# Debating the War in Iran and U.S. Strategy (w/H.R. McMaster and Matt Pottinger)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-long-game-with-jake-sullivan-and-jon-finer-7566719/debating-the-war-in-iran-and-u-s-strategy-w-h-r-mcmaster-and-matt-pottinger
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-long-game-with-jake-sullivan-and-jon-finer-7566719/debating-the-war-in-iran-and-u-s-strategy-w-h-r-mcmaster-and-matt-pottinger.md
Podcast: [The Long Game with Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-long-game-with-jake-sullivan-and-jon-finer-7566719)
Published: 2026-04-22T08:08:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/257/traffic.megaphone.fm/VMP5243010306.mp3?updated=1776820772
Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/257/traffic.megaphone.fm/VMP5243010306.mp3?updated=1776820772
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-long-game-with-jake-sullivan-and-jon-finer-7566719/episodes/debating-the-war-in-iran-and-u-s-strategy-w-h-r-mcmaster-and-matt-pottinger
Duration seconds: 4705

## Resource

H.R. McMaster and Matt Pottinger, former National Security Adviser and Deputy National Security Adviser to President Trump in his first administration, join Jake and Jon for a wide-ranging conversation on Iran, China, and how national security decisions get made at the highest level. Drawing on their time in the White House, they debate the decision to go to war with Iran, the nature of Iran’s nuclear program, and what a successful outcome would even look like. As McMaster puts it, “a lot of times you’re looking at the least bad option.” Follow The Long Game so you never miss an episode. New episodes drop weekly. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube. Show notes are available here. Transcript coming soon. Join us on Substack. Email Jake and Jon at longgame@voxmedia.com. The Long Game is produced by the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-long-game-with-jake-sullivan-and-jon-finer-7566719/episodes/debating-the-war-in-iran-and-u-s-strategy-w-h-r-mcmaster-and-matt-pottinger/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-long-game-with-jake-sullivan-and-jon-finer-7566719/debating-the-war-in-iran-and-u-s-strategy-w-h-r-mcmaster-and-matt-pottinger.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.