As the first American and Israeli missiles hit Iran on February 28, 2026, U.S. government officials argued that this was not the start of war. Instead, it was just the next stage in a conflict that started with the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the American and Israeli-backed regime of the Shah, and made the U.S. and Israel sworn enemies of the new Islamic state.

THE MARCH TO WAR is a unique three-part series that looks at the deep roots of the “infinite roller-coaster” of conflict that has ensnared Israel and Iran and drawn in the United States. Was open war inevitable, the series asks? And could the escalation have been stopped?

The series tells the story through the voices of those that shaped it: politicians (including former U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu), military commanders, intelligence chiefs and ambassadors, from all sides, along with political scientists and historians.

CHAPTER 3: DIPLOMACY SUBVERTED

Israeli and American attempts to slow Iranian nuclear research seem out of a James Bond movie — with cyber-attacks, assassinations, and military strikes. But this episode goes beyond the headlines to look at the many missteps and blunders that also led to war. After quietly co-operating with the United States during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Iran hoped to open the door to normalizing relations. But insiders detail how efforts at negotiations were repeatedly derailed. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes clear that his worldview has no place for peace with Iran.

Interviews in this chapter include:

Ehud Olmert
Former Prime Minister of Israel (2006-2009)

Col Laurence Wilkerson
Chief of Staff to Colin Powell (2001-2005)

Benjamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister of Israel

Seyed Hossein Mousavian
Member of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran (1997-2005)
Iranian Ambassador to Germany (1990-1997)

Robert Malley
Lead negotiator on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal & special advisor and White House coordinator to the Middle East (2015-2016)