Helen Thompson is Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University. Speaking to Srijana Mitra Das, she discusses Iran — and why the Tehran conflict is occuing. Q. What is the core of your research? A. Over the last 10 years, my work has primarily focused on the geopolitics and political economy of energy, which includes both fossil fuels and the energy transition. I’m also interested in the historical impact energy has had on economic life around the world and democratic politics, particularly in Western countries.