Between Warring Elites and Foreign Powers

Anas El Gomati is the founder and director of the Libyan think tank, the Sadeq Institute. He discusses how so much of Libya’s history has been shaped by European colonial powers and other foreign states meddling in its affairs. On the flip side, E.U. developments and the rise of right-wing populism and racist anti-migrant sentiment cannot be disentangled from what transpires in Libya. In light of the ongoing fighting between rival government structures, how can the control of oil resources and state assets shift from elite strongmen to civilian bodies?

Modern Iran: National Identity as a Tool of Resistance or Coercion?

Modern Iran: National Identity as a Tool of Resistance or Coercion?

Historian, Assal Rad, explores identity formation in modern Iran, both under the Pahlavi dynasty as well as after the 1979 Revolution under the Islamic Republic. Her book “State of Resistance: Politics, Culture, and Identity in Modern Iran” examines top-down and bottom-up manifestations of national identity as narrated by state structures and popular culture, respectively. Her fascinating analysis is based on a historical assessment of how modern state-building in Iran inculcated a sense of national belonging in the population, as well as on interviews with people in Tehran and examples taken from popular music and film. Can national identity play a positive role in liberation struggles?

Yemen: Biden’s Hypocrisy and Possible Peace?
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Yemen: Biden’s Hypocrisy and Possible Peace?

Shireen Al-Adeimi, Professor of Language and Literacy at Michigan State University, lays out the U.S., U.K., and Canada’s role in perpetuating the brutal Saudi-led blockade of Yemen. She exposes Biden’s continued military support of Saudi Arabia, despite the administration’s pledge to only send defensive support, and calls into question the misleading dichotomy of “offensive” vs. “defensive” military support. Is a peace deal more likely now that the Houthi and Saudi representatives have met in Sana’a?

U.S. Interference in the Middle East – 20 Years Since the U.S. Invasion of Iraq – Col. Larry Wilkerson
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U.S. Interference in the Middle East – 20 Years Since the U.S. Invasion of Iraq – Col. Larry Wilkerson

Col. Larry Wilkerson speaks about how the media’s portrayal of the U.S. invasion of Iraq barely encapsulates the damage wrought by the U.S.-led “coalition of the willing.” He also addresses recent developments in the Middle East, including Israel’s increasingly belligerent policy on Iran, how the Saudi-Iran deal might end the Saudi blockade of Yemen, and the military significance of Israel being moved from U.S. European Command to U.S. Central Command.

Censorship in Germany, Israeli Hacking & Saudi-Iran Peace Deal – Dr. Shir Hever

Censorship in Germany, Israeli Hacking & Saudi-Iran Peace Deal – Dr. Shir Hever

In this episode of The Source, Zain Raza speaks with independent journalist, author, and economist Dr. Shir Hever about how and why his lecture on child labor in Palestine was abruptly censored by the GEW (Education and Science Workers’ Union) in Germany. They also talk about a recent Forbidden Stories article detailing how Israeli companies played a key role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal and continue to provide hacking services that influence countries’ elections. They examine the China-brokered peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran and the international significance it has for Israel. To conclude the interview, they take a look at recent developments between Israel and Palestine, focusing on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial reform in Israel.

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