American Prestige

Trita Parsi, Quincy Institute co-founder and Iran expert, and Akbar Shahid Ahmed, HuffPost diplomatic correspondent, unpack U.S.-Iran escalation. They discuss Trump’s miscalculation about Iran collapsing, Israeli and hawk influence on policy, erosion of rules of engagement, risks of ground troops, shifting objectives, and whether Gulf pressure offers any off-ramps.

A rapid rundown of reported U.S. F-15s downed over Kuwait and the mystery around what caused the losses. Discussion of strikes inside Iran and Tehran’s missile counterattacks. Coverage of Hezbollah and Israeli exchanges in Lebanon. Reports on attacks against Gulf oil infrastructure and disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz.

They discuss the assassination of Iran's supreme leader and the chaotic questions around who will succeed him. They cover how the strike was carried out and what intelligence and timing factors were involved. They outline the widening military clash with strikes, naval skirmishes, and regional unrest. They describe mass mourning inside Iran and escalating attacks on embassies and ships.

Breaking news of coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and the question of whether the aim is regime change. Reports of widespread strikes and heavy civilian casualties, including an attack on a girls’ elementary school. Iran’s limited retaliatory strikes, threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, and the risk that the conflict could expand across the region.

Talks in Geneva resume under the shadow of possible U.S. strike options against Iran. A top Mexican cartel leader is killed, sparking waves of violence. Cross-border strikes flare between Pakistan and Afghanistan amid rising regional tensions. Reports show a surge in journalist killings and new phases of militant activity across Syria and Darfur.

Dalia Dassa Kaye, senior fellow at UCLA and author on U.S.-Iran relations, explores decades of hostility and the current brinkmanship. She unpacks how politics, past crises, and Israel’s role shaped policy. Conversations touch on missed diplomatic openings, limits of strikes, sanctions’ failings, and why clear objectives remain elusive.

Alexander McKeever, publisher of This Week in Northern Syria and analyst of northeastern Syrian politics, outlines the rapid collapse of the SDF’s autonomous project. He discusses tribal defections, opaque decision-making, PKK-linked cadres, shifting alliances in Arab areas, and what integration with Damascus means for local governance and Kurdish rights.

Coverage of rising U.S.-Iran tensions and reports of potential military strikes. Discussion of UN allegations of ethnic cleansing in Gaza and West Bank. Report on a U.S. military withdrawal from Syria. Updates on Sudan genocide findings, Peru political turmoil, Cuba’s worsening fuel crisis, and rollbacks of U.S. climate regulation.

Ben Freeman, director at the Quincy Institute who studies defense spending and arms sales. William Hartung, senior fellow and critic of U.S. military spending and the defense industry. They map how Pentagon budgets balloon, how U.S. weapons saturate global conflicts, and how contractors, lobbying, think tanks, and entertainment shape perpetual war.

Nikhil Pal Singh, historian of race, empire, and US political thought, discusses his 'Homeland Empire' analysis and Trump 2.0. He explains expanding zones of rightlessness and links them to the war on terror and carceral institutions. The conversation surveys mass deportation, continental expansionist rhetoric, frontier nostalgia, and the consolidation of executive power.