Tehran’s drone and missile programs didn’t just survive under pressure, they adapted, scaled, and in many ways thrived, fueled in part by Western-made components slipping through global supply chains.

The result: a procurement network that’s harder to disrupt, more resilient, and still very much intact.

Now, Tehran isn’t just building for itself. It’s exporting the model — arming Russia in Ukraine, supplying proxies across the Middle East, and even laying the groundwork for drone production in places like Venezuela, putting parts of the United States within range.

So the question isn’t whether sanctions work — it’s whether we’re hitting the right targets.

To break all of this down, host Mark Dubowitz is joined by Kerri Bitsoff — a former senior official at the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) who has been called a ‘secret weapon’ in the fight against Iran's weapons procurement.

While the regime pushes its narrative at home and abroad, the West struggles to keep up — and the Iranian people are caught in between. 

So, who controls the story: the regime, the West, or the Iranian people?

Mark is joined by historian Ali Ansari to unpack the battle of narratives, the reality of regime power, and who may ultimately shape Iran’s future.

The Iran war isn’t just about Iran. It’s about energy, leverage, and whether Beijing—and even Taiwan—are already learning the lessons of this war in real time. 

FDD’s Matt Pottinger joins host Mark Dubowitz to break down why a deal may be closer than it looks, why Trump may not take it, and how this war is already reshaping the global balance of power — and why China’s watching closely.

In this episode of Foreign Podicy, host Cliff May sits down with Mark Dubowitz to unpack a question at the core of this show: what the Islamic Republic actually believes — and how it has waged war on the United States and its allies since 1979.

It’s a conversation about ideology, strategy, and a threat too often misunderstood.

If you want to understand the regime in order to make sense of the war, start here.

The conflict has now spread far beyond Tehran’s borders: Hezbollah rockets have drawn Israel into full-blown engagements across Lebanon, Gulf states have condemned Iranian aggression as they reel from missile and drone salvos, and intelligence agencies warn of expanded retaliatory attacks against the United States and its allies.

On the streets and in the corridors of power, tectonic shifts are underway. Regional capitals brace for wider war, global energy markets react at threats to closing the Strait of Hormuz and attacks against oil infrastructure, and governments from Islamabad to London confront unrest and diplomatic peril.

The Iran Breakdown host Mark Dubowitz is joined by Eli Lake to assess the battlefield, the intelligence as we know it, and the stakes. Is the regime collapsing — or will it whether this confrontation as it has in the past? What comes next for the Iranian people, for Israel, for the region, and for the United States?

Eli's latest

The Breaking History podcast

March 2, 2026 | The Free Press | J.D. Vance’s Iran Dilemma

February 28, 2026 | The Free Press | Trump Keeps His Promise to Iran—and Takes a Big Gamble

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In the early hours of February 28, the United States and Israel launched a coordinated military campaign against the Iranian regime—Washington calling it “Operation Epic Fury,” Israel calling it “Operation Lion’s Roar.” Strikes hit sites across Iran, targeting ballistic missile infrastructure, IRGC facilities, intelligence headquarters, and senior regime leadership.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is dead. President Trump confirmed his elimination on February 28: “Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead.” U.S. officials told Fox News that the strikes were moved up after intelligence revealed Khamenei and dozens of senior Iranian officials were meeting at his compound. Among those killed: Defense Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani, IRGC Chief Mohammad Pakpour, Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, and multiple other senior military and intelligence figures.

Iran has retaliated. A ballistic missile penetrated Israeli air defenses and struck a residential building in central Tel Aviv, killing at least one woman. Over 200 missiles and drones were fired at Israel and U.S. bases across the region—striking the U.S. Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain and causing casualties in Dubai and Syria. Regional governments have condemned Iran’s strikes in the strongest terms.

Inside Iran, the response is electric. Videos show Iranians cheering in the streets. Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has called on the armed forces to defect and urged citizens to prepare to mobilize. The opposition is deploying secure communications, satellite broadcasts, and hacked regime infrastructure to sustain the moment. The regime is decapitated. The question now is whether it falls.

