In The News: July 3, 2025

‘In the News’ is a roundup of recent media coverage featuring the Johns Hopkins SAIS community and is produced and distributed by the Office of Marketing and Communications.

FACULTY U.S. & INTERNATIONAL COVERAGE

Does the United States Need a China Rethink? William L. Clayton Associate Professor Ling Chen wrote in Brookings, 7/2

Life in Iran After the Strikes: Executions, Arrests and Paranoia. Associate Professor and Co-Director of Rethinking Iran Narges Bajoghli quoted in The Wall Street Journal, 6/28

Ready for Blast-off: Can China’s Commercial Space Firms Replicate SpaceX Magic? Adjunct Assistant Professor Svetla Ben-Itzhak quoted in The Straits Times, 6/27

Qué lazos políticos y comerciales tiene Irán con América Latina (y cómo EE.UU. busca reducirlos con la actual crisis). (Spanish) Adjunct Lecturer Cynthia Arnson quoted in BBC Mundo, 6/27

General Caine Faces His First Big Test Under Trump. Professor of Practice Nora Bensahel quoted in The New York Times, 6/26

The Ayatollah Has a Plan. Majid Khadduri Professor of Middle East Studies and International Affairs Vali Nasr wrote in The New York Times, 6/26

Iran Was Battered by Israel and US, But Its Regime Is Intact as Iranians Rally Around Flag, Says Vali Nasr. Vali Nasr interviewed by Al-Monior Podcast, 6/25

Supreme Leader’s Absence Raises Alarm in Iran. James Anderson Adjunct Professor at SAIS Europe Sanam Vakil quoted in The New York Times, 6/25

Execution Of 3 Accused of Spying and Mass Detentions Fuel Crackdown Fears in Iran. Sanam Vakil quoted in NBC News, 6/25

Big Questions Loom Over Trump's Announcement of Israel-Iran Ceasefire Deal. Senior Fellow of the Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies Laura Blumenfeld quoted in Reuters, 6/24

The Son of the Last Shah Wants to Be the Next Leader of Iran. Sanam Vakil quoted in Politico, 6/24

Trump’s Iran Bombing Tests the Limits of British Influence. Sanam Vakil quoted in Politico, 6/24

The War That Will Remake Iran’s Islamic Republic. Sanam Vakil quoted in The Financial Times, 6/24

Too Soon to Celebrate Peace Between Iran and Israel? Vali Nasr interviewed by The Financial Times, 6/24

How Do We Know If US Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Facilities Were Successful? Professor of Practice Mara Karlin interviewed by The Brookings' Podcast, 6/24

NATO Has Dodged Collapse Before. It’s Never Been This Close. Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor Hal Brands wrote in Bloomberg, 6/24

Trump Lashes Out at Israel and Iran Over Ceasefire Violation. Sanam Vakil interviewed by KTVU Fox, 6/24

Summer Book Recommendations 2025. C. Grove Haines Professor of History and International Studies Mark Gilbert quoted in Tufts Now, 6/23

Five Ways Iran May Respond. Sanam Vakil quoted in The Atlantic, 6/23
 
Iran Doesn’t Have Many Good Options, But Will Respond. Sanam Vakil interviewed by CNBC, 6/23

This Is The ‘Beginning of The End’ For Iran’s Supreme Leader. But What Comes Next? Sanam Vakil quoted in The Financial Review, 6/23

The Impact of U.S. Strikes on Iran in The Wider Region. Vali Nasr interviewed by NPR, 6/23

Why Humiliating Iran Is Unlikely to Bring Surrender. Vali Nasr quoted in The Christian Science Monitor, 6/23

Will Iran Again Sip the ‘Poison’ of a Forced Peace, or Escalate? Sanam Vakil and Vali Nasr quoted in The New York Times, 6/22

An Unprecedented Moment - But What the US And Iran Do Next Could Be Even More Momentous. Sanam Vakil quoted in BBC, 6/22
 
US Bombing of Iran’s Nuclear Facilities Is Trump’s Biggest Gamble Yet as President. Sanam Vakil quoted in The Guardian, 6/22

Will US Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Facilities Alter the Geopolitics of The Region? Vali Nasr interviewed by CNN, 6/22
 
Will The Bombing of Iran End America’s Role in The War, Or Start It? Vali Nasr quoted in The Christian Science Monitor, 6/22

Strikes On Iran Mark Trump's Biggest, And Riskiest, Foreign Policy Gamble. Laura Blumenfeld quoted in Reuters, 6/22

U.S. Strikes Iran Nuclear Sites. Laura Blumenfeld interviewed by CGTN Europe, 6/22

Trump Got This One Right. Professor Emeritus Eliot Cohen wrote in The Atlantic, 6/22

Quelle est la finalité de l'opération israélienne? (French) Sanam Vakil quoted in BBC Afrique, 6/21

Iranians Rattled by Israeli Strikes as Cash Runs Short and Fear Spikes. Sanam Vakil quoted in The Washington Post, 6/21

Iran At the Precipice. Vali Nasr quoted in The Financial Times, 6/21

Netanyahu And Trump's War on Iran. Narges Bajoghli interviewed by Al Jazeera, 6/21

What Happens if Trump Decides to Strike Iran or Assassinate Its Leader? Sanam Vakil quoted in The New York Times, 6/20

