What happens when an Islamic Republic decides that the “Republic” part maybe isn’t such a big deal? Journalist and returning guest Séamus Malekafzali and Sina Toossi, senior research analyst at the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), join the program to discuss this Friday’s Iranian presidential election. We’ll talk about the field, such as it is, and how it came to be the way it is, and we’ll get into presumptive winner Ebrahim Raisi’s past and his potential future. Additionally we’ll discuss what Raisi’s (likely) presidency could mean for future US-Iranian relations.
You can find Sina on Twitter and at NIAC, where his Iran Unfiltered series is a great look into a media environment to which us Westerners don’t have many points of access. Séamus is also on Twitter and his Substack newsletter is definitely worth a look if you’re interested in Iran.
Decision 1400, Part II: the Unvotening, with Séamus Malekafzali and Sina Toossi