To assess fast-moving developments and their strategic implications, FDD hosts a timely SITREP moderated by FDD Executive Director and host of the FDD Morning Brief Jonathan Schanzer, featuring FDD CEO and host of The Iran Breakdown Mark Dubowitz, and FDD Senior Advisor and former White House National Security Council director Richard Goldberg.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu framed the operation's objectives as removing the "existential threat" posed by the Islamic Republic and creating conditions for the Iranian people to achieve regime change—calling on Persians, Kurds, Azeris, Baloch, and Ahwazi alike to "cast off the yoke of tyranny."

Iran has retaliated with ballistic missile strikes targeting U.S. bases and allies across the region, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, Israel, and Bahrain—where a missile struck a facility affiliated with the U.S. Navy 5th Fleet.

Today, Iran is entering a decisive phase—where economic collapse, mass unrest, and direct military pressure are converging faster than at any point since 1979. As long as theocratic extremists rule in Iran, the Middle East will remain a factory for terror, missiles, and nuclear blackmail. These strikes have sharpened urgent questions about what comes next—for the regime, the Iranian people, and regional stability.

To assess fast-moving developments and their strategic implications, FDD will host a timely SITREP moderated by FDD CEO and host of The Iran Breakdown Mark Dubowitz, featuring FDD Executive Director and host of the FDD Morning Brief Jonathan Schanzer and FDD Senior Fellow and former IDF international spokesperson Jonathan Conricus.

For decades, policymakers treated ISIS, al-Qaeda, and Iran’s proxy network as separate threats. But that's not reality. This is: They operate in the same battle space and exploit the same weaknesses in Western strategy.

To examine what the West missed — and what it may still be getting wrong — host Mark Dubowitz is joined by FDD senior fellow Ambassador Edmund Fitton-Brown. From Yemen to the United Nations, Edmund has first-hand experience tracking how states and terrorist groups adapt, cooperate, and project power.

Ronald Reagan didn’t defeat the Soviet empire with tanks — he defeated it with pressure, principle, and moral clarity. Can the same strategy work in Iran? A recent FDD Memo, “Freedom for Iran: Learning From U.S. Support for Polish Anti-Communists in the 1980s,” says that it can. Mark is joined by the Memo’s authors, Charlie Laderman and Nazee Moinian, to break down how the playbook can be applied to the Islamic Republic — a regime that fears its own citizens most — including why regime change doesn’t require invasion, how internal pressure is Tehran’s greatest weakness, and why negotiating without leverage only empowers dictators. History doesn’t repeat, but it rhymes — and Iran may be next.

This is a regime ruling through terror because it has lost legitimacy and control.

Behnam Ben Taleblu joins Mark to break down the scale of the atrocities, why this moment is historically unprecedented, and why Iran’s human rights crisis is inseparable from the regime’s broader threat to regional and global security.

In this episode of The Iran Breakdown, host Mark Dubowitz is joined again by Rich Goldberg for a timely assessment of the waiting game: what military options are now on the table, why missiles — not nukes — may be the real center of gravity, whether negotiations are strategy or psychological warfare, and how delay reshapes deterrence, escalation, and the fate of the Iranian people. This isn’t a pause — it’s a countdown.

U.S. forces are repositioning. Allies are on alert. And in Tehran, a crippled regime already at war with its own people is threatening retaliation against the United States.

In this urgent episode of The Iran Breakdown, Mark is joined again by Reuel Marc Gerecht and Ray Takeyh to break down what a U.S. strike would actually mean — militarily, strategically, and for the Iranian people themselves — and why American credibility is once again on the line. 

From Iran’s likely response to the durability of its repression, the conversation confronts the million-dollar question: Is this the moment the regime doubles down — or the moment Iranians begin to take their country back?

Read next

Ray and Reuel's Wall Street Journal piece from January 12: Don’t Repeat Obama’s Mistake in Iran

Ray and Reuel's Wall Street Journal piece from January 8: Can Iran Hold the Line Against Its Protesters?

Watch next

If you're new to The Iran Breakdown, welcome. Mark's interview with Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi should be your next watch.

