What Will it Take to End the War in Iran?

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 16 April 2026

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

An American naval blockade of Iranian ports entered its third day as the U.S. tries to open up ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, President Trump contends that the war is “very close to being over” but also renewed threats to destroy civilian infrastructure. We talk about the latest in Iran and what might happen if no deal is reached before the ceasefire expires next week. Guests: Dalia Dassa Kaye, senior fellow, UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations; author, “Enduring Hostility: The Making of America’s Iran Policy” Robin Wright, contributing writer, New Yorker; her recent piece is "'The Peace President' Gets Belligerent with Iran and the Pope;" author, "Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East" David Sanger, White House and national security correspondent, New York Times; his most recent book is "New Cold Wars: China’s Rise, Russia’s Invasion and America’s Struggle to Save the West" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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1:15.9	From KQED. Welcome to Forum. I'm Grace Wan,
1:22.1	in for Alexis Madrigal. As the war in Iran marks its seventh week, a fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran continues to hold. President Trump declared on Wednesday that the war is, quote, very close to being over. But this morning,
1:29.5	Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stated that the U.S. was, quote, locked and loaded and ready to
1:34.5	destroy civilian energy infrastructure in Iran, which is a potential war crime. His remarks seem to
1:40.3	belie the president's contention that the war is winding down. Here to discuss the current
1:45.3	situation and what options the U.S. has, we're joined by Dahlia Dossackay. She's a senior fellow at the
1:50.9	UCLA Berkel Center for International Relations. She's also the author of Enduring Hostility, the Making of
1:57.4	America's Iran Policy. Welcome to Forum, Dia. Great to be here. Thanks so much.
2:04.2	We also have Robin Wright. She's a contributing writer for The New Yorker. Her most recent piece for the magazine is
2:09.6	the peace president gets belligerent with Iran and the Pope. Welcome back to forum, Robin.
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