January 8: The Iranian regime says Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 crashed a couple hours prior because of "mechanical errors."January 11: Actually… we shot it down because we mistook it for an incoming missile. Also this is America’s fault! We will not take any questions about why a commercial flight was allowed to take off while we were launching missiles at the American troops in Iraq. Ahem. Yes.Also January 11: Turning on a dime from mourning assassinated General Qassem #Soleimani to focusing rage on a hidebound regime, the Iranian people resume protesting in face of goons firing live ammo, even though 1500+ citizens have already died.Now: These are extremely hard times in #Iran, where the 40-year-old Islamic Republic looks like it could be tottering. And you know what they say: a cornered foe can be more dangerous than a confident one...This week, Steve and Soumi talk about the Islamic Republic's many difficult challenges, as well as how things in the Middle East could somehow be even scarier now than they were a month ago, even though everyone's stopped paying attention!Further reading:1. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-510690902. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-01-14/soleimani-strike-shows-trump-plan-for-iran-is-regime-disruption3. https://www.npr.org/2020/01/14/796260687/iran-makes-arrests-over-accidental-downing-of-ukrainian-airliner4. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/13/business/economy/iran-economy.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article5. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/14/world/europe/iran-nuclear-deal.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage6. https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2020-parliamentary-election-causing-anxiety-tehran-191213162204935.html
January 8: The Iranian regime says Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 crashed a couple hours prior because of "mechanical errors."
January 11: Actually… we shot it down because we mistook it for an incoming missile. Also this is America’s fault! We will not take any questions about why a commercial flight was allowed to take off while we were launching missiles at the American troops in Iraq. Ahem. Yes.
Also January 11: Turning on a dime from mourning assassinated General Qassem #Soleimani to focusing rage on a hidebound regime, the Iranian people resume protesting in face of goons firing live ammo, even though 1500+ citizens have already died.
Now: These are extremely hard times in #Iran, where the 40-year-old Islamic Republic looks like it could be tottering. And you know what they say: a cornered foe can be more dangerous than a confident one...
This week, Steve and Soumi talk about the Islamic Republic's many difficult challenges, as well as how things in the Middle East could somehow be even scarier now than they were a month ago, even though everyone's stopped paying attention!
Further reading:1. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-510690902. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-01-14/soleimani-strike-shows-trump-plan-for-iran-is-regime-disruption3. https://www.npr.org/2020/01/14/796260687/iran-makes-arrests-over-accidental-downing-of-ukrainian-airliner4. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/13/business/economy/iran-economy.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article5. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/14/world/europe/iran-nuclear-deal.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage6. https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2020-parliamentary-election-causing-anxiety-tehran-191213162204935.html