Conflicted Community: Karim Sadjadpour Interview Pt.1 – Iran’s Global Strategy

Jun 12, 2024

Karim Sadjadpour, an Iranian-American senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, delves into Iran's global strategy and its intricate foreign relations. He discusses the country's ongoing tensions with the West and the balance it's trying to achieve with Russia and China. The conversation highlights the implications of Iran's choices in the context of a changing multipolar world, alongside historical tensions with Saudi Arabia during the Hajj. Sadjadpour's insights provide a fascinating look at Iran’s geopolitical landscape.

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ANECDOTE

Karim's Near Imprisonment in Iran

Karim Sadjadpour was nearly imprisoned in Iran in 2005 for his NGO work during the presidency of Ahmadinejad.
Iranian authorities suspect NGOs operate as espionage fronts under authoritarian paranoia.

INSIGHT

Iran's Hostility Serves Survival

The Iranian regime's anti-Americanism is both ideological and strategic for regime survival.
A U.S.-Iran rapprochement threatens the regime's existence due to loss of ideological justification.

INSIGHT

Iran's Ambition for Regional Control

Iran's grand strategy demands ultimate regional influence, seeking to control Middle Eastern affairs.
Iran feels threatened by Gulf states' modernization and ties with Israel, fueling ideological competition.

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Iran is rarely out of the news at the moment: from the death of President Raisi (which we covered in our last Conflicted Community episode), to the rumours of Supreme Leader Khamenei’s illness, and with unrest inside the country ever present, it feels like a country at the precipice. So this week, we again look to Persia to make sense of what Iran’s global strategy actually is.

And this week, in a Conflicted Community first, we welcome a guest onto the show to help Thomas and Aimen on their way. Karim Sadjadpour is an Iranian-American who has focused on Iranian foreign policy and the region’s geopolitics throughout his career. After spending time in Iran (and evading arrest), he is now a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and a contributing writer at the Atlantic and the New York Times, as well as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.

In our first of two episodes with Karim, we discuss Iran’s global strategy towards foreign policy, how it intersects with the new multipolar world, and what they actually get from their axis with Russia and China. This first part is going out to all Conflicted listeners, but part two (coming out tomorrow on June 13th) is exclusively for Conflicted Community subscribers.

To listen to part two, you’ll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community, where you will get bonus episodes like this one, alongside many other benefits, including our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more.

All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/

And finally: Conflicted Season 5 is coming soon on July 17th! Watch this space for more information…

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