Iran protest resources

We're tracking the Iran protests at fdd.org/iranprotests.

Follow FDD's Iran experts on X, like Mark, Behnam, Saeed, and Janatan

It's January 12, 2026, day 16 of the Iran protests. Bill hosts Mark on Generation Jihad to discuss whether this is the moment.

Iran protest resources

We're tracking the Iran protests at fdd.org/iranprotests.

If you're new to The Iran Breakdown, welcome. Mark's interview with Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi should be your next watch.

Follow FDD's Iran experts on X, like Mark, Behnam, Saeed, and Janatan

...

The following content is cross-posted

Mark Dubowitz: The regime clings to its ninth life

After military defeat abroad and at home where the economy also has collapsed, the Islamic Republic is weaker than ever, and the Iranian people know it.

The regime is facing a nationwide uprising unlike anything seen in decades with Iranians across class, age, and ideology back in the streets, and they’re no longer asking for reform. They’re demanding an end to the Islamic Republic itself. 

Meanwhile, President Trump warned that U.S. military action is on the table if the regime slaughters protesters. As we record, a brutal crackdown is underway with reports of hundreds of Iranians killed and tens of thousands arrested. Is this the moment?

Bill asks FDD CEO and  host Mark Dubowitz.

Recorded live on X Spaces on Thursday, January 8, 2026 as events unfolded, this episode of The Iran Breakdown brings you a real-time conversation with Mark Dubowitz, Behnam Ben Taleblu, and Janatan Sayeh as they assess what’s different about this protest wave, why fear inside Iran may be breaking, and how years of political repression, economic collapse, and environmental failure are converging into a single moment of reckoning.

Iran protest resources

—We're tracking the Iran protests at fdd.org/iranprotests.

—If you're new to The Iran Breakdown, welcome. Mark's inaugural interview with Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi should be your next listen.

—Our Iran experts are on X, including Mark, Behnam, Saeed, Janatan, and others.

Israel’s 12-day war with Iran upended years of assumptions and may have rewritten the rules of deterrence — but the aftermath could prove more dangerous than the war itself.

As Tehran absorbs the shock of defeat, it now faces a stark choice: regroup, retaliate, or retreat. The regime’s next move will determine whether this war was a turning point — or merely an intermission.

Retired Maj. Gen. Tal Kelman is one of Israel’s most accomplished fighter pilots and one of its top Iran strategists. He didn’t just help plan Operation Rising Lion — he flew missions in it.

Now a colleague at FDD, he joins host Mark Dubowitz to unpack Israel’s air campaign — including a damage assessment of the Islamic Republic's nuclear program — and discern what comes next as Tehran faces hard choices related to its missile forces, proxy network, and nuclear ambitions amidst growing ties with China and Russia and no clear “day after” in sight.

We're bringing you another riveting episode from our sister podcast, Foreign Podicy, repackaged for Iran Breakdown followers: Behnam Ben Taleblu, Senior Director of FDD’s Iran Program, is joined by former senior U.S. intelligence official Norman Roule to assess Iran’s post–12-Day War reality, including the gap between regime propaganda and mounting internal pressure — and what this volatile moment might reveal about the Islamic Republic’s next moves.

With the regime reeling from military humiliation, economic decay, and growing defiance at home, Mark sits down with frontline journalist David Patrikarakos to cut through Tehran’s spin to explain what’s really happening inside the Islamic Republic. From the collapse of Iran’s nuclear prestige to the widening cracks in its coercive power, this conversation digs into what’s real, what’s collapsing, and what may come next. A weakened regime. A restless population. A volatile moment. Is Iran Unraveling? Let’s break it down.

Before new episodes of The Iran Breakdown return (soon!), we’re bringing you a riveting discussion from our sister podcast, Foreign Podicy, featuring FDD's Behnam Ben Taleblu in dialogue with Dr. Ali Ansari — one of the world’s foremost scholars of modern Iran.

