Hello and welcome to Background Briefing, available 24-7 at Background Briefing.org.

I'm Ian Masters, and today we'll look into a number of stories and issues in the news.

We'll begin with Trump doubling down on his delusion that tankers can pass through the

Strait of Hummus after calling on tanker owners to quote show some guts.

He is now asking the UK, China, France and Japan to have their navies escort ships out of the

Gulf, joining us to discuss the absurdity of Trump's demand given the France and Japan to have their Navy's escort ships out of the Gulf.

Joining us to discuss the absurdity of Trump's demand,

given that the US Navy will not enter the Gulf, is Joshua Schifrensen,

a professor at the Center for International Security Studies

at the University of Maryland and a non-resident senior foreign policy fellow at the Cato Institute.

His research focuses on US grand strategy, the durability of NATO, U.S. relations with its

allies during and after the Cold War, and the rise of China.

He's the author of Rising Titans, Falling Giants, How Great Powers Exploits, Power Shifts.

Then we'd examine the lack of a US strategy on Iran compared to Iran's strategic plans

for a long period of resistance, with layers of redundancy in the ranks of leadership

following the killing of the Supreme Leader and the serious injuring of his successor and son.

Joining us is Juan Cole, a professor of modern Middle Eastern and South Asian history

at the University of Michigan.

He's also the author of the blog Inform Comet at Wang Cole.com

and the author of The Aetollahs in democracy in Iraq, engaging the Muslim world,

Muhammad Prophet of Peace amid the clash of empires, and democracy in Iraq, engaging the Muslim world, Muhammad Prophet of Peace

amid the clash of empires, and most recently Gaza yet stands. We will discuss his latest article

...