Commentary and Analysis

Were Israel's strikes on Iran preemptive or preventative? Paul Poast weighs in on why the semantics are significant.

CNN's Harry Enten draws on Council-Ipsos polling to analyze American attitudes toward Iran's nuclear program.

Bruce Jentleson and other experts discuss the ongoing debate over whether the United States should get directly involved in the Israel-Iran conflict.

"He wants a deal where he's the hero and I think the Iranians would really benefit by moving in that direction," Cécile Shea says of Trump's next steps.

"I really think [President Trump] wants the ceasefire, and a lot of his bellicosity is to try to pressure Iran to come to the table," Cécile Shea says.

"There's been tension building, but yesterday, what happened last night, was definitely an escalation," Paul Poast says of the ongoing conflict between the two nations.

"The current situation is at a much higher level of intensity to where it doesn't seem like that's going to be easy to achieve, if it could even be achieved at all," Paul Poast says of diplomacy between the United States and Iran.

The centrality of wealth in US politics under Trump is more a sign of continuity than change. His falling out with Elon Musk only underscores this point, Paul Poast writes.

"I suspect that Israel, like a lot of other countries, just decided that [Iran's nuclear] program was moving ahead too quickly," Cécile Shea says.

Decades of integration between the two North American neighbors risks coming undone.