3 key moments that led to the U.S.-Iran war
Throughline

3 key moments that led to the U.S.-Iran war

Mar 12, 2026 · 48 min

About this episode

Military confrontations, early-morning attacks, and digital warfare: the story of Iran and the U.S. from the 1979 Iranian revolution to the fraught moment we're in today. This episode originally ran in 2019 as <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/07/17/742712613/rules-of-engagement"target="_blank" >Rules of Engagement</a>. You can find more of <a href="https://www.npr.org/series/1255058395/enter-title"target="_blank" >Throughline's coverage into the origins of the conflict in the Middle East here</a>.<br/><br/><strong>Guests:</strong><br><strong>Karim Sadjadpour</strong>, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace<br/><br/><strong>Michael Eisenstadt</strong>, director of the Washington Institute's military and security studies program<br/><br/><strong>Kim Zetter</strong>, writer for WIRED magazine and author of <em>Countdown to Zero Day: Stuxnet and the Launch of the World's First Digital Weapon</em><br/><br/><em>To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at <a href="plus.npr.org/throughline"target="_blank" >plus.npr.org/throughline</a>.</em><br/><br/>See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.<br/><br/><a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>