Zac and Nick discuss mounting tensions between the United States and Iran - what's causing them, and whether or not they could lead to a new US war in the Middle East. Recorded on May 14, 2019.

Trump hawkish turn away from the Obama-era balanced approach toward Iranian relations is reminiscent of George W. Bush’s “Axis of Evil.” It didn’t work then and it won’t work now.

Are the US administration’s latest moves a matter of posturing, or is there something bigger in the works?

The usually opaque factional infighting of Iranian politics has spilled out into the open, highlighting a Rouhani administration that’s teetering on the brink.

Less than a year out from President Trump’s May 2018 announcement that the United States is withdrawing from the JCPOA, Iran’s oil industry is struggling more than many anticipated.

Iran’s military strategy calls for asymmetric warfare against a much more powerful foe in the United States, with a focus on increasing the military and economic costs of any potential conflict.

While it’s true that Iran presides over well-documented human rights abuses, these abuses are often exaggerated to the point of creating a tyrannical mythos that’s completely detached from reality.

Ebola spreading in DRC, Bank of Japan mulling an end to Abenomics, and Iran finds itself under US sanctions once again.

Iran nuclear deal stakeholders are scrambling to evade or circumvent looming US sanctions, but there’s one major hurdle they must clear: the US financial system.

One of the enduring legacies of the Trump presidency might be how allies and enemies alike came together to dismantle the US monopoly on global financial transactions.