Arash Azizi

So my name is Arash.

I'm from Iran.

I've been out of Iran now for about 18 years, but I'm from there originally.

Yeah, I'm a historian and I write about Middle East politics.

And you're living in New Haven now?

I live in New York.

Hey, Connecticut has many little delights here and there, but yes.

Yeah, you know, I know there can be a bit of a fog of war and, you know, Marandi, you know, he's a bit of a clown.

So he says these things, you know, that's not to be taken seriously.

Look, I mean, the set of play is somewhat clear despite, you know, despite all the fog.

which is that both sides are quite reluctant to return to full war, right?

Which is why, even though we've had the skirmishes the last few days, they haven't really gone full on, and they've went out of their way not to do one.

I mean, Iran, at the end of the day, attacked UAE repeatedly, and yet the US said the ceasefire is in place.

And at the same time, US attacked Iranian boats, sunk a few, and Iran basically said it didn't happen.

It also said we didn't attack UAE, which was kind of crazy.

So they don't want to return to full war.

And they do want a deal.

It's just a matter of that they're basically trying to hold out as a form of brinksmanship.

They're trying to hold out as much as they can to get the best kind of deal that they can.

And, you know, Axios keeps reporting this stuff.