Jamal Abdi and Trita Parsi write that "just as with the lead-up to the Iraq War, the pathway to war with Iran will be paved with false assertions, self-fulfilling saber rattling and political weakness that might seem insignificant now, but will in retrospect turn out to be disastrous."

Fareed Zakaria provides a historical perspective on wars past with the saber rattling that is currently going on with respect to Iran's nuclear program.