Will the United States Attack Iran?

Foreign Policy Live

Foreign Policy

News Commentary, News, Politics

4.1 • 622 Ratings

🗓️ 9 February 2026

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

With the White House continuing to threaten military action against Tehran even as diplomatic talks continue, Iran expert Karim Sadjadpour joins FP Live host Ravi Agrawal to discuss what might come next. Sadjadpour is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Plus, One Thing from Ravi on a sobering new report about a world “Under Destruction.” A transcript of J.D. Vance’s 2025 Munich Security Conference speech Under Destruction: Munich Security Report 2026 Amitav Acharya: The World-Minus-One Moment Follow FP’s MSC coverage here The Atlantic: Karim Sadjadpour and Jack A. Goldstone: Is the Iranian Regime About to Collapse? Trita Parsi: Iran’s Despair Is U.S. Policy Saeid Golkar: Why Iran’s Regime Didn’t Collapse Abbas Milani: Iran’s Crown Prince Has Become Indispensable Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:30.1	Hi, I'm Ravi Agrual, Foreign Policies Editor-in-Chief.
0:34.7	This is FP Live.
0:43.2	So will the United States actually attack Iran?
0:49.2	After what happened in Venezuela a month ago, it would take a very brave person to bet against it. But it's an increasingly urgent question, with a U.S. aircraft carrier stationed in the Middle East,
0:56.2	alongside beefed-up missile defense systems. My guest this week is one of the most astute Iran
1:02.0	watchers in America. But first, one thing on my mind. This coming weekend, world leaders,
1:09.0	foreign ministers, and spy chiefs will show up at the Munich Security Conference.
1:14.1	This is a fairly wonkish gathering, but it's been gaining in salience every year,
1:19.7	especially since Europe found itself at war with Russia.
1:23.3	Last year, US Vice President J.D. Vance's speech in Munich ended up being a defining moment.
1:29.6	Europe woke up to the fact that the United States wasn't going to blindly support them anymore.
1:36.5	That speech was so important. I'm going to leave a link to its transcript in the show notes
1:42.0	so you can read up and also look ahead to all of the news
1:45.7	that will undoubtedly emerge from the conference this year. And I'll be there, of course,
1:50.5	with a great lineup of guests. Now, as I record this on Monday, the 9th of February,
1:57.7	MSC, as it's known, has dropped its annual report.
2:01.6	And it's a stunning reflection of the changed mood in Europe.
	...

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