Eric and Eliot host a special Shield of the Republic episode to discuss the Iranian response to Trump's strike on Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. They assess the largely symbolic Iranian attack on al Udeid Air Base in Qatar as an attempt to take an off ramp from further escalation as they did in the aftermath of the Soleimani strike in 2020. They also touch on why Trump did it, the difficulties of bomb damage assessment, what happened to the HEU and are there other Iranian facilities, the Israeli intelligence brief, the cracks in MAGA, Trump's sudden endorsement of regime change and the hypocrisy of those calling for a Congressional vote to legitimize the actions given their prior support for Obama's operation in Libya and Clinton's campaigns in Bosnia and Kosovo all of which took place without a vote.

Eliot's Latest in The Atlantic:

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/06/trump-iran/683287/

Eric (with Reuel Marc Gerecht and Ray Takeyh) in Foreign Affairs:

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/iran/right-path-regime-change-iran

Where Does Iran Go Now? (The New York Times):

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/23/opinion/iran-iranians-regime.html

Inside the spy dossier that led Israel to war (The Economist):

https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2025/06/18/inside-the-spy-dossier-that-led-israel-to-war

Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.