World Review: Trump's Speech Leaves Many Questions, the Impact of the Strait's Closure, and Israel's Security Strategy

A synopsis of this week's edition of World Review

Each week, I host a video podcast called World Review with Ivo Daalder where journalists from major news outlets around the world join me to discuss the latest global news stories of the week.

World Review can now be heard on Sundays, at 7:00 a.m. Central Time, on Chicago’s NPR station, WBEZ, or on the WBEZ app. We’ll still tape the show on Fridays, and post the video on YouTube and the audio version on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

“World Review is always fascinating. I love the fact that you can get journalists from around the world to participate since zoom is the medium.”

— A Subscriber to America Abroad

Now, on to this week’s show. We discussed Trump’s televised speech on Wednesday night, the global ripples of the closed Strait of Hormuz, and Israel’s 30-month war. Joining me this week were Isabel Coles, Chief International Correspondent at The Observer, Gideon Rachman, the Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator at The Financial Times, and Bobby Ghosh, veteran journalist and host of the Ghoshworld Substack.

While I encourage you to watch or listen to the episode (and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!), here are a few interesting things I took away from our discussion:

• There is a continued lack of clarity on the aims of the ongoing war in Iran and President Trump didn’t do himself any favors during his televised address on Wednesday night. His speech left many questions unanswered, and was mostly a reiteration of the same muddled reasoning that we’ve heard in the previous 31 days. While Trump certainly sought to reassure Americans, there was very little reassurance for the rest of the world, many of whom still fear that the United States will leave the Middle East in chaos. Gideon points out that it’s clear that Trump wanted “another Venezuela” and that he believes the U.S. went to war “out of habit.” But now that he’s stuck, unable to walk away, there is a real risk that Trump falls prey to the attractiveness of high-risk, escalatory military options.

• Global repercussions of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz show that this war isn’t just about Iran. This is already the largest oil disruption in history. Southeast Asian economies that rely on Middle East exports are feeling the impact, with Thais urged to take elevators and other countries shifting to a four-day work week, all in an effort to conserve energy. Europe, which relies less on oil and natural gas but heavily on refined products from the Middle East like diesel and aviation fuel, is already witnessing large price rises. Airlines are reducing service and shipping rates are rising, crushing businesses. One third of all fertilizer ingredients flows through the Strait of Hormuz, meaning the war is also having a seismic effect on world food production and prices. David Miliband, head of the International Rescue Committee, warned of a “slow-motion famine” as fertilizer disruptions come right at the beginning of the spring planting season. Isabel sheds light on the situation in Iraq, where the tenuous coexistence between U.S. and Iranian influence has been shattered as the country comes under attack from both sides. Revenue from oil exports there propped up a teetering economy and created political stability. Now that those are halted, Iraq stands on a political precipice.

• Israel, since the October 7th attacks, has made war on Iranian proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. And now it’s involved in a big war with Iran itself. This week, Israel started a new offensive to expand a “security buffer zone” in southern Lebanon. But it’s unclear that an Israel that continues to expand militarily and territorially means one that is safer. There are limits to what military force can achieve and Israel appears stuck in a strategic dilemma where it continues to achieve tactical military successes, while failing to having strategic impact. Bobby argues that Israeli domestic support for the war has begun to slip and, while many still support military operations, fewer than half now want Israel to fight until the regime collapses. After the war, Israelis are likely to face an Iran that is both wounded and emboldened, much as is the case for Iran’s proxies.

Those are my quick takes on this week’s episode here on World Review. To get the full story, please listen to the episode itself.