meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Foreign Policy Live

A Debate Over the War in Iran

Foreign Policy Live

Foreign Policy

News Commentary, News, Politics

4.1622 Ratings

🗓️ 12 March 2026

⏱️ 41 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

As the war in Iran soon enters its third week, two experts join FP Live for a debate. Were the United States and Israel justified in attacking Iran? And will the war advance U.S. interests in the region, or set them back? Trita Parsi and Matthew Kroenig sit down with executive editor Dan Ephron to discuss. Parsi is the executive vice president at the Quincy Institute, and Kroenig is an FP columnist and a senior director at the Atlantic Council. Trita Parsi: Iran’s Despair Is U.S. Policy Matthew Kroenig: The Case for Destroying Iran’s Nuclear Program Now Matthew Kroenig: Why a Wider War with Iran Is Unlikely Matthew Kroenig: Trump Made History. Now the Iranian People Can, Too. Michael Hirsh: So This, Finally, Is the ‘Trump Doctrine’ John Haltiwanger: The Trump Administration’s Iran War Justifications Keep Changing Suzanne Nossel: It’s Time to Retire the Pottery Barn Rule Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

There once was a woman who lived in a shoe.

0:03.0

A size too snug, but what could she do?

0:06.0

But that's not where her story ends.

0:08.0

Thanks to a little help from her Experian friends,

0:11.0

she got her score into much better shape

0:13.0

and relocated to a box fresh new place,

0:16.0

with room to grow and a mortgage to suit.

0:19.0

Now, she lives in a spacious four-bedroom cowboy boots.

0:23.3

Better your Experian credit score to help get mortgage ready. Experian. Better your score.

0:28.7

Better your story. Hi, I'm Dan Efron, Foreign Policy's executive editor. This is FP Live.

0:40.8

You're used to hearing Ravi's voice at the top of the show. He's away this week,

0:45.1

but there's so much going on in the world. We didn't want to leave you without an episode.

0:49.2

So we're focusing again on the war in Iran, but our format is going to be a little different.

0:54.8

This week we're featuring a debate about the war. Was the Trump administration justified

0:59.8

in attacking Iran? And will the war advance U.S. interests in the region or set them back?

1:06.3

Joining me are two terrific guests with opposing views on the war. Matthew Kronig is an FP columnist.

1:13.9

He's also senior director of the Skokroft Center at the Atlantic Council. He once advised

1:18.8

Senator Marco Rubio, who of course is now Secretary of State, and he also served in the

1:23.9

first Trump administration in the Defense Department. If you read as columns

1:28.0

an FP, you know that Matt has been arguing for military strikes on Iran for a long time.

1:33.4

We'll put some links in the show notes. And Trita Parsi is the executive vice president at the

1:39.4

Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. He also co-founded and formerly ran the National Iranian

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Foreign Policy, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Foreign Policy and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.