A drone strike by an Iran-backed militant group, which resulted in the deaths of three U.S. service members, threatens to push the Middle East into a wider regional conflict. Iran has distanced itself from the attack, while President Biden has said that the U.S. will respond.

Middle East experts Vali Nasr and Sanam Vakil join Ravi Agrawal to discuss what Tehran might be thinking at this moment. Nasr is a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and Vakil is the director of Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa program.

Suggested reading:

Jack Detsch: 3 Options for How Biden Could Respond to Iran

Adam Weinstein and Steven Simon: U.S. Troops Are Dangerously Vulnerable in the Middle East

Ravi Agrawal: Ian Bremmer: Attack on U.S. Troops a ‘Red Line’ for Biden

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