Why Trump Decided to Attack Iran Right Now—and What His Endgame Is

Elizabeth Saunders and Kian Tajbakhsh discuss President Trump’s decision to attack Iran, assessing the value of weakening an anti-American regime versus the risk of starting another conflict in the Middle East.

You can watch this episode of Right Now With Perry Bacon above or by following this show on YouTube or Substack.

The United States and Israel started a military offensive in Iran on Saturday morning. Iran then launched retaliatory strikes. Elizabeth Saunders, a political scientist at Columbia University who studies U.S. foreign policy, and Kian Tajbakhsh, a New York University international relations professor, discussed these military actions and their potential implications for the United States, Iran, Israel, and the world overall in the latest edition of Right Now.

Right Now With Perry Bacon is a twice-weekly show about national politics with a focus on the radicalism of the Trump administration and tactics to combat it. The program, hosted by New Republic staff writer Perry Bacon on Substack, features in-depth discussions with experts and politicians. It goes beyond the daily headlines to explain why things are happening and put them in a broader context.

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