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Ep. 14: The Iran Deal Protection Racket

We are told time and again from Republicans and nominal liberals alike that Iran desperately wants to acquire nuclear weapons, was "racing toward the bomb" before the implementation of the multilateral Iran Deal - officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and was merely months away from holding the world hostage with a nuclear arsenal before being stopped by diplomacy, aided by "crippling sanctions." The core axioms of this narrative are never really challenged, even by those viewed as progressive on foreign policy.  

But how correct are these assumptions? Why does the media keep saying Iran has a "nuclear weapons program" when it doesn't? Will the nonstop back and forth over Iran's "nuclear ambitions" ever cease?

Using both Nima and Adam's own analyses, we attempt to answer these questions and more as we take a deep dive into the Iran Deal protection racket.

Citations Needed co-host Nima Shirazi has been researching and writing about the deliberate disinformation, rampant alarmism, and false allegations that have informed the politics, reporting and public awareness on the Iranian nuclear program for nearly a decade. Since 2010, Nima has compiled the most comprehensive catalog of the constant assertions made by government officials, pundits, analysts and commentators regarding the supposed inevitability and imminence of a nuclear-armed Iran. The compendium dates back to 1984.

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Show Notes

The Return of the Media's Zombie Narrative About Iran's Nuclear Program

Nima Shirazi | August 4, 2017 | Wide Asleep in America 

Iran Doesn’t Have a Nuclear Weapons Program. Why Do Media Keep Saying It Does?

Adam Johnson | October 17, 2017 | FAIR

No, LA Times, That's Not What Nuclear 'Breakout Time' Means

Nima Shirazi | August 8, 2017 | Wide Asleep in America

Does Iran Really Need Nuclear Power? 

Nima Shirazi | July 7, 2015 | Wide Asleep in America

“Putting Iran on Notice”—Stop Acting Like A Sovereign Country?

Greg Thielmann | February 2, 2017 | LobeLog 

More Misleading Reporting on the Iran Deal and 'Heavy Water' 

Nima Shirazi | July 13, 2016 | Wide Asleep in America 

Putting A Lid On Clinton's Erroneous Iranian "Nuclear Weapons Program" Talking Point  

Nima Shirazi | March 14, 2016 | Wide Asleep in America

PolitiFact Is Right That Ted Cruz Is Wrong, But Still Botches Iran Deal Facts 

Nima Shirazi | September 25, 2015 | FAIR

Slaughtering the Truth and the False Choice of War on Iran (and follow-up)

Nima Shirazi | September 2, 2015 | Wide Asleep in America

Vox Errata: On Nuclear Framework, Explanatory Journalism Site Has Some More 'Splaining To Do

Nima Shirazi | April 5, 2015 | Wide Asleep in America

The Great Iranian Nuclear Swindle

Arron Merat | July 11, 2014 | VICE

On Iran, an Unsmoking Nongun

Peter Hart | January 1, 2012 | FAIR

Iran is not in breach of international law

Richard Dalton et al. | June 9, 2011 | The Guardian

The Phantom Menace: Fantasies, Falsehoods, and Fear-Mongering about Iran's Nuclear Program 

Nima Shirazi | December 29, 2010 | Wide Asleep in America

The Phantom Menace

Kurt Eichenwald | October 4, 2013 | Newsweek

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Referenced

President Trump is making us less safe by messing with the Iran Agreement - Senator Elizabeth Warren [video]

Ep. 14: The Iran Deal Protection Racket

Comments

And everyone prepare to hear more nonsense in the media after the recent protests in Iran. Not to say that the protestors don't have some reason to be angry...but do chants of anger over "economic gains not reaching the middle class" and "welfare cuts" sound alien to anyone in the US (or really any country)? To say that these complaints are valid is one thing, but the irony and propaganda of the coverage is laughable/expected

Emma & Brian

Thanks Nima for making it simple, and thanks Adam for leading those questions and letting him rattle it off. Great show, guys.

Hear hear, the most obvious recommendation is Seymour Hersh's "The Samson Option", however Grant F. Smith's "Divert Numec, Zalman Shapiro and the Diversion of U. S. Weapons Grade Uranium into the Israeli Nuclear Weapons Program" "." Israel and the Bomb" by Avery Cohen is comprehensive and scholarly but my top recommended work on the topic is "Stealing the Atom Bomb: How Denial and Deception Armed Israel" Roger J Mattson. Cheers! Enjoy.

great episode. do you have any recommendations for readings to explore the state of nuclear weapons in india, israel and pakistan (i.e. the countries which did not sign the NPT but are believed to have nuclear weapons)?


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