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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Look forward to joining this @chathamhouse.org conversation, October 6 in London. Register here: www.chathamhouse.org/events/all/s...

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

going in for the socialist fraternal kiss

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

“Just weeks ago,” I told Reuters, “Trump adopted a strategy of squeezing Iran's economy while keeping military conflict at levels too low to squeeze the American economy. The Houthis have shattered Trump's plan." www.reuters.com/world/middle...

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I told MSNOW that one lesson of 9/11 that U.S. foreign policy still hasn't learned is this: “The objectives set at the outset of a conflict are fateful — one better be careful about setting objectives that may turn out to exceed our capabilities.” www.ms.now/news/sept-11...

ms.now

These four lessons from 9/11 are seemingly forgotten

The U.S launched wars and major reforms in the wake of the Sept.11, 2001 terror attacks. The country's already walked away from many of those painful lessons.

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

A pleasure to join @tparsi.bsky.social and Tom Switzer. I argued that if U.S. pressure is effective in hurting Iran, Iran will more likely escalate than capitulate. www.youtube.com/live/6kHlAeU...

youtube.com

Has Iran lost? Trita Parsi & Stephen Wertheim

YouTube video by Switzerland with Tom Switzer

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Some in the Trump administration see the problem I see—that America is militarily overextended and allies should step up. The National Security Strategy rightly says we should no longer hold up the globe like Atlas. But you don't have to drop the globe and start kicking it around, either.

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

The Iran war is a crisis of American governance. Nobody voted for it. Trump ripped up the nuclear deal for partisan reasons and then launched an attack he thought would be quick but that every decent analyst said would unfold basically as it has. Even so, Congress won't end it.

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Trump's Iran paradox: he wants to squeeze Iran without returning to all-out war, but the more effectively he squeezes Iran, the more incentive Iran has to escalate and force him to back to all-out war.

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

I told Monocle Radio that having attacked Iran to burnish his legacy, Trump may not stop until he can semi-plausibly claim a win. If so, he’ll probably be at war for the rest of his term — and end up as the president who started another forever war. monocle.com/radio/shows/...

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Insightful piece on the decline of resistance liberals, who cast Trump as a "not normal" outsider and the national-security state as the savior. In their place is an acceptance that Trump is an American problem and the solution is to change what has long passed as normal, foreign policy included.

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Courage, in this account, is ordering subordinates to bomb a country for reasons you can't explain and might not know yourself, being surprised when the war goes exactly as predicted by people you ignored, claiming victory when you've lost, and

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

"All the pathologies I saw in the Iraq War are present in this one, only in more virulent form." kansaspress.ku.edu/blog/2026/08...

kansaspress.ku.edu

https://kansaspress.ku.edu/blog/2026/08/19/war-in-iran-former-strategist/

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Trump went to war because sanctions could not work. Now he’s imposing sanctions because war could not work.

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

I told @reuters.com that Trump's foreign policy is not going well: "He is obsessed with applying coercion, and sometimes flattery, to bend others to his will, but oblivious to their strategic goals and domestic politics. As a result, he keeps flailing and failing."

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

A banger avant la lettre www.nytimes.com/1998/04/27/o...

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Gaping holes in this @washingtonpost.com editorial: "Containment is working." To do what — choke Iran's economy while Iran chokes the strait and raises prices for Americans?

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Only around one-third of Americans alive today were adults at any point in the Cold War.

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Three longstanding elements of U.S. policy have led the United States to war and defeat in Iran:

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

U.S. foreign policy is beset by virtue-signaling moralism claiming to save the world and vice-signaling immoralism seeking to dominate the world — often amounting to the same thing.

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

A pleasure to join Rob Malley and Chris Chivvis to discuss how Trump’s war with Iran might end (if it does). youtu.be/Lbh_sKoqhsU?...

youtu.be

Can America Avoid a Forever War with Iran?

President Trump entered office promising a historic breakthrough wi...

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

If this is the logic Trump is acting on, he’ll be at war with Iran for the rest of his presidency.

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Sharing a few recent international interviews interpreting U.S. foreign policy under Trump: 'Trump zal altijd blijven geloven dat Europese landen erop uit zijn de VS te benadelen' www.knack.be/nieuws/werel... 'La frattura dell’Atlantico è irreparabile' limesonline.com/rivista/nato...

knack.be

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

"In being quick to threaten and cavalier with assurances, the president has undercut the vital qualities that enable coercion to succeed. To repair this damage, future administrations will need to cultivate a U.S. reputation for restraint." www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

foreignaffairs.com

The Lost Art of Coercion

Why Trump’s belligerence is a sign of weakness.

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Everything Trump says about Iran is one of two things: 1. They’re desperate to make a deal and there’s going to be a deal. 2. I will bomb their bridges and power plants and end their civilization. The cycle repeats within the week, sometimes daily. For more than four months and counting.

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Forget freedom of navigation: it’s now a battle for whose piracy will prevail. Perfect example of what happens when liberal internationalists hitch their wagon to Trump.

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Think of it: A NATO summit at which the American president called for taking control of an ally's territory is deemed a success.

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

At this week's NATO summit, it should be clear not only that Trump will remain aggrieved at his North Atlantic allies for as long as he is president, but also that NATO is undergoing a structural adjustment rooted in diverging transatlantic perceptions of interests and threats.

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Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 01/07/2026

At this year’s NATO summit in Ankara, European leaders are building a stronger Europe-led alliance as America’s commitment shifts. @sophiabesch.bsky.social, @iacoskun.bsky.social, Nate Reynolds, and @stephenwertheim.bsky.social examine what’s shaping the summit. carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...

carnegieendowment.org

Ahead of the Ankara Summit, NATO’s Mood Has Changed

European allies are less focused on appeasing Trump and more focused on smoothing the transition to a Europe-led alliance.