In a sweeping, incisive discussion, they trace the forces now reshaping the Islamic Republic after the 12-Day War: a regime struggling with a crisis of legitimacy, the weaponization of Iranian nationalism, and the deep social and political shifts building beneath the surface.

A new axis is rising — forged not in friendship but in shared hatred of the West. Putin and Khamenei have sealed a 20-year pact: Iranian drones rain over Ukraine, Russian diplomats shield Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, and together they’re plotting to shatter the U.S.-led order.

Mark Dubowitz and Clifford D. May break down this dangerous alliance from imperial rivalries to today’s coordinated campaign to weaken America, divide its allies, and resurrect their empires — and how Washington can still break the axis before it’s too late.

One of America’s top sanctions experts, Miad Maleki, now a senior advisor at FDD, joins Mark Dubowitz to pull back the curtain on the Islamic Republic’s mafia state — a regime that controls every corner of the economy, launders terror money through “charities,” and weaponizes humanitarian channels to fund global terror.

They break down how U.S. financial power crippled Tehran’s networks, why the myth of “moderating Iran through wealth” is a deadly illusion, and why the next round of snapback sanctions could push the Islamic Republic to the brink.

U.S.–Israeli coordination during the 12-Day War critically damaged Iran’s nuclear program and flipped deterrence on its head. Now, Israeli strikes targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar have sent shockwaves across the region — and a strong message to Tehran. Washington’s latest show of strength? The National Energy Dominance Council.

Established by Trump and co-architected by today’s guest during his most recent White House tour, it ends decades of regime oil blackmail and cements American energy as American power — a tool of statecraft.

Although Washington and Jerusalem are rewriting rules and reestablishing deterrence in the Long War against the Islamic Republic, the fight isn’t over until the regime has fallen. And the next decisive battleground may be Iraq.

To explain why — and to help break down lessons learned from the 12-Day War, Israel’s strike in Qatar, and how American energy dominance is reshaping the strategic landscape — Rich Goldberg is back with Mark on The Iran Breakdown.

One is the world’s leading state sponsor of terror. The other is the world’s most powerful dictatorship and greatest long-term threat facing the United States. What happens when they join forces? Mark Dubowitz sits down with Craig Singleton (FDD) and Grant Rumley (Washington Institute, formerly FDD) to unpack the dragon–mullah alliance.

From oil deals, weapons transfers, Belt and Road projects and AI-powered repression, to a strategy designed to undermine America and shatter the rules-based world order, China-Iran ties go much deeper — and darker — than economic trade. How far will Beijing go to embolden Tehran, and how should Washington respond before the Axis of Aggressors tightens its grip?

Washington has wasted decades chasing pauses and half-measures. But as Mark Dubowitz and Brigadier General Jacob Nagel argue, the only answer to Iran’s nuclear blackmail is total dismantlement — no delay, no suspension, no enrichment, no deal that leaves Tehran’s program intact.

From Israel’s 12-Day War against Iran’s nuclear and missile arsenal to the fatal flaws of the JCPOA, Mark and Jacob break down why time is running out, why negotiations can’t be trusted, and why the only acceptable outcome is complete and utter dismantlement.

Missiles cripple armies, but sanctions topple regimes.

Juan Zarate, the strategist who pioneered U.S. financial warfare, joins Mark to break down how sanctions and isolation bled Iran’s economy and forced concessions—and how the dollar became Washington’s weapon of choice against Tehran, reshaping the regime’s choices and the future of American power.

Together, they unpack how the US turned the global financial system into a battlefield, cutting off Iran’s banks, oil revenues, and shadow networks—and why this economic arsenal still spearheads the struggle with the Islamic Republic today.

What did the 12-Day War reveal about the Islamic Republic — and about us?

Host Mark Dubowitz sits down with his FDD colleague Brad Bowman, Senior Director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP), to break down what the 12-Day War taught us about American military and political power — how it’s wielded, where it’s failing, and what comes next.

They map Iran’s battlefield failures and its deepening ties to Russia, China, and North Korea — the Axis of Aggressors confronting the United States — and what the US must learn from Israel’s fight.

