The collapse of the Iran ceasefire has pushed oil prices higher and left Tehran using the Strait of Hormuz as its most powerful leverage. With American casualties rising and roughly a fifth of the world's oil supply at risk, Washington faces a stark choice – keep bombing, attempt to force the strait open or start looking for a way out.

Kirsten Fontenrose, former White House national security advisor, joins The General & The Journalist to assess Trump’s options. Can the US reopen the strait without triggering a wider war? And can Trump pull back before Iran becomes America’s next forever war?

Is a military showdown in the Gulf inevitable? Send in your thoughts to generalandjournalist@thetimes.co.uk

Chapters:

00:00 – Is Iran Trump’s Forever War?
05:22 – Why Iran wants to control the Strait of Hormuz
09:41 – US Troop deaths and growing political pressure on Trump
13:23 – Trump’s Iran Options: Diplomacy, Naval Blockade or Escalation
27:14 – Can the US reopen the Strait? Kirsten Fontenrose’s Six-Month Forecast

Guest: Kirsten Fontenrose, former Senior Director for Gulf Affairs at the National Security Council

Hosts: Tom Newton Dunn

Producer: Julia Webster

Executive producer: Priyanka Deladia

Image: Shaun Parkinson, Getty

Clips: C-SPAN, US Central Command, Getty

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.