PODCAST - Eye for Iran: Hezbollah's big win and Iranians’ election boycott

In Episode 5 of 'Eye for Iran', we discuss the Arab League’s decision to remove Hezbollah from its terror list and also the record-low voter turnout in the first round of Iran's presidential election.

Why did the Arab League’s decision come on the heels of a potential war between Israel and Southern Lebanon? And does the low voter turnout in Iran's recent election signify a distrust in the ruling system?

Host Negar Mojtahedi speaks with Roya Boroumand, the Co-founder of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center and Dr. Walid Phares, a foreign policy expert on those topics.

When it comes to the Arab league's decision, Phares, who has has advised US presidential candidates, said Washington and the Iran lobby have a big role to play, in his view.

"It's all about the weakness that Washington is showing in international relations," said Phares on 'Eye for Iran.'

Phares believes that stems from influence by the Iran lobby in D.C.

"Those who are forming the Abraham Accord and the Arab coalition are telling the Israelis, look, guys, I mean, we cannot sustain this if the US administration is not even helping you. What do you want us to do? So that's one part. Another part of the Arab League, like the Syrian Assad regime or the Iraqis, who are very close to the Iranian regime or even the Lebanese government under the influence of Hezbollah. Yeah, they're saying we are winning."

In terms of Iran's internal politics, the historically low voter turnout in the first round of the country's presidential elections, signifies a "vote of distrust" according to human rights advocate Roya Boroumand.

"The low turnout means that people don't believe in the legitimacy of the elections. And that is a good analysis because people are much more informed now that they used to be 20 years ago or 30 years ago," said Boroumand.

You can watch the entire episode on Iran's International's YouTube Page or listen to it on Spotify, Apple or Amazon.