Category: 3-SometimeCommentary

With strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities on Saturday, President Donald Trump has brought the United States into Israel's war with Iran.

Israel began its campaign against Iran 10 days ago with what it called a "preemptive strike." Now, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi warned on social media that Iran "reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people."

Iran has so far retaliated only on Israeli sites. Some 40,000 American troops on the ground across the Middle East are on alert.

We discuss the latest and look ahead to what could happen next.

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In an address to the nation on Saturday night, President Trump confirmed that the U.S. military had carried out an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. It was a move that he had been threatening for days, and that previous U.S. presidents had avoided for decades.

David E. Sanger, the White House and international security correspondent for The Times, discusses whether the strike actually ended Iran’s nuclear program — or if America just entered a new period of conflict in the Middle East.

Guest: David E. Sanger, the White House and National Security Correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Shifting views and misdirection: How Mr. Trump decided to strike Iran.
• With a military strike his predecessors avoided, Mr. Trump took a huge gamble.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Photo: Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Sanctuary is an ancient idea of a place of refuge or freedom from harm. It has deep roots in the history, literature and myths of many cultures. Marina Warner’s new book Sanctuary explores travelling tales and concepts of hospitality and home - suggesting that myths, stories and works of art can be places of sanctuary too.

The story of leprosy is a story of isolation and exclusion over thousands of years. In his book, Outcast, Oliver Basciano has written about his journey across the hinterlands of the world to demystify the lives of those who have been ostracised. He argues that the image we still hold onto of medieval leprosy is a nineteenth-century myth invented to justify the gross mistreatment of patients in the name of colonial, religious and economic exploitation.

Churches are a spiritual home for some 200 million Christians worldwide, but they often hold a fascination and interest for the most committed atheist. A church is a place of sanctuary, but also a place where the drama of life is played out. Fergus Butler-Gallie is an Anglican priest and his new book Twelve Churches explores the history of Christianity through the places worshippers have built.

Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Ruth Watts

Project Marvel has been talked about for months—a plan for a downtown sports and entertainment district, which includes a new home court for the Spurs. Now city officials will be explaining their plans to local residents with community workshops— and on The Source. It’s your chance to ask questions, give feedback and get clarity about the plans, benefits and costs of Project Marvel.

When Jacob Hoff and Samantha Greenstone met, they became instant best friends. Then, even though Jacob was gay, they realized that their feelings for each other were evolving beyond the platonic, and they decided to give romance a try.

On this episode of “Modern Love,” Hoff and Greenstone tell Host Anna Martin how their love gave him the courage to come out to his conservative family. They also explain that when they decided to get married, they realized they’d have to get used to clarifying their commitment again and again. 

This episode was inspired by Jenny Block’s Mini-Vows piece, “A Close Friendship That Developed Into a ‘Soulful Connection.”

For more Modern Love, search for the show wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Wednesday. 

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

On Saturday night at 7:50 pm ET, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. had entered the war against Iran when he posted: “We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

In the minutes after this historic announcement we assembled six of the top experts on this issue: Haviv Rettig Gur, Michael Doran, Mark Dubowitz, Amit Segal, Eli Lake, and Matt Continetti.

We discussed it all: what we actually know about the strikes; what it means for Iran’s nuclear capabilities, how Iran might respond; why Trump struck now; what this means for the Middle East; and what Trump’s national address signalled to the American public, to Israel, and most importantly to Iran.

We'll note we recorded this Saturday night starting at 8:30 pm ET as a Free Press live event, and we will be hosting more in days to come.

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