Iran held parliamentary elections at the end of February, resulting in a serious swing to the right, with conservative Principlist politicians sweeping the majority of seats from the sitting Reformists. How did this happen, and why are the results unsurprising? Also, the dreaded coronavirus has made Iran the third largest epicenter of the outbreak - how has the Iranian government been responding to the crisis, and how has it spread so quickly? Phil and Cooper discuss this and more with Ali Ahmadi, a geopolitical analyst based in Tehran.

• How Iranian hard-liners helped Reformists ahead of elections (Rohollah Faghihi)
• Khamenei calls on Iranians to participate in parliamentary vote
• Coronavirus puts more pressure on Iran's already strained economy (Bijan Khajehpour)
• Intel: Trump administration eases humanitarian trade restrictions on Iran amid coronavirus fears (Bryant Harris)

Extra Listening:

• Episode #123,  Off the Brink (1/10/20): The Trump administration pulls off a targeted killing of the IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani, raising tensions between the US and Iran.

Music: Radio Tehran - “Hamesheh” ( Spotify |  Apple Music)