The Bottom Line

Even though the joint United States-Israeli war on Iran is in its early days, “we already are in a scenario where the US has lost control of this war,” argues Vali Nasr, professor of international affairs and Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University. Nasr tells host Steve Clemons that Iran is the weaker party, but it “has the capability to create a much longer mayhem” than envisioned by the US and Israel. US goals for this war may be unclear, but “Israel’s goal is to arrive at a point where it’s the supreme power in the Mideast”, says Nasr.

US President Donald Trump is falling into the same trap as his predecessor, Joe Biden, when he tries to convince Americans that they’re better off financially, argues YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen. Cohen and Matt Duss, executive vice president at the Center for International Policy, join host Steve Clemons to dissect Trump’s State of the Union address and vision for the United States. One of Trump’s strengths is the weakness of his main opposition, the Democratic Party, argues Cohen, as the party acts “in a way that's completely untethered to how the vast majority of Democrats actually feel”.

At its peak, the BRICS coalition of economies – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – was seen as a serious attempt to move away from the United States dollar and the domination of Western economic institutions like the World Bank, Group of Seven (G7), and International Monetary Fund (IMF). But BRICS members have different political agendas, and new forces are at play, argues economist Jim O’Neill, a member of Britain's House of Lords. O’Neill, who coined the term "BRIC" 25 years ago, tells host Steve Clemons that the US's economic policies may be the driver of its own decline, coupled with the economic rise of China and India. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on X : https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.news/AJEMobile

The Republican Party currently controls the White House and both houses of Congress in the United States. But will that change in November? Among Republican voters, US President Donald Trump is still wildly popular, despite criticism over uneven economic conditions and brutal anti-immigration tactics. And within the Democratic Party establishment, there is no sign of a desire to shift towards a more progressive, less centrist platform – even as left-leaning Democratic Socialists make gains. Host Steve Clemons asks Republican strategist John Feehery and Amy Dacey, former chair of the Democratic National Committee, about Trumpism and the election prospects of both parties.

If the Trump administration adopts Israel’s “red lines” in the negotiations with Iran, the talks are doomed, argues Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. Parsi tells host Steve Clemons that Iran is willing to reach a deal on its nuclear programme, as it did in 2015 with then-President Barack Obama. But a lot depends on “whether the US is willing to push back against Israel or not”. Israeli officials were “very upset” that the United States has so far chosen diplomacy over war, and demand that the US add new issues – especially Iran’s ballistic missiles – to the agenda. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on X : https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.news/AJEMobile