525 | The U.S.–Iran Crisis, the Hormuz Blockade, and Donald Trump's fight with the Pope

About this episode

Ambassador Gordon Gray discusses the escalating U.S.–Iran crisis and its implications in the Persian Gulf.

The U.S.–Iran crisis has entered a volatile new phase—and the stakes are rising fast. In this episode, Ambassador Gordon Gray, veteran diplomat and the Kuwait Professor of Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Affairs at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, breaks down the reality behind the rhetoric: from President Donald Trump’s inflammatory messaging to the strategic consequences unfolding in the Persian Gulf. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

People in this episode

Guest: Ambassador Gordon Gray

Topics covered

• U.S.–Iran crisis
• Persian Gulf
• Donald Trump
• diplomacy

Keywords

• Hormuz Blockade
• strategic consequences
• inflammatory messaging

Mentioned in this episode

Places: U.S.–Iran, Kuwait, the Persian Gulf, California

More episodes of Target USA Podcast by WTOP

• 524 | Civilization on the Brink? Trump’s Threat, the Stepdown, and the New Geometry of Power · April 9, 2026 · 28 min
• 523 | The War in Iran: Power, Pressure, and the New Global Order · April 2, 2026 · 17 min
• 522 | Winning the Battle, Losing the War: Inside the Iran Conflict’s Strategic Failure · March 26, 2026 · 17 min
• 521 | The Expanding War: How One Conflict Is Rewiring Global Security · March 19, 2026 · 24 min
• 520 | The Iran Conflict at the Edge of Escalation · March 12, 2026 · 21 min
• 519 | Iran: War of Congested Skies, Expanding Fronts, and Strategic Fragility · March 5, 2026 · 19 min