Why did the U.S. go to war with Iran?
A man holds an Iranian flag as he looks at the damaged façade of Gandhi Hospital, which was hit Sunday when a strike also struck a state TV communications tower and nearby buildings across the street during the ongoing joint U.S.–Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 2, 2026. AP Photo/Vahid Salemi
The United States and Israel went to war with Iran in conjunction with Israel early Saturday morning. The military operation killed Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and more than a hundred at an elementary school for girls in the southern part of the country. The Iranian Red Crescent Society reports a death toll of more than 550 as the war enters its third day. At least three U.S. service members have also been killed, according to President Trump.
A panel of political and foreign affairs experts including two Iranian-Americans discuss the possibility of regime change in Iran, the legality and necessity of the military assaults, and the role of Israel in all of this.
GUESTS
Mateo Mohammad Farzaneh
Professor and Chair of History & Political Science, Northeastern Illinois University
Iranian native
Elahe Javadi
Associate Professor of Information Systems, Illinois State University
Iranian Native
Nicholas Grossman
Political Science Professor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Senior Editor, Arc Digital
Author, “Drones and Terror: Asymmetric Warfare and the Threat to Global Security”
