Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
As the conflict surrounding Iran continues to evolve, competing narratives have emerged across Western media - some suggesting the Islamic Republic is somehow emerging stronger, others warning of global catastrophe.
On this episode of Roqe, Jian Ghomeshi speaks with Iranian-British journalist Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, the head of digital news at Iran International.
Sharafedin began his journalism career in Tehran before moving to London, where he worked at the BBC and later as a reporter at Reuters covering Iran’s nuclear negotiations, sanctions policy, and global energy markets. In 2023 he received the National Press Club’s Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence.
Joining Jian from Washington, Sharafedin discusses the rapidly unfolding situation surrounding Iran and the wider region.
Among the questions explored:
What does the emergence of Mojtaba Khamenei as Supreme Leader signal about the future of the Islamic Republic?
Are Western commentators misreading the lack of mass protests during the current conflict?
Could targeted strikes against regime infrastructure shift the balance in favour of Iranian protesters?
And how likely is it that the regime - or some version of it - survives this moment?
Jian also opens the episode with an essay titled:
“The Mullahs Are Not Anti-Imperialist Heroes”
In the essay, Jian challenges the growing tendency in some Western activist circles to frame the Islamic Republic as an anti-imperialist force - and argues that such narratives ignore the brutal realities faced by the Iranian people.
This episode is supported by:
Famluxy
famluxy.com
Stellar Law
stellarlaw.ca
As the conflict surrounding Iran continues to evolve, competing narratives have emerged across Western media - some suggesting the Islamic Republic is somehow emerging stronger, others warning of global catastrophe.
On this episode of Roqe, Jian Ghomeshi speaks with Iranian-British journalist Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, the head of digital news at Iran International.
Sharafedin began his journalism career in Tehran before moving to London, where he worked at the BBC and later as a reporter at Reuters covering Iran’s nuclear negotiations, sanctions policy, and global energy markets. In 2023 he received the National Press Club’s Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence.
Joining Jian from Washington, Sharafedin discusses the rapidly unfolding situation surrounding Iran and the wider region.
Among the questions explored:
What does the emergence of Mojtaba Khamenei as Supreme Leader signal about the future of the Islamic Republic?
Are Western commentators misreading the lack of mass protests during the current conflict?
Could targeted strikes against regime infrastructure shift the balance in favour of Iranian protesters?
And how likely is it that the regime - or some version of it - survives this moment?
Jian also opens the episode with an essay titled:
“The Mullahs Are Not Anti-Imperialist Heroes”
In the essay, Jian challenges the growing tendency in some Western activist circles to frame the Islamic Republic as an anti-imperialist force - and argues that such narratives ignore the brutal realities faced by the Iranian people.
This episode is supported by:
Famluxy
famluxy.com
Stellar Law
stellarlaw.ca
