Podcast
Wednesday 4 March 2026 | 12:30 - 13:15 uur| Lecture Hall Complex, Radboud University| Radboud Reflects and VOX. Read the announcement.
War In Iran | Current affairs lecture with researcher Samaneh Khademi and political scientist Panagiotis Vasileiadis
This weekend the US and Isreal launched strikes on Iran, and killed Ayatollah Khamenei. The Iranian regime responded by attacking US-allied countries in the Middle East. What will the consequences be? What will this mean for the Iranian people who recently rekindled the protests against the regime? How will this affect the region and international relations? Come and listen to Iranian researcher Samaneh Khademi and political scientist Panagiotis Vasileiadis as they shed light on the situation in Iran.
It may sound strange, but a majority of Iranians demanded this war as they saw no other option to deal with this regime. Samaneh Khademi
There's no way there will be US boots on the ground; the costs would be way too high. Panagiotis Vasileiadis
Announcement
This weekend the US and Isreal launched strikes on Iran, and killed Ayatollah Khamenei. The Iranian regime responded by attacking US-allied countries in the Middle East. What will the consequences be? What will this mean for the Iranian people who recently rekindled the protests against the regime? How will this affect the region and international relations? Come and listen to Iranian researcher Samaneh Khademi and political scientist Panagiotis Vasileiadis as they shed light on the situation in Iran.
Flaring protests
Since December 28, 2025, there have been massive protests in Iran against the regime of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. These protests were brutally suppressed and thousands of demonstrators were killed in the streets by government forces in January. After a somewhat calmer period, the protests have recently flared up again. What does the eruption of a war between the US and Isreal and the Iranian regime mean for the protests? Will the regime be able to hold onto power, or wil this prove to be the opportunity the Iranian protesters need to affect change? And what happens if the regime falls?
Threatening language from the US
Hours after the first strikes hit Tehran, Trump conformed that the US was responsible. The US have been claiming for years that Iran is producing nuclear weapons, and Trump has recently claimed the Iranian regime is very close to a breakthrough. Iran denies this. Why is Trump making an issue of nuclear weapons production again right now? How does this decision relate to his own political agenda? And how far are the US and Isreal willing to go?
This programme is in English.
Listen to this podcast about the earlier protests in Iran.
Protests in Iran | Radboud Universiteit
About the speakers
Samaneh Khademi is an Iranian postdoctoral researcher at Radboud University.
Panagiotis Vasileiadis is a political scientist at Radboud University. His research focuses on the impact of power shifts on the grand strategy of great powers, and on conceptual and theoretical deception and foreign policy.
Contact information
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- Contact
- M.J.H. Verbeek (Marie-José)
- Organizational unit
- Radboud Reflects
- Theme
- Philosophy, Society, Science