The Growing Standoff between the US and Iran over Iraq

President Bush told NPR yesterday he has no intention of attacking Iran. Yet while the United States is not engaged in armed conflict with Iran, sources confirm that we are at "war by other means," and that America's allies in the Middle East are very supportive.   Meantime, responding to the Bush Administration's promise of evidence of Iran's meddling in Iraq, by arming and training insurgents to destabilize the new government, Iranian and Iraqi officials say they have business together.  While nobody knows for sure whether the US is gearing up for war with Iran, it's certain that there's new concern beyond the issue of developing the capacity to make nuclear weapons.  We hear more about rumored US plans for military action against Iran from journalists and Middle East experts, including a former advisor to the Iraq Study Group. (An extended version of this discussion was originally broadcast earlier today on To the Point.)

Guests:

• Laura Rozen: senior correspondent for The American Prospect, @lrozen
• Trita Parsi: president of the National Iranian American Council, @tparsi
• Phebe Marr: former senior fellow at the US Institute for Peace
• Joshua Muravchik: resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute

Links:

• Newsweek article on Iran's possible involvement in IED-related attacks in Iraq
• New York Times on Europe's resistance to Bush Administration pleas to curb Iran ties
• Rozen's article on Bush Administration's intent regarding Iran