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This week on Babel, Jon speaks with Dr. Shirin Hakim, head of the Environment, Climate Security, and Public Health unit at the Center for Middle East and Global Order. They talk about Iran\u2019s worsening environmental issues, the Iranian government\u2019s decades-long mismanagement and overexploitation of its natural resources, and how Western sanctions play into the Iranian regime\u2019s environmental strategy. Dr. Hakim closes the interview with thoughts on how U.S. policymakers should weigh environmental protection with broader foreign policy priorities. Later in the episode, Jon sits down with Will Todman and Danny Sharp to break down Will\u2019s latest report \u201cThe Unique Promise of Environmental Cooperation in the Gulf,\u201d which argues that diplomacy on environmental issues could be one pathway to reducing tensions and breaking through on some of the trickier security issues in the Gulf.\n\nShirin Hakim and Karen Makuch, \u201cSpringtime in Iran signals the renewal of an environmental movement,\u201d Atlantic Council, April 21, 2023.\n\nShirin Hakim and Karen Makuch, \u201cConflicts of Interest: The Environmental Costs of Modern War and Sanctions,\u201d\xa0RUSI,\xa0May 11, 2022.\n\nWill Todman, Lubna Yousef, and Mennah Abdelwahab, \u201cThe Unique Promise of Environmental Cooperation in the Gulf\u201d CSIS, July 11, 2023.\n\nTranscript, \u201cShirin Hakim: Iran's Environmental Challenges\u201d CSIS, July 11, 2023.