Bari is taking a much-deserved day off today, so the rest of us put our heads together to highlight just a few of our must-read stories from what has been a very big news week.
On Saturday, President Donald Trump launched a surprise strike on Iran’s nuclear program. Now, with a ceasefire in place and the smoke beginning to clear after what Trump is calling the 12-day war, the world is trying to make sense of what just happened: Have Iran’s nuclear ambitions been shattered or merely delayed? And on the homefront, what does this episode reveal about America’s shifting political landscape?
Let’s dive in, shall we?
The U.S. and Israel Set Back Iran’s Nuclear Program. But for How Long?
Agencies around the world are working to evaluate the impact of Israeli and American strikes on Iran’s nuclear program. Jay Solomon reported earlier this week that Tehran may have moved key materials from Fordow to secret locations ahead of the strikes.
On Tuesday, a leaked Pentagon report suggested that the attacks may have delayed Iran’s bomb-making timeline by only a few months—fueling critics of American intervention, both Democrat and Republican, who had previously insisted Tehran wasn’t close to a weapon at all.
Jay spoke to a range of nuclear experts and analysts, both inside and outside the U.S. government, who argued that the strikes reportedly devastated Iran’s enrichment capacity, targeting key facilities, killing senior scientists, and crippling supply chains. Israeli officials believe the damage will set Iran back years—militarily and scientifically. Whether that holds remains to be seen.
MAGA “Restrainers” Got the War All Wrong
From the start of the Israeli operations against Iran, prominent right-wing “restrainers” like Tucker Carlson, Rand Paul, and Candace Owens warned of disaster and a MAGA revolt if the U.S. were to help Israel in targeting Iran’s nuclear program.
Instead, the 12-day war ended swiftly: Iran’s nuclear sites were bombed and no Americans died. Eli Lake argues that the “restrainers” not only misread the situation but also misunderstood Trump’s nationalist doctrine. Read his full column here.
The Bystander Democrats
Trump’s strike on Iran’s nuclear program is one of the most consequential U.S. military actions of this century.
And as Matthew Continetti argues, Democrats responded not with a principled stance on the issue but with procedural protests, war powers resolutions, and performative outrage. Their leaders offered no coherent opinion on the Iranian nuclear bomb program—a problem that presidents of both parties have long vowed to prevent.
Their silence on the strikes’ success betrays a deeper unseriousness, Matt says: They are a party adrift, dominated by fringe voices, obsessed with Trump, and out of touch with the geopolitical stakes.
This is just a small sample of the many stories we published about Iran this week. For more, including the views of Niall Ferguson, Victor Davis Hanson, Matti Friedman, and others, click here.
New York City Democrats Pick a Socialist Mayoral Candidate
It was also a big news week here at home. Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist state assemblyman, is now on track to become the next mayor of New York City. His victory in the Democratic primary stunned New York’s political class.
Our very own Olivia Reingold has covered this race better than anybody. She argues that, whatever you think of Mamdani’s policy proposals, which include a $100 billion housing plan, government-run grocery stores, and free public transit, one thing is clear: He earned his victory by outworking his opponent, Andrew Cuomo.
Voters didn’t care about Mamdani’s lack of experience or his radicalism. They cared about change—and Mamdani’s charisma, vision, and hustle delivered a movement.
What Made Mamdani’s Win Possible?
Zohran Mamdani’s victory wasn’t just a political upset—it was a generational revolt.
He beat Cuomo not just with digital charisma and big promises of free stuff. One deeper reason for his victory, Reihan Salam argues, is “elite overproduction”: too many ambitious, educated people chasing too few elite jobs, leading to frustration and rebellion.
Mamdani tapped into that angst—especially among young, overeducated, underhoused professionals disillusioned with the aging Democratic establishment Cuomo embodied. Even his exceptionally strident anti-Israel activism didn’t stop Mamdani, demonstrating that the taboo against bashing the Jewish state in the capital of American Jewish life has been shattered.
In modern politics, Salam writes, energy and attention now outweigh money and experience. And until sensible and sane leaders recognize this and rise to the occasion, the “TikTok Jacobins will keep winning.”
Daniel Lurie Wants to Save San Francisco
As a socialist becomes New York City’s Democratic nominee for mayor, San Francisco is watching and smirking from across the country.
There, newly elected mayor Daniel Lurie is trying to undo years of radical policy that led to spiraling homelessness, drug deaths, and urban decay. He recently sat down with our Peter Savodnik to discuss his plans for the city by the bay.
A wealthy nonprofit founder with no government experience, he won by promising competence over ideology. He’s slashed city jobs, pushed for police staffing, and vowed to cut through bureaucracy. His challenge now: to beat back entrenched unions and an ossified political class that resists reform.
If he succeeds, Lurie might just offer urban Democrats a way out of the wilderness.
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Author: The Editors
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