Extended interview: Reza Marashi

Reza Marashi is the director of research at the National Iranian American Council. 

Previously, he worked at the Office of Iranian Affairs at the US Department of State and as an analyst at the Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS).

In this extended interview, Marashi discusses what he thinks is the root of the US-Iranian political conflict, why it has lasted so long and about politics in the country.

He says: “Many of the things identified as the root are in fact symptoms of the larger problem. When the Iranian revolution happened in 1979, Iran went from a compliant client state of the US to one that rejected the US-led security and order in the Middle East.”