Tehran to Taipei: the Risks of Strategic Overreach | Dmitri Alperovitch

Hidden Forces

Demetri Kofinas

Government, Business

4.8 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 30 June 2025

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In Episode 425 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with geopolitical and intelligence analyst Dmitri Alperovitch about the new security dynamics and economic opportunities that arise from America’s and Israel’s attacks on Iran, the risks of strategic overreach, and whether U.S. actions do more to compel or deter a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

In the first hour, Alperovitch scrutinizes Israel’s decision to initiate a series of targeted strikes against Iran’s nuclear program, including their decision to assassinate key nuclear scientists and senior members of the IRGC. We discuss America’s choice to participate in this campaign, Iran’s response, potential additional repercussions from these attacks, political conditions within the Islamic Republic, and whether this latest round of violence might precipitate the collapse of the Iranian government or incite a coup against its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

In the second hour, Alperovitch is asked whether he believes Trump's decision to involve the American military directly in Israel’s war with Iran was in America’s national interests or if it results in strategic overreach that will further undermine American security and the credibility of American global leadership. He and Kofinas discuss how this move is perceived by other regional players like Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, how it alters the security dynamics in the Middle East, and how it affects Dmitri’s assessment of the risks Washington faces in its broader Cold War with the People's Republic of China.

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Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas
Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou

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Episode Recorded on 06/23/2025

Transcript

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0:00.0	What's up, everybody? My name is Demetri Gaffinas, and you're listening to Hidden Forces,
0:06.1	a podcast that inspires investors, entrepreneurs, and everyday citizens to challenge consensus
0:12.6	narratives, and learn how to think critically about the systems of power shaping our world.
0:18.2	My guest in this episode of Hidden Forces is Dimitri Alparovich, the co-founder
0:22.5	and executive chairman of Silverado Policy Accelerator, the co-founder of leading cybersecurity company
0:28.5	CrowdStrike, and the author of World on the Brink, How America Can Beat China in the Race
0:34.2	for the 21st Century. Dmitri made his first appearance on the podcast in late 2021,
0:40.2	when he argued that Russia was preparing an imminent invasion of Ukraine,
0:44.4	a prediction that turned out to be devastatingly accurate.
0:47.6	In his subsequent appearances, he has made the argument
0:50.3	that America is in a new Cold War with China,
0:53.5	and that Taiwan is the strategic
0:55.5	flashpoint that risks triggering a devastating conflict between two nuclear powers before
1:01.2	the end of this decade.
1:02.8	In the first hour of this conversation, Dmitri and I scrutinized Israel's decision to initiate
1:07.6	a series of targeted strikes against Iran's nuclear program, including
1:11.3	their decision to assassinate key nuclear scientists and senior members of the IRGC.
1:16.9	We discuss America's decision to join in on this campaign, Iran's response, additional
1:21.6	repercussions that may stem from these attacks, as well as political conditions within the
1:25.8	Islamic Republic and the potential that this
1:27.7	latest round of violence could lead to a collapse of the Iranian government or invite a coup
1:32.3	against the supreme leader Ali Hamani.
	...

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