Hi everyone, it's Beth here for a primer on the United States relationship with Iran.

If you've listened to our primer episodes before, you know the drill.

I am not an expert on anything, I have just done some research.

I did consult with Carrie Boyd Anderson, who is a wonderful friend of the podcast and

an expert on the Middle East to thank you, Carrie, for all of your contributions to this

primer.

There is a lot to go through to help us understand the president's decision to withdraw from

the JCPOA and what that means.

So I'm actually going to be giving you two parts to this primer.

Today I am going to take us through the Reagan years.

And then in part two, I will take us into the George Bush administration and the growing

sense of concern about Iranian nuclear capabilities through this week.

So let's dive in.

In typical fashion, I want to start with geography and some just basic facts about Iran as a

country.

Iran's official name is the Islamic Republic of Iran.

It is also sometimes known as Persia.

81 million people live in Iran, which is about the number of people who live in California,

Texas and Florida combined.

In terms of land, Iran is a little smaller than the state of Alaska.

Economically, Iran is very important for a couple of reasons.

After Egypt, it's the most populous Middle Eastern state.

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