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.
Is this a contained escalation, or the start of something much bigger? Former US Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro joins from Tel Aviv to unpack what’s driving this moment.
"US President Donald Trump and his administration are plainly unmoved by claims that they bear responsibility for the fates of nations where the United States has intervened," Council Senior Nonresident Fellow Suzanne Nossel writes.
"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."
US President Donald Trump has called for regime change, the destruction of Iranian military capability, and the degradation of proxy groups. But an operation with multiple goals carries greater risk.
"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.
What does Japan’s Prime Minister signal for security, alliances, and power in Asia and beyond? Takako Hikotani and Noah Sneider explore from the ground.
