# “Liberate Their Bodies From Their Souls”: The Lies That Sell the Iran War

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-intercept-briefing-951534/liberate-their-bodies-from-their-souls-the-lies-that-sell-the-iran-war
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-intercept-briefing-951534/liberate-their-bodies-from-their-souls-the-lies-that-sell-the-iran-war.md
Podcast: [The Intercept Briefing](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-intercept-briefing-951534)
Published: 2026-03-20T09:30:00+00:00
Episode link: https://theintercept.com/2026/03/20/podcast-war-in-lebanon-and-iran/
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/f5b64019-68c3-57d4-b70b-043e63e5cbf6/e/69bc86847878605e114c1f31/media.mp3
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Duration seconds: 2811

## Resource

From the White House to Iran’s former crown prince, proponents of the U.S.–Israel war on Iran sell it to the American people — and Iranians themselves — as a crusade for liberation. Instead, the regime remains in place as the death toll grows, environmental hazards proliferate, and civilian infrastructure is decimated.  As if the destruction inside Iran itself wasn't enough, the war is starting to have serious ramifications for the global economy and, more to the point, expanding into neighboring countries. Lebanon, in particular, has come into Israel’s crosshairs, with increasing Israeli incursions and missile strikes deeper into the country. The number of dead there is approaching 1,000 with Israeli missiles razing entire apartment blocks in central Beirut this week and a ground invasion getting underway. More than 1 million Lebanese people have been displaced. “I think the Lebanese are suffering now, and there's not really anyone who's trying to save them,” says Afeef Nessouli , a Beirut-based journalist, speaking to The Intercept Briefing. “They know that, and they know that they're just political pawns who are always at the worst end of the stick along with Palestine.” He adds, “The fear is that [Israel] will occupy south of Litani [River] ... and just take people's homes, take their land, and never give it back, make settlements for their country.” “It's been really stunning to watch that so many people fall for this idea of ‘This is a human rights intervention’ — and yet it's accomplished through massive human rights violations,” says Ali Gharib, a senior editor at The Intercept. Commenting on Israel's strategy of making failed states out of its adversaries in the region, he notes, the Israelis “don't need [Reza] Pahlavi to work. They don't need him to…

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