While the Trump administration's proposed agreement would curtail Tehran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon, it would not touch the real drivers of the Islamic Republic’s power.
“I had never seen the Middle East as chaotic, as dangerous, as spiraling out of control as it is today.” Fawaz Gerges on why he believes the region is entering a much more dangerous phase.
" Even talking about the US formally leaving or just slowly disengaging sends a very dangerous signal to Moscow," Council Distinguished Nonresident Fellow Ambassador Julianne Smith said of President Trump's remarks about withdrawing from NATO.
Targeting Iran's public utilities would constitute a war crime, Council Senior Nonresident Fellow Paul Poast tells NBC 5 Chicago. "There's supposed to be distinction between military and civilian [targets]."
"This is an intervention, a war, a conflict that the US began," says Council Distinguished Nonresident Fellow Ambassador Julianne Smith. "It did not take any information about this intervention to the NATO allies to warn them that there could be asks coming from the United States."
"This is a very deeply unpopular war," Council President and CEO Leslie Vinjamuri says of the widening Iran conflict. "If we see boots on the ground, if we see high-risk operations undertaken, I think that will really galvanize Congress and the American public."
"It really puts Europe in a difficult position. On the one hand, they're frustrated that they've been left out in the cold for this entire operation," says Council Distinguished Nonresident Fellow Julianne Smith. "On the other hand, . . . they're also recognizing that they need the strait to be open."
"The conditions that typically produce short wars—a decisive military advantage, an adversary willing to negotiate, and a clear political end game—are conspicuously absent in this conflict," Council Senior Nonresident Fellow Paul Poast and Pegah Banihashemi write.
