Regime Change, Cyberwar & the Nuclear Program | Part 4/5 | Epic Fury Series

The Cold War ended. The CIA's war with Iran did not.

From the 1990s dual containment strategy through the Stuxnet cyberattack, the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists, and the drone strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, Episode 4 of the CIA and Iran Bonus Series covers the three decades of covert action, failed diplomacy, and escalating shadow warfare that made Operation Epic Fury almost inevitable.

This episode covers how a designated foreign terrorist organisation became a CIA intelligence asset and helped expose Iran's secret nuclear facilities at Natanz and Arak. It covers the Olympic Games programme — the most sophisticated cyberweapon ever deployed against a state, and the unintended lesson it handed Iran about asymmetric warfare. It covers the assassination campaign that killed five nuclear scientists and may have hardened Iranian resolve more than it slowed the programme. And it covers the collapse of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Iran's subsequent sprint toward weapons-grade enrichment, and the intelligence shift — from capability to timeline — that drove the strategic urgency behind Operation Epic Fury.

It also asks the question that runs through all four episodes of this series: did seventy years of American covert action against Iran prevent the confrontation, or help create it?

Epic Fury is a daily narrative podcast covering the US-Iran conflict of 2026. This five-part bonus series traces the CIA's history with Iran from the 1953 coup to the bombs falling today.

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Episoder(222)

Iraq Admits Saudi Pipeline Attack Came From Its Soil as Trump Blames Iran

Iraq has admitted that the drones that struck Saudi Arabia’s critical East-West oil pipeline were launched from Iraqi territory — and President Donald Trump says he believes Iran was behind the attack...

13 Sep 23min

Red Sea Chokepoint Falls as Saudi Oil Pipeline Is Hit

The Red Sea has just become another major flashpoint in the Iran war. Houthi forces have seized Mayyun Island in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, giving the Iran-aligned movement effective control of Yemen's...

12 Sep 22min

Houthis Seize Yemen's Red Sea Port, UN Holds Emergency Session as Iran War Widens

The Iran war widens again as Houthi forces seize Yemen’s historic Red Sea port of Mocha, pushing closer to the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait and threatening another vital global shipping chokepoint. ...

11 Sep 22min

Trump Ties War's End to Midterms as IAEA Refers Iran to UN

President Donald Trump has tied the end of the US-Iran War to the November midterm elections, saying he expects the conflict to end immediately after the vote. But as Washington looks toward a possibl...

10 Sep 23min

US Destroys 5 Tankers, Iran Seizes Drone, Houthis Hit Saudi Arabia

The US-Iran War escalated sharply as American forces destroyed five Iranian oil tankers linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, while Iran claimed it had seized an advanced American underwate...

9 Sep 23min

Iran Doubles Gas Prices as Rouhani Reignites Rift Over Ending War

Iran doubles gasoline prices for heavy users as economic pressure mounts, while former President Hassan Rouhani reignites an internal debate over whether Tehran should continue the war.In this episode...

8 Sep 23min

Iran Claims Missile Test Over US Carrier as Tanker War Escalates

Iran claims it test-fired a new missile over a US aircraft carrier as the tanker war in the Gulf escalates. The United States says its forces struck three Iranian oil tankers after Iran fired ballisti...

7 Sep 23min

US Sinks Iranian Tanker as Iran Claims Six More Ship Strikes

The US has sunk an Iranian oil tanker after launching strikes on three Iranian vessels in the Gulf of Oman, escalating the conflict in and around the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Gua...

6 Sep 22min