It's the Brian Lairn on WNYC. Good morning again, everyone. About the war with Iran,

if you're not confused, you're not paying attention. President Trump last night announced

an indefinite extension of what they're calling a ceasefire, but at the same time, he's continuing

an act of war, and so is Iran. As NBC reported it a few hours ago, Iran attacked three ships

in the Strait of Hormuz this morning, saying its revolutionary guards seized two of them and further inflaming tensions over the key waterway.

It says it comes after U.S. forces seized an Iranian ship and bordered a tanker linked to Tehran's oil trade, that from NBC News.

So listeners, you can decide for yourself if that sounds like a ceasefire to you, doesn't really sound like one to me, maybe a partial ceasefire

in which there's at least no bombing by the U.S. and no missiles being flung around the Middle

East by Iran. Most of the coverage in recent days has been about the negotiations over the

war from the standpoint of the U.S., Iran, Israel, and Hezbollah. And we'll talk a little bit about

that in this segment, but we'll focus mostly now on the military state of the war.

Who has won and lost what and what each side's military could do if the

ceasefire collapses? Why the military aspects will the prospect for military victories and defeats

and the death and destruction that come with them, of course, drive what each side's military

is willing to agree to in peace talks. With me for this assessment

is Fred Kaplan. He writes the column War Stories for Slate and his author of books, including

the bomb, President's Generals and the Secret History of Nuclear War. Fred, always good to have you.

Welcome back to WNYC. Thanks. Always good to be here.

One thing we know, and that is probably a reason for Trump's plummeting poll numbers,

he's down to an astonishing 33% approval in the new AP poll out today.

One reason for that, I suspect, is that he keeps declaring victory in a war that we're still fighting.

This is from a month ago. This is one quick example.

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