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The Iran war isn’t just a battlefield story, it’s a chokepoint story. When the Strait of Hormuz is squeezed, the shock doesn’t stop at oil prices. It hits shipping lanes, airlines, fertilizer and food costs, supply chains, and the political patience of voters already stretched by inflation. We dig into why a ceasefire can look stable on TV while the underlying leverage remains dangerously intact, and why that makes any “clean” victory narrative hard to sustain.

We’re joined by Professor John Mearsheimer to pressure-test the endgame: can the US and Iran negotiate anything durable when enrichment capability, sanctions, verification, proxies, and regional basing are all tied together? Then we pivot to the fiercest argument in American politics right now: Israel. Alan Dershowitz explains why he’s registering as a Republican for the first time, citing antisemitism and a Democratic break with Israel, while Joe Kent argues the GOP base is tired of foreign wars and wants a more balanced US-Israel relationship. Along the way we confront how rhetoric shapes the debate and why certain phrases carry historical baggage even when used casually.

Ian Bremmer brings the global view, connecting Middle East conflict to recession risk, energy security, AI-era demand for cheap power, and the quiet ways supply disruptions spread. We also explore whether China is the ultimate beneficiary, how Taiwan could become part of Trump’s bargaining, and why Gulf states’ tourism and investment dreams look far more fragile under missile-range insecurity. Subscribe, share the episode, and leave a review, then tell us: what should the US demand as the real off ramp?

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