Fred Kaplan, Slate's War Stories columnist and the author of many nonfiction books and his latest, a novel, A Capital Calamity (Miniver Press, 2024), offers analysis of the war with Iran after President Trump said he was not opposed to boots on the ground and a military leader said more U.S. casualties are expected.

Photo: Firefighters work at the scene of an airstrike that destroyed shops and residences on March 2, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was confirmed killed after the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran on February 28. Iran retaliated by firing waves of missiles and drones at Israel, and targeting U.S. allies in the region. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)