Losing Sight of Iran’s Revolutionary Character Has Cost the West, ft. IISS Expert John Raine

With Ayatollah Khamenei’s demise occurring hours into the war, the West anticipated a collapse of the Iranian regime and a popular uprising that never came to be. Is a ‘memorandum of understanding’ the only thing preventing total escalation in the region? In this episode of One Decision, former MI6 Chief Sir Richard Dearlove and co-host journalist Kate McCann sit down with John Raine, Senior Adviser for Geopolitical Due Diligence for the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), to analyze the ripple effects of the war in Iran and what it will take to stabilize the Middle East.

What is keeping a comprehensive peace deal off the table? How did Western intelligence miscalculate the IRGC’s resilience? And where does this leave the rest of the Middle East?

We also break down China’s pledge to support Cuba’s sovereignty, the 75th anniversary of the Cambridge Five espionage scandal, and the latest in the war in Ukraine, including China’s role in training Russian soldiers and the opening of a museum in North Korea that memorializes the North Korean losses in the war.  

In this episode:

• 1:07 – Iran, Israel & Trump: The Middle East Crisis Explained

• 2:52 – Cuba, China, and US Spheres of Influence

• 6:23 – Cambridge Five: Cold War Spy Scandal Revisited

• 9:51 – Russia, North Korea, and Ukraine War Shifting

• 13:26 – Iran War: MOU vs. Formal Peace Deal Explained

• 16:55 – Why a Comprehensive Iran Deal Remains Out of Reach

• 22:41 – IRGC Resilience: How Iran's Regime Survived

• 29:08 – Who Has Influence Over Iran's IRGC?

• 33:51 – Israel's Military Objectives and Netanyahu's Agenda

• 39:36 – Gulf States' Vulnerability and Abraham Accords Future

• 45:26 – How Does the Iran Conflict End? Three Scenarios

• 49:47 – Sir Richard and Kate Discussion

Hosted by Sir Richard Dearlove (former MI6 Chief) and journalist Kate McCann (Political Editor at Times Radio).

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