The World and Everything in It: April 30, 2026

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MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

The Supreme Court issues a unanimous decision in what many viewed as a politically charged case.

SHAPIRO: It means you better have a real reason for doing this, and not just looking to punish your ideological enemies.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And playing the economic long game with Iran.

Also, changing perspectives on caring for orphans.

And how the head of a thriving media outlet overcame his criminal past.

DAWSON: I made a decision that I'm going to look at prison as an opportunity to change, not as a punishment.

And WORLD Commentator Cal Thomas says in war, it’s important to know who you’re meeting at the bargaining table.

REICHARD: It’s Thursday, April 30th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. 

I’m Mary Reichard.

BROWN: And I’m Myrna Brown. Good morning!

REICHARD: Up next, Kent Covington with today’s news.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Iran latest »  For the first time since the start of Operation Epic Fury in Iran, House lawmakers questioned top Pentagon officials about the war Wednesday. Democrats like Congressman John Garamendi tore into Secretary Pete Hegseth:

GARMENDI:  You have been lying to the American public about this war from day one, and so has the president. You have misled the public about why we are at war

The congressman called the war a “quagmire,” but Hegseth shot back:

HEGSETH:  For two months, this president has stared them down. He's gonna get a better deal than anyone ever has and ensure that Iran never has a nuclear weapon. I know the American people support that mission despite your loose talk and words like quagmire.

The Pentagon says the war has cost about $25 billion dollars thus far.

U.S. naval blocked squeezing Iranian economy » Meantime, the U.S. Navy blockade of Iranian ports is squeezing Tehran's economy — and Republicans say the pressure is working.

Two weeks in, Iran's oil storage tanks are filling up. The country's main export terminal at Kharg Island is nearing capacity. Analysts warn Tehran may have to shut down production within weeks — a move that risks damaging its oil infrastructure. GOP Sen. Tim Sheehy:  

SHEEHY: What's ultimately gonna happen is Iran's oil production's gonna collapse. 'cause if those wells don't constantly run, uh, the wells shut down and starting them is too expensive. They either have to burn off the oil, literally destroy it as they're running out of storage, or they have to shut the wells down. So we've got them between a rock and a hard place economically.

President Trump on Tuesday said Iran's economy is in a "state of collapse," losing hundreds of millions of dollars a day. And Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says Iran's inflation is climbing and police and military aren't getting paid.

The president has told his aides to prepare for a months-long blockade.

He met Tuesday with oil executives — including from Chevron — to talk about cushioning the global market.

The White House says there will be no letup until Iran agrees to end its nuclear weapons program.

Trump hosts Artemis astronauts at White House » Also on Wednesday, President Trump welcomed the crew of the Artemis II mission to the White House.

TRUMP:  Well, thank you very much. We have, uh, some people that have captivated the attention of the whole world.

The president honored Commander Reid Wiseman, as well as astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen.

TRUMP:  They're very brave and there was a lot of rocket under them. I never saw anything like that.

NASA administrator Jared Isaacman joined them in the Oval Office and affirmed that the space agency plans to once again put boots on the moon in 2028.

Comey latest » Former FBI Director James Comey appeared in federal court in Virginia Wednesday, turning himself in on charges that he threatened President Trump—something he strongly denies.

The hearing lasted just seven minutes. The judge allowed Comey to leave with no conditions of release.

He's charged with two counts of threatening the president — over a 2025 Instagram post showing seashells spelling out "86 47."

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office:

TRUMP: 86. You know what? 86. It's a mob term for Kill Em. You know, you ever see the movies? 86 Em?

And prosecutors say 47 represents Trump, the nation’s 47th president.

Trump called the former FBI chief a “dirty cop.”

Comey will be arraigned in North Carolina — where the indictment was filed.

Democrats call it a baseless political prosecution. Republicans charge that Comey politicized the FBI during his tenure.

But at least one Republican lawmaker is concerned that case may be thin. North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis:

TILLIS: I setting a fairly low bar and, uh, political physics, like I've said around here for years is what it is. For every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction.

