Iran International Town Hall with Ambassador Dennis Ross and Elliott Abrams

Speaking on November 7, 2025 at a roundtable town hall hosted by Iran International, former senior US Mideast policy officials Elliott Abrams and Dennis Ross said a renewed war between Israel and Iran appears unlikely in the near term, even as they warned Tehran remains a lingering threat. Moderated by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, Iran International's head of Digital, the discussion centered on the ceasefire that has held since Trump ordered US strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites in June, and what a weakened, defenseless Tehran might do next.

"Lacking air defenses, [the Iranians] know that a great deal more damage can be done by Israel, and I don't think the Israelis are looking for it right now either," said Abrams, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, adding he'd be "quite surprised" to see renewed war — "with one exception": a rapid Iranian push to rebuild its nuclear program. Ross, a fellow at the Washington Institute, argued the June strikes marked a lasting shift in the regional balance of fear: "What he did is he signaled, 'you don't have impunity any longer.'" Both officials pushed back on President Trump's claim that Iran's nuclear program had been "obliterated," with Abrams calling the framing "premature" and "exaggerated," even as he agreed a real setback had occurred.

Ambassador Dennis Ross (left), Elliott Abrams (center) and moderator Bozorgmehr Sharafedin (right)