About this episode

The episode discusses Iran's military actions and the implications for U.S. foreign policy, as well as the rise of anti-Zionism in New York politics.

Programming note: Friday Focus will be taking a summer break. We will be back with new episodes starting September 11 (and, of course, if any serious news breaks over the summer!). Janice and Rudyard begin by unpacking an IRGC attack on a tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz, exposing a fundamental divide between Washington and Tehran over freedom of navigation. While the U.S. insists on open access without fees or restrictions, Iran views the waterway as a source of leverage. If the two sides cannot bridge that gap, what hope is there of resolving the far more consequential nuclear dispute? Iran sees a U.S. president who makes a lot of threats but does not have the resolve to make good on them. In the second half, the conversation turns to Israel’s waning international support and the growing political potency of anti-Zionism. Following a string of primary victories in New York by candidates sharply critical of Israel, Rudyard and Janice ask whether opposition to the Israeli state is becoming a defining electoral issue, particularly among younger voters. They explore the claim that for figures like Zohran Mamdani, Palestine is a central political cause, and consider…

People in this episode

Hosts: Janice, Rudyard

Topics covered

• Iran-U.S. relations
• freedom of navigation
• anti-Zionism
• political strategy
• Israel's international support
• electoral issues

Keywords

• Iran
• U.S. foreign policy
• anti-Zionism
• Israel
• politics
• Strait of Hormuz
• Zohran Mamdani
• New York
• elections

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: IRGC

Places: Iran, Washington, Strait of Hormuz, Israel, New York

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