After Israel and its allies successfully repelled an unprecedented barrage of drones and missiles from Iran over the weekend, the world is bracing for what might happen next. Israel says it has no choice but to respond, but Washington is urging caution. Tehran, meanwhile, says it is standing ready for further escalation.
Will the conflict in the Middle East turn into a broader regional war? What are the likely scenarios for what might happen next? FP’s Ravi Agrawal spoke to Suzanne Maloney, a vice president at the Brookings Institution who has advised both Democratic and Republican administrations on Iran policy, and Ronen Bergman, an Israeli investigative journalist for the New York Times Magazine and the author of books including The Secret War with Iran and Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel’s Targeted Assassinations.
Suzanne Maloney, Iran expert and vice president at the Brookings Institution, says the Iranian regime “understood very clearly this was a red line” in attacking Israel directly.
Maloney describes the domestic pressures that empowered an aggressive, hard-line faction of Iranian politics.
Israeli investigative journalist Ronen Bergman details how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s calculus about his relationship with U.S. President Joe Biden is dominated by a need to maintain his political coalition.
Maloney explains Iran’s increasing assertiveness as an effort to capitalize on what the regime views as Israel’s weakness.
Bergman explores two possible options toward a cease-fire in Gaza.
Suzanne Maloney
Vice president, Brookings Institution
Suzanne Maloney is the vice president and director of the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution, where her research focuses on Iran and the broader Middle East. She has advised the U.S. State Department on Iran policy under both Democratic and Republican administrations. Maloney has published three books on Iran, the most recent of which is The Iranian Revolution at 40.
Ronen Bergman
Staff writer, the New York Times Magazine
Ronen Bergman is an Israeli investigative journalist with expertise in intelligence, national security, terrorism and nuclear affairs. He is a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine. He is the author of books such as The Secret War with Iran, and Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel’s Targeted Assassinations.
Ravi Agrawal
Editor in chief, Foreign Policy
Ravi Agrawal is the editor in chief of Foreign Policy, the host of FP Live, and a regular world affairs analyst on TV and radio. Before joining FP in 2018, Agrawal worked at CNN for more than a decade in full-time roles spanning three continents, including as the network’s New Delhi bureau chief and correspondent. He is the author of India Connected: How the Smartphone Is Transforming the World’s Largest Democracy.
