# 174: Tankie Very Much, with Samira Mohyeddin Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aaAscFUH_I Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/5aaAscFUH_I Generated: 2026-01-21T01:31:24.862+00:00 --- ## 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. ## Detailed Analysis The episode deeply analyzes the Iranian protest movements, emphasizing that while the majority of the diaspora and many inside Iran want the current government gone due to economic hardship, corruption, and oppression (citing the 1988 massacre and recent 'Woman, Life, Freedom' uprising), Western narratives complicate solidarity. Samira Mohyeddin notes that pro-Pahlavi nostalgia, often pushed via satellite TV, promotes a nationalist 'Persian, not Arab' framing that ignores Iran's multiethnic composition, including Arab-speaking regions. The hosts criticize the US role, arguing that long-standing sanctions, initiated after the 1979 embassy takeover, acted as economic warfare, benefiting entrenched groups like the IRGC by creating black markets rather than fostering democratic change. A major point of contention is the role of Western figures and the American left; the hosts condemn those who use the protests to push regime change narratives, citing figures like Daniel Ryan Spalding who falsely claim Iran is not a Muslim country or is Zoroastrian, and those on NPR suggesting no diplomatic solution exists. They argue that criticizing US foreign policy enemies (like Lindsey Graham) is the primary responsibility for Americans, and that nuanced takes often end up supporting the imperial consensus, contrasting this with the simpler, principled anti-imperialist stance which, while sometimes criticized as 'tankism' (overlooking crimes of certain regimes), is less likely to be co-opted by warmongers. ### Episode Context and Music Selection - The episode is recorded on MLK Day, featuring musical shout-outs including Kurush Yagmier (Iranian psych folk) and several Canadian artists like So-Called and City and Color, alongside classics like Ann Murray and Gordon Lightfoot. ### Iranian Protests and Nationalist Narratives - Protests feature chants for the return of the Pahlavi monarchy, supported by diaspora groups marching in freezing conditions in Toronto alongside Israeli flags; this narrative emphasizes ancient Persian identity over Islamic or Arab identity. ### The Impact of US Sanctions - Crippling US sanctions since 1979, including the specific targeting of Iran's pistachio export market, are argued to have enabled the government's entrenchment by empowering the IRGC and creating black markets, rather than facilitating collapse. ### Foreign Meddling and Propaganda - Israeli officials, including Amai Eliu, openly claimed involvement ('We have a hand in this') in the unrest, which the hosts note provides 'fodder to an already paranoid government' and fuels accusations of Mossad involvement. ### Critique of Western Leftist Response - The hosts critique American leftists who thread the needle between anti-imperialism and supporting protesters, arguing that nuanced takes often align with the 'imperial consensus' for regime change, contrasting this with the simplicity of being staunchly anti-interventionist. ### Defining 'Tankism' - 'Tankie' is defined as a leftist-on-leftist insult for those who 'glaze the wrong people'—overlooking the crimes of certain governments (like Stalinism or Assad) in the name of anti-western ideology.