Israel Lobby driving US foreign policy by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt

The neo-conservatives, too, lost no time in making the case for regime change in Tehran. On 6 May, the AEI co-sponsored an all-day conference on Iran with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and the Hudson Institute, both champions of Israel. The speakers were all strongly pro-Israel, and many called for the US to replace the Iranian regime with a democracy. As usual, a bevy of articles by prominent neo-conservatives made the case for going after Iran. 'The liberation of Iraq was the first great battle for the future of the Middle Eas. But the next great battle not, we hope, a military battle will be for Iran,' William Kristol wrote in the Weekly Standard on 12 May.