Impeachment hypotheticals and political calculus

Donald Trump has told reporters there have been talks between the US and Iran in which the two sides had “major points of agreement” and both wanted “to make a deal”. The US president says his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner talked to Iran on Sunday and that discussions would continue on Monday. However, the Fars news agency, which is linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, denied any such talks took place, saying there were neither direct nor indirect communications with the US. Iran’s foreign ministry reportedly said that Trump’s statements were “part of efforts to reduce energy prices and buy time to implement his military plans”, with state media saying they showed the US president was “backing down”. Trump said the US is talking to a “top person” within the Iranian regime to try to end the war, but this person was not the new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei. In this episode, Justin, Sumi and Marianna answer your questions with Matt Chorley on 5 Live and discuss what might be going on with the conflicting statements behind the scenes. This comes after a Trump ultimatum issued on Saturday evening - for Iran to fully open the Strait of Hormuz by Monday midnight, or have its power plants bombed. The team also answer questions on who’s influencing Trump, what is public opinion in the US and where this war puts Vice President JD Vance.

HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Sumi Somaskanda, North America Correspondent • Marianna Spring, Social Media Investigations Senior Correspondent

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This episode was made by Purvee Pattni and Alix Pickles. The technical producer was James Piper. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

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