Reza Aslan
Appearances
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Arab American Heritage Month
Thank you. All right. All right.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Arab American Heritage Month
This is my secret Muslim plan to destroy Christianity.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Arab American Heritage Month
And the book is so good. Thank you. Yeah, the perfect Christmas gift for your Jewish friends.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Arab American Heritage Month
These are very exciting times for Iran. Absolutely. I mean, this nuclear deal has really changed the atmosphere in Iran. So much excitement over it. Frankly, a little too much excitement over it because it's not really that big of a deal insofar as sanctions relief or helping the economy.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Arab American Heritage Month
But whereas here in the United States, nobody talks about this deal as possibly laying the groundwork for some kind of future normalization. That's all they talk about in Iran. In fact, it's created these two camps, like a reconciliation camp and an isolationist camp. And right now, the reconciliation camp has all the momentum. The isolationists, particularly in the military, are still there.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Arab American Heritage Month
They're a little bit muted. They're waiting for this thing to collapse so that they can attack the Rouhani administration. And listen, frankly, the Congress might give them that opportunity. How much
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Arab American Heritage Month
More of a reformist. Yeah, he's a bit of a moderate. He's got some reformist tendencies.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Arab American Heritage Month
Yes. I mean, the simple answer is that all the power and the only voice that really matters is the supreme leader's voice. But it's much more complex than that. There's a very robust civic infrastructure in Iran. And the president has the opportunity to actually make some fundamental changes. What Rouhani has going for him is that so far Khamenei, the supreme leader, is supporting this change.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Arab American Heritage Month
I think that's why the reconciliation camp has this great momentum on its side and why the isolationists are keeping, for the most part, quiet. Because if you disagree with this deal, then you're disagreeing with the Supreme Leader. But really, the issue, again, and I hate to just bring this up, rests with the U.S. Congress.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Arab American Heritage Month
No, what I was going to say was, this is the problem, is that, you know, everybody in the U.S. keeps talking about how, well, can we trust Iran to hold up its end of the bargain? That's not the problem.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Arab American Heritage Month
Look, far be it from me to suggest that Congress is full of petty children presiding over a cesspool of wasted space.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Arab American Heritage Month
You do watch. Yes. You can't help but feel that they are actively trying to scuttle this deal. I mean, the negotiation is pretty clear. In exchange for Iran freezing and rolling back its nuclear program, which they've done, we will release a little bit of their frozen assets and also promise not to engage in any new sanctions.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Arab American Heritage Month
This bill that Congress is trying to pass to create new sanctions is a violation of the agreement. In fact, the foreign minister of Iran, a pretty Western-friendly, moderate guy, has said, if this thing passes, that's the end of the deal. It's a deal-breaker. Right.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Arab American Heritage Month
And just you can't help but feel that this Congress is full of people who are less interested in sort of the good of the country than in their own political good. They want to go back to Missoula, Montana, and, you know, tell the 3,000 people who voted them into office that they were tough on Iran and a friend to Israel.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Arab American Heritage Month
And it might, you know, it's a good, it'll get them reelected for two more years of a fairly cushy job. I mean, you get paid to do nothing. Yes. You know, but it's a danger to the country.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Arab American Heritage Month
No, and in fact, what cracks me up is that the entire purpose of these sanctions was to get Iran to the negotiating table. Well, guess what? It worked. They're at the negotiating table. So what are we doing now? Sanctioning them as a punishment for coming to the negotiating table? And in any case, these sanctions work because they were international sanctions. Correct.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Arab American Heritage Month
They work because we got the Europeans and Russia and even China to go along with them. If this sanctions law passes in Congress, then it is as clear a message to our allies that this is all a joke for us, that we're not really serious about this. And the entire sanctions regime will fall apart. And guess what? Iran will continue to enrich uranium to its heart's content.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
TDS Time Machine | Arab American Heritage Month
And they will erode it anyway.