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Is the United States facing a quiet, strategic humiliation in the Middle East? In this episode of the Beyond the Summit podcast, host Amir Golshani rejoins renowned international relations expert and former political prisoner Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh to dissect the hidden mechanics of a chaotic geopolitical standoff. Dr. Tajbakhsh delivers an unfiltered masterclass on why current Western strategies may be failing their war aims, how secret Chinese and Russian shadow banking networks are keeping Tehran's economy on life support, and the shocking reality behind leaked reports regarding Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Tune in to discover whether Washington's latest diplomatic moves are accidentally guaranteeing a much more brutal, nuclear-armed conflict down the line, or if a fragmented diaspora can truly spark a transition inside a regime prepared to use absolute force.
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In this high-stakes episode of Beyond the Summit, host Amir Golshani sits down with Jason Brodsky, Policy Director at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), to expose the "hollow" reality of the Iranian regime in 2026. As the naval blockade tightens and the Islamic Republic faces a "terminal" economic crisis, Brodsky reveals why the regime's military threats are increasingly empty and how their alliance with China is a strategic illusion. From the hidden vulnerabilities of the IRGC to the shifting dynamics of the Mojtaba Khamenei succession, this conversation deconstructs the defeatist narratives in the West and explores why the Iranian people remain the ultimate game-changer for regional peace. If you want to understand why the "illusion of power" is finally shattering and what the Trump administration’s next moves could be, this deep dive is essential viewing for anyone tracking the endgame of the Islamic Republic.
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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This episode of Beyond the Summit delivers a masterclass in global strategy as host Amir Golshani sits down with Retired Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, the "chief architect" of modern cyber sovereignty and a definitive voice on integrated deterrence. In this explosive first episode, Montgomery pulls back the curtain on the silent byproduct of the upcoming Trump-Xi summit, exposing why China may view the Iranian regime as an "expendable" asset in the face of a crippling U.S. maritime blockade. From the haunting "amnesia" of Europe regarding the IRGC’s murder of 32,000 citizens in just 36 hours to the tactical reality of what targets remain after the decimation of Iran’s drone and missile power, this conversation moves beyond the headlines to reveal the high-stakes game of regime change, the feasibility of arming internal opposition, and the potential for a secular, democratic future led by Prince Reza Pahlavi. Watch to understand why the fight for the Strait of Hormuz is about more than just oil, it is a battle for the very definition of freedom and the opportunity for a new generation of Iranians to finally break free from 47 years of "mafia-style" rule.
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Is the Islamic Republic reaching a "hurting stalemate," or is the worst yet to come?
In this urgent episode of Beyond the Summit, host Amir Golshani sits down with veteran diplomat Aaron David Miller, a man who spent 25 years "in the room" serving six U.S. Secretaries of State, to deconstruct the reality of the current naval blockade on Iran. As the world watches the Strait of Hormuz, Miller offers a sobering warning: geography is destiny, and while the U.S. is betting on economic "choking," history shows that regimes don't often collapse from the air or the sea alone. We dive into the "Trump mindset," the haunting possibility of Iran turning into a "North Korea of the Middle East," and why Washington’s biggest blind spot might be the very people it claims to support. -
"Kick them out." These are the three words former Canadian Defense and Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay has for those tied to the Iranian regime living in Canada.
As the Iranian economy faces a 180% inflation "death spiral" and a naval blockade, we are at a historical hinge point. Is the regime truly collapsing, or is this a strategic pause?
In this episode of Beyond the Summit, host Amir Golshani sits down with Peter MacKay (former Minister of National Defense, Foreign Affairs, and Justice) to unpack the "spillover effect" that a free Iran would have on the Western world. -
In this high stakes episode of Beyond the Summit, host Amir Golshani sits down with Dr. Nazee Moinian, a diplomat, PhD scholar, and adjunct fellow at the Middle East Institute, to dissect a regime in its final bind. From the "unthinkable" possibility of a nuclear dirty bomb to the "Lionesses" of Gen Z leading a new revolution, this is a masterclass in the cold reality of Middle Eastern geopolitics. Dr. Moinian reveals why she’s shifted from supporting diplomacy to advocating for a "Reagan-style" blueprint of internal pressure, explaining why Tehran must now choose between saving its head or saving its face. If you want to understand why the "blockading of the blockade" has left the regime with no way out, this conversation is your front-row seat to the endgame.
