In the last weeks and months, the coronavirus has spread rapidly around the globe,

affecting nearly every nation in the world. But as disruptive and as damaging as this pandemic

has been in China, in the United States, in Israel, and in Europe,

it has been absolutely devastating in Iran, where mass graves have been dug to bury its victims.

Official statistics from the Iranian regime paint a dreadful picture of the situation there,

but Iranian citizens have taken to social media to tell the world that

the reality on the ground is far worse than even these statistics suggest. After refusing,

four weeks, to heed the advice of its own experts and to impose social distancing measures,

the regime recently took the dramatic step of canceling the annual celebration of its nuclear program.

Welcome to the Tikva podcast. I'm your host, Jonathan Silver. Today, we try and assess best we can

what is happening in Iran and why the Islamic Republic has been so hard hit. We'll consider

the Iranian foreign minister's complaint that American sanctions are to blame,

and we'll try to think strategically about the implications that the COVID-19 crisis will have

for the conflict between Iran and the United States. My guest for this conversation is the

always perceptive Hudson Institute senior fellow, Michael Duran. If you enjoyed this conversation, you can subscribe to the Tikva podcast on iTunes, Stitcher,

Google Play, and Spotify.

I hope you leave us a five-star review to help us grow this community of ideas.

I welcome your feedback on this or any of our other podcast episodes at podcast at

tikfafund.org. And of course, if you want to

learn more about our work at Tikva, you can visit our website, tikfafunds.org, and follow us on

Facebook and Twitter. One more note. This podcast was recorded on Thursday, March 26, as part of an

exclusive briefing for members of the Tikva Society. If you'd

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