Why Iran Isn’t Breaking: Vali Nasr on Pain, Patience and the Uprising That Isn’t Coming

Despite the intensity of the US-Israel bombing campaign, Iran’s regime, now under a new supreme leader, hasn’t given President Donald Trump the “unconditional surrender” he’s seeking.

Mishal Husain speaks with Vali Nasr, a professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and a preeminent scholar on the Islamic Republic. His life has been shaped by the story of Iran over the last 50 years, starting when his family fled amid the 1979 revolution.

His life’s work has been to study the region and its relationship with the US. He’s also worked as an adviser to the US State Department during the Obama administration.

Nasr explains why Tehran believes time is on its side in the war, and that a prolonged conflict may only strengthen Iranian nationalism.

02:34 - Why Iran is “prepared to suffer more”
06:28 - What drives the new ayatollah
10:03 - How Iranians view the US and Israel
12:07 - War will last “longer” than Trump hopes
14:00 - School strike, destruction of heritage sites
15:35 - Lessons from the Iran-Iraq war
19:03 - “This is the final battle”
20:17 - Impact of US sanctions
22:40 - Will Iran pursue a nuclear bomb?
26:02 - Iran’s experience of foreign intervention
28:27 - Can Reza Pahlavi, son of the Shah, succeed?
30:48 - Nasr’s experience fleeing Iran in 1979
35:15 - Mood among Iranian-Americans
39:32 - Iran’s “rightful place in the world”

Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net

Read this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview

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