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The Rest Is Politics

516. Trump’s Iran Delusion and the Limits of American Power

The Rest Is Politics

Goalhanger

News, Politics, Government

4.511.5K Ratings

🗓️ 31 March 2026

⏱️ 56 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Why has opposition to the Iran war been so muted within Trump’s America, and how is the US uniquely insulated from the worst impacts of the war? Do American tech billionaires now pose a serious threat to British democracy – alongside Iran, Russia, and China? Should the UK follow in the footsteps of South Australia and ban political donations entirely? Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more. __________ Go deeper into the world of The Rest Is Politics by signing up for our free newsletter HERE, featuring exclusive interviews, analysis and weekend reads from Alastair and Rory. Join The Rest Is Politics Plus: Start your free trial at therestispolitics.com to unlock exclusive bonus content – including Rory and Alastair’s miniseries – plus ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, exclusive newsletters, discounted book prices, and a private chatroom on Discord. The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. To sign up and for terms and conditions, visit fuseenergy.com/politics. Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ nordvpn.com/restispolitics It's risk-free with Nord's 30 day money back guarantee ✅ __________ Instagram: @restispolitics Twitter: @restispolitics Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com __________ Social Producer: Celine Charles Video Editor: Josh Smith, Adam Thornton, Lorcan Moullier Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne Producer: Evan Green Exec Producer: Chris Sawyer General Manager: Tom Whiter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Thanks for listening to The Restis Politics. To support the podcast, listen without the adverts and get early access to episodes and live show tickets, go to therestispolitics.com. That's the rest is politics.com.

0:13.4

Trump's gone after Iran. Nobody fully expected him to do so, and now they're creating justifications behind it. But they don't add up. It's a war

0:22.7

that feels like the risk is taken by the U.S. the costs are born elsewhere. This is decades of

0:28.6

American arrogance coming to a head in the form of this guy. Why was Iran considered a more

0:36.3

important threat than Russia? They have spent colossal sums of money, which could have gone to Ukraine, in this Iran infection.

0:44.5

It's just madness that we're dealing with at the moment. I honestly think this is a form of madness.

1:00.0

Welcome to the rest of politics with me, Alistair Campbell.

1:02.0

And me, Rory Stewart.

1:04.3

And Rory, we're going to talk about Iran inevitably.

1:10.4

We're going to talk about what's going on, but also talk about this business of betting on the war.

1:12.9

We'll do that in the second half, alongside a very interesting report that came out last week by former civil servant, Philip Reikroft, about

1:16.7

trying to clean up the financing of British politics and deal with foreign interference.

1:21.6

But on Iran, there is so much to get through. So where do you want to start?

1:26.3

Let me start with the fact that I'm in the US, so I'm

1:28.9

speaking to you from Yale. And I have found myself in the last week very aware that I'm in a

1:34.8

completely different United States. I arrived here, of course, sharing many of your views on Trump

1:40.9

and on Iran, and I continue to have those views, but I've walked into a United

1:45.0

States in which I'm facing blank incomprehension from a huge range of people. Students, people

1:53.5

who are Democrats, moderate Republicans, colonels in the military, academics, they are thinking

2:00.2

in a completely different way, talking

2:01.8

a totally different language. They don't feel anything like the level of outrage, shock,

2:07.7

and disgust that we feel about this Iran war. I was here, for example, when there were the

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