Hello and welcome to the Intelligence on Economist Radio.

I'm your host, Jason Palmer.

Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

Last July, our Middle East correspondent planned a seven-day trip to Iran.

He ended up being detained by authorities for seven weeks.

But he was curiously free to roam and discovered an Iran that three decades of reporting had not revealed to him.

And in large suites of America, populations are slipping as birth rates and immigration decline.

And that has calamitous economic effects.

We head to Vermont, one of the states ponying up and paying people to move in.

But first...

Today, President Donald Trump is expected to unveil his long awaited plan for peace in the Middle East.

I think we're going to make a deal. It might be a bigger and better deal than people in this room even understand.

Three years in the making, Mr. Trump has called it the ultimate deal.

But Palestinian leaders have already said they'll reject it.

Yesterday, Mr. Trump held separate meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

at his rival in the upcoming Israeli elections, many GANS. Palestinian leaders were not invited.

Many have tried and failed to resolve one of the world's most intractable conflicts.

But Mr. Trump's bid might be more about politics than peace.

In five weeks' time, Israel will hold its third general election in less than a year.

After both Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. GANS failed, the former majority coalition in parliament.

More than that, though, the peace plan is a welcome distraction.

Both Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Trump are facing scrutiny at home.

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