Episode 15: Iran Into Trouble (Problems of Persia)

Q: What do you get when you raise fuel prices in Iran by 50-300%?A: Major protests all over the country.Q: So then what’s the government do?A: Shut down the internet and attack protesters with live ammo!Iran is two countries at the same time: a young, modern, and cosmopolitan nation of 80 million hoping to join the international community, AND a very conservative, older, and rural theocracy that wants to export its Islamic Revolution and dominate the Greater Middle East.Increasingly, these two countries do not mix, so when the Trump Administration applies "maximum pressure" in the form of extremely stringent sanctions, the results can be as violent and unpredictable as a hacked Iranian uranium centrifuge.This week on The Elucidators, Steve and Soumi discuss how Iran got here, what the United States had to do with it, and what might come next for the Islamic Republic of Iran.Further Reading:Bloomberg.com: Iran’s Protests Are About More Than Rising Fuel PricesAtlantic Council: Iran protests -- Something has to giveForeign Affairs: America’s Great Satan -- The 40-Year Obsession With Iran