Conflicts of Interest

The peace talks continue between Iran and the U.S, but who actually wants a deal, and what does "winning" even mean for each side? Professor Clionadh Raleigh chats with Bron Mills about the real strategic interests at play: what the US needs, what Iran's leadership can actually accept, and what the regional picture looks like if talks collapse or succeed.
Then: what is the point from here? With negotiations fragile and red lines on all sides, we assess what a credible outcome looks like, and whether one is actually possible.
Beyond Iran, this week's episode covers the full sweep of global flashpoints. Lebanon's fragile recovery and what's driving the latest tensions. Israel's strategic position and the risks of renewed escalation. Colombia's worsening armed conflict and the overlooked violence reshaping the country. The growing threat to critical seabed cable infrastructure, an underreported front in the new era of great power competition. And Ethiopia, where instability continues to deepen with little international attention.
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On this episode of Conflicts of Interest, Professor Clionadh Raleigh and Bron Mills catch up on Day 88 of the Iran war — a moment defined more by paralysis than progress.
They unpack Iran's internet blackout, finally ending after months of restrictions, what it reveals about Tehran's grip on internal dissent, and why the latest round of US-Iran peace talks remains trapped in a web of competing agendas. Washington, Tel Aviv, Riyadh, Doha, Abu Dhabi, the Gulf states are pulling in different directions, and that fracture is poisoning any path to a genuine deal. Clionadh's assessment is direct: there is "no peaceful way out" of the current crisis.
From Iran, the conversation shifts to Russia. As drone warfare reshapes the Ukrainian battlefield, Clionadh breaks down what Moscow's mounting desperation actually looks like on the ground, and what it means for a war that shows no sign of resolution.
Also on the episode: Pakistan's renewed wave of suicide bomb attacks and the domestic security spiral no one is covering, the widening Saudi-Qatar-UAE divide over regional strategy, Trump's comments on Iran's football team ahead of the World Cup, and what it says when sport and geopolitics keep colliding.
Plus: the surprisingly difficult task of avoiding dead bodies on holiday.

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The world is moving so quickly it is becoming harder to know where to look first. Iran remains on edge around the Strait of Hormuz. Ebola is spreading through one of the DRC’s most militarized regions. And attacks on places of worship are exposing the messy overlap between extremism, antisemitism, misogyny, and political violence.

In this episode of Conflicts of Interest, Professor Clionadh Raleigh and Bron Mills try to make sense of a week where every crisis seems to be accelerating at once — from Iran’s strategic calculus and escalation risk, to the challenge of containing disease in conflict zones, and the growing pressure on free speech from Germany to the UK.

Also on the radar: Russia’s shadow fleet, and why sanctions-busting tankers are becoming part of the hybrid warfare conversation.
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As headlines swing wildly between ceasefire talks, missile strikes, diplomatic breakthroughs and fresh retaliation, this episode of Conflicts of Interest explores the growing sense of global confusion surrounding modern conflict.
ACLED CEO Prof. Clionadh Raleigh is joined by Bron Mills to unpack the “attention war” shaping how conflicts are understood online, where algorithms, viral misinformation and nonstop breaking news are increasingly competing with verified reporting and nuance.
From Iran and the United States to Russia, Ukraine and the UK, the conversation examines how modern warfare now unfolds across both battlefields and social media feeds — often leaving audiences struggling to understand what is actually happening, what matters, and what comes next.
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Ukraine has produced millions of drones and lost thousands more — and that hard-won expertise is now in high demand. 
In this episode of Conflicts of Interest, ACLED CEO Professor Clionadh Raleigh and ACLED Ukraine expert Witold Stupnicki unpack how Kyiv is exporting its drone warfare knowledge to Gulf states, why a $50 drone can outmanoeuvre a $3 million missile, and what that means for the future of conflict.
From frozen front lines to Saudi air bases, the drone revolution is reshaping how wars are fought — and by whom. But as Stupnicki warns, Europe shouldn't feel safe either. A shapeless, ever-present drone threat is already on its doorstep. 
This is a conversation you won't want to miss.
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