Hello and welcome to Background Briefing, available 24-7 at Background Briefing.org. I'm Ian Masters,

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

We'll begin with Tarko Trump backing down from his ultimatum to bomb Iran's electrical and water

infrastructure to him announcing today that he is, quote, having very good and productive discussions

with, quote, a top respected leader in Iran, who is apparently the Speaker of the Parliament,

Mohamed Kalibath, the former head of the Revolutionary Guard Corps Air Force. Joining us to discuss a

possible ending of the U.S. Israeli war on Iran, but not Israel's war on Lebanon, is Asher Kaufman,

the director of the Crock Institute for

International Peace Studies and a professor of history and peace studies at the University

of Notre Dame.

Prior to that, he taught at Hebrew University, Jerusalem, and he was a research fellow at the

Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace where he headed its Middle

East unit. He's the author of Contested Frontiers, Cartography, Sovereignty and Conflict

at the Syria-Lebanon-Israel tri-border region,

and we'll discuss his article at the conversation

Israeli action in Lebanon risks repeating history's mistakes

and torpedoing an historic moment for dialogue.

Then we'll speak with Sarah Lee Whitson, the former Executive Director of Dawn, an organization

that supports democracy and human rights in the Middle East. She's also previously served as Executive

Director of Human Rights Watchers, Middle East and North Africa Division, where she oversaw work in 19

countries. Her latest book with Michael Oma Mann is from apartheid to democracy, a blue print

for peace in Israel-Palestine. And we will discuss her article at Responsible Statecraft,

...