Today, US President Donald Trump warned that a “whole civilization will die tonight never to be brought back again” if Iran does not make a deal by his evening deadline. This clash of civilizations narrative goes way back. But, Iran’s civilization is much deeper and is more complex than East vs. West or Judeo-Christian nations against the Islamic Republic. To understand this ancient history, The World’s Host Carolyn Beeler spoke to Touraj Daryaee, director of the Center for Persian Studies at the University of California Irvine.
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