How to defend the Iran deal from hawkish spoilers

A whopping 78% of Americans want to end the war with Iran. The few holdouts itching for more war seem to be concentrated in our nation's capital, where Democrats, Republicans, and the op-ed class are clamoring for continued violence.

These Beltway hawks are growing increasingly desperate to upend the fragile Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that represents the best available exit ramp from this reckless war of choice.

This is precisely what we explore with Quincy Institute Executive Vice President and Iran expert Trita Parsi on the latest episode of Always at War. Parsi explains why Washington’s opposition to peace is shortsighted and shares the latest news from the region, where a new security architecture is forming that could make a durable Middle East peace possible for the first time in decades.

Though Washington's opposition to the MoU is a bipartisan affair, Parsi is particularly disappointed in Democrats, who he says are mirroring the “very problematic, knee-jerk, bad faith” attacks Republicans leveled against Obama's Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, better known as the Iran Deal, in 2015. Parsi’s frustration is both moral and strategic. He worries that, instead of questioning whether this peace framework goes far enough, Democrats like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) are trying to undermine the very possibility of ending a war they claim to oppose.

Perhaps the most striking part of the conversation isn't its exploration of the political dysfunction in Washington but rather what is happening despite it. While many members of Congress are attempting to torpedo the MoU, they can’t change the reality that something new is happening in the Middle East. According to Parsi, regional states are “openly talking about a new security architecture for the region that is no longer dependent on the United States.” A first meeting among regional leaders is already being organized in Riyadh, as multiple states have launched working groups aimed at addressing the Middle East’s most pressing issues, from the Strait of Hormuz to broader regional security.

It turns out that the vast majority of Americans wanting an end to this horrific war may be getting more than a ceasefire; there's a real chance we are witnessing the early stages of a reformed Middle East that doesn't require American military dominance to hold it all together.

Here's hoping!