Hello and welcome to background briefing, available 24-7 at background briefing.

I'm Ian Masterson.

Today we'll examine a number of stories and issues in the news.

We'll begin with Trump saying that, quote, he's ready to go to war on Wednesday when

the ceasefire expires, while the Iranian side says they have, quote, prepared new surprises

for a potential new round of combat as diplomatic efforts to have Vice President Vance meet with his Iranian

counterparts in Pakistan, Fulton. Joining us to discuss the farcical nature of U.S. diplomacy run by

real estate grifters taking conflicting orders from a mentally ill megalomaniac is Jonathan Geyer,

Programme Director of the Issue for Global Affairs at the Eurasia Group.

A reporter and editor focused on foreign policy, national security and the Middle East.

He is an Arabic and Hebrew speaker and spent five years as a correspondent in Egypt.

And he's a regular contributor to the New Republic New York Magazine, The Guardian, among others,

and we'll discuss his article at the New York Times New York Magazine, The Guardian, among others, and we'll discuss

his article at the New York Times, for Kushner and Whitcough, CEO diplomacy is no longer working.

Then with Trump turning allies into enemies while weakening America at warp speed, we'll go to

Toronto, Canada, to speak with Stephen March, a novelist and culture

writer who has written for The Atlantic, The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal,

The New York Esquire and many other outlets.

His recent books include The Next Civil War, Dispatches from the American Future, and the

last election co-authored with Andrew Yang.

Then finally we'll assess how long the ridiculous Trump fanboy in charge of the FBI,

Kash Patel, will last after reports of serial drunkenness,

...