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In this explosive episode of Beyond the Summit, host Amir Golshani goes head to head with world-renowned economist and geopolitical strategist Professor Jeffrey Sachs in a debate that challenges the very foundation of Western foreign policy. You are about to witness a rare, unfiltered confrontation: Sachs issues a stunning apology for 70 years of "appalling" U.S. intervention, while Golshani, speaking from his lived experience on the streets of Tehran, demands accountability for the "bullets" and "executions" carried out by the regime itself. Is Iran a victim of a global "American Empire," or is the civilization being held hostage from within? From the "Axis of Evil" to the secret maneuvers of the CIA and Mossad, this conversation strips away the propaganda to reveal the uncomfortable truth about the future of the Iranian people. Watch to the end for Professor Sachs’ direct message to the students of Tehran University, it is a moment of raw honesty you won't see on mainstream news.
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As a US naval blockade tightens around the Strait of Hormuz and a fragile ceasefire hangs by a thread, the Iranian regime is bleeding $435 million every single day. In this urgent episode of Beyond the Summit, host Amir Golshani sits down with Miad Maleki, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and former US Treasury official and the strategic architect behind the "Maximum Pressure" campaign, to reveal the surgical financial math that is pushing the Islamic Republic to a total breaking point. From the "Day 16" countdown when Iran’s oil storage hits maximum capacity to the internal desperation of a regime that can no longer pay its own soldiers, Miad provides an unprecedented insider’s look at the financial warfare currently reshaping the Middle East. Whether you are tracking the global economy or the future of a free Iran, this conversation delivers the definitive roadmap to the regime's looming economic collapse.
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In this episode of Beyond the Summit, host Amir Golshani sits down with Dr. Meir Javedanfar, a leading Iranian-Israeli analyst and lecturer at Reichman University. As tensions reach a breaking point in the Strait of Hormuz and secret negotiations surface in Pakistan, Dr. Javedanfar delivers a chilling warning: The Islamic Republic is "drunk on power" and has learned nothing from the catastrophic end of the Iran-Iraq War.
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Is the Islamic Republic closer to collapse than anyone admits?
While the world watching the fragile ceasefire, a deeper crisis is unfolding inside Iran. The regime is no longer fighting to win, it is fighting to survive. In this high stakes episode of Beyond the Summit, we go behind the headlines with an ultimate insider who has spent decades "in the room where it happens."
Mehrdad Marty Youssefiani, Director of Iran Freedom Congress, joins host Amir Golshani to pull back the curtain on the regime’s "No Legitimacy" crisis. From the psychological trauma of the 1975 OPEC siege to the "Persian Carpet" vision for a pluralistic future, this conversation defines the moment the Islamic Republic became a "parasite" on its own civilization. -
Is this the end of the Islamic Republic, or just a strategic breather? At this historic inflection point, Amir Golshani sits down with Behnam Ben Taleblu (FDD) to dissect the fragile ceasefire in Islamabad and why the Iranian people are "afraid of peace."
As the first high level physical negotiations since 1979 loom, the region stands on a knife's edge. While headlines talk about diplomacy, the reality on the ground in Iran tells a different story: of 10 year blackouts, regime led intimidation, and a population that feels "fair-weather" support from the West.
In this episode of Beyond the Summit, we cover:
The "Defanged" Regime: Why a military setback hasn't yet translated into political collapse.
The Strait of Hormuz: How 12 mines are holding the global energy market hostage.
The "Islamabad Trap": Are these negotiations a path to peace or a lifeline for the IRGC?
The Human Reality: Heartbreaking insights into what Iranians are saying on monitored landlines about "tolerating missiles" for the sake of freedom.
The North Korea Parallel: The dangerous lesson of the 1990s and why "finishing the job" matters. -
Is the Iran ceasefire a tactical masterstroke or a catastrophic trap? Dr. Farzin Nadimi reveals why the IRGC is racing toward a "Dirty Bomb" while the world looks away.
The missiles have stopped, but the gears of war are turning faster than ever. In this urgent episode of Beyond the Summit, host Amir Golshani sits down with Dr. Farzin Nadimi, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute and a veteran historian of the IRGC’s military architecture.
As a fragile two-week truce holds, Dr. Nadimi delivers a chilling reality check: the "Mission is NOT Accomplished." While media focuses on the diplomatic theater in Islamabad, the regime is reportedly moving 60% enriched uranium to black sites. We explore the high-stakes transition from tactical strikes to the nightmare of a "gun-type" nuclear device. -
In this episode of Beyond the Summit, host Amir Golshani sits down with Abteen Vaziri, attorney, investment expert, and former U.S. Congressional candidate, to pull back the curtain on "Trump’s Gambit."
