Welcome to the President's inbox. I'm Jim Lindsay, the Mary and David Boy's Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. This week's topic is Israel strikes Iran.

With me to discuss Operation Rising Lion, Israel's attacks on Iran's senior military leadership and on its nuclear infrastructure is Stephen Cook.

Stephen is the E.N.I. Enrico Muntai Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies at the Council.

He is also a columnist for foreign policy.

Stephen has written four books on Middle East politics, the latest being, the end of the ambition,

America's past, present, and future in the Middle East.

His two most recent pieces for foreign policy are

titled, Israel is going for the death blow on Iran, and the world's criticism doesn't bother Israel.

Stephen, thank you for joining me on the president's inbox. Thanks for having me back, Jim.

Stephen, we're now in the fourth day of Israeli attacks on targets in Iran.

Let's begin at the big question.

What is Israel trying to accomplish?

Well, they've got two goals, which I think are interrelated.

One is to do as much damage to Iran's nuclear program as they possibly can.

And second, to weaken the regime and provide an environment, create an environment where

Iranians may feel that they have an opportunity to finally bring the Islamic Republic

down.

I think they're interconnected, though.

The nuclear program is so closely, sort of symbolically with the regime, but the regime's

power is based on, in part, the nuclear program, that weakening or destroying the nuclear program

also weakens and undermines the regime. So goal, too, is regime change? I think that's the

overarching goal. I think the immediate goal would be to do as much damage to their nuclear program as they possibly can.

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