Iran latest: View from the border / Trump strong-arms allies
Sources & Methods
NPR
4.9 • 919 Ratings
🗓️ 19 March 2026
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
But those allies aren’t exactly leaping in to help. Can Trump finish the war he started – without them?
Host Mary Louise Kelly is joined by Arezou Rezvani, NPR’s correspondent currently in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Rezvani opened up her reporter’s notebook to share what it’s like covering Iran from outside the country. NPR’s national security correspondent Greg Myre joined them to talk about the importance of Kharg Island, Iran's oil export hub on the Persian Gulf, and what path President Trump might take to end the conflict.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It'd be hard to claim success if world oil prices remain high and there's no real solution here. |
| 0:09.3 | President Trump has demanded, begged, and threatened U.S. allies to join the war in Iran. |
| 0:16.1 | Those allies are not exactly leaping in to help. |
| 0:19.2 | Can Trump finish the war he started without them? |
| 0:22.6 | This is sources and methods from NPR. |
| 0:27.3 | I'm Mary Louise Kelly every Thursday. On this podcast, we dive deep on some of the week's |
| 0:32.0 | biggest national security stories with NPR reporters who are out there covering them. |
| 0:37.1 | This week, I am here in Washington |
| 0:39.4 | with one of our regulars, Greg Myrie, NPR National Security correspondent. Hey there, Greg. |
| 0:44.4 | Hi, Mary Louise. And Arzu Razvani, NPR's correspondent currently in Erbil in the Kurdistan region |
| 0:51.2 | of Iraq. Arzu, welcome. Hi, Mary Louise. So I just want to timestamp this. |
| 0:55.8 | We are speaking. It is, I believe, just after eight in the evening, your time there in Iraq? |
| 1:01.0 | It's actually just after seven, my time. Just after seven your time. Okay, it is about noon, |
| 1:06.4 | just past noon here on the East Coast. Arzu, kick us off. You're in Iraq. You're trying to cover |
| 1:13.3 | the war with Iran from next door. And I know you've been there for more than a week. I mean, |
| 1:19.0 | this may be an obvious question, but why Erbil? Well, I should say, Erbil is considered to be |
| 1:24.9 | in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. And I'm here because, well, it's a few |
| 1:30.0 | different reasons, actually. The location of Arbil is quite significant. It is wedged between |
| 1:35.8 | Turkey to our north and Iran to our east. And so this is one of the closest places where you can |
| 1:43.8 | really feel and see the fallout from the war next door. |
| 1:48.9 | And Urbeel is a fascinating place because America has a pretty large footprint here. |
| 1:54.7 | There is a U.S. consulate in Erbil that has been targeted in recent days by both Iran and Iran-backed militias. |
... |
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