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Leah Greenberg ❌👑 @leahgreenberg.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

the core strategy of the AIPAC faction has been to never give an inch, concede absolutely nothing to good faith critiques, and crush opposition relentlessly. that works until it doesn't, and then it really, really doesn't work at all

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Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Robert Malley and Stephen Wertheim: "What began as the closest, most integrated US-Israeli military campaign in history ended with” Trump publicly rebuking Netanyahu “in the harshest terms, criticizing his 'vicious' bellicosity in Lebanon and accusing him of jeopardizing a deal with Iran."

nytimes.com

Opinion | Trump’s Iran Debacle Could Be a Gift for America

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Foreign Policy for America @fp4america.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

In today’s #MustRead, Robert Malley & Stephen Wertheim argue Trump’s war with Iran ended in political and strategic failure, weakening U.S. influence, straining ties with Israel and Gulf allies, and exposing limits of military force without clear long term strategy. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/23/o...

nytimes.com

Opinion | Trump’s Iran Debacle Could Be a Gift for America

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Eroding support for Israel hasn't much changed U.S. policy yet, I told @nytimes.com, but it might soon: “We could reach a tipping point where all of a sudden, the relationship changes profoundly. We could then underestimate the velocity and depth of the change in U.S. policy that might result."

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

I told @ianmastersmedia.bsky.social that many speak of the fog of war; America and Iran are now bringing us the fog of peace. But an opportunity has emerged — one that hasn't existed in decades — for the two countries to get off their 47-year path of confrontation. soundcloud.com/user-8304426...

soundcloud.com

Could There Be a Silver Lining in the Otherwise Disaster US/Israel Brought to the Persian Gulf?

Background Briefing goes far beyond the headlines and deep under the radar to bring forward truths unheard elsewhere in American media. Background Briefing features international and national news, ex

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Ahead of Mark Rutte's meeting with Trump today, I told Reuters: "The NATO summit carries a potential for significant risk because Trump is upset and erratic, and even if Rutte comes and thinks he has an understanding with Trump, who knows what two weeks later will bring."

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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 24/06/2026

In @nytopinion.nytimes.com “Iran, by all rights, should not be one of America’s top problems. One day, one way or another, it will cease to be. The question is when, and at how terrible a price,” Robert Malley and Stephen Wertheim write.

nyti.ms

Opinion | Trump’s Iran Debacle Could Be a Gift for America

There is at least a chance that America will not return to war with Iran, but find a way to turn the page on 47 years of animosity and confrontation.

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Jesse Walker @notjessewalker.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Good line: "Think Nixon going to China—if Nixon had bombed China first."

nytimes.com

Opinion | Trump’s Iran Debacle Could Be a Gift for America

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jstreetdotorg.bsky.social @jstreetdotorg.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

What if the greatest legacy of Trump’s war against Iran is proving that the hawks were wrong? Rob Malley and Stephen Wertheim argue that after years of promises, the advocates of pressure, escalation and war finally got their chance – and exposed the limits of military force in the process.

nytimes.com

Opinion | Trump’s Iran Debacle Could Be a Gift for America

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Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 23/06/2026

“Those opposed to yesterday’s Iran war have a stake in preventing tomorrow’s—and replacing failed policy with diplomacy.” @stephenwertheim.bsky.social and Robert Malley in @nytopinion.nytimes.com break down the major lessons of Trump’s war with Iran for America: www.nytimes.com/2026/06/23/o...

nytimes.com

Opinion | Trump’s Iran Debacle Could Be a Gift for America

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New York Times Opinion @nytopinion.nytimes.com · 23/06/2026

“Iran, by all rights, should not be one of America’s top problems. One day, one way or another, it will cease to be. The question is when, and at how terrible a price,” Robert Malley and Stephen Wertheim write.

nyti.ms

Opinion | Trump’s Iran Debacle Could Be a Gift for America

There is at least a chance that America will not return to war with Iran, but find a way to turn the page on 47 years of animosity and confrontation.

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Vali Nasr @valinasr.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Smart take 👇🏼 on the opportunity Trump has to do something big with Iran akin to Nixon going to China, but does he have the vision and patience?

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Trump is now Nixon going to China — if Nixon had bombed China first. A remarkable if fragile opportunity has emerged to end this misbegotten war and begin to take America and Iran off their 47-year path of confrontation, Rob Malley and I write in @nytopinion.nytimes.com. Read paywall free:

nytimes.com

Opinion | Trump’s Iran Debacle Could Be a Gift for America

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

I joined BBC radio to assess the damage to U.S. global power from losing a war to one of America's longest-running adversaries: youtu.be/FBNH0g3TlbM

youtu.be

A Moment that Could be Momentous: The U.S.-Iran Deal

Interview with Stephen Wertheim on BBC4 Radio's This Week This Weekend, June 21, 2026

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

"A standard 7-kilowatt rooftop solar system that costs $28,000 to install in the United States would cost roughly $4,000 in Australia or $10,000 in Germany, according to the research and advocacy group Permit Power." www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/o...

nytimes.com

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

For the sake of losing our war in Iran harder, the United States launched precision strikes that keep people dealing with 100-degree heat from having water. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/10/w...

nytimes.com

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Stephen Wertheim @stephenwertheim.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

It looks like Trump will end up alienating both Iran hawks and Iran doves. The former have to blame him for a failed war and the inevitable compromise; the latter can’t forgive his decision to bomb Iran in the first place.

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