Today, I joined CNN News Central to talk about where we are on Iran. The United States faces a conundrum. The Iranian regime is not going to be cowed into a nuclear deal, particularly zero enrichment (which I find hard to believe they would do), without major, major concessions from us. Those concessions, even if some sound good (like US economic opportunities), mean significant sanctions relief, i.e., lots of money flowing into this economically and morally bankrupt and dangerous regime. After killing so many Iranians, can we do that deal? And can we, should we do that deal when Iran’s missile force is an actual and growing threat that would worsen with sanctions relief? Hard to imagine we would. So we could walk/sail away, which makes us look weak. Hard to imagine. Or use our massive force to strike Iran. That’s getting easier to imagine.

We are not even halfway through the first month of the New Year, and there is more going on geopolitically than ever. Here is my take from last night on Iran with Kaitlan Collins and Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari on CNN. The President and his team are meeting today (Tuesday) at the White House to decide how to respond to the Islamic Republic regime’s brutal repression of its people. The options include diplomacy, covert action, a range of military options, or a combination of these. Unlike the first Trump Administration, our partners in the region (Gulf states and Israel) oppose U.S. military strikes on Iran, at least at this juncture, fearing Iranian retaliation. Formulating U.S. policy is not easy. The considerations that must be weighed include: The reputational/deterrence risk of not doing enough to back protesters being murdered by the regime and to back up Pres. Trump’s public warning that the U.S. is “locked and loaded” and will respond militarily if the regime kills protesters (that red line has been crossed); The risk of Iranian retaliation or a pre-emptive strike against Israel and Gulf partners when the US now lacks the aircraft carrier and other assets that were essential in providing

I joined Anderson Cooper 360 with Brett McGurk to talk about this tremendous, historical day in the Middle East. I’m hopeful that we will see Israeli living hostages returned to their families by this weekend. I also hope that a return of most of the deceased hostages, a partial withdrawal of IDF troops, and the beginning of a massive influx of aid for the people of Gaza will follow. President Trump deserves enormous credit for bringing this about. He did two things that fundamentally changed the dynamics. First, regarding Israel, he recognized the overwhelming Israeli public desire to end the war, that the endless, devastating war was unsustainable, horrific, and counterproductive for Israel (and, by extension, the U.S.), and that he needed to force Netanyahu’s hand and give him no option but to accept the peace plan. Second, President Trump worked with the momentum in Europe and among the Muslim countries in support of a Palestinian state to forge Muslim leadership support (and input in) his 20-point peace plan. This was a monumental change; Muslim leaders from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey gave Hamas no option but to accept this first phase of the plan (hostage/prisoner exchange). At the risk of