The challenge of defining success in Iran

By Evan Dawson,

Published March 9, 2026 at 3:16 PM EDT

Three men wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a man at left has short brown hair and is wearing a brown cardigan sweater over a blue button-down shirt; a man at center has grey hair, a grey beard and is wearing a white button-down shirt; a man at right has very short dark hair and is wearing a grey button-down shirt. — Randy Stone and Hein Goemans with host Evan Dawson on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Monday, March 9, 2026

President Trump said this weekend that the United States demands the total, unconditional surrender of Iran. Then he said that a surrender might be whatever Donald Trump decides it to be.

Senator Lindsey Graham says the Trump administration is already planning its next hit for Cuba.

But does that mean the Iran war will end quickly, without democratic rights for the Iranian people? What are the goals exactly? Our guests discuss it.

In studio:

Hein Goemans, Ph.D., professor of political science and director of the Peter D. Watson Center for Conflict and Cooperation at the University of Rochester, author of “War and Punishment,” and co-author of "Leaders and International Conflict"
Randy Stone, Ph.D., professor of political science and director of the Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies at the University of Rochester; and author of "Controlling Institutions," "Lending Credibility," and "Satellites and Commissars"