The Iran War and the Limits of Presidential Power

Stanford’s Allen Weiner examines how the U.S. war with Iran raises questions about the president’s power to wage war and negotiate peace. --- The American war with Iran began with ambitious goals, including preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and potentially bringing about regime change. But the conflict may well be leading to a very different outcome, according to Stanford Law School's Allen Weiner, a scholar of international and human rights law and former State Department lawyer. Just prior to the recent collapse of the tenuous cease fire, Weiner joined podcast host Professor Pam Karlan to discuss how the conflict is arguably strengthening Iran’s most repressive factions while putting economic and diplomatic pressure on the United States. Weiner traces how the conflict grew out of the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal, asks whether the new agreement with Iran amounts to a weaker version of that accord, and considers how ceasefires and shifting legal rationales have allowed the administration to sidestep Congress and keep the War Powers clock from running out.  Allen Weiner  >>> Stanford Law School Page Connect: Episode Transcripts >>> Stanford Legal Podcast Website Stanford Legal Podcast >>> LinkedIn Page Rich Ford >>> Twitter/X Pam Karlan >>> Stanford Law School Page Stanford Law School >>> Twitter/X Stanford Lawyer Magazine >>> Twitter/X Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction  00:02:09 Back to the JCPOA—The 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal  00:04:23 From "worst deal ever" to a weaker one  00:04:51 Two rounds of strikes  00:07:11 Regime change that wasn't  00:08:40 The Strait of Hormuz and the global economy  00:09:49 Emboldened by Venezuela  00:11:33 Israel in, NATO out  00:12:27 The new MOU  00:14:31 Israel left off the page  00:17:38 Free transit, for now  00:19:06 Treaty or political commitment?  00:21:36 The War Powers loophole  00:24:26 Can Congress actually enforce the War Powers Act?  00:28:12 Conclusion  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.