While the mainstream media focuses on the surface-level chaos, Abteen reveals the "Real Game": a calculated strategic move designed to bankrupt the Chinese Communist Party by severing their energy lifeblood in Tehran. From his childhood escaping the 1979 Revolution to his career in American finance and politics, Abteen brings a "high-signal" perspective on why the West is fundamentally misreading the Middle East and what the "Islamotrauma" in Western cities means for our future. -
Has Iran reached the point of no return? In this episode of Beyond the Summit, host Amir Golshani sits down with Professor Ali Ansari, one of the world’s most preeminent historians of modern Iran, to navigate the "fog of history" and uncover the terminal decline of the Islamic Republic. While the regime spends millions to control the narrative abroad, it has fundamentally lost the hearts and minds of its people at home. Professor Ansari breaks down why the "emotional contract" between the state and the people is permanently shattered and explains the historical patterns of recurrence that suggest we aren't just seeing a cycle of protests, we are witnessing the death of a political system.
Strongly recommend to follow Professor Ansari on Substack Iranshahr.substack.com
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What happens after the fall of Iran’s regime, and is the world ready for what comes next?
In this urgent conversation, Amir Golshani sits down with Mariam Memarsadeghi, Senior Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and co founder of Tavaana, to confront the question few are truly prepared to answer: what does a real transition to freedom actually look like?
They go beyond headlines and explore the hidden dynamics shaping Iran’s future, from the risk of a more militarized and paranoid regime if it survives, to the fragile path toward a stable, pluralistic transition if it falls. This episode unpacks the role of the Iranian people, the influence of global powers, the challenge of unity in opposition, and why removing a regime is only the beginning.
If you want to understand not just how this ends, but what comes after, this conversation will change how you see Iran’s future. -
If we cross that line, there may be no way back.
What happens when power creates the illusion of control?
In this episode, Robert Pape, one of the world’s leading experts on war and escalation, breaks down why the current Iran conflict may be approaching a point that cannot be reversed.
Hosted by Amir Golshani, this conversation goes beyond headlines to reveal the hidden dynamics shaping the war, how tactical success can lead to strategic failure, why escalation traps powerful nations, and what phase three could mean for the global economy and the future of the region. -
In this high stakes episode of Beyond the Summit, host Amir Golshani sits down with Professor Kian Tajbakhsh, a respected scholar of urban policy, governance, and civil society whose profound insights are forged from both elite academia and the harrowing reality of political imprisonment inside Iran. As the Islamic Republic faces unprecedented internal and external pressure, Tajbakhsh argues that the regime is effectively writing its own "suicide note" through recent military escalations. Moving beyond mere geopolitical analysis, this conversation explores the "dual-column" nature of the Iranian state and the rare, empirical evidence that suggests Iran is more prepared for a democratic transition than any other nation in the region. From a formative childhood encounter with a Soviet soldier to the "viscosity" of Persian culture and the technical blueprints for repurposing state institutions, Tajbakhsh provides a masterclass on what it truly takes to rebuild a nation from the ashes of totalitarianism. This is an essential deep dive into power, resilience, and the endgame for a society standing on the precipice of a new era.
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This high stakes discussion with world renowned analyst Professor Vali Nasr provides a definitive look at an Iran currently undergoing its most seismic transformation in decades. In this episode of Beyond the Summit, host Amir Golshani challenges the conventional wisdom that the Islamic Republic is a purely religious state, as Nasr argues instead that it has evolved into a hard headed, nationalist military bureaucracy. They break down the internal "silent coup" by the IRGC, the strategic logic behind Tehran’s refusal to buckle under unprecedented decapitation strikes following the 2026 uprisings, and the historical burden of the 1979 Revolution, where Nasr asserts that intellectuals "wanted to be fooled" by Khomeini. From the controversial identity politics of the Iranian diaspora to the terrifying prospect of a power vacuum in Tehran, this conversation offers an essential briefing on why the current regime is no longer sustainable and what forces are truly positioned to seize the future of Iran.
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In this gripping episode of Beyond the Summit, investigative journalist and national security expert Richard Miniter joins Amir Golshani to deconstruct the escalating conflict between Iran, Israel, and the United States. Shifting the focus from headlines to the harsh realities on the ground, Miniter argues that we have moved past a "war of choice" into a war of absolute necessity driven by Iran’s nuclear capabilities. From the internal economic collapse fueling a new revolution to the hidden failures of intelligence bureaucracies and the media, this conversation explores the three possible endgames for the Iranian regime. Discover why the "No-Kill" list exists, how global insurance markets are actually the ones closing the Straits of Hormuz, and what a post-1979 Iran could mean for the future of global stability.
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Alex Vatanka, a renowned Iran analyst, talks to Amir Golshani and shares insights on Iran's internal power struggles, regional geopolitics, and the prospects for regime change. This conversation explores the complexities of Iran's regime, the impact of internal factions, and the potential future scenarios for Iran and the Middle East.
- Visa fler
