In math iteration and recursion are defined as sibling isomorphic concepts. You can desugar recursion into iteration and you can “desugar” iteration into recursion. See Turing completeness and lambda calculus. The topic at hand is which angle provides a better view of this singular isomorphic concept (iteration vs. recursion) that makes it easier to understand. The isomorphism itself (which is what your expose gets into) is already well known.