Amanpour

Arab and Islamic states are calling on Iran to cease attacks, while affirming their right to defend themselves under international law. This comes as the war in the Middle East becomes a war on energy, precipitated by Israel's attack on Iran's South Pars gas field on Wednesday, which is a crucial supply for the country. Oman's Foreign Minister, who brokered the recent nuclear talks, called this an "unlawful war" and the Trump administration's "greatest miscalculation," while US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says they're "on plan." Chuck Hagel was a Republican senator who served as US Defense Secretary under President Obama, and is also a decorated army veteran who fought in the Vietnam War. He joins the show from Washington.  

Also on today's show: Ali Vaez, Iran Project Director, International Crisis Group; Sam Adler-Bell, Contributor, New York Magazine  

 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Iran has vowed revenge for the killing of top security official Ali Larijani, who was taken out in an Israeli airstrike. Tehran has been ramping up attacks on Israel, with two pensioners killed in strikes on central Israel and almost 200 people hospitalized in 24 hours. Naftali Bennett served as Israel's Prime Minister until 2022 and joins the show to discuss what Israel's long term goal is. 

Also on today’s show: Seyed Hossein Mousavian, Former Iranian diplomat/ Former Iranian nuclear negotiator; Edward Fishman, Author, “Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare” 

 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Iran's top security official has been "eliminated." That's according to Israel’s defense minister, who says Ali Larijani was killed in a targeted IDF strike. Larijani was one of Iran’s top decision makers, some calling him the de facto leader since the assassination of his former boss, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Larijani’s killing, if confirmed, plunges the nation, and its future, into even more uncertainty.  Correspondent Jomana Karadsheh reports on the people caught between foreign bombs and a repressive regime. 

Also on today's show: Karim Sadjadpour, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; former Afghan lawmaker Fawzia Koofi; Heidy Khlaaf, Chief AI Scientist, AI Now Institute 

 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A growing energy crisis is sending oil prices soaring around the world. President Trump has been calling on US allies to assist in unblocking the Strait of Hormuz, but no countries have agreed to help. To assess the NATO response and the prospects of a military solution to unblocking the Strait, former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Richard Shirreff, joins the show. 

Also on today's show: Mohamed El-Erian, Chief Economic Adviser, Allianz / Professor at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania; Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Former Ukrainian Defense Minister; Kenneth Vogel, Reporter, The New York Times 

 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Starting a war is easier than ending it, as they say, so two weeks after the US and Israel struck Iran, what is the exit strategy? Christiane Amanpour asks Elliott Abrams, Trump's former special representative for Iran. And as the war spills across the Middle East, Lebanon's Justice Minister Adel Nassar joins the program on his difficult mission to rein in the powerful militia group Hezbollah. Then, a report on the Iranian cluster missile attacks that are shaking Israelis. Plus, a look at the inner workings of the Iranian regime with experts Maryam Alemzadeh and Mostafa Daneshgar. And from the archives, we bring you exclusive footage acquired by CNN in the 1980s, and the story of a 17-year-old boy recruited by Iran's paramilitary group the Basij to act as a human minesweeper.

Air date: March 14, 2026

 

Guests:

Elliott Abrams

     Adel NassarMaryam Alemzadeh & Mostafa Daneshgar
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices