Hello and welcome to the GZero World Podcast.

Here you can find extended versions of my show on public television.

I'm Ian Bremmer, and over the last several months,

we followed every twist in the Iran war, missile strikes and ceasefires,

the strait of Hormuz closed and then opened, then closed again,

and the effects on global markets and politics.

But while the news kept moving, one part of the story often got left behind, and that's the people that have been living through it.

Iran is one of the world's most closed societies, making it difficult to understand what ordinary Iranians are experiencing

and how they see their country's future. My guest today has spent over five years trying to find out.

Yegana Torbati is the Iran correspondent for the New York Times and co-author of Stolen Revolution,

Betrayal and Hope in Modern Iran. The book is the product of her reporting and tells the story of

modern Iran through the lives of people who have lived the revolution, the repression, and the hope

for change. We discuss how Iranians experienced the war and why so many opponents of the regime

now feel defeated, whether the government actually emerged stronger or simply survived,

and why the country's economic crisis may ultimately matter more than anything that happened

during this bloody conflict. She joined me from Istanbul. Let's get to it. Thank you very much for joining us today.

Thank you so much for having me, Ian.

We've spent so much time talking about the Strait of Hormuz, spent so much time talking

about the deal, the memorandum. There's been much less talk of the 90 million Iranian people

who should be the focus. I mean, of those that you're talking to now, what are they thinking

about the war, about what their country looks like coming out of it?

Yeah, I mean, look, obviously, as you mentioned, it's 90 million people.

...