174: Tankie Very Much, with Samira Mohyeddin

Quick Overview

The hosts and guest Samira Mohyeddin discuss the complex narratives surrounding the protests in Iran, focusing on how US sanctions and foreign meddling complicate genuine grassroots dissent, while criticizing the tendency on the American left to either dismiss Iranian unrest due to anti-imperialist rigidity or to align with Western-backed regime change rhetoric, exemplified by figures like Daniel Ryan Spalding.

Key Points: The podcast episode aired on MLK Day, prompting jokes about Martin Luther King fighting so that podcasters could discuss Israeli propaganda. Guest Samira Mohyeddin explains that 'Make Iran Great Again' (MEGA) rhetoric taps into nostalgia for pre-revolution, cosmopolitan Iran, often ignoring the country's multiethnic reality, including its significant Arab-speaking population. The discussion highlights foreign meddling, noting Israeli officials like Amai Eliu claiming involvement ('We have a hand in this') in the protests, which provides fodder for the Iranian government's paranoia. The hosts argue that crippling US sanctions, starting around 1979, paradoxically enabled the entrenched power of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) by fostering a black market economy. Matt Leeb suggests that if Iran had been integrated into the international community without sanctions, the current governance system might have collapsed sooner, framing sanctions as economic warfare. The concept of 'tankie' is defined as an insult used by leftists against other leftists who overlook the crimes of repressive regimes in the name of anti-imperialism. The hosts caution against the nuanced approach favored by some liberals (like those on NPR or figures like Daniel Ryan Spalding) because it often converges with the imperial consensus supporting regime change, contrasting this with a principled, simple anti-imperialist stance.

Context: This episode of the 'Bad Hazbara' podcast, hosted by Matt Leeb and Daniel Mate, features returning guest Samira Mohyeddin, an Iranian Canadian journalist, to discuss the ongoing protests in Iran. The conversation takes place on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, setting a tone of political commentary mixed with humor, and immediately frames the analysis around disentangling genuine internal dissent from external geopolitical manipulation, particularly concerning US sanctions and Israeli involvement.