From munitions shortfalls to deterrence theory, this is a hard look at American power, the future of the U.S.–Israel alliance, and the next phase of the long war with Tehran.

In Part II of their conversation, Mark Dubowitz and Reuel Marc Gerecht dive into what the 12-Day War exposed about the Islamic Republic and why Iran’s leaders, even after decades of hostility, were caught flat-footed.

From the failures of counterintelligence to the delusions of anti-Semitic ideology, they break down how the regime misjudged Israeli capabilities, misunderstood American politics, and underestimated both. Through his on-brand blending of spycraft, ideology, and dark humor, Reuel shares a rare glimpse inside the mind of the regime — and why, despite its repression and resilience, it may be closer to collapse than it thinks.

Mark Dubowitz sits down with Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former Iranian-targets officer in the CIA turned FDD resident scholar, to discuss the covert odyssey that is his career.

From the origins of his fascination with Iran to what ultimately became an obsession — one that compelled him to smuggle himself into the country — they spend Part I of the conversation breaking down the hard-won insights that shaped Reuel’s expertise on the Islamic Republic.

In Part II, we’ll put his insights to work, dissecting last month’s joint U.S.–Israeli air raids in Iran and assessing America’s intelligence wins and misses.

Mark Dubowitz is joined by former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Michael Ratney to break down the complex Saudi–Iran stalemate — from the 1979 Siege of Mecca and Khomeini’s revolution, which forced Riyadh into a hard-line Sunni revival and Tehran into expansionist zeal, to today’s regime-backed Houthis raining fire into Saudi Arabia from Yemen, with China’s covert diplomacy maintaining a brittle détente. Already fragile relations hang by a thread — and one misstep could ignite the region’s next inferno.

Mehdi Parpanchi is one of the sharpest voices covering Iran today and the executive editor of Iran International, the 24/7 Persian-language channel the regime fears most.

He joins host Mark Dubowitz to unpack what’s breaking inside the regime — and what might be rising to replace it.

The strikes were historic. The question now: Did they actually work? What was hit — and is anything still operational?

Host Mark Dubowitz is joined by David Albright — president and founder of the Institute for Science and International Security and one of the world’s leading nuclear experts — to break down the damage, the regime’s next moves, and what comes after Operation Midnight Hammer.

Our intro and outro music samples (with artist's permission) Liraz Charhi's single, "Roya" — check out the full version of the song and the meaning behind it here: https://youtu.be/1Ab4XFaWnOk?si=aIdBdvY1mkMiQPN9

In 2015 while serving in the Obama administration, Dan Shapiro supported the Iran nuclear deal. Mark Dubowitz led the fight to stop it.

A decade later, Iran is a nuclear threshold state. The regime has enriched enough uranium for multiple bombs, deterrence has broken down, and Washington still hasn’t figured out how to stop a nuclear Iran.

Today, Mark and Dan are in the same strategic corner—not because the politics have shifted but because reality has.

And they're both asking the same question: With diplomacy failing and enrichment advancing, what’s next?

About the Music

Our intro and outro music samples (with artist's permission) Liraz Charhi's single, "Roya" — check out the full version of the song and the meaning behind it here: https://youtu.be/1Ab4XFaWnOk?si=aIdBdvY1mkMiQPN9

Mehdi Yahyanejad was raised in the Islamic Republic. Now, he's fighting it from the outside... with code.

From founding the digital platform that helped power Iran’s Green Movement in 2009 to coordinating resistance through online activism, Mehdi has seen firsthand how technology empowers dissidents and fuels regime resistance.

As the Islamic Republic faces external challenges coupled with internal decay, the regime is cracking. Mehdi and Mark discuss how the right digital tools can help the Iranian people finish the job.

About the Music

Our intro and outro music samples (with artist's permission) Liraz Charhi's single, "Roya" — check out the full version of the song and the meaning behind it here: https://youtu.be/1Ab4XFaWnOk?si=aIdBdvY1mkMiQPN9

Liraz Charhi is an Israeli artist with deep Iranian roots, and her voice is shaking the walls of the Islamic Republic. 

