About this episode
Forget the capture of Nicolas Maduro in Caracas and those zero US casualties. Iran is not Venezuela and the Pentagon knows it. It's deploying a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East along with a fleet of ships, aircraft and support to take on a weakened regime, but still a nation of 90 million that boasts a huge military with a homegrown arsenal of missiles and drones. Is the US prepared for all eventualities, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz, the passageway for more than one fifth of the planet's oil and gas? Watch moreIran-US tensions soar as second US aircraft carrier approaches region More broadly, why this potential fight? Why now? How does the same Donald Trump who now chairs a Board of Peace actually view the use of force? The president who campaigned on the promise of no boots on the ground already crossed a red line last June when the US joined Israel’s bombing of Iranian nuclear installations. Will he pull the trigger this time? And how does the Islamic Republic and its supreme leader view an ultimatum that's mainly but not only about its nuclear programme? To ensure its survival, the regime mowed down protesters by the thousands back in January. Does it emerge further weakened or strengthened after what now lies ahead?
