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Radio War Nerd EP #117 — Iran Protests, Politics & the MeK Cult with Nima Shirazi (Patreon)

Published:
2018-01-19 17:24:38
Edited:
2018-01-20 20:53:39
Imported:
2026-06

Downloads

Content

Recorded January 14, 2018

Guest: Nima Shirazi, journalist and podcaster 

The War Nerd talks to Nima Shirazi about what made the most recent Iran protests different from the last big protest wave in 2009, and how the western media has gotten everything wrong there . . . We discuss the how the Iran system actually works, the different classes and groups and their various grievances, and we talk about the weirdest Iran story of all: the bizarre ex-Marxist cult MeK, which recently hired half of Washington DC to remake the cult into the sharp point of Washington's democracy spear . . . 

At 1:46:20 the Nerd and Ames dive deeper into the weird & sick MeK cult . . .  

At 2:41:48 we look at some current events: North Korea ballistic missile warning scares the shit out of Hawaiians . . . Latest on Idlib and Turkey's threats to take Afrin . . . 

Check out Nima Shirazi's podcast Citations Needed at Patreon. Nima is editor at Mufta.org. 

Maps

* Ethnic Map of Iran

* Syria: Afrin & Idlib

Total time: 3:06:13

Direct link to this episode's mp3 here 

Files

Comments

MoldyTolge

I thought I could only dream of a crossover like this

Darryl Cooper (edited)

Comment edits

2026-09-07 15:00 Am I the only right wing extremist nut job who is a fan of Ames and WN?
2018-01-20 01:36

Henry Haller

Great episode and great latest newsletter. I didn't even know anything about the MEK before I listened but that was a fascinating story! Keep 'em coming please!

Darryl Cooper (edited)

Comment edits

2026-09-07 15:00 Just learning that "Death to..." and "Down with..." are equivalents in Iran changes so many things. Goddamn.
2018-01-20 03:59

Hugh

Can anyone in the RNW community recommend a good book on the 1979 Iran revolution that doesn't just toe the US mainstream line? EDIT: I'd be fine with multiple recommendations

Mat K

I deified Reagan and put winning the cold war as his victory alone. I was gung ho for Gulf War Mk 1 and especially 2. Both Bush’s were excellent presidents and the Democrats were weak sell outs. Then time passed, I turned ~40, and actual events in the real world were not meshing with my vision of how things were supposed to work. Around that time I found the War Nerd. I gotta say. NOW I do not know what to believe ?! It seems the only option is to become a nihilist because honestly it seems like nothing anywhere matters to anyone. Right or left. Republican or Democrat. Every institution seems only interested in its own power and its own continuation. It is very depressing.

Avery

The only book I've read on the subject is Persepolis, which is anti-revolution, but it's worth the read from a post-Marxist perspective

Marekedo

wow, just checked out muftah, quite disappointing. seems like it mostly runs interference for FSA and MB groups, with pieces even trashing Rania Khalek and quoting Charles Lister approvingly... diversity of opinion I guess?

Kars

Kapuściński's Shah of Shahs makes for a good if gonzo account of the lead-up to and immediate aftermath of the revolution.

Gee Mama

Shame about that newsletter, right? Though the Turkish situation was extremely hard to read for everyone, it seems. Anyway, according to what Erdogan is saying now about Afrin having been majority Arab before the war and "restoring" it to its "rightful owners", it would seem that the plan is to actually colonize the area with Sunni, probably pro-rebel Arabs. He should have enough refugees to do it, but it made me wonder about whether what Erdogan offered to Syria and Russia was to move rebel families and supporters from Idlib to Afrin. Rumors of an "Afrin for Idlib" deal, silly on the surface, would then become somewhat more sensible, don't you think?

radiowarnerd

I'll ask on my Facebook page, should get some recommendations.

radiowarnerd

Suggestions include: "The Rise and Fall of the Shah" by Amin Saikal "Days of God" by James Buchan "The Unthinkable Revolution in Iran" by Charles Kurzman

hispeedboats

Mark said there are a lot of good Korean-produced war movies these days. What are some good ones?

Cody Roach

You mention a 10-hour MeK work day; are there any descriptions of what that entailed? What the heck is daily life like in that sort of situation?

NaviaDaveaua

Great episode! I was hoping you'd collab' w/ N. Shirazi at some point. He does a great job of articulating some of the complexity and nuance that usually gets paved over in discussions of Iran. Indeed, like any country of fairly large size, Iran is a complex society. The multi-ethnic nature of Iran, combined with the intense sense of national pride many there feel, adds to this complexity (as N.S. points out). A few comments though: (1) "marg" literally means "death" in Farsi, not "down with." However, as N.S. says Iranians throw "death to" around pretty loosely i.e. "death to the chair that I just stubbed my toe on!" As such, "marg bar amrika/dictator/etc" should be thought of as political slogans rather than direct threats, as ya'll point out. (2) N.S. mentions the fluid nature of the Iranian borders as evidenced by intermarriages, etc. This is true to an extent but shouldn't be overstated (in my opinion) - I think the best way to understand it would be the U.S.-Mexico border. Yes, there is lots of cultural and economic exchange across the borders, intermarriages, etc. However the borders are also somewhat tense areas (Iraq and Balooch borders especially) and, like the U.S.-Mexico border/relationship there is a range of opinion about such exchange, from pro to anti to neutral to apathetic. Iranians are not uniform in their orientation toward their neighbors e.g. some are bigoted towards Arabs, some are not. Within Iran's borders, even relationships between ethnic groups can occasionally be tense, though the Iranian nationality keeps most people fairly unified on a deep level. In short, Iran is composed of diverse identities and opinions, though the common denominator of an "Iranian" identity (whether imagined or experienced to be Persian/Iranian-Arab/Balooch/Azeri/Kurdish/Lurish/Semnani/etc/etc) is very deeply rooted. This is all basically what N.S. said, I'm just splitting hairs. Just my two cents. Really great interview and would like to see Shirazi back on the War Nerd soon.

Hugh

Great. Thanks all.