I have said for over 10 years that the declared policy of the United States of America

should be the overthrow of the Mullah's regime in Tehran.

I mean, I have John Bolton and I have other people that are a little more doveish than him,

and ultimately I make the decision.

This ratcheting up of tensions was all too predictable, all too calculated, and it has led us to

the precipice of potential catastrophe. The world must know that we do not go abroad in search of

enemies. As a candidate, Donald Trump promised to end America's current military engagements

and avoid any new ones.

But since moving into the White House, he has frequently and openly threatened war with Iran.

In a tweet this past weekend, he warned, if Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran.

Close quote.

In the Middle East, among U.S. allies in Europe and in the United States, that is not being dismissed as political bombast.

One commentator has written, the sense of foreboding is tangible. The threats from both

sides are no longer rhetorical. She is Robin Wright, who writes for the New Yorker magazine,

longtime journalist and expert on that region. Welcome, as always, to our program.

Great to be with you, Warren. What are the threats from both sides that you're talking about?

Well, the tension has been building since President Trump took office and abandoned the Iran nuclear deal and reimposed economic sanctions.

But over the past two months, those tensions have escalated as the United States took the very

unusual step of designating the entire revolutionary guards, a terrorist organization.

The first time the United States has done that about the conventional army of any country,

anywhere in the world. And for a couple of a few weeks after that, there was not a sense of

major response or movement by Iran.

...