What does the Islamic Republic really want? As the US imposes a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz in order to ratchet up the pressure on Iran, the two sides still seem intent on trying to find a way to make negotiations work and to bring an end to this destructive war that's affected so many in the region and worldwide. The question is, who is making the decisions inside of Iran? And what do they really want?

We know what the US says it wants. It wants the opening of the Strait of Hormuz and it wants Iran to vow never to seek a nuclear weapon. The Iranian side is a bit more complicated and opaque. Is it about economic issues? Is it about maintaining control of the of Hormuz? or is it about something else altogether?

I'm Jasmine El-Gamal, and this is The View From Here, where every week we take you behind the headlines and into the lives of the people living them.

This week, I spoke to Iranian analyst Hamidreza Azizi. He's a foreign policy and security expert and currently a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin, working in the Africa and Middle East research division. Previously, he served as an assistant professor of regional studies at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran from 2016 to 2020. He holds a PhD in regional studies from the University of Tehran, although has not been able to return home for several years now.

In just two days, we've gone from President Donald Trump threatening to destroy all of civilization in Iran, to a ceasefire agreement and vice President JD Vance now headed to Islamabad, Pakistan for negotiations with the Iranians.

But in the meantime, Israel is pounding Lebanon. On April 8th, the IDF conducted 100 strikes across Lebanon in 10 minutes scenes of absolute terror and carnage. Iran says that it will not go through with the negotiations as long as Israel continues to conduct these strikes. Israel and Vice President Vance are saying that Lebanon was never part of the deal. The Pakistani Prime Minister, as the mediator is saying it was. So what happens now?

I'm Jasmine El-Gamal, and this is the view from here where every week we take you behind the headlines and into the lives of the people living them.

To unpack all of this, I spoke to Israeli analyst Danny Citrinowicz. Danny spent 25 years in Israeli defense intelligence studying Iran and Hezbollah. He now works at the Institute for National Security Studies in Israel.

Who are the Houthis in Yemen and why did they wait weeks after the war between Israel, Iran, and the US started in order to get involved?

How did they originate? Where did they come from? What do they want? Are they really just a proxy that does whatever Iran tells them to? Or are they an organization that has their own objectives and are only allied with Iran when it also suits their own purpose?

I'm Jasmine El-Gamal, and this is the View From Here, where every week we take you behind the headlines and into the lives of the people living them.

This week, Jasmine spoke to Baraa Shiban, a Yemeni analyst who has lived with the Houthis, negotiated with them and has spent years trying to figure out exactly what makes them tick. They talked about the recent history of Yemen, how the Houthis evolved into the organization that they are right now, what they really want out of their relationships with Iran, with Hezbollah in Lebanon, how they feel about Saudi Arabia, the United States and Israel and so much more.