Known for her role on the hit Apple TV+ series Tehran, Liraz joins Mark Dubowitz to reveal how her art became real-life defiance: from secretly collaborating with Iranian women banned from singing, to recording underground albums across encrypted apps, and turning her song "Roya" — a song you're familiar with, as it's the theme music to this podcast series — into an anthem for the Woman, Life, Freedom movement.

This is a story of identity, rebellion, and the dream of a free Iran — sung loud enough to rattle the regime and inspire a generation.

About the Music

Our intro and outro music samples (with artist's permission) Liraz Charhi's single, "Roya" — check out the full version of the song and the meaning behind it here: https://youtu.be/1Ab4XFaWnOk?si=aIdBdvY1mkMiQPN9

Host Mark Dubowitz is joined by author Roya Hakakian to trace the Islamic Republic’s decades-long war on dissent — both inside Iran and across the globe. Roya shares her personal journey from a hopeful 12-year-old during the 1979 revolution to a refugee, writer, and fierce advocate for democracy.

At the heart of their discussion is the Mykonos trial, the landmark 1997 case in Berlin that exposed Tehran’s direct role in assassinating Iranian dissidents on European soil and forced a Western reckoning. They unpack how Tehran uses lies, violence, and intimidation as tools of statecraft. From Khomeini’s infamous “I lied” to the chilling reach of regime assassins in places like Berlin and Brooklyn, this episode is a warning: the Islamic Republic hasn’t changed, and the stakes are higher than ever.

Watch this episode on YouTube here.

About the Music

Our intro and outro music samples (with artist’s permission) Liraz Charhi’s single, “Roya” — check out the full version of the song and the meaning behind it here.

Host Mark Dubowitz is joined by Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of FDD's Iran Program and author of Arsenal: Assessing Iran's Ballistic Missile Program, for a masterclass on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s expansive — and still growing — weapons arsenal and the central role it plays in Tehran’s broader military strategy.

From the Islamic Republic's ballistic missile and drone programs, military doctrine, and global proliferation links with North Korea, China, and Russia — or, as Mark calls it, "The Axis of Misery" — to its precision strike systems, proxy warfare, and unprecedented missile attacks on nuclear-armed states, Behnam and Mark explore how the regime combines these elements to coerce, deter, and dominate.

Watch this episode on YouTube here.

About the Music

Our intro and outro music samples (with artist’s permission) Liraz Charhi’s single, “Roya” — check out the full version of the song and the meaning behind it here.

In this episode of The Iran Breakdown, host Mark Dubowitz continues to expose and examine Tehran’s proxy wars. This time, we unravel Tehran’s relationship with the Houthis in Yemen; the Shi’a militias in Iraq; and Hamas in Gaza, specifically looking at the Regime’s hand in the October 7 attack against Israel.

Admiral Mark Montgomery, Bill Roggio, and Beni Sabti, join Mark to scrutinize the Islamic Republic's weaponization of these militias to project power and carry out its agenda while dodging blame — and what America and its allies should do about it. 

Watch this episode on YouTube here.

About the Music

Our intro and outro music samples (with artist’s permission) Liraz Charhi’s single, “Roya” — check out the full version of the song and the meaning behind it here.

It's the world’s most dangerous nuclear standoff. Can President Trump get Iran to dismantle its nuclear program — or is Tehran just playing for time? In this episode of The Iran Breakdown, Mark sits down with award-winning journalist Barak Ravid for an insider’s look at the nuclear talks now underway in Oman. 

From enrichment red lines and snapback deadlines to Israel’s strategic calculus and Trump’s next move, Mark and Barak break down hard truths behind the headlines surrounding: Will the Iranians blink? Will Trump hold the line? And is Israel finally ready to act alone? 

Watch this episode on YouTube here.

About the Music

Our intro and outro music samples (with artist’s permission) Liraz Charhi’s single, “Roya” — check out the full version of the song and the meaning behind it here.

Hezbollah is not a rogue actor. It’s a tool of the Islamic Republic.  

That’s because Iran doesn’t just fund terror — it runs a global terror empire. And Hezbollah is the crown jewel.

