How Far Could The US-Israel War On Iran Spread?

March 19, 2026·1 hr 10 min·5 clips

CNN reports the CIA is arming Kurdish forces to foment civil unrest in Iran, with Trump calling opposition leaders.

Stephen Methan and Dalia Gabriel open with footage from Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan region, where drone strikes hit near an airport and a school, marking a 12th country affected by the expanding US-Israel war on Iran. Azerbaijan accused Iran of the strike; Iran denied targeting neighboring countries. Gabriel argues the regional spillover was predictable, as Iran treats this conflict as existential and is working to raise the cost of US alliances across the region. Gabriel draws parallels to Iraq, arguing that while the 2003 invasion was framed as a mistake by the public, it achieved its strategic goals of securing Iraqi oil and resources for Western interests. She contends the current conflict follows the same pattern of engineered chaos that imperialism uses to maintain control, and that the resulting instability creates pretexts for endless war that ultimately prevents genuine sovereignty and democracy in the Middle East. The episode reports on intense airstrikes hitting military positions, frontier posts, and police stations along Iran's northern border with Iraq, with footage of explosions in Sanandaj, the second-largest Kurdish city in Iran. Israeli military spokespeople stated they have been heavily operating in western Iran to open a route to Tehran. Megan Boudett of the Kurdish Peace Institute provides detailed context on the Kurdish political landscape. She explains that Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces have not crossed into Iran, as Iraqi Kurdistan maintains balanced relations with the US, Iran, and Turkey. She distinguishes between Iraqi Peshmerga and Iranian Kurdish opposition groups, some of which have been active since the 1940s Mahabad Republic. Boudett notes that CNN reports about Kurdish ground operations may reflect information warfare rather than confirmed plans, and that Iranian Kurdish groups remain deeply suspicious of US intentions given the recent Syrian precedent where American-allied Kurds were abandoned. Iranian state TV was hacked to broadcast a message from Reza Pahlavi, son of the last Shah, though the hosts note limited evidence of broad domestic support for a monarchist restoration. Iranian spokesperson Mohammad Morandi appeared on Channel 4 claiming Iran retains the vast majority of its missile stocks and characterizing the war as existential for Iran but optional for the US. Gabriel analyzes the economic dimension, noting Iranian drones cost approximately $20,000-$30,000 each while costing $4 million to intercept, and estimates the US is spending roughly a billion dollars per day. The episode covers the situation in Lebanon, where Israel has amassed ground troops and ordered evacuations affecting 700,000 people from Beirut's southern suburbs. The final segment examines British politics, with Keir Starmer defending his decision not to join initial strikes while facing right-wing media attacks calling him cowardly. The FT's Robert Shrimsley argues that abandoning international law leads to accepting outcomes like Trump seizing Greenland or Ukraine being carved up.

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