# How America Went Blind in Iran | EYES ON GEOPOLITICS

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-team-house-817706/how-america-went-blind-in-iran-eyes-on-geopolitics
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-team-house-817706/how-america-went-blind-in-iran-eyes-on-geopolitics.md
Podcast: [The Team House](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-team-house-817706)
Published: 2026-07-23T07:08:57+00:00
Episode link: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-america-went-blind-in-iran-eyes-on-geopolitics--73092183
Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/pscrb.fm/rss/p/clrtpod.com/m/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73092183/iran_intel_failure.mp3
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Duration seconds: 5928

## Resource

This week we trace four decades of American intelligence failure in Iran, from the 1953 CIA coup against Mossadegh through the 1979 embassy takeover that wiped out our human network overnight. Jonathan Hackett walks us through Stuxnet, the JCPOA, the 2019 rollup of our entire asset network, and why we're now dependent on Israeli intelligence to tell us what's happening underground. Support the show on Patreon:⬇️ https://www.patreon.com/TheTeamHouse Subscribe to our newsletter!!!! https://teamhousepodcast.kit.com/join Jack's news outlet:⬇️ https://thehighside.substack.com/ Jack's new book:⬇️ https://a.co/d/0gywUGvn Find Jon Hackett here:⬇️ Jon's Twitter: https://x.com/jonathanhackett Jon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thejonathanhackett Jon's books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0C5L659N5?ccs_id=e11a2062-f8d3-498e-bfd7-7d2f3869caf6 Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thejonathanhackett Twitter: https://x.com/jonathanhackett "Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio" 00:00 - Start 02:04 - Before 1953: the Qajars, the Constitutional Revolution, and Sykes-Picot 09:07 - Why Iranians haven't ruled themselves since Islam arrived 12:42 - Operation Ajax: Mossadegh nationalizes the oil and the CIA moves in 18:02 - Khomeini in exile: tapes, France, and the promises he made 20:38 - The MEK, Jundallah, and the separatist groups nobody agrees with 28:31 - Would removing the regime plunge Iran into civil war? 34:13 - The Shah's Westernization push and the rise of Shia fanaticism 40:16 - 1979: the embassy, the shredded documents, and losing every asset 43:52 - Saddam's invasion is what made the revolution real 46:42 - Backing both sides: the US strategy in the Iran-Iraq war 50:35 - Iran-Contra and Operation Eagle Claw 53:09 - Hezbollah's real origins: Berkeley, Amal, and the Is…

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