Welcome to the President's Inbox, a CFR podcast about the foreign policy challenges facing the United States.

I'm Jim Lindsay, Director's Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

This week's topic is Iran's attack on Israel.

With me to discuss Iran's unprecedented attack on Israel over the weekend are Stephen Cook and Raytake.

Stephen is the E&I Enrico Matai Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies here at the Council and a columnist at Foreign Policy Magazine.

He is the author of the forthcoming book, The End of Ambition,

America's Past, Present, and Future in the Middle East.

His newest piece for CFR.org is Iran attack means an even tougher balancing act

for the U.S. in the Middle East.

Reyes, the Haseebjee Saba Sabah Senior Fellow for Middle East Studies at the Council.

His research focuses on Iran and U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East.

His most recent book is The Last Shah, America, Iran, in the fall of the Bahlavi dynasty.

Ray wrote a piece this past Sunday for cfr..org titled Iran attacks on Israel's spur escalation

concerns. He also has an op-ed co-authored out in the New York Times. Today, title keeping U.S.

power behind Israel will keep Iran at bay. Stephen and Ray, thank you very much for joining me

on the president's inbox. Thanks for having me. Thank you for having us. Thanks. Ray, thank you very much for joining me on the president's inbox.

Thanks for having me.

Thank you for having us. Thanks.

Ray, I'd like to begin with you, if I may. Iran and Israel have been waging a shadow war for decades.

Iran has used a wide variety of proxies to attack Israel. Israel has used covert operations to target Iran, and particularly its

nuclear weapons program. Fighting from the shadows provided both countries with a level of

deniability, but this weekend's attack was from Iranian soil to Israeli soil. Why did Iran take the war out of the shadows?

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