Trump strikes Iran

Trump strikes Iran

From Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes by ECFR

March 1, 2026 · 34 min

About this episode

Mark Leonard discusses the implications of Trump's military strikes on Iran with experts from ECFR.

In this emergency episode, Mark Leonard is joined by Ellie Geranmayeh , deputy director of ECFR’s Middle East and North Africa programme, Jeremy Shapiro, ECFR’s research director, and Cinzia Bianco , ECFR visiting fellow, to discuss the dramatic escalation following a massive joint US–Israeli military operation against Iran’s leadership and military infrastructure. What are Trump’s war aims and does he really seek regime change? Could Iran’s political system survive this shock, or is deeper transformation underway? How are Gulf states reacting as they find themselves on the front line? And with Europe largely sidelined so far, what role could or should Europeans play in preventing further escalation? This emergency episode was recorded on Sunday afternoon, 2pm UK time, as events continue to unfold. Trump’s strikes on Iran are an illegal war of choice—and Europeans should say so by Ellie Geranmayeh Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Mark Leonard

Guests: Ellie Geranmayeh, Jeremy Shapiro, Cinzia Bianco

Topics covered

  • US-Iran relations
  • military operations
  • Middle East politics
  • European foreign policy
  • Gulf states reactions
  • regime change

Keywords

  • Trump
  • Iran
  • military operation
  • regime change
  • Gulf states
  • Europe
  • Middle East
  • escalation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: ECFR

Places: Iran, Europe

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