‘A Cocked Pistol Aimed at Iran’

Three Opinion writers on Iran, Epstein and what power really looks like.

By Michelle CottleDavid French and Nicholas Kristof

Produced by Vishakha Darbha

Power — and the abuse of it — is defining the current news cycle. On this week’s round table of “The Opinions,” the Times Opinion politics writer Michelle Cottle is joined by the columnists Nicholas Kristof and David French to discuss President Trump’s aggressive foreign policy, including the buildup of ships in the Middle East, and what the fallout from the Epstein files misses.

‘A Cocked Pistol Aimed at Iran’

Below is a transcript of an episode of “The Opinions.” We recommend listening to it in its original form for the full effect. You can do so using the player above or on the NYTimes app, Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.

The transcript has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Michelle Cottle: We’ve got a lot of ground to cover today, guys. I want to talk about the Epstein files from the perspective of Nick’s decades-long reporting on sex trafficking. But first, we want to dig into Donald Trump’s foreign policy moves, which is also perfect for Nick, given his years of reporting from around the globe.

So, let’s get into it. First, Iran. And the usual caveat: We are recording this on Thursday morning, so who knows where this will have gone by the time you hear us. But as of now, Trump has called for Iranian officials to agree to a nuclear deal or to face a U.S. attack very soon. This comes hot on the heels of the president’s assertion that regime change would be the best option for Iran, after massive protests erupted across the country, resulting in the deaths of thousands of protesters.

Nick, as someone who has spent time on the ground there and covered this dictatorship — what do people need to understand about what’s going on there and what a U.S. attack would mean?

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Michelle Cottle writes about national politics for Opinion. She has covered Washington and politics since the Clinton administration. @mcottle

David French is an Opinion columnist, writing about law, culture, religion and armed conflict. He is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and a former constitutional litigator. His most recent book is “Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation.” You can follow him on Threads (@davidfrenchjag).

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

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