Background Briefing: March 16, 2026
Although the US Navy Won’t Go Into the Gulf, Trump is Demanding Other Navies Escort Tankers Through the Strait of Hormuz
We begin with Trump doubling down on his delusion that tankers can pass through the Strait of Hormuz after calling on tanker owners to “show some guts” he is now asking the UK, China, France and Japan to have their navies escort ships out of the Gulf. Joining us to discuss the absurdity of Trump’s demand given that the US navy will not enter the Gulf is Joshua Shifrinson, a Professor at the Center for International Security Studies at The University of Maryland and a non-resident Senior Foreign Policy Fellow at The Cato Institute. His research focuses on U.S. grand strategy, the durability of NATO, U.S. relations with its allies during and after the Cold War, and the rise of China. He is the author of Rising Titans, Falling Giants: How Great Powers Exploit Power Shifts.
Iran’s Strategic Plans For a Long War With Layers of Redundancy in the Ranks of Leadership
Then we examine the lack of a US strategy on Iran in comparison to Iran’s strategic plans for a long period of resistance with layers of redundancy in the ranks of leadership following the killing of the Supreme Leader and the serious injuring of his successor and son. Joining us is Juan Cole, a professor of Modern Middle Eastern and South Asian History at the University of Michigan. He is also the author of the blog Informed Comment at JuanCole.com and the author of The Ayatollahs and Democracy in Iraq, Engaging the Muslim World, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace Amid the Clash of Empires and most recently, Gaza Yet Stands. We discuss his latest article at Informed Comment, “Neocon Nightmare: Americans Flee Iraq as US Embassy is Hit and Oil Ports are Closed.”
The Crackup on the Right Against Trump’s War on Iran
Then finally we speak with Adele Stan, an independent journalist and longtime chronicler of the right wing of U.S. politics. A winner of the Hillman Prize in Opinion & Analysis Journalism, we discuss the crackup on the right with Tucker Carlson and Bannon denouncing Trump’s war and how much VP Vance might benefit from signalling he is against “endless wars” compared to his rival Marco Rubio who has Cuba lined up for the next regime change.