Trump’s war loop: Escalate, retreat, repeat | The Listening Post

May 25, 2026 · 25 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the changing narrative of US media regarding conflicts in the Middle East, particularly focusing on the US-Israel war against Iran and its implications.

For decades, much of the United States media adopted Washington’s framing of US conflicts in the Middle East. But the US-Israel war against Iran is defying that trend. US news outlets are increasingly challenging President Donald Trump on his declarations of victory and absence of a clear strategy. Meanwhile, Iran’s military remains operational, Tehran retains control of the Strait of Hormuz and fears are mounting that the disruption to global energy supplies will drag on. Contributors: Mohamad Elmasry - professor of media studies, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies Negar Mortazavi - host, Iran Podcast Maral Karimi - lecturer, Toronto Metropolitan University Sultan Barakat - senior professor in public policy, Hamad Bin Khalifa University On our radar Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foreign trips are usually tightly choreographed affairs. But his trip to Norway did not go according to plan when a journalist named Helle Lyng asked him an unscripted question. Lyng was later criticised by Indian news outlets for that exchange. Norway’s news media also came under fire after the country’s largest newspaper published an orientalist caricature of Modi. Tariq Nafi has been…

People in this episode

Guests: Mohamad Elmasry, Negar Mortazavi, Maral Karimi, Sultan Barakat

Topics covered

US media
Middle East conflicts
Trump administration
Iran
global energy supplies
digital surveillance
India

Keywords

Trump
Iran
US media
Middle East
energy supplies
digital economy
surveillance

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Al Jazeera, Iran Podcast, Norway’s news media, India

Places: Kenya, United States, Iran, Strait of Hormuz, Norway