Shaherzad Ahmadi, associate professor of history at the University of St. Thomas College of Arts and Sciences, recently spoke with Angela Davis at MPR News about the history and complexities of the Iran-Israel-U.S. relationship and possible implication of recent developments.
From the story:
After the U.S. attacked three Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend, Israel launched wide-ranging strikes on Tehran and Iran fired missiles at the largest American military installation in the Middle East. And according to President Donald Trump, Israel and Iran have agreed to a cease-fire.
MPR News host Angela Davis and her guests talk about the latest developments in the conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States.
Ahmadi: There have been two justifications. One being that uranium levels have reached a critical level. That has been the case for some time. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard made a statement back in March saying that Iran had not made a determination to acquire nuclear bombs. Then the question remains, if the matter was not so urgent in March, what intelligence exists to suggest that is was so urgent in the last couple of weeks?
The second justification has been that such an intervention could overturn the regime. That kind of regime change policy is extremely unpopular, so this is not what they are promoting as their frontline justification. But it seems to, I think most observers of both Israeli and American discourse, that this is the major reason. That the U.S. wanted to intervene in this aggressive way.
