Today’s Blowback and the Historical Record of US Meddling in Iran

Background Briefing: March 17, 2026

We begin with the killing today of Iran’s top national security official and the head of the Basij militia who were hiding in a safe house struck by Israel, opening the way for even more hardline officials to take over since both Ali Larijani and Brig. General Soleimani were pragmatists in an otherwise radical regime of religious zealots. Joining us to discuss the historical record on US meddling in Iran leading up to the current war is Tom Mockaitis, a professor of history at DePaul University, where he teaches courses in British, Modern European, and Military History. Hisresearch and writing cover international security, terrorism, unconventional conflict, and military history. A regular contributor to The Hill, he has taught counter-terrorism courses at venues around the world as part of the U.S. Department of Defense Counter-terrorism Fellowship Program and is the author of many books including ‘New’ Terrorism: Myths and Reality, Violent Extremists: Understanding the Domestic and International Terrorist Threat and Iraq and the Challenge of Counterinsurgency. We discuss his article at The Hill, “A history of US meddling in Iran brought us here.”