‘I’m Flabbergasted by the Relentless Pessimism’: 3 Opinion Writers on Iran

By Nicholas KristofMegan K. StackBret Stephens and Stephen Stromberg

The United States and Israel have been conducting airstrikes on Iran for a week and a half. Stephen Stromberg, an editor in Opinion, on Wednesday convened the Opinion columnists Nicholas Kristof and Bret Stephens and the Opinion contributing writer Megan K. Stack to discuss how the war is developing and how it might end.

The conversation has been edited for clarity.

Stephen Stromberg: How has your view of the war changed over the last week and a half? Nick, why don’t you start?

Nicholas Kristof: I thought attacking Iran was a terrible idea but that there was always some small possibility that it would actually succeed and prompt an uprising. Now that seems more unlikely than ever, partly because President Trump has acted in ways that boost Iranian nationalism — with talk of arming the Kurds, attacks on cultural sites, his failure to apologize for a strike that hit a girls’ school — and arguably help the regime.

I also thought that the war might end quickly, partly because both sides would want it to. Now I think it may drag on, in part because Iran seems intent on re-establishing deterrence, making the West pay a substantial price so that it is less likely to attack again. Paradoxically, Iran may be happier than Trump to lengthen the war.

I’ve also been surprised that the Trump administration seems to be contemplating inserting ground troops, either to try to recover Iran’s highly enriched uranium or to seize Kharg Island, Iran’s oil export hub. Both would risk significant casualties and make an exit even more difficult.

Bret Stephens: I’m flabbergasted by the relentless pessimism I’m seeing in much of the commentariat. We are less than two weeks into a war that will almost surely be over by the end of the month, and already there are predictions that it’s “another Iraq.” American casualties, heartbreaking as they are, have been minor for a conflict of this scale. Iran’s ability to threaten its neighbors diminishes by the day: We’ve seen this in the sharp decline in its ballistic missile and drone attacks. I have to assume that before this war is over, we will find a way to remove Iran’s remaining stores of highly enriched uranium, which greatly enhances global security over the long term. And Iran’s leaders, for all their swagger, now know they are not immune from reprisal, which will make them think a lot more carefully as they plot their retaliation. We may not see regime change now, but this regime is likely to become a zombie state before the next, all-but-inevitable, popular uprising.

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Nicholas Kristof became a columnist for The Times Opinion desk in 2001 and has won two Pulitzer Prizes. His new memoir is “Chasing Hope: A Reporter's Life.” @NickKristof

Megan K. Stack is a contributing Opinion writer. She has been a correspondent in China, Russia, Egypt, Israel, Afghanistan and the U.S.-Mexico border area. Her first book, a narrative account of the post-Sept. 11 wars, was a finalist for the National Book Award in nonfiction. @Megankstack

Bret Stephens is an Opinion columnist for The Times, writing about foreign policy, domestic politics and cultural issues. Facebook

Stephen Stromberg is a Times opinion editor, focused on politics and economics. He has covered U.S. politics and policy since 2001. He joined The Times in 2025 from The Washington Post, where he was deputy editor of the opinion section.

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