Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Clare Byrne Show on Newstalk. With Aviva Insurance.
President Donald Trump has threatened that Iran's troops will be blown off the face of the earth if they attack US vessels trying to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. In the last little while, a US military general has declined to say if the ceasefire between the United States and Iran is in place and we know that the US and Tehran have been trading strikes in the Strait of Hormuz.
Let's get the latest now with US-based journalist Sarah Firth. Sarah, thank you for being with us. Can you shed any light on the state of play as it is today?
yes so just for listeners claire um project freedom is the trump administration's new military-backed effort to try and move commercial ships through the strait of hormuz now the white house has been presenting this as a humanitarian and a freedom of navigation mission And Trump has spoken about the seafarers being stuck, calling them victims of circumstance.
Chapter 2: What threats has President Trump made regarding Iran?
And so describing this sort of primarily as a humanitarian gesture, I do want to point out, you know, that's absolutely true. I've been speaking myself to some organizations that are receiving calls from some of those seafarers who are stuck in and around the Strait of Hormuz since the start of this conflict. their situation is appalling. The description of their situation is appalling.
But Project Freedom is not a small operation. So CENTCOM says it involves guided missile destroyers, more than 100 land and sea based aircraft, unmanned platforms, at least 15,000 US service members, So the reality is that, yes, you've got these crews stuck at sea, but you've also got what you've just talked about, Claire, this sort of
clash playing out for control of the Strait of Hormuz, conflicting reports from both sides about exactly what is happening. Iran, for its part, has warned any foreign armed force approaching or entering the Strait will be targeted and attacked. And so there is a clear and obvious escalation risk here. You know, there is a large buildup still of US military in this area.
CENTCOM have said that the Iranian forces have launched multiple drones and small boats that ships the US are protecting. So I think the honest way to put it is that Project Freedom has a humanitarian purpose. It is militarily backed, but it also creates the conditions in which escalation becomes much easier to justify, especially if Iran fires first or appears to fire first.
Well, we see that there have been some drone attacks now on civilian infrastructure in the United Arab Emirates. You have the Iranians mocking Project Freedom, renaming it Project Air. And then I think it's really interesting as well that the Americans are refusing to say whether the ceasefire is over or not.
Surely if they wanted to keep the peace, maintain that truce, they would confirm that that is the case. And given that Donald Trump, of course, has said that Iran's troops will be blown off the face of the earth if they attack United States vessels, it doesn't bode well for where this conflict is at today.
No, and Claire, for listeners, again, there is, they call it inside baseball here in America, but I mean, not to get too technical and bogged down with the congressional legal details, but there is a sort of background context to some of this ceasefire, termination of hostilities, talk that you're hearing from both President Trump and U.S. officials.
And that is because there was supposed to be from under U.S. law from the day that you launch military action, you have 48 hours to notify Congress. The Trump administration did that. You then have 60 days after which you need congressional approval, right? It's supposed to be put to democratic vote as to whether the US goes to war or continues to be at war with another country.
That clock is now up. Congress is in recess.
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Chapter 3: What is Project Freedom and its implications?
And President Trump sent a letter to Congress in which he claimed that hostilities with Iran had been terminated. The Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, in testimony to Congress said, described it as his understanding that because of a ceasefire the clock had essentially paused or reset now that you know that's i mean anyone can see that that's a loophole and if that that's not the letter of the
meaning of the law right because you could just potentially reset the clock every time you got sort of 59 days and never get congressional approval and that is getting pushed back from even Republican lawmakers and the main question here really Claire with all the language that you're hearing from President Trump with this latest project freedom with the latest indications of escalation
in the region. Here in America, the question is, who gets to decide whether America goes to war with Iran? President Trump has had the ability to legally until now, but there should be these congressional checks and balances that this Trump administration has seemingly overridden. And I do think it's just worth pointing out, remember at the very beginning of this conflict,
You had President Trump presenting this as liberating Iranian people that were trapped and terrorized by this regime. And I think there is a real tragedy in the fact that right now for ordinary Iranians, they are caught between a situation where now there's a fragile ceasefire in place and they're trying to pick up the pieces. But you've got the threat of...
uh foreign intervention again starting so you know bombs from above and then they've got the repression from within to deal with that is a terrible position uh for ordinary Iranians to be in and once again with project freedom again it's a humanitarian operation uh it's trying to open the Strait of Hormuz big question mark over whether
you know, shipping companies are going to feel confident enough with, given the current back and forth of language between Iran and from the president. But, you know, both the seafarers who are stuck in this and ordinary Iranians, the millions in the country who are sort of trapped between these two powers fighting out right now, it's a very, very difficult situation.
And you've Reminded us of what Donald Trump said at the outset. He spoke about liberating Iranians. He also made a commitment to the American people that this would be a very swift conflict, that the Americans would be in and out in a matter of weeks. I mean, that's... increasingly looking like that's not going to be the case.
We're long past his original deadline that he set anyway, and we are coming closer to the midterm. So how is all of this going down in the United States with voters and particularly with Republicans who must be very worried now?
Worried, yes. And I think there was, you know, when the deadline was coming up and before Congress went to recess, you heard from one of the Republican lawmakers who essentially said, look, it shouldn't be a controversial statement to say at the point that has been legally decided, which is the 60 day mark, if hostilities resume.
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