On October 7, the Iran-sponsored terrorist group Hamas unleashed an unprecedented, brutal terrorist attack against Israel, sneaking across its border and killing and kidnapping Israelis, Americans, and other citizens. This attack has escalated tensions between Iran and the West to the brink of another war in the Middle East. But this war will have spillover effects worldwide, especially in Latin America.

For Episode 22 of the Border Wars Podcast, we sit down with Emanuele Ottolenghi, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a researcher who has been examining Iran's proxy networks from the Middle East to Europe to Latin America. We discuss Latin America's transformations after the Cold War and how Iran has capitalized on this to insert itself into the culture, academia, and politics  ...