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The Iranian Protests and the Forces Driving Change Across the Greater Middle East | Hooman Majd January 3, 2018 INTRODUCTION What’s up everybody. Welcome to this week’s episode of Hidden Forces, with me, Demetri Kofinas. My guest for this episode is Hooman Majd (hoo-man maszd), an Iranian-American writer and NBC News contributor, who has written for publications including the New York Times, The Guardian, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, The Financial Times, GQ, Time, The Washington Post, and Newsweek, among many others. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Ayatollah Begs to Differ, as well as The Ayatollahs' Democracy, and The Ministry of Guidance Invites You to Not Stay. He joins us today to talk about Iran, its culture and its politics, amid the ongoing protest, which have delivered the worst scenes of unrest witnessed since millions took to the streets over a disputed presidential election in 2009. What’s behind these protests? What do they express about the current state of Iranian society, its economy, and its politics? How do they fit within the western-oriented framework of thinking about Iran? And how much of what Iran is experiencing today – economically and politically – is a reflection of forces that are shaping not only this country, but the broader, oil reliant, historically contested, & politically volatile region that Westerners conceptualize as the middle east?

Persian Cats

1. Context – I want to get into the culture and history of Iran, and provide a strong context for our audience, but before I do it may be helpful for those who haven’t been following these recent protests as closely as you, to have some sense of what’s going on. What is currently happening in Iran?

2. Let’s talk culture - Tell me a bit about your background. You say your friends describe you as 100 percent American and 100 percent Iranian. When did you move to America? Are you more American in some things and more Iranian in others? What does it mean “to be” Iranian?

3. History (Ancient & Modern) - Can you help educate us on how to think about Iran’s history? How do Iranian’s relate to their own past? What are the most relevant periods for understanding modern Iranian politics? (In Greece, the political history was written after 1821) How much does Iran’s Persian past influence the citizenry’s self-perception? Is there some sense of insecurity similar to that of a wealthy scion who cannot step outside his father’s shadow?

4. Iranian Revolution - Help us understand the revolution of 1979, why it happened, and the importance of that day (as symbol and as living memory) in contemporary Iranian society? How does half the country that is under 30 relate to that period? How do Iranians see the revolution relative to how Americans see it? What do you think the revolution of 79’, like the Cuban revolution of 59’,

Iran is a system, without a system, within which a system operates. - Sanam Naraghi-anderlini

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5. represented and still represents in American foreign policy circles? What has made rapprochement so difficult? Is it the accumulated actions of both parties in the years since that has driven the wedge?

6. Iran-Iraq War - What was the impact of the Iran-Iraq war on Iranian society? How has it shaped the culture and the collective memory? How has it shaped Iran’s foreign policy and its military posture?

7. Islam - How important is the Islamic faith as a religion in Iran? How important is it as a cultural bond? How important is it as a point of national pride? Are Iranians more or less religious than their Muslim-American émigrés, and are Americans overly fixated on the religious beliefs of Iranians at the expense of other, more important cultural traits?

8. Life after the War – What was life like in Iran during the 90s (before 9/11)? 9. On again, off again – Was there hope towards the end of the Clinton administration that relations would

improve with Iran? How does this compare to the mood after the 2015 nuclear deal? How did the government and people react to being put on the “axis of evil” in 2002? How does this compare to Trump’s recent rhetoric about “pulling out of the deal?”

10. Israeli-Palestinian Conflict – How important is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in informing Iran’s foreign policy? What is Iran’s relationship to Israel, not just diplomatically, but socially? How do they see Israel? How do they distinguish between the government and the people? Is it similar to how Americans currently distinguish between the Russian government and its people?

11. Orientalism - Anglo culture has always had a fascination with Eastern cultures. The Arab world particularly, is represented in film and in art as mysterious, alien, primitive, magical, carnal and technologically backwards. Muslims are also often depicted as a “hopeless cause,” shown yelling “Allah Akbar” or openly mourning the death of some martyr on the streets of Gaza. Is this an accurate depiction of the Western orientation? Is it more specifically American than Western? How do you feel when you confront this misconception? How significant is it in preventing progress on Israel-Palestine or anything else?

12. Survival - Americans seem to obsess over external threats. Is there a similar obsession in Iran? I was recently listening to the current Minister of Foreign Affairs Javad Zarif, speak about how Iran has managed “to survive” despite external pressure, as a point of national pride. Is there a deeper sense within Iranian society that the country is fighting for its survival? Is this comparable to Israel in some way?

13. The Sunni Threat – Relations between Iran – a majority Shia country – and it’s Sunni neighbors has often been

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painted in a religious light. How is the threat from countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates perceived in Iran? What is the nature of this threat? Is this a more urgent threat than right-wing Israeli elements?

14. Poor Priorities and Missed Opportunities? – Do you think that lumping Iran with North Korea and Iraq created a false equivalency that has misdirected public awareness away from more legitimate threats?

15. American Rhetoric - Do Americans discount the effect their language has on their relationship with other countries? We often talk about “Iran’s behavior.” I have noticed that countries like Iran – that have managed to “survive,” as Zarif puts it – do display a noticeable degree of indignation when speaking publicly about the United States. Is this just for show, or does it resonate deeply, even with the politicians? How much of Iranian politicians’ statements are for domestic consumption?

16. Unmet Expectations – How significant was the nuclear deal in creating expectations of more economic and social opportunity that have not been met, and how does this factor into the protests? How much of the government’s public and private attention is on foreign policy? How much do the people care about foreign policy relative to how much the government does? How important were the recent Iranian elections in setting the expectation for reforming the government and bringing down corruption?

17. Nuclear Ambitions – The destruction caused by our use of two atomic weapons against Japan in WWII has been a powerful motivator for the United States to try and prevent other countries from attaining this type of weapon. How much of Iran’s desire to attain nuclear weapons is for defensive purposes, and how much of it is simply a matter of national pride? Do Americans have a hard time empathizing with the nationalism of other countries? (EX: The Man In The High Castle)

18. Human Rights – If an American were to move to Iran, like you did, what expectations could she/he have in terms of his or her rights? How strict is the country, and what are some of the most legitimate areas where you would like to see Iran become more liberal? What is the state of women’s rights and other minority rights?

19. Censorship – What type of control does Iran have over the Internet? What would my experience using the Internet in Iran be like?

20. Economic Opportunity – 50% of the country is under 30 and some estimates put unemployment among this demographic at 40%. What is the current state of economic opportunity and social mobility in Iran? Has it gotten better or worse? What is the trend?

21. Oil – What has been the impact of lower oil prices on Iran? Is there concern about the country’s dependence on oi? What is being done about it?

22. Technology – What has been the impact of technology on Iranian society? How does it compare to how technology has been adopted in the West? Is it closer to how adoption has occurred in Europe than America?

23. Future Relations? – Are you hopeful for the future of US-Iranian relations? What will be the most defining forces in the region in the coming years?

“Iran itself conducts terrorism around the world against Israeli and Jewish targets and against the targets of its neighbors.” - Michael Morell, fmr. Deputy Director of the CIA