He said he believes “we’re gonna regret this.”

Comey could face up to 10 years in prison on each count, if convicted.

Federal Reserve » President Trump’s pick to succeed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has cleared a major hurdle in the Senate. WORLD’s Benjamin Eicher has more:

BENJAMIN EICHER: The Senate Banking Committee voted to advance former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh in a 13 to 11 party line vote yesterday.

Democrats claim Warsh’s nomination is an attack on the Fed’s independence, part of a Trump plan, they say, to seize control of the central bank.

Ranking Member Senator Elizabeth Warren called Warsh:

WARREN: … a Trump sock puppet who is so cowed by the president that he could not even say that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election

EICHER: But the committee’s Republican Chairman, Tim Scott, pushed back.

SCOTT: Kevin Warsh's leadership is absolutely essential now at the Federal Reserve than ever before … I think it's incredibly important that we break the bind of Bidennomics in the households of Americans all across this nation.

EICHER: Warsh told lawmakers at his confirmation hearing last week that his mission is to shrink the Fed’s balance sheet and to deregulate banks.

The full Senate is expected to vote on Warsh’s confirmation in a couple of weeks.

For WORLD, I’m Benjamin Eicher

King Charles in NYC » His Majesty King Charles III spent much of Wednesday touring the Big Apple.

SOUND: [Tour of WTC site]

The King of England visited the 9-11 memorial in New York at the former site of World Trade Centers.

Anthoula Katsimatides' lost her sister in the September 11th attacks and met with the royal couple. She said she was honored that they came to pay their respects.

KATSIMATIDES: I found it extremely sweet that I was allowed to hug the Queen. I asked her in her ear if it would be possible if I could hug her and she said yes. She was quite endearing, as was the king.

From there:

AUDIO: [Camilla reading]

Queen Camilla read the first chapter of Winnie the Pooh to children at the New York Public Library:

SOUND: [Charles meets with business leaders]

…while King Charles rubbed elbows with New York business leaders at a trade event.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: analysis of the extended U.S.-Iran economic showdown. Plus, one man’s path from convict to culture warrior.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Thursday the 30th of April.

Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

First up, the Supreme Court hands down decisions in two cases that have made headlines.

REICHARD: In First Choice Women’s Resource Centers v Davenport, a unanimous win for a nonprofit pregnancy care center battling an onerous subpoena request from New Jersey’s Attorney General.

Constitutional scholar with the Manhattan Institute Ilya Shapiro says the ruling finds the pregnancy care center has standing to go to court:

SHAPIRO: Has standing to go to federal court and try to block that subpoena. That's it. It did not rule on the merits of the subpoena or the merits of the organization's objections to it.

BROWN: The ruling’s core is that compelled disclosure can chill constitutional rights.

SHAPIRO: Donors aren't going to want to donate if they think that they're going to be disclosed and doxxed and what have you so, of course, you have standing to go to court and try to quash that subpoena.

The opinion clarifies when constitutional injury happens.

SHAPIRO: First Amendment speech, association injury happens when the demand is made. So there's already a chill when the subpoenas went out. The State Attorney General tried to say, “Oh, well, I sent the subpoenas, but I haven't actually tried to enforce them yet.” Look, donors are going to be chilled. ….regardless of whether there's technically an enforcement action pending or not.

REICHARD: Court watchers see it as striking in that this is a unanimous ruling in the politically sensitive context of abortion. The justices focussed on the broad principle that governments must have a legitimate, compelling reason to demand sensitive information from nonprofits.

SHAPIRO: I think the court is wary of overreaching and fishing expeditions or perhaps punitive investigative subpoenas by state attorneys general of any partisan stripe.

In the next decision in Louisiana v Callais, the court struck down a 2024 redistricting map as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Constitutional law professor Josh Blackman:

BLACKMAN: The Supreme Court today said, no, you can't do that. The act of segregating people based on race, even to try to promote minority representation is a violation of the Voting Rights Act. And that trying to avoid or trying to ensure you have this majority-minority representation is not a legitimate reason to engage in this sort of racial splicing.

