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PODCAST

CONFLICTED

An ex-Al Qaeda jihadi turned MI6 spy and a former monk turned filmmaker, have been embedded at the heart of conflicts in the Middle East. Together Aimen Dean and Thomas Small unpack the realities of war, fundamentalism and their global implications through first-hand experience.

history

All Episodes

54:26

America Blockades Iran

CONFLICTED ·

2026/04/14

After the peace talks in Islamabad fail as expected, the United States adopts Plan B: a complete blockade of all Iranian maritime trade. Aimen explains this latest move in the Iran War.Join the Conflicted Community here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find us on X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/MHconflicted⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad

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82:38

Iran War: Will the Ceasefire Hold?

CONFLICTED ·

2026/04/10

Aimen does his best to explain the sudden and somewhat unexpected ceasefire between the United States and Iran which was announced early on Tuesday.Aimen and Thomas discuss: Pakistan's role: what game are they playing? Russia's delicate balancing act between Iran and the GCC How GCC leaders cope with President Trump's erratic shifts in messaging and policy Did Netanyahu know about the ceasefire in advance? The potential coup in Lebanon which Israel's intervention stopped

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59:55

How Money Laundering Took Over the World

CONFLICTED ·

2026/04/07

In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to journalist Oliver Bollough about his illuminating new book ⁠Everybody Loves Our Dollars: How Money Laundering Won⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.Oliver and Thomas discuss: Iranian oil money flowing into London property Russian oligarch wealth parked in Western banks Al Capone to Miami: evolution of money laundering Jeffrey Epstein and elite financial fixers network $100 bills fuelling global criminal cash economy White House insiders profiting from crypto

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66:39

Why Freedom Failed in Syria

CONFLICTED ·

2026/04/02

In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to journalist and author Anand Gopal about his wonderful new book Days of Love and Rage, a profoundly moving and intellectually stimulating history of the Syrian revolution told from the perspective of the northern town of Manbij.Anand and Thomas discuss: Anand's first-hand witnessing of 9/11 How Anand embedded with the Taliban Revolution as a crisis of faith and collapse of social reality Manbij as a microcosm of the tensions of Syrian

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77:26

IRGC Sleeper Cells: The Inside Story

CONFLICTED ·

2026/03/31

As all sides in the Iran War escalate their attacks, another spectre looms on the horizon: Iran-backed sleeper cell agents across the world launching terrorist attacks against strategic assets — including in the West. Aimen opens the lid on this little-known dimension of the IRGC's activity. Aimen and Thomas discuss: How the U.S. will deal with the problem of Bandar Abbas before launching an amphibious assault on islands in the Gulf The recent escalation: the Houthis join the war, an AWACS

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77:35

Can Lebanon Ever Be Free of Hezbollah?

CONFLICTED ·

2026/03/27

Aimen's back after a few days away uncovering the secret info and true motivations behind the Iran War.Today he and Thomas focus on the Lebanon front in the war, telling the story of how the Lebanese state was progressively undermined over several decades, as non-state actors acted like a cancer on the body politic — with the largest tumour being, of course, Hezbollah. Aimen and Thomas discuss: The method behind the madness of Pres. Trump's chaotic messaging. The likelihood of a U.S

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83:58

When Will Iran Play the Houthi Card?

CONFLICTED ·

2026/03/24

Aimen has been called away for important last-minute insider meetings, so sitting in for him on today's episode is Nadwa Al-Dawsari, veteran researcher, conflict analyst, and policy advisor with 20 years of field experience in Yemen and the broader Middle East. Nadwa and Thomas discuss: How Yemeni tribalism really works The IRGC agents who are in control of Houthi war policy Houthi eschatological beliefs When the Houthis are likely to join the Iran War in force What the military

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69:26

Capitalism Is Not What You Think

CONFLICTED ·

2026/03/19

In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to Harvard professor Sven Beckert about his new book Capitalism: A Global History.Sven explains: Why the history of capitalism matters for understanding the present How most histories of capitalism are too Eurocentric How merchant communities in the medieval Muslim world and other regions laid the foundations of capitalism How European merchants learned from and interacted with merchants in the Muslim world Trust networks in global

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92:08

The Strait of Hormuz and Kharg Island: How America...

CONFLICTED ·

2026/03/17

All eyes are on the Strait of Hormuz and Kharg Island as the United States and its allies struggle to wrest full control of the Arabo-Persian Gulf from the Islamic Republic of Iran.Aimen and Thomas lay out the whole story of this geostrategically vital region, from ancient times all the way up to this very morning—explaining why this war is happening, and how it is almost certainly to end. Aimen and Thomas discuss: How the Strait of Hormuz caused Noah's Flood The medieval Kingdom of

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63:56

Iran: The Long Road to War

CONFLICTED ·

2026/03/12

In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks with Ali Ansari, Professor of Modern Middle East History at the University of St Andrews.Prof. Ansari discusses: The depth and antiquity of Iranian culture His childhood experiences inside the Shah's inner circle The Shah's biggest mistake How the revolution could have better built upon what it inherited The huge incompetence and corruption that has undermined Iran's political economy How the new Supreme Leader is the IRGC's man

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84:34

Who is Iran's New Supreme Leader and What Does He...

