Special Report: Understanding the Conflict with Iran (PLUS a Listener Q&A)
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What triggered the recent U.S. strikes against Iran?
Welcome back to Unbiased, your favorite source of unbiased news and legal analysis. welcome back to unbiased politics today is monday march 16th and we are taking a break from unbiased university to talk about the ongoing conflict in iran i know this episode is obviously a couple weeks overdue but as you all likely know at this point if you've been tuning into unbiased university i have been on maternity leave since the end of february so this was just really the soonest i could get around to putting out an episode Now, obviously, the situation between the United States and Iran is constantly changing and evolving. So just note that I have done my best to give you the most up to date information in this episode.
But of course, you know, there's going to be certain facts and numbers and things that are bound to change as the days go on. So yeah, without further ado, let's just kind of jump into today's episode. How we'll do this is this. We will start with a recap of what kind of triggered the February strikes. We'll do sort of like a history, if you will, give you a bunch of historical context. And then we'll talk about what's developed since those February strikes.
How did the 2015 nuclear deal impact U.S.-Iran relations?
And then towards the end of the episode, I'll answer a few of your questions that you submitted on Instagram. OK, so as we know, on February 28th, the United States, in coordination with Israel, launched strikes against Iran. The strikes have mainly targeted nuclear facilities as well as some other energy facilities, military infrastructure, members of Iran's leadership, Iran's naval ships. things of that nature. The most recent report from the US military said that the United States has hit more than 6,000 targets in Iran. And then I believe there was a separate report from the Israeli military that said Israel has hit more than 7,000 targets in Iran. But as far as the United States, what the United States military is saying is that more than 6,000 targets have been struck by Iran.
american strikes one of those american strikes did hit in iranian elementary school but we'll talk more about that particular strike a bit later in this episode because i know you guys had a lot of questions on that one Now, there are a handful of reasons that the administration has cited for these strikes. So destroying Iran's missile capabilities, destroying Iran's navy, preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons, making sure the Iranian regime can't continue to arm or fund these terrorist groups and proxies that are outside of Iran's borders, and then also freedom for the Iranian people.
What are the reasons behind U.S. military actions in Iran?
But the one reason that I really want to focus on first is Iran's nuclear program, because that is a big one. And once we do that, we'll kind of talk about how that ties into some of these other reasons cited by the administration, like regime change. What I'll say to start is that both sides of the aisle here in the United States, as well as leaders from various countries, do not want Iran to have nuclear weapons. This is something that has bipartisan support. And that's why President Obama actually said, negotiated a deal back in 2015 with six other countries called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA. And this agreement involved the United States, China, Russia, France, Germany, the UK, and the EU, and it was specifically intended to limit Iran's nuclear development.
So under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to certain limits on its nuclear program, right? So this included a 97% reduction in its uranium enrichment, a prohibition on pursuing nuclear weapons, and then limits on uranium enrichment for a period of about 10 to 15 years. And this was all in exchange for sanctions relief.
How does regime change factor into the U.S. strategy towards Iran?
However, roughly three years after that deal was signed, President Trump comes into office and he pulls out of the deal. So this was in 2018. He called the deal, quote, one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into, end quote. And according to a White House fact sheet from Trump's first term, his decision to pull out was made for a couple of reasons.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What triggered the recent U.S. strikes against Iran?
0:00–1:13
2
How did the 2015 nuclear deal impact U.S.-Iran relations?
1:13–2:43
3
What are the reasons behind U.S. military actions in Iran?
2:43–3:57
4
How does regime change factor into the U.S. strategy towards Iran?
3:57–5:33
5
What are the implications of the strikes on Iran's nuclear program?
5:33–6:32
6
How has the conflict affected global oil markets?
6:32–7:46
7
What are the main arguments for and against U.S. involvement in Iran?
7:46–8:48
8
What legal questions surround the recent military actions against Iran?
8:48–47:47
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