The IPS Iran Reader

Since its founding in 1963 by antiwar exiles from the Kennedy administration, the Institute for Policy Studies has always been a proudly antiwar institution. One of IPS’s early projects was the Vietnam Reader, a 1965 collection of articles and essays co-edited by IPS co-founder Marc Raskin and designed to educate students, activists, and the public about the war in Vietnam.

We continue that legacy today with our work on the crisis in Iran. You’ll find some of our most relevant work on the conflict below, which we’ll keep updated as new resources are developed. Please read it and share what you find helpful with your friends, family, movement groups, and policy makers.

You can support this work by signing up for our weekly newsletters to get updates or making a donation to IPS today.

IPS reports and resources

FAQ: Why Is the U.S. Attacking Iran? And What Happens Next? | Phyllis Bennis and Khury Petersen-Smith

What movements, advocates, and ordinary people need to know about the U.S. war on Iran. 

FACT SHEET: Medicaid and SNAP vs. $200b for War on Iran: State-by-State Impact | Lindsay Koshgarian
The $200b the Pentagon wants for Iran would be enough to restore and expand safety net programs in every state.

Articles by IPS experts

The U.S.-Israeli War on Iran Is Illegal. Here’s Why That Matters. | Phyllis Bennis
If this war continues without accountability, it threatens even more dire consequences in years ahead.

Our Tax Dollars Should Be Funding Our Communities, Not Trump’s War | Lindsay Koshgarian
For what the Pentagon wants for this war, we could easily restore SNAP and Medicaid benefits to struggling Americans.

The Iran War Is a Disaster for Young People | Chisom Okorafor
For Generation Z, the war in Iran is clouding the future we already worried would be bad.

Americans Are United Against Trump’s War | Karen Dolan

Americans agree that we want quality and affordable health care, housing, child care, and education. The Trump Administration is ignoring all of this to continue a profoundly unpopular war.

Israel Didn’t ‘Drag’ the U.S. Into War — American Hawks Have Wanted This for Decades | Khury Petersen-Smith

Blaming Israel alone for this catastrophe lets US leaders off the hook for their actions. 

Hegseth’s Request for $200 Billion for Iran War Should Go To Needy Americans | Lindsay Koshgarian

Pete Hegseth would rather the U.S. bomb Iranian families than feed American families.

Donald Trump’s “Whenever Wars” | Khury Petersen-Smith

The administration is drawing from an earlier, cruder era of U.S. imperialism to assert Washington’s unrestrained, unaccountable power. 

It’s Already a World War | John Feffer

Ruthless authoritarian leaders — Putin, Trump, Netanyahu — have declared war on international law.

Not Another Dollar for the U.S. War on Iran | Hanna Homestead

Congress must not permit a dollar more of public money to be spent on this catastrophic war of choice. 

$1 Billion a Day for War in Iran Could Help Every Family Who Needs Healthcare and Food Stamps | Alliyah Lusuegro and Lindsay Koshgarian
The Trump administration is cutting healthcare and food assistance for millions while spending $1 billion a day on this war.

Five Things Americans Need to Know about the U.S. and Iran | Khury Petersen-Smith

Whatever criticisms one may have of Iran’s government, the Trump administration is the aggressor in this illegal war.

The U.S. Attacks Iran in a War of Aggression | Phyllis Bennis and Khury Petersen-Smith

The U.S. has waged many wars — but this is one of the most senseless we’ve ever seen. 

Interviews with IPS experts

• The Las Vegas View Journal quoted Lindsay Kosgharian on April 2 about the war in Iran’s tradeoffs for human needs. The conflict, Lindsay said, is “not necessary” and diverting funds from programs that “make life more affordable for Americans.”
• Khury Petersen-Smith talked to Rising Up With Sonali on April 1 about the war on Iran. The Trump administration “overestimated U.S. power,” he said. “I really think that Trump and Hegseth are convinced by their own sense of arrogance and hubris, frankly.”
• In Truthout on March 19, Lindsay Koshgarian warned that if Congress passes a $200 billion Iran war supplement, it will be “taking food and healthcare from struggling families here and using it to bomb families in Iran that were already struggling under that country’s authoritarian regime and U.S. sanctions.”
• March 17, Phyllis Bennis gave a lecture to the People’s Academy with deep background on the run-up to the war in Iran, international law, and the movement to stop the war.
• In a series of live updates for Al Jazeera on March 14, Phyllis Bennis emphasized that the U.S. and Israel launched into a war with Iran without any clear objectives, further deepening the risk of regional conflict. “Both sides [the U.S. and Israel vs. Iran] seem to be internationalizing the effort right now, which does not bode well,” she warned.
• On March 13, Common Dreams cited IPS’s analysis that the estimated cost of $1 billion per day for the Iran war is “higher than the appropriated budget of any federal agency except the Pentagon itself.”
• In two interviews with Al Jazeera on March 11, Phyllis Bennis discussed how the U.S. invasion of Iran constituted a crime of aggression that violates both domestic and international law — and the potential consequences of wider regional involvement in the conflict.
• Also on March 11, Phyllis Bennis joined the Tavis Smiley podcast to discuss how Americans can stay hopeful and build a movement against a war mired in confusion.
• On March 10, the American Prospect cited our finding that the estimated $1 billion/day for the Iran war could instead provide SNAP and Medicaid benefits for millions at risk of losing them due to funding cuts. They quoted Lindsay Kosgharian: The war “is not protecting Americans, but it is preventing Americans from having enough resources.” 
• Hanna Homestead joined KFPA Flashpoints on March 10 for a radio segment on some early estimates about the cost of the war, as well as the long-term environmental costs.
• In an in-depth interview with TRT World on March 9, Phyllis Bennis discussed the disastrous consequences of the war, how the U.N. could respond to the violation of international law, and how the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa could serve as a potential model for opposition to the war with Iran.
• “This is highly unpredictable and so we won’t know the cost of it until it’s over,” Lindsay Koshgarian told CNN on March 6, warning that the conflict is “not necessary” and is taking away from other policies that could “make life more affordable for Americans.” 
• On March 5, Phyllis Bennis spoke with KPFA about what could come next in the war.

Predictions from before the war

• This February, in an Al Jazeera segment on Iran’s recent arrest of reformist leaders in the country, Phyllis Bennis cautioned that military intervention would not be an effective curb against the Iranian government’s authoritarianism — and could lead to catastrophic results for Iranian civilians as well as the region. 
• Back in 2008 (!), Phyllis Bennis predicted the possible risks of a U.S. attack on Iran — including Iranian retaliation against nearby countries and U.S. military installations, as well as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz — with eerie accuracy.