‘Andor’ Is a Lesson in Building Rebellion. Aronson Associate Professor Sarah Parkinson wrote in Foreign Policy, 6/20

Kings & Ayatollahs: Iran's National Security Strategy. Vali Nasr interviewed by History Behind News Program Podcast, 6/20

The Israel-Iran Conflict Is a War of Egos. Sanam Vakil wrote in The Financial Times, 6/20

How The US May Join the War Between Iran and Israel. Vali Nasr interviewed by The Economist Podcast, 6/20

U.S. President Donald J. Trump Announces Two-Week Pause on Iran Strike. Laura Blumenfeld interviewed by CGTN America, 6/20

What’s At Stake as The Israel-Iran Conflict Escalates. Laura Blumenfeld interviewed by Global News, 6/20

How Israel’s Dangerous New Grand Strategy Has Set Mideast on Fire. Adjunct Professor at SAIS Europe Rob Geist Pinfold wrote in Middle East Council for Global Affairs, 6/19

An Islamic Republic with Its Back Against the Wall. Vali Nasr quoted in DNYUZ, 6/19

Iran’s Grand Strategy – Vali Nasr. Vali Nasr quoted in Informed Comment, 6/19
 
Middle East Expert Wargames Potential American Intervention in Iran. Vali Nasr interviewed by CNN, 6/19
 
Why Iran's Well-Protected Nuclear Site Fordow Remains 'Difficult Target' For Israel. Vali Nasr quoted in Khaleej Times, 6/19
 
Iran’s Exiled Royal Calls for Regime Change — But Few Are Listening. Vali Nasr quoted in The Financial Times, 6/19

The Issues with Calling for a Regime Change in Iran. Narges Bajoghli wrote in Time, 6/19

Israel and Iran have a Common Goal in Syria. Rob Geist Pinfold wrote in The National, 6/18

Israel's War with Iran Isn’t One Conflict. It’s Three. Hal Brands wrote in Bloomberg, 6/18

Donald Trump Jabs Emmanuel Macron Over Comments About His Early Departure from G7. Adjunct Professor at SAIS Europe Dana Allin quoted in The Hindu, 6/18
 
Trump, Iran and the Specter of Iraq: ‘We Bought All the Happy Talk’. Vali Nasr quoted in The New York Times, 6/18
 
Potential Outcomes of U.S. Intervention in the Iran-Israel Conflict. Vali Nasr interviewed by Asia Society, 6/18
 
Iran's Grand Strategy: A Political History. Vali Nasr interviewed by Tahrir Podcast, 6/18

Russia's Heavy Bombardment on Ukraine. Adjunct Lecturer and FPI Senior Fellow Jeffrey Pryce interviewed by LBC Radio, 6/18

The Iranian People Were Starting to Win Their Battle for Liberty and Prosperity. Then Israel Attacked. Adjunct Professor at SAIS Europe Esfandyar Batmanghelidj wrote in The Guardian, 6/17 

It Really Looks Like the U.S. Is Headed for War with Iran. Adjunct Lecturer Charles Stevenson quoted in Slate, 6/17

Does Israel Want Regime Change in Iran? Vali Nasr interviewed by Sky News, 6/17

‘Regime Change’? Questions About Israel’s Iran Goal Pressure Trump. Vali Nasr quoted in The New York Times, 6/17

Iran-Israel Conflict? Laura Blumenfeld interviewed by CGTN Europe, 6/17

What Israel Really Wants in Iran – And What Might Come Next. Sanam Vakil quoted in The Guardian, 6/17
 
Escalation Or Diplomacy? Outcome Of Iran-Israel Conflict Uncertain. Sanam Vakil quoted in France 24, 6/17

The Case for US Leadership in Space Sustainability. Lecturer Anna Broughel wrote in The National Interest, 6/16

How Tough Is Iran? A String of Military Losses Raises Questions. Sanam Vakil quoted in The New York Times, 6/16

With No Clear Off-Ramp, Israel’s War with Iran May Last Weeks, Not Days. Sanam Vakil quoted in The New York Times, 6/16

Iran-Israel Path for Diplomacy? (Arabic) Laura Blumenfeld interviewed by BBC Arabic, 6/16

These Countries Are Harshly Critical of Israel in Gaza but Have Its Back with Iran. Why? Laura Blumenfeld quoted in Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 6/16

Where Is Israel's Operation Heading? Vali Nasr quoted in BBC, 6/16
 
Why Iran Wants an Off-Ramp. Vali Nasr interviewed by Foreign Policy, 6/16
 
The New Balance of Power in the Middle East. Vali Nasr wrote in Foreign Affairs, 6/10
 
Israel and Iran Exchange Fresh Strikes. Mara Karlin interviewed by BBC News, 6/16
 

STUDENT, FELLOW & ALUMNI COVERAGE

One Small Step for Space Acquisition Doctrine. SAIS MIPP alumnus '24 Roman Tillman wrote in the Defense Acquisition Research Journal, 7/1

Rules By Propelling and Navigating South Korea’s Space Ambitions. SAIS MAIR alumnus '25 Seokin Yun wrote in The Space Review, 6/23
 
An African Credit Rating Agency? Easier Said Than Done. FPI Senior Fellow Hafed Al-Ghwell wrote in Arab News. 6/21

---

For inclusion in "In the News," contact [email protected]

Back to In The News - Newsletter Page