In this episode of The Iran Breakdown, host Mark Dubowitz sits down with Dr. Matthew Levitt, a top authority on Hezbollah and Iran’s proxy warfare, to break down how Hezbollah operates as Iran’s most powerful proxy; its deep involvement in terror plots, weapons trafficking, and criminal finance; the group’s expanding footprint around the world; what the US, Israel, and allies must do to dismantle this network; and why Hezbollah’s role is central to Tehran’s long-term strategy — and its survival.

Watch this episode on YouTube here.

About the Music

Our intro and outro music samples (with artist's permission) Liraz Charhi's single, "Roya" — check out the full version of the song and the meaning behind it here: https://youtu.be/1Ab4XFaWnOk?si=aIdBdvY1mkMiQPN9 

Mark Dubowitz sits down with journalist Jay Solomon to unpack the new round of U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations and trace the arc from Obama’s secret backchannels to Trump’s second shot at a deal — raising the question: are we about to do the fatally flawed, Obama-era JCPOA all over again?  

They unpack the early U.S. concessions that shaped the first deal, Iran’s global terror playbook, and what the new talks reveal about the regime’s leverage — and ours. 

They also discuss Iran’s growing boldness in global terror operations, including plots on American soil, and what it means for the future of U.S. foreign policy. 

Is history repeating itself? And if so, what lessons still haven’t been learned?

Watch this episode on YouTube here.

About the Music

Our intro and outro music samples (with artist's permission) Liraz Charhi's single, "Roya" — check out the full version of the song and the meaning behind it here: https://youtu.be/1Ab4XFaWnOk?si=aIdBdvY1mkMiQPN9

"Death to Israel, the little satan!"

It's all too familiar, this rallying cry of Islamic Republic regime officials and their sympathizers — they've been chanting this for almost 50 years now. But make no mistake: they mean what they say.

With its terrorist proxies across the region, the Iran threat has been knocking at Israel's door for decades. But on October 7, 2023, they knocked down the door—what was previously considered a "war between wars" came out of the shadows and into plain sight.

Tehran activated its regional terror proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi rebels in Yemen to pile on with direct rocket attacks in an attempt to overwhelm Israel's already-taxed security apparatus. And in an unprecedented move — not once but twice in recent months — a missile attack on Israel was launched directly from Tehran.

As the new Trump administration grapples with how to face the Iran threat, understanding the Israeli perspective will be vital.

To help us do just that, host Mark Dubowitz speaks with Israel's former Prime Minister Yair Lapid as well as with former Israeli national security advisor Eyal Hulata, now a senior international fellow at FDD.

About the Music

Our intro and outro music samples (with artist's permission) Liraz Charhi's single, "Roya" — check out the full version of the song and the meaning behind it here.

In today’s episode, host Mark Dubowitz is joined by one of the Iranian regime's most fearless enemies, Masih Alinejad. Masih is not just a journalist or an activist—she’s a one-woman revolution. Born in Iran, exiled for speaking truth to power, and now living under constant threat, Masih has become a voice for the voiceless, especially for Iranian women fighting back against the regime's brutality. Her campaigns, My Stealthy Freedom, White Wednesdays, and United for Navid all went viral. Her social media platforms have become lifelines for Iranians risking everything to protest.

The regime sees her as a threat, and they've tried to silence her the only way they know how, through violence. In the past few years, the Islamic Republic has made multiple attempts to kidnap or assassinate her on US soil. A New York court recently convicted two men for their roles in a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by Iranian operatives to assassinate Masih right in Brooklyn. We break down her story, the verdict, and what it tells us about the regime's global terror machine. 

About the Music

Our intro and outro music samples (with artist's permission) Liraz Charhi's single, "Roya" — check out the full version of the song and the meaning behind it here.

Welcome to The Iran Breakdown, hosted by Mark Dubowitz.

If you know anything about Mark, you know he lives and breathes one mission: stopping a nuclear Iran and ending the Islamic Republic.