CONFLICTED ·

2026/03/10

Iran has chosen its new Supreme Leader: Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the recently assassinated Ayatollah Khamenei. Who is he? What does he believe? And most importantly, is his coming to power the fulfilment of ancient prophecy?Aimen and Thomas discuss: Mojtaba's youth and his experience fighting in the Iran-Iraq War as a 17 year old How he became his father's primary gatekeeper, and how he used this to amass great power and wealth Mojtaba's self-belief: that he is "the Khorasani", a

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65:22

The Iran War: British Uncertainty vs. French Resolve

CONFLICTED ·

2026/03/05

In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to two friends of the show about how Europe is responding to the war with Iran. In the first half, the Rt Hon Tom Tugendhat MP — former chair of the UK Foreign Affairs Select Committee and former UK Security Minister — discusses Britain’s confused response to the conflict, and in the second half, French journalist Wassim Nasr explains France’s position.Sir Tom and Wassim explain: The UK government’s uncertain response to the Iran war What

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68:37

The Death of Ayatollah Khamenei & The Future of Iran

CONFLICTED ·

2026/03/03

With missiles streaking across Middle Eastern skies and the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader sending shockwaves through the region, Aimen joins Thomas from a Dubai under fire to unpack a historic turning point.They discuss: Iran’s unprecedented drone and missile strikes across the GCC and Israel Life under bombardment in Dubai and the regional military response The assassination of Ayatollah Khamenei and what it means for Iran’s future Whether this war marks the death of the

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56:10

🚨 Emergency Episode: The Iran War Has Begun 🚨

CONFLICTED ·

2026/02/28

In this very special Emergency Episode, Aimen and Thomas discuss the Iran War, which began this morning with wide-ranging air strikes carried out by Israel and the United States against IRGC and Iranian regime targets, and which almost immediately resulted in Iranian counter-strikes against seven states in the region — including in Dubai, where Aimen lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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49:44

African Slavery: The Untold Story

CONFLICTED ·

2026/02/26

In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to former BBC journalist Martin Plaut about his new book Unbroken Chains: A 5,000-Year History of African Enslavement, which tells the whole story of African slavery, a story far older and more global than the one that focuses only on the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Martin explains: How Africa’s slavery story begins in the Nile Valley around 2900 BC Why the trans-Saharan slave routes remain less examined than Atlantic slavery What Islam did —

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81:00

Conflicted Revisited: Spying for Saudi

CONFLICTED ·

2026/02/24

As Saudi Arabia celebrates Founding Day, and as the murky underbelly of GCC geopolitics is on everyone's minds, we're re-releasing this classic Conflicted episode from early 2022.Thomas & Aimen discuss: The deep history of Arabia The first foundations of Saudi Arabia The transition from British to American dominance in the Middle East Aimen’s family history within the British imperial system The 1920 Iraqi revolt St John Philby (Abdullah Philby) The consolidation of Saudi

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56:56

The People Who Became Arabs

CONFLICTED ·

2026/02/19

In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to historian Yossef Rapoport about his new book Becoming Arab, and the revolutionary argument at its heart: that Arab identity in Egypt and the Levant was not the result of mass migration from Arabia, but was forged in the medieval countryside between the 11th and 15th centuries.Rapoport explains: What the word ‘Arab’ meant in the early Islamic centuries Why most medieval villagers in Egypt, Syria, and Palestine did not initially think of

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57:06

Trump, Netanyahu, and the Iran Endgame

CONFLICTED ·

2026/02/17

With war clouds gathering once again over the Middle East, Aimen takes us behind the scenes of the indirect negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. He narrates the shifting Iranian position, the will-he-or-won’t-he calculus surrounding Donald Trump, and the vital strategic role played by Israel as the White House formulates a way forward. Is this brinkmanship, miscalculation, or the prelude to full-scale war?They discuss: Iran’s negotiating position over the past 17–18 days The domestic

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51:50

How the US is Abandoning its Afghan Allies

CONFLICTED ·

2026/02/12

In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to U.S. Navy veteran Shawn VanDiver, founder of AfghanEvac, about the fate of Afghans who worked alongside American forces during the U.S. occupation, and how the Trump administration’s immigration restrictions are increasingly freezing them out. Shawn explains: Who America’s Afghan allies were and the risks they took The complex tragedy of the National Guardsmen shooting in Washington D.C. The Special Immigrant Visa system and why it

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50:17

The CIA’s Zero Units in Afghanistan

CONFLICTED ·

2026/02/10

After a tragic shooting in Washington, D.C., Thomas and Aimen trace the story back to Afghanistan and to the CIA-backed Zero Units that carried out some of the coalition’s most clandestine kill-or-capture missions.They discuss: The November 2025 D.C. shooting and the alleged link to a former Zero Unit operative What the Zero Units were designed to do and why they were so controversial Afghanistan's geography of terrorism and counterterrorism The lifelong psychological damage caused

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