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Battlegrounds With H.R. McMaster: International PerspectivesAuthor: Hoover Institution
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Inside Iran’s Islamic Republic: Myths, Failures, and What Comes Next | Today's Battlegrounds | H.R. McMaster | Hoover Institution
Episode 85
Thursday, 4 December, 2025
Join Dr. Ali Ansari, Professor of Iranian History and Founding Director of the Institute for Iranian Studies at the University of St Andrews, and Hoover Senior Fellow H.R. McMaster, as they examine the nature of the Islamic Republic, Western misunderstandings about the regime and why engagement strategies have repeatedly failed, and the widening gap between the regime’s propagandized image of strength and the vulnerabilities revealed in recent conflicts. Drawing on recent events, including the 12-day Israeli campaign exposing profound intelligence and air-defense failures, Ansari examines the IRGC’s struggles to reconstitute its terrorist and militia proxies in the region while confronting severe financial and economic crises at home, including shortages of electricity and a growing water crisis in the capital city of Tehran. Despite these mounting pressures, Ansari reflects on Iran’s potential futures, from the emergence of new leadership to the enduring resilience of the Iranian people. For more conversations from world leaders from key countries, subscribe to receive instant notification of the next episode. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Ali Ansari is a Professor of Iranian History, the Founding Director of the Institute for Iranian Studies at the University of St Andrews, and a Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute. As a leading historian of modern Iran, Dr. Ansari combines archival research with a deep understanding of Iranian political culture and nationalism. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and President of the British Institute of Persian Studies. His books include Modern Iran since 1797 and Confronting Iran. H.R. McMaster is the Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is also the Bernard and Susan Liautaud Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute and lecturer at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. He was the 25th assistant to the president for National Security Affairs. Upon graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1984, McMaster served as a commissioned officer in the United States Army for thirty-four years before retiring as a Lieutenant General in June 2018.