Back in 2018, The New York Times put it this way: “Mark Dubowitz’s campaign to draw attention to what he saw as the flaws in the Iran nuclear deal has taken its place among the most consequential ever undertaken by a Washington think tank leader.”

This excerpt was actually a hit piece that blamed Mark for President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal — the Times later issued multiple corrections to the piece because it was riddled with so many errors.

A year later, The Atlantic dubbed FDD “D.C.’s ground zero for research and policy recommendations aimed at highlighting and fixing what Dubowitz saw as the flaws in the nuclear agreement.”

Even Tehran took notice. In 2019, the Islamic Republic sanctioned FDD and Mark, accusing them of being “the designing and executing arm of the U.S. administration” on Iran policy. Guilty as charged.

Why? Because a nuclear Iran isn’t just a threat — it’s the threat. The regime’s race for the bomb is the most dangerous challenge coming out of Tehran, and in this episode, you'll learn why.

About the Guest

Here to help Mark break down Iran's nuclear file is Rich Goldberg, who served on the National Security Council as the director for countering Iranian weapons of mass destruction. He helped architect key parts of President Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign — a campaign that aimed to block Iran’s every pathway to nuclear weapons. Or as the regime calls the campaign: "economic terrorism." Rich also served in the Senate and the House where he drafted many of the key pieces of legislation sanctioning the Islamic Republic. Like Mark, Rich is proudly sanctioned by the Islamic Republic.

About the Music

Our intro and outro music samples (with artist's permission) Liraz Charhi's single, "Roya" — check out the full version of the song and the meaning behind it here.

Whether you’re a seasoned Iran watcher or just starting to explore the topic, understanding the Islamic Republic requires going back to the events that led to the 1979 Islamic Revolution. And to do that we need to revisit 1953, the year a coup overthrew Iran’s Prime Minister, Mohammad Mossadegh. If you think you already know this story, think again.

About the Guest

Host Mark Dubowitz is joined by Ray Takeyh—renowned Iran scholar and author of "The Last Shah: America, Iran, and the Fall of the Pahlavi Dynasty." His research has challenged, clarified, and reshaped the traditional narrative surrounding these pivotal events.

Ray’s work isn’t just essential for understanding U.S.-Iran relations—it’s a guide for policymakers seeking to grasp the reality of an Iranian people who continue to defy the oppressive regime in Tehran. By the end of this episode, you’ll understand why.

About the Music

Our intro and outro music samples (with artist's permission) Liraz Charhi's single, "Roya" — check out the full version of the song and the meaning behind it here.

About the Episode

There’s a truth we’ll come back to again and again on this show: The Iranian people are extraordinary. Whether in Tehran or Los Angeles, Berlin or Toronto — Iranians are known for their brilliance, resilience, and drive.

Here’s the tragedy: Only Iranians living outside the Islamic Republic are free to thrive. Inside Iran, under the grip of this brutal regime, that potential is crushed.

But it wasn’t always this way.

Just a few decades ago, Iran was a very different place. Women walked the streets in high fashion, Tehran’s vibrant nightlife rivaled Paris, and yes — Iran’s vineyards produced world-renowned wines that you could enjoy in the open. The people of Iran used to be free — before the Islamic Revolution of 1979 turned their lives, and their country, upside down.

Before we dive into today’s regime — its nuclear ambitions, its terror networks, and its stranglehold on the Iranian people — we need to understand how we got here.

In this episode, we’ll explore the regime’s relentless crackdown on dissent, the courage of Iran’s opposition, and the critical role the free world must play in standing with the Iranian people in their fight for liberty.

About the Guest

Joining Mark to break down how we got here is Reza Pahlavi, the Crown Prince of Iran.

As the son of the last Shah, he was raised to one day take the throne — but history took a brutal turn when the 1979 Revolution forced him and his family into exile. Since then, he’s become a leading voice for freedom, calling for an end to the Islamic Republic and the birth of a secular, democratic Iran.

About the Music

Our intro and outro music samples (with artist's permission) Liraz Charhi's single, "Roya" — check out the full version of the song and the meaning behind it here.