BROWN: For years, lower courts interpreted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to require minority districts under certain conditions. But the Court says complying with the Act doesn’t justify racial line-drawing:

BLACKMAN: Oh, this is a landmark ruling for at least the last 40 years or so. Governments across the country have been required to create these majority minority districts. And Louisiana, you know it's a deep red state, was forced to basically create a second district where Black voters can elect a Democrat. And the Supreme Court said today that, you can't take people in this fashion. I mean, if you look at, if you look at the actual map, it basically stretches up from Shreveport, which is on the border of basically almost Texas and Arkansas all the way down to Baton Rouge, which is the capital of the state. So it's completely disparate people that have nothing in common except their skin color. And the court says that you can't require Louisiana to do this.

REICHARD: The ruling doesn’t say the Voting Rights Act is itself unconstitutional; instead, it limits how states might try to comply with it and emphasizes that race cannot be the predominant factor in district line drawing.

The three dissenting justices expressed great consternation at the majority opinion, with Justice Elena Kagan writing, “I dissent…from this latest chapter in the majority’s now-completed demolition of the Voting Rights Act.”

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It, squeezing Iran.

Yesterday the U.S. House Armed Services Committee heard testimony from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chair General Dan Caine requesting a $1.5 trillion budget for next fiscal year.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: In the hours-long meeting, Hegseth said that number will help the department invest in projects like the Golden Dome missile defense system and revitalize shipbuilding, aviation, and drones.

HEGSETH: We have flipped the Pentagon acquisition process from a bureaucratic model to a business model, 180. Decisively moving from an acquisition environment, paralyzed by bureaucratic red tape into an outcomes driven organization focused on delivering the most at cost at scale for taxpayer dollars.

BROWN: Also yesterday, the Pentagon put a figure for spending on the Iran war so far: 25 billion dollars, mostly in munitions.

But for now, the fighting is paused, and the U.S. Naval blockade is in place for the foreseeable future. That’s moved the war to one more about economics.

MARY REICHARD: Joining us now is Max Meizlish with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He previously worked for the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the primary U.S. agency responsible for administering economic sanctions. Good morning!

MAX MEIZLISH: Good to be with you. Thanks.

REICHARD: The Wall Street Journal reports that President Trump has instructed aides to be prepared for an extended blockade. The U.S. just imposed still more sanctions. What do you expect out of these latest rounds of sanctions?

MEIZLISH: So, this is interesting. The United States is definitely stepping up its application of sanctions against Iran during this war. But notably, a lot of the actions that we've taken thus far are significant in their own right, don't really deviate that much from what's been done before the war. And so most recently, last week, on Friday, we saw an action from the Treasury Department sanctioning a Chinese teapot refinery, one of the larger Chinese teapot refineries responsible for processing Iranian crude. But already the Trump administration had designated four other teapot refineries, and that was before we were on a war footing. There are additional actions taken against money laundering networks, sanctions evasion channels. Hopefully, what we'll see is that some of these actions are meant to be more of a signal to foreign financial institutions that if they don't close the accounts for the bad actors supporting the regime, then those financial institutions could themselves be sanctioned.

REICHARD: I’m curious as to what is Iran’s capacity to hold out on extended blockade? What help is it getting from other countries, say China and Russia?

MEIZLISH: It's a bit difficult to say. Right? In the best of times, details are murky. Right? With respect to financial flows going into Iran our estimates at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies show that on the conservative end, it could be upwards of 40% of Iran's GDP that's been hit, taken offline as a result of the military strikes and the blockade. We know that there have been meetings at very high levels between Iranian officials and Russian officials. But the Russians are themselves fighting their own war that's proving to be quite costly and damaging the balance, their bottom line on the books. But what we do know for sure is that, historically speaking at least, it's been China that has really supported Iran in terms of sanctions evasion, buying upwards of 90% of Iran's exported crude. And so we know that China will continue to seek discounted crude wherever it can.

