Has Trump Backed Down On Iran Threat?
Newscast
BBC
4.3 • 6.6K Ratings
🗓️ 23 March 2026
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today, President Trump has extended his initial 48-hour ultimatum to Iran to unblock the Strait of Hormuz to five days. The President said Iran has 'one more chance at peace', following what he called “good and productive conversations”. But, while Sir Keir Starmer said he was aware the talks had taken place, Iran has denied speaking to the US and has called Trump’s claims of talks ‘fake news’. To help us make sense of the head-spinning pace of the US-Israel war with Iran, James and Chris are joined by economics editor Faisal Islam and chief presenter Caitriona Perry in Washington. Apply for tickets to Castfest here https://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/shows/castfest-2026 You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscord Get in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480. New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenter was James Cook. It was made by Anna Harris with Shiler Mahmoudi. The social producers were Jem Westgate and Sophie Millward. The technical producer was James Piper. The assistant editor was Jack Maclaren. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:06.3 | So, Chris, did you catch the new US satirical show Saturday Night Live, |
| 0:12.2 | except the UK version, SNL UK, at the weekend? |
| 0:15.9 | I certainly caught the bit that went on to make news. |
| 0:18.9 | I can't say I watched every frame of the whole show, |
| 0:21.6 | but the bit that has made news since I certainly did. Yes, and I think you mean this bit. This is how |
| 0:28.2 | they opened the show. They called this the cold open in the States, and it was a sketch about |
| 0:33.0 | Sir Keir Starrmer and the Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, apparently preparing for a phone call with President Trump. |
| 0:41.0 | Now, let's have a listen, and you can tell me what you made |
| 0:44.1 | of the Kier-Starmer impersonation by George Four Acres. |
| 0:49.4 | Here we go. |
| 0:50.4 | Oh, crumbs. I just hate conflicts so much. |
| 0:55.4 | Are you referring to the war or this phone call? |
| 0:58.3 | Isn't there a way I cannot do both? |
| 1:01.2 | I just want to keep him happy, Labby. |
| 1:05.3 | Well, what did you think? |
| 1:07.0 | Well, I thought the voice, as the exchange went on, |
| 1:09.8 | that was the absolute, for me, |
| 1:10.9 | that was the absolute nub of the exchange and the, and the, uh, Mickey Takey. I thought as the |
| 1:16.4 | exchange went on, that the voice got closer and closer to an obviously sent up version of the, |
| 1:23.6 | of the, uh, the real, uh, the real thing. And I'm struck, James, that today, when the Prime Minister was facing questions from MPs and we'll get onto this, |
| 1:34.1 | he wanted to point out about finding stuff out from America before it was public, |
... |
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