In June, Iran and the U.S. agreed to a ceasefire, but three weeks later, President Donald Trump said he considers it to be over. Following Iranian attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, the American military said it hit nearly 90 targets in airstrikes across Iran, and U.S.-allied countries in the region have been targeted by Iranian fire. This conflict is the latest in months-long back-and-forth between the countries.
Concern is also rising in Lebanon, where the tenuous U.S.-Iran ceasefire is complicating the stability of the Lebanese-Israeli peace framework. That agreement was signed in late June, but peace remains uncertain as Hezbollah is holding on to power and the threat of civil war in Lebanon looms.
As global tensions rise and the fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran wavers, policy decisions and military actions in the Middle East are shifting the political landscape. To discuss how the United States’ international economic policy is changing, political professor at the UW Jon Pevehouse will join the UW Now Live on July 14, 2026.
Pevehouse is the Mary Herman Rubinstein Professor of political science and public policy and the development chair of the UW’s Department of Political Science. He teaches and researches American foreign policy and issues of international political economy.
“The ceasefire really papered over all the real differences that are at the root of this conflict, and no one seems interested in solving those,” Pevehouse says. “For domestic reasons, everyone wants them papered over right now, not just the U.S., but in Iran too, and in Lebanon, and in Israel. Everyone wants all this stuff to kind of go away, but that’s dangerous when you haven’t solved any of the underlying issues that led to the conflict in the first place.”
From struggle in the Middle East, to ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, and the rapidly evolving Ebola outbreak in Central Africa, a few key hot spots are shaping the news. To unpack what’s happening at these vital global hot spots, why it matters, and what could come next, Jon Pevehouse will join the UW Now Live, along with professor pathobiological sciences Peter Halfmann ’00, PhD’08 and professor of political science and public affairs Mark Copelovitch.
My Chief Area of Expertise Is:
American foreign policy, specifically issues of conflict and congressional executive relations, and international trade.
On the UW Now Live, I’ll Talk About:
Iran and the ceasefire, and its on-again, off-again nature. I’ll talk about how the situation in Lebanon ties into that, and I’ll touch on oil and the Strait of Hormuz.
If There’s One Thing Viewers Will Take Away, It’s:
There’s no end in sight, but that doesn’t mean it will stay a hot war at all times. We’ve settled into a long-term pattern of sporadic violence.
To Get Smart Fast, See:
For news, I always suggest the BBC because it’s a different perspective. Then, they have their biases, but every day I’m reading the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.
For information on the economy, read the Financial Times and the Economist.
