"To see that a new leader has emerged that has a strong intention to strike American bases, to keep American interests out of the region, that is a very tough message," says Council President and CEO Leslie Vinjamuri.
As the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran and the conflict intensified, global leaders gathered in New Delhi to debate what comes next. Harsh Pant and Karim Haggag share the takeaways.
"There’s a real ambiguity here: How closely are the United States and Israel aligned right now?" says Council President and CEO Leslie Vinjamuri. "If the United States were to decide ‘game over, we’re done, we’re sort of withdrawing,’ it’s not at all clear that Israel will follow suit."
"It's absolutely critical that the president speak as a leader, that he accept responsibility, that he apologize, and that he articulate to the American people and to his own troops what's being done to rectify this so that it doesn't happen again," says Council President and CEO Leslie Vinjamuri.
"It appears that President Trump has decided that he's going to be the president that brings democracy to Cuba," Council Nonresident Senior Fellow Cécile Shea says. "It's a dangerous goal."
"This is already a relationship that's really encountered some turbulence in recent months," Council Distinguished Nonresident Fellow Ambassador Julianne Smith says of the transatlantic alliance. "Adding this Iran war now into the mix is only creating added friction."
"President Trump has made it extraordinarily difficult to be a partner or an ally of the United States in this moment," Council President and CEO Leslie Vinjamuri tells Sky News.
Council President & CEO Leslie Vinjamuri joins Foreign Secretary of India Vikram Misri and other experts for a conversation on geopolitics at the 2026 Raisina Dialogue.
Washington’s Iran policy should be grounded in human rights, liberalism, democracy, regional stability, national security, and economic opportunity—and treated as both a strategic and a moral issue.
