Iran is back in the news, as the Biden Administration seeks to revive the JCPOA - the technical name of the Iran nuclear deal. In last week's episode, guest Bill Boerum discussed Iran's race to obtain the bomb and the West's efforts to slow it down.
Iran wants the crushing economic sanctions lifted and with the upcoming presidential elections in June 2021 the outgoing Ruhani Administration would like to show voters some results.
The US and Iran have been locked in a poisonous embrace for almost 70 years. First with the embrace of the Shah and overthrow by the CIA of a democratic Prime Minister Mossadegh. And after his downfall, successive Ayatollahs who serve as Iran's supreme leaders, have ensured that the US is seen as a threat.
As you can see from the map, Iran - it used to be known as Persia - is a large country. It comprises over 600,000 square miles, about the same size as Alaska. The population has almost tripled since 1979, from 30 million to 84 million. But it is also a young country with a median age of 30 versus 38 for the US.
The Biden Administration has signaled that it wants to recalibrate the relationship with Saudi Arabia, Iran's arch enemy. Is that a tilt toward Iran ? Israel has said it would do anything to prevent Iran obtaining an atomic bomb. Stay tuned.
Yesterday's episode discussed the Work From Home policies adopted for the last year by corporate America. Goldman Sachs' CEO David Solomon sees them as an aberration and wants to scrap them ASAP. Though some argue that worker productivity has not suffered as a result of WFH.
But I reckon that 80% of workers will be back in the office by this time next year.
