Fareed Zakaria examines why Iran is at the center of the crisis that has rocked the Middle East and the world
When the terrorist organization Hamas brutally attacked Israel and took dozens of hostages on October 7, 2023, it ignited brutal repercussions that have destroyed Gaza, imperiled Red Sea transit, and launched a bloody conflict that threatens to spread to neighboring nations – and allies on nearly every continent. Behind the stunning violence, have been Iran and her proxies. On Sunday, Feb. 25, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, host of the global public affairs program Fareed Zakaria GPS, leads the one-hour special, Why Iran Hates America (8:00pm ET CNN & CNN International).
The special traces the roots of the current conflagration to Britain’s post-World War II colonial embers. Zakaria discusses stunning evidence with contributors, and revealed in declassified and leaked documents, that American and British intelligence – including a grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt – fomented a coup in 1953 that led to the deposing of Iran’s prime minister. The operation ultimately backfired, leading to the Iranian Islamic revolution that continues to have consequences for the entire Middle East.
Zakaria explores with others how, after a bloody war with Iraq that was supported by the United States, Iran’s ruling mullahs, determined that Iran needed nuclear weapons of its own to survive. Iran’s anti-Western, feverishly theocratic rulers, “needed” to also be specifically anti-American to survive.
Interviewed for Why Iran Hates America are:
- Malcolm Byrne, deputy director and director of research, National Security Archive; author, Republics of Myth: National Narratives and the U.S.-Iran Conflict (2022);
- Abbas Milani, PhD, chairman, board of governors, Middle East Institute; author, Eminent Persians: The Men and Women Who Made Modern Iran, 1941-1979, Vol One (2022);
- Seyed Hossein Mousavian, PhD, Middle East security and nuclear policy specialist, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University; author, Iran and the United States: An Insider’s view on the Failed Past and the Road to Peace (2014); former Iranian ambassador to Germany (1990-1997);
- Jason Rezaian, writer, The Washington Post; author, Prisoner: My 544 Days in an Iranian Prison – Solitary Confinement, a Sham Trial, High-Stakes Diplomacy, and the Extraordinary Efforts It Took to Get Me Out (2019); senior associate, Center for Strategic & International Studies;
- Karim Sadjadpour, senior fellow, Middle East Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace;
- Ali Vaez, PhD, senior adviser to the president & project director, Iran, International Crisis Group; and,
- Robin Wright, columnist for The New Yorker; joint fellow, U.S. Institute of Peace and The Woodrow Wilson International Center; author, Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World (2012).
Why Iran Hates America will encore on CNN on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 11:00pm, and on CNN International at 3:00pm on Sunday, March 3. All times Eastern. During the February 25 premiere on CNN and CNN International, Why Iran Hates America – A Fareed Zakaria Special, will stream live for pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN OTT and mobile apps. The special will be available on demand beginning Monday, February 26 to pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN apps, and Cable Operator Platforms.
