Sanctions, insults and threats: the state of U.S.-Iran relations

Guests: Anne Gearan, Trita Parsi, Elizabeth Rosenberg

President Trump imposed new sanctions on Tuesday aimed at Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and threatened the Republic by saying an attack by Iran on “anything American” would be met with “obliteration.” The Iranians responded calling the sanctions “idiotic” and saying that the path to diplomacy was closed. The rising hostility between the two countries follows Trump’s decision to call off a retaliatory military strike. This hour, we’ll look at what led up to this worrisome turn in US-Iranian relations and whether negotiations are still a possible outcome. We’ll also talk about the state of Iran’s nuclear capabilities, how sanctions are affecting Iranians, and what a war would mean for the US, Iran and the region. Our guests are TRITA PARSI, author and founder of the National Iranian American Council, ELIZABETH ROSENBERG, senior fellow at the Center for New American Security, and ANNE GEARAN, White House reporter for the Washington Post.