Eric and Eliot welcome Council on Foreign Relations Fellow Ray Takeyh to discuss the ongoing popular uprising in Iran. They talk about Ray’s article on Iran’s next revolution in the current issue of Commentary, the state of play in the protests, the weaknesses of the regime, comparisons between the 1979 Revolution, the 2009 election protests, and the current situation. Along with political dissident from Iran and SotR producer Shay Khatiri, they also touch on the prospects for regime change, Iran’s role as a weapons supplier to Russia, and what the Biden Administration should do about all this.

Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com.

The Last Shah by Ray Takeyh (https://www.amazon.com/Last-Shah-America-Pahlavi-Relations/dp/030021779X)

"Iran’s Hard-Liners Are Starting to Crack" by Ray and Reuel Marc Gerecht (https://www.wsj.com/articles/iran-hardliners-khomeini-supreme-leader-protests-larijani-rouhani-morality-police-newspaper-chief-justice-criticism-regime-change-1979-11667410559)

"A Second Iranian Revolution" by Ray Takeyh (https://www.commentary.org/articles/ray-takeyh/second-iranian-revolution/)

Revolution & Aftermath by Ray and Eric (https://www.amazon.com/Revolution-Aftermath-Forging-Strategy-toward/dp/0817921540)

The Next Iranian Revolution” by Ray and Eric (https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/middle-east/2020-04-13/next-iranian-revolution)

"The Self-Limiting Success of Iran Sanctions” by Ray and Suzanne Maloney (https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-self-limiting-success-of-iran-sanctions/)

Shay Khatiri’s Substack The Russia-Iran File (https://shaykhatiri.substack.com/)

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