Episode Notes:

After accusing Iran of orchestrating the attacks on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman last week, the Trump administration announced Monday that it is sending an additional 1,000 American troops to the Middle East.

Jon Alterman, Senior Vice President, Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy, and Director of the Middle East Program at Center for Strategic and International Studies, joins the WarCast to discuss Iranian aims and the risks of miscalculation.

[ 0:17 ] Introduction
[ 0:55 ] Overall assessment
[ 2:00 ] Iran's worst-case scenario
[ 4:24 ] Influence of the U.S. maximum pressure campaign
[ 6:34 ] Calculus of U.S. military strike options
[ 7:45 ] Conditions needed for negotiating