More tensions building between the United States and Iran this week: there was the prospect of a military strike after an American drone was shot down over by Iranian forces, as well as more sanctions, more troops to the Middle East, and an Iranian threat of enriching more uranium. Phil and Cooper give you the definitive timeline of events that led to these recent spats, accelerating due to the Trump Administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran. Also, is the Iran nuclear deal finished? And how have Iranians been affected by recent sanctions? We speak with Al-Monitor Iran Pulse contributors to get more color from the region.
- US blames Iran for Gulf tanker attack (Jack Detsch)
- Intel: What's next for US-Iran tensions after drone downing (Amberin Zaman)
- US sanctions fail to bend Iran’s economy, expert says (Jack Detsch)
- Iran says not seeking war after announcing boost in uranium stockpile
- Asia buoys Iran as sanctions hit (Barbara Slavin)
- How incompetence, sanctions jointly hit Iran’s economy (Bijan Khajehpour)
Extra Listening:
- Episode #62, Pompeo and Circumstances (7/26/2018): Secretary of State Pompeo gives an anti-Iran speech that served as the unofficial launch for the Trump Administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against the country.
- Episode #51, Deal or No Deal (5/3/2018): Trump gets ready to pull out of the Iran Nuclear Deal after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu gives him some enthralling (and old) intelligence on Iran.
- Episode #52, JCP-No-Way (5/10/2018): Trump withdraws from the Iran Nuclear Deal.
- Episode #64, The Sound of Sanctions (8/10/2018): Phil and Cooper discuss the first round of Trump’s new sanctions on Iran.
- Episode #76, The Sound of Sanctions, Part II (11/7/2018): Phil and Cooper speak with Barbara Slavin about the second round of new sanctions, and how they’ve already affected Iran’s economy.
- Episode #87, Over the Hill (2/15/2019): A history of Iran’s political revolution in 1979 that has led to endless diplomatic tensions with the United States.
- Episode #99, Under Pressure (5/17/2019): Our most recent report on tensions between the US and Iran.
Music: Rana Farhan - “Chooni” (Spotify | Apple Music)
