The U.S.-Iran conflict is about to enter its eighth month, and it shows no serious signs of abating. If anything, intensified strikes between the Houthis and Saudi-backed forces in Yemen and continuing Iranian attacks on tankers in the Gulf carry the real threat of escalation. Though sanctions and the U.S. Navy’s blockade is taking a devastating toll on Iran’s economy, there is scant evidence that Iran is interested in ending the conflict without a significant win. Nor does the Trump administration appear to be in a hurry to find a resolution. Indeed, there are credible reports that the U.S. is considering escalation after the midterm elections.  

Have we settled into a new normal—interest in neither all-out war nor a diplomatic off-ramp? What might induce one side or both to escalate? And what of internal decision making in Tehran? And how are other Gulf states adjusting to the current reality?

Join Aaron David Miller as he engages the Brookings Institution’s Suzanne Maloney and Carnegie Endowment’s Karim Sadjadpour in a wide-ranging conversation on the U.S.-Iran war—and where we go from here—on the next Carnegie Connects.