REICHARD: Iran hasn’t yet backed down on the President’s “red line” items--namely its nuclear aspirations. But U.S. gas prices are up, the president’s approval ratings are down… and he has expressed skepticism about whether Iran is even negotiating in good faith. What signs are you looking for to tell if this is ultimately a winning strategy?

MEIZLISH: What's going to tell if it's a winning strategy is if the Iranians come to the table and accept terms that are more favorable to the United States. Right? There's a very clear indication from the administration that it's working to ensure that Iran is not able to enrich, it's not able to build up this nuclear program. Hopefully, there's elements that relate to preventing its missile supply from being brought back online and reconstructed in a more meaningful way. But arguably, things could get worse. I think that the president is putting out this posture that we can withstand a long time period of having the blockade in effect, but it's hard to imagine that the president is going to want to continue this war for a prolonged period of time that could ultimately impact the midterm elections.

REICHARD: Alright, let’s talk money, now. The Pentagon Wednesday said the war so far has cost $25 billion, that’s with a “b,” that’s mostly for munitions. That’s the first official estimate, and less than what was initially requested. What do you make of the U.S. expenditure so far?

MEIZLISH: So, if we can, if we can spend several billion dollars to take out what is arguably one of the more serious threats to us, interests in the region and the interest of our allies, and I think that's money well spent. But it's important to note that we're spending potentially $25 billion over the course of just two months, and that's not necessarily accounting for the cost of damage to U.S. bases in the region. So, that's an added expense. But I think that one of the more interesting elements here is to assess where are we not spending money. Right? So, right now, we're in this phase of the campaign that the administration is referring to as economic fury. Right? So thinking about, how can we apply sanctions and other tools of economic statecraft against the regime? But you know where I used to work, at Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which is the primary administrator for U.S. sanctions. Over the years, that's only received just a fraction of what the Department of War is spending in just two months fighting this war. And so across kind of all elements of U.S. economic statecraft, from Treasury's OFAC to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to other elements that relate to financial intelligence gathering, that all feed into how we actually create sanctions packages and how we go after the banks that are supporting money laundering and sanctions evasion over the last 10 years. Right? They've only really received about a couple billion dollars, compared to 25 billion that we've spent in just two months fighting this war. So as people think about how should we spend our money, I think about, how can we spend our money wisely and do so ahead of time, so as to hold to hopefully prevent a conflict like this from emerging again.

REICHARD: Max Meizlish focuses on economic statecraft at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Max, thank you.

MEIZLISH: Thanks.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Up next, caring for orphans.

Christians are generous in helping orphans—giving to residential care like shelters and group homes has nearly doubled in the last decade to $4.5 billion annually. But new research suggests donors’ reasons for giving may not align with what children need most.

WORLD’s Harrison Watters has the story.

HARRISON WATTERS: Emmanuel Nabieu was eight years old when his father was killed during a civil war in the West African nation of Sierra Leone.

NABIEU: Shortly after that, I was separated from my mother, the rest of my siblings and I spent nearly a year on the streets.

Nabieu found refuge at the Children’s Rescue Centre, an orphanage run by the United Methodist Church. He later learned his family was still alive, and that his mother tried to visit him. But staff turned her away, saying Nabieu’s donor-funded support could be compromised.

NABIEU: If people know that Nabs has a mother, they may send your child home.

Nabieu’s mother could not pay for his education, and knew only the orphanage could provide the resources her son needed to get a firm footing in life.

NABIEU: At some point she stopped coming. That's happened to many other children.

Estimates put the number of children living in residential care between 3 and 9 million worldwide. And most, like Nabieu, are not parentless. Elli Oswald is Executive Director of the Faith to Action Initiative.

OSWALD: The data shows us that eight out of 10 of those children have at least one parent, if not both parents, many of which could care for their children if they were given support to be able to do so.

Faith to Action has researched the limitations of orphanages, and the developