PODCASTS:
April 7, 2026 ~ Saeed Khan, associate professor of Teaching in Near Eastern Studies, joins Ryan Ermanni to discuss the potential of Iran reaching a deal prior to President Trump’s 8 P.M. deadline.
April 7, 2026 ~ Chris Renwick, Lloyd Jackson, and Jamie Edmonds speak with Erfan Omid, a Michigan State University PhD student. Omid discusses Iranian perspectives on the conflict and potential impacts of military action.
April 7, 2026 ~ Chris Renwick and Lloyd Jackson discuss rising Middle East tensions. Jason Rowe, principal at Rowe Strategic, and Rocky Raczkowski, retired lieutenant colonel, U.S. Army Reserve, offer their insight.
Iran ~ President Donald Trump made an intense threat on Tuesday against Iran ahead of a U.S.-made deadline for the nation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, as explosions were reported on Iran’s Kharg Island.
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. The deadline to reopen the Strait was set for Tuesday evening by Trump, which was closed by Iran to the U.S., Israel, and their allies after they began launching airstrikes at Iran over six weeks ago.
Tuesday morning also saw a major escalation in the U.S.’s offensive on Iran, with reports of several explosions on Kharg Island, which houses Iran’s major oil terminal in the Persian Gulf. Trump previously told The Financial Times that “maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t.”
So far, over 2,076 people in Iran have been killed by the U.S. and Israel, according to Iran’s Health Ministry. Nearly 1,500 people have been killed by Israel during the country’s military campaign in Lebanon. Iran’s retaliatory strikes have killed dozens across the Middle East, including Israel, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, and Iraq.
