Americanswers… on 5 Live! Are Trump’s Iran strikes breaking the law?
Americast
BBC
4.3 • 3.1K Ratings
🗓️ 2 March 2026
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Pete Hegseth, Trump’s Defence Secretary has defended the US/Israeli war with Iran, refuting concerns from the “fake news” media that the conflict would lead to an “endless war” and making clear there would be “no stupid rules of engagement” or “politically-correct wars”. Meanwhile, Donald Trump, making his first public comments from the White House, told his audience the US has the “capability to go far longer”, whilst also projecting a four-five week mission.
In this episode, Justin and Anthony join Matt Chorley on 5 Live to answer your many questions about the war - including is there a legal basis for its military action? Is the United States breaking the law? How many US military casualties can Trump’s MAGA base tolerate? And how will the war affect midterm elections in November, where Republicans could lose control of the House and Senate?
HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent • Matt Chorley, 5 Live presenter
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This episode was made by Rufus Gray, Alix Pickles and Grace Reeve. The technical producer was Frank McWeeny. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.7 | This is obviously a huge moment for the whole world, but it is, of course, also a huge moment for the Trump presidency, for its immediate future and indeed its longer term success. |
| 0:17.3 | We have just come off Five Live, the live programme with Matt Chawley. It is 10 to 4 in the afternoon here in London on Monday. We were answering lots of questions, all of them, of course, on this subject, with a range, a range going from the impact of US casualties on the Trump administration's prosecution of the war, through to the effect on |
| 0:38.3 | the midterm elections, and indeed whether or not Donald Trump and his team care about |
| 0:43.2 | international law. Welcome to American Answers on Five Live. |
| 0:49.9 | AmeriCast. AmeriCast from BBC News. You hear that sound? |
| 0:57.7 | Oh, I think when I hear that sound, it reminds me of money. |
| 1:02.1 | We didn't start this war, but under President Trump, we are finishing it. |
| 1:05.4 | This is a big cover-up, and this administration is engaged in it. |
| 1:07.4 | This guy has Trump arrangement syndrome. I have four words for you. |
| 1:11.1 | Turn the volume up. |
| 1:17.0 | Okay, well, needless to say, all of the questions today focus on the situation in Iran. |
| 1:22.9 | We'll do our best to cover as many questions and as many different areas as we possibly can. |
| 1:28.0 | We've had a lot of questions actually about how this will play out in America and the prospect of US casualties. |
| 1:34.5 | This is Donald Trump speaking yesterday in response to those early military casualties. This is via |
| 1:38.5 | a video statement, a video he posted on his social media platform, Truth Social. Earlier today, CENTCOM shared the news that three U.S. military service members |
| 1:48.9 | have been killed in action. As one nation, we grieve for the true American patriots |
| 1:55.5 | who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, even as we continue the righteous mission for which they gave |
| 2:04.0 | their lives, we pray for the full recovery of the wounded and send our immense love and eternal |
| 2:10.9 | gratitude to the families of the fallen. And sadly, there will likely be more. Before it ends, that's the way it is, |
| 2:20.3 | likely be more, but we'll do everything possible where that won't be the case. |
| 2:26.0 | And in fact, since that statement, we've heard there was a fourth member of the US military |
... |
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