Iran After Ayatollah Khamenei: Mearsheimer and Marandi on the MOU, Lebanon, and the Road Ahead

As Ayatollah Khamenei's state funeral draws millions of Iranians and nearly 50 foreign delegations to Iran this week, we ask: what does this moment mean for Iran's internal stability, its standing in the region, and its fragile truce with Washington? Since the June 17th Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding brought a fragile end to the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, the agreement has faced serious strain. The June 26th Israel-Lebanon framework ties Israeli withdrawal to Hezbollah's disarmament, and low-level attacks between Iran, the U.S., and Israel continue. Is the Trump administration genuinely pursuing a grand bargain with Tehran, or is this just a tactical pause before renewed conflict? In this episode (recorded July 6, 2026), Mehlaqa Samdani and Dr. Atiqa Batul are joined by: 🔹 Dr. John Mearsheimer — Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago — on the fragility of the MOU, the Strait of Hormuz, whether Iran is emerging as a fourth pole of global power, and what America's foreign policy history teaches about dealing with Iran. 🔹 Dr. Seyed Mohammad Marandi — Professor of English Literature and Orientalism, University of Tehran — on Khamenei's succession, Tehran's read on the MOU's survival, the Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan-Egypt regional recalibration, Iran's information war, and the lessons of Iran's development under decades of sanctions. 🔔 Subscribe to Community Alliance for Peace and Justice (CAPJ) for more on U.S. foreign policy accountability toward South Asia and the Middle East 🌐 ca4pj.org 📱 @Alliance4PJ | @MehlaqaCAPJ #Iran #Lebanon #Hezbollah #IslamabadMemorandum #Mearsheimer #Marandi #MiddleEast #USForeignPolicy #Khamenei #StraitOfHormuz #Pakistan