Spars and strikes: Who backs Iran war?
The Intelligence from The Economist
The Economist
4.5 • 3.7K Ratings
🗓️ 5 March 2026
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
As America continues to batter Iran, what are the domestic implications of the war for Donald Trump? The widening conflict has prompted some European countries to deploy defensive forces. France has also announced a bigger shift in policy: to bolster its nuclear arsenal. And the politics of beer and nappies.
Guests and host:
- Adam Roberts, foreign editor
- Sophie Pedder, Paris bureau chief
- Shera Avi-Yonah, business writer
- Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
- Jason Palmer, co-host of “The intelligence”
Topics covered:
- Iran, Donald Trump, senate, Turkey
- France, Macron, nuclear warheads, NATO
- MAGA, marketing
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Economist. |
| 0:07.0 | Hello and welcome to the intelligence from The Economist. I'm Rosie Bloor. |
| 0:15.0 | And I'm Jason Palmer. Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. |
| 0:24.0 | So much has happened in the past week, you may not have noticed that France announced a major shift, |
| 0:30.5 | both in the size of its nuclear stockpile and the shape of its military alliances. |
| 0:39.3 | And if you're politically aligned with America's MAGA movement, |
| 0:43.1 | and inclined to manifest that in your choice of beer or pillows or razors or telecoms provider, |
| 0:48.6 | there are brands out there for you. |
| 0:51.0 | But turns out, not too many people are so inclined. Thank you. But turns out not too many people are so inclined. |
| 0:58.1 | First up, though. |
| 1:07.0 | Day 6 of Operation Epic Fury and the assault on Iran continues. |
| 1:15.8 | They are toast and they know it. Or at least soon enough, they will know it. |
| 1:22.8 | America is winning, decisively, devastatingly, and without mercy. |
| 1:29.0 | But while Pete Hegeseth, America's Secretary of War, touted the military and intelligence |
| 1:33.5 | successes, Democrats in the Senate tried to constrain Donald Trump's ability to wage war |
| 1:39.1 | until Congress had approved the action. |
| 1:42.2 | A win would have halted hostilities temporarily. |
| 1:45.6 | Though this conflict is far from American turf, for Trump, the political implications, |
| 1:51.3 | could strike far closer to home. |
| 1:54.1 | So yesterday the Senate had a vote on what's called the War Powers Act, and this is an effort |
| 1:59.2 | by the Democrats to force senators to come out and say |
| 2:03.0 | whether or not they would support Donald Trump's war in Iran. Adam Roberts is the economist's |
... |
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