"The strike that killed Khamenei also wiped out a lot of the potential candidates or people that they thought would be the next in line," Council Senior Nonresident Fellow Paul Poast says. "There's still an immense amount of uncertainty."
"If the ambition is regime change, the means that are being used certainly are insufficient to achieve that," Council President and CEO Leslie Vinjamuri says. "Iran has been succession planning for a very long time."
"The markets can take it for a short amount of time," Council Senior Nonresident Fellow Rachel Bronson says. "Beyond that—very difficult. Prices will increase, [and] people will feel it at home."
Council Senior Nonresident Fellow Suzanne Nossel makes the case for independent oversight of artificial intelligence platforms as its evolving capabilities reshape the world.
"It looks like the very motivation that led the US to enter the war in Iraq is now in play with Iran," Council Senior Nonresident Fellow Paul Poast says.
"Beneath the political turbulence, the transatlantic defense tech ecosystem is expanding rapidly—spanning venture capital, dual-use innovation, and cross-border partnerships," Council Distinguished Nonresident Fellow Ambassador Julianne Smith and Wendy R. Anderson write.
Cécile Shea unpacks the Supreme Court's ruling against US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs and how businesses are bracing for the administration's next moves.
"US foreign policy is now largely subordinate to the private interests of the president and his retainers," Council Senior Nonresident Fellow Alexander Cooley and Daniel Nexon write.
Europe must diversify its partnerships and hedge against Russia, China, and an increasingly unpredictable United States, Council Senior Nonresident Fellow Joshua Busby and Greg Pollock write.
