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- [00:04]
Rachel Goldberg Poland
You are listening to an art media podcast.
- [00:16]
Deborah Pardes
It's Friday, march 27, 2026. This news update was recorded at 6:00pm new york time on Thursday. I'm deborah pardes and this is ark news. D.
- [00:32]
Donald Trump
Fighters. But they're great negotiators. They are begging to work out a deal. I don't know if we'll be able to do that. I don't know if we're willing to do that.
- [00:42]
Deborah Pardes
As the war with Iran approaches the one month mark, President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the U.S. has two options. Negotiate a deal or strike a, quote, final blow. Speaking at a Cabinet meeting in the White House, Trump insisted that Iran is eager for an agreement, but it all depends on nuclear disarmament.
- [01:03]
Donald Trump
But they now have the chance, that is Iran, to permanently abandon their nuclear ambitions and to join a new path forward. We'll see if they want to do it. If they don't, we're their worst nightmare. In the meantime, we'll just keep blowing them away unimpeded, unstopped.
- [01:20]
Deborah Pardes
Trump has again extended his deadlines for a deal with the Iranians until April 6. Iranian officials have so far not ruled out negotiations entirely, but only if the US Accepts certain demands of their own. In recent days, the White House signaled urgency to end the war in a short time frame while simultaneously deploying thousands of ground troops to the Middle East. According to reports, the massive deployment could be used to take over Kharg island, the main terminal for close to 90% of Iran's crude oil exports. Once in control of the island, the United States could effectively hold Iran's oil dependent economy hostage and put overwhelming pressure on the regime. But the operation would likely cost lives. According to analysts. Iran is reportedly preparing for this possibility and has already started fortifying Kharg Island. If Trump moves forward with the attack, Iran is expected to retaliate against other energy facilities across the Gulf. Former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant made the case for the operation in an essay for the Free Press on Thursday. He speculated that Trump has used renewed diplomacy with Iran to buy time for the United States and its allies to finalize operational plans. If Iran refuses to accept Trump's deal, the president will have, quote, both the legitimacy and the capability to act. Gallant argued that the takeover of Kharg island could decisively end the war in favor of the United States and Israel. Israel, he said, if the decision is going to be made, it must be made now. A Middle Eastern official involved in mediating the U. S. Iran talks told the Times of Israel on Thursday that Trump is increasingly leaning towards this option. While Trump weighs his options, Israel is preparing for the possibility that he will opt for a less than comprehensive deal with Iran. That's according to multiple reports citing unnamed Israeli officials. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly worried that his window of opportunity to weaken Iran is shrinking. According to the New York Times, on Tuesday, Netanyahu ordered the military to destroy as much of Iran's arms industry as possible over the next 48 hours. The order came after Israel obtained a copy of a US Proposal to end the war and concluded it doesn't go far enough on limiting Iran's missile and nuclear programs. Israel has since carried out dozens of airstrikes on Iranian military targets. One killed the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Navy. He's the man Israel says was directly responsible for blocking the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has not confirmed his death. The IDF spokesman said on Thursday that the military will continue to hunt down Iranian leaders. He said, quote, the eliminations will not stop. We will continue to pursue anyone who threatens Israel. Meanwhile, Iran hit Israel with seven separate missile barrages on Thursday. In what Iranian military commanders hailed as, quote, the day of heavy fire. A ballistic missile struck a residential area in central Israel. Cluster munitions and shrapnel lightly wounded nine people across the center and north of the country. Also on Thursday, Hezbollah launched what appeared to be its most intensive day of attack so far. The Iran backed terrorist group fired about 600 rockets, drones and mortar shells at Israel and Israeli forces in southern Lebanon. A Hezbollah rocket killed 43 year old Uri Peretz as he rode his bike in northern Israel. And a 21 year old Israeli soldier, Aviyad Volanski, died in a gunfight in southern Lebanon. He was the fourth soldier killed in Israel's renewed ground offensive against Hezbollah. Israeli military officials are once again warning that the IDF is on the verge of collapse. At a security cabinet meeting Wednesday night, IDF chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said he is raising multiple red flags. He says the military has too many demands and and too little manpower. That's according to Channel 13 news. In Israel, opposition leader Yair Lapid said Thursday that Zamir's warning is the most dire he's heard in more than a decade. Speaking to the Netanyahu government, he said, quote, the warning has been given. This is on your heads. To address the problem, Zamir called for a new conscription law, a reform to reserve duty, and a law to extend mandatory service. Without them, he said, the IDF will not be ready for its missions. This goes to a deep fault line in Israeli society, the conscription of young ultra Orthodox Jews into the army. The ultra Orthodox community makes up nearly 15% of the Israeli population, but the community has long been exempt from the country's mandatory military service. Israel's Supreme Court overruled the exemption in 2024amid the war in Gaza. The decision was met with riots by the ultra Orthodox community. Here's one young ultra Orthodox man speaking with CBS News none of us are
- [06:48]
Ultra Orthodox Man
going to go to the army. We're hell bent. There's no way in the world we're going to go to the army.
- [06:51]
Deborah Pardes
Fighting on multiple fronts for three years straight has taken a toll on Israeli society. Young recruits and reserve soldiers are struggling to keep up with the demands of non stop warfare. The fatigue and the inequality of military burden is breeding resentment across the country. This is expected to be a flashpoint for the Israeli election later this year. On Thursday's episode of Call Me Back, Rachel Goldberg Poland discusses the meaning of Passover for a nation at war. She said the upcoming holiday teaches us how to deal with loss and encourages us to stay human even as we confront our most bitter enemies.
- [07:31]
Rachel Goldberg Poland
I think that there's a difference between relief and glee. There is a difference between feeling a sense of hope that someone can't hurt us anymore versus schadenfreude and dancing around because of the death of somebody. I just think that we don't teach our children that it's not part of our tradition. It doesn't mean there isn't a place for badness to be extinguished. But I think being gleeful, there's a very fine line to where that leads us as human beings, as people.
- [08:10]
Deborah Pardes
You can find a link to the episode in the show notes. I'm Deborah Pardes and this is ARK News Daily. Arc News Daily is written by Andrew Tobin and produced by John Reed. Arc Media's executive producer is Adam James Levin Eridy. Our production manager is Brittany Cohen. Sound and video editing is by Liquid Audio. Music is by Yuval Simo. Our community manager is Ava Weiner. See you next week.