Iran expert says Trump's 'war of choice' has morphed into a 'war of necessity'
Iran expert says Trump's 'war of choice' has morphed into a 'war of necessity' March 17, 2026 6:27 PM ET Heard on Fresh Air Terry Gross 43-Minute Listen A man stands in a damaged residence in Tehran on March 14. Majid Saeedi/Getty Images Europe Three weeks into the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran , it remains unclear how or when the conflict might end. When asked by a reporter on Sunday if he was ready to declare victory, President Trump responded , "no, I don't want to do that. There's no reason to." Karim Sadjadpour , a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace , says the president seems to have underestimated Iran's response to the war. Sadjadpour notes that Iran telegraphed from the beginning that it planned to regionalize the conflict. But, he says, "President Trump said that that took him by surprise when Iran started to attack the Persian Gulf countries or close down the Strait of Hormuz." Spon...
