The Challenge To Ending The Iran War
5/28/202620 min
Despite whatever President Donald Trump has said over the last few days, his war in Iran does not look like it's ending soon. But here's the thing: a major factor in what happens with Trump's Iran war isn't Trump – it's Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Despite a ceasefire, Israel has continued to bomb targets in southern Lebanon – part of the country's war against Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed proxy militia that controls a swath of Lebanon. And on Wednesday, Israel told residents of southern Lebanon to leave their homes as the Israeli military moves into new areas of the country. So what do Israel's goals mean for Trump's Iran war – and the future of the Middle East? To find out, we spoke to Nahal Toosi. She's the senior foreign affairs correspondent and columnist at POLITICO.
And in headlines: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton dominated Sen. John Cornyn in Tuesday's Senate Republican primary runoff; House Democrats introduce a bill to block construction of Trump's proposed "triumphal arch;” and a Ball State University employee gets paid after she was fired for criticizing Charlie Kirk.
Show Notes:
- Check out Nahal's work – https://tinyurl.com/4nmp552x
- Call Congress – 202-224-3121
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- For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJane Coaston· Host0:00
[upbeat music] It's Thursday, May 28th, I'm Jane Coaston, and this is What a Day, the show shouting out 35 former federal judges who have sued the Trump administration over President Donald Trump's $1.776 billion MAGA slush fund. That brings my count of lawsuits over the slush fund to four, which interestingly, is the number of brain cells one would need to have to believe that the slush fund is a good idea. [upbeat music] On today's show, Trump's endorsement streak continues. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton dominated Senator John Cornyn in Tuesday's Senate Republican primary runoff, and a Ball State University employee gets paid after she was fired for criticizing Charlie Kirk. Turns out free speech does go both ways. But let's start with the war in Iran and Israel's role in any potential peace deal. Because despite whatever Trump has said over the last few days, his war in Iran does not look like it's ending soon. Granted, when we're getting pearls of wisdom from Trump like this at Wednesday's cabinet meeting, I couldn't possibly see why anyone is worried.
Marco Rubio· Soundbite1:06
Iran wants control of the Strait of Hormuz. Would you accept a short-term deal that allows Iran and Oman to control the strait, and would they have to open it immediately, or would you be open to that happening over a period of time?
Donald Trump· Soundbite1:17
No, the strait's gonna be open to everybody. It's, uh- And who would control it? It's international waters. Nobody's gonna control it. We're gonna watch over it. We'll watch over it, but nobody's gonna control it. That's part of the negotiation that we have. They would like