Fmr. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper on the Iran War's First Week

As the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran escalates following the February 28 strikes, former U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper joined A'ndre for a quick chat to assess how the conflict is unfolding and what may come next. Esper discusses how President Donald Trump and his national security team may be evaluating the campaign, the strategic objectives behind the strikes on Iran’s leadership and military infrastructure, and what success might realistically look like for Washington and its partners. The conversation also examines the sustainability of the U.S.–Israeli air campaign, the role of munitions production and drone warfare, and how the United States can manage escalation as Iran retaliates across the region. Esper weighs in on the strategic implications of leadership decapitation following the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the widening geographic scope of the conflict, including the U.S. strike on an Iranian vessel near Sri Lanka. He concludes with his assessment of how the conflict could end — and what advice he would give the president at this critical moment.

You can listen to Fmr. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper on the Iran War's First Week online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Fmr. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper on the Iran War's First Week is an episode from The Burn Bag Podcast by Burn Bag Media.

This episode is 31:25 long.

This episode was published on Mar 7, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from The Burn Bag Podcast when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.