'JD Vance put lipstick on a pig: Iranians have the upper hand ' in the peace negotiations
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Annette Young is pleased to welcome Scott Lucas, Professor of American Studies and Int'l Politics at the Clinton Institute, University College Dublin. According to Lucas, the US is not negotiating with Iran from a position of strength: "The Americans shifted from regime change to regime surrender", he explains, "trying to bomb their way to get the Iranians to capitulate on a number of conditions. That failed." So as the US ruled out ground troops, they had to come "back to the table". And Lucas said the US really miscalculated with respect: Iran's retaliation on the Gulf states and the impact the blockade of the strait of Hormuz would have on the global economy'.