As war continues in Iran, Jon Pevehouse says the effects of U.S. military operations in the Middle East may have unknown, long-term effects.
“There are still a lot of unknowns,” he says. “And [in the news], we’re confronted with this fire hose of information.”
To better understand the complexities of the conflict in the Middle East, Pevehouse says thinking about what’s important, relevant, and factual is a good way to help sift through news and political noise during a time when many factors are still unknown or unpredictable.
Pevehouse is the Mary Herman Rubinstein Professor of political science and public policy and the development chair of the UW’s Department of Political Science. He’s an expert in foreign relations and international political economies, and he currently teaches a class on American foreign policy, where he helps students understand the U.S. policy approach to the Middle East.
On March 17, 2026, Pevehouse will join the UW Now Live, alongside political science professors Steven Brooke, Yoshiko Herrera, and Andrew Kydd to discuss war in the Middle East and the global effect of the ongoing conflict.
My Chief Area of Expertise Is:
I’m an expert in American foreign policy and international political economy.
On the UW Now Live, I’ll Talk About:
I’m going to talk about the timing of the war in Iran and the “why now,” which is the question I think a lot of people are asking. I want to talk about how [the war in Iran] might come to an end, and what does the end look like?
If There’s One Thing Viewers Should Take Away, It’s:
One of the things I want to argue is that an end to direct U.S. military operations [in Iran] may not be the end of the war. I think this is going to create a dynamic where there’s going to be a lot of little add-on and knock-on problems that [the U.S. is] going to have to deal with.
To Get Smart Fast, See:
For information on international relations and politics, read Foreign Policy magazine and Foreign Affairs magazine.
For news, see the Wall Street Journal and the BBC. Those are what I’m going through to start the day every day.
