Dr Sumantra Maitra on NATO, Iran and America’s strategic choices

by July 2026

Across this Atlantic Conversation with Jacob Heilbrunn, Dr Sumantra Maitra, Institute for Peace and Diplomacy Fellow and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, delivers a clear-eyed assessment of today’s strategic order. He calls for NATO to return to its defensive purpose, urges Europe to prepare for a possible US pivot toward Asia, warns that regime change in Iran would trigger catastrophic war, and identifies China as America’s central challenge. From Russia and Turkey to Greenland and Venezuela, Maitra argues that lasting influence requires strategic restraint, stronger allies, economic engagement and a disciplined choice of priorities.

Jacob Heilbrunn
Editor-at-large
Jacob Heilbrunn is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, editor of The National Interest and editor-at-large of The Jerusalem Strategic Tribune. His book, America Last: The Right's Century-Long Romance with Foreign Dictators, was published in 2024.