Ceasefire Tensions
The U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran February 28 that killed the Middle Eastern country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah. A lot has happened in the last 40 days since the start of the war in Iran. Central Floridians have been following a roller coaster, high stakes week. Yesterday, Iran said the ceasefire is unreasonable. The day before, President Trump threatened to blow up infrastructure in Iran and warned a whole civilization would die if his demands and deadlines weren’t met.
Local community leaders and activists join Engage to discuss how the impacts of what’s happening in Iran and the Middle East are being felt here.
Pooyan Balouchian, the former President of the Iranian American Community Center of Central Florida, organized a gathering of Iranian Americans in downtown Orlando to celebrate the possible end of the regime shortly after the Supreme Leader was killed.
Representative Anna Eskamani says she is in constant communication with other Iranian American elected officials across the country and in Central Florida, and she is trying to stay in touch with family in Iran. The Democrat from Orlando is critical of the President’s rhetoric this week.
Houman Sadri, Associate Professor of International Relations at UCF, is navigating the developments on a professional and personal level.
Terrorist Designation Law
On Monday, Governor DeSantis signed HB 1471 into law. The bill creates a process for the state’s chief of domestic security, the Governor, and his Cabinet, to designate certain groups as terrorist organizations. It allows the state to restrict funding to organizations that receive the designation.
At the bill signing in Tampa, DeSantis explained the motivation behind the bill. There, the governor mentioned CAIR, The Council on American-Islamic Relations. The nonprofit was founded in 1994 to advocate for the rights of American Muslims.
The Florida chapter defends the region’s Islamic communities against discrimination, works on policies to encourage inclusive communities, and promote youth programs. The governor’s previous attempt to label CAIR as a terrorist organization at the state level was blocked in court. Hiba Rahim, the Interim Executive Director of CAIR-Florida, joins Engage to discuss her concerns about HB 1471.
Artemis II Heads Home
The astronauts on NASA's Artemis II mission are heading back to Earth from their journey around the moon. They traveled farther than any other humans have before. Central Florida Public Media Assistant News Director and host of the “Are We There Yet?” podcast Brendan Byrne joins Engage to discuss some of the most critical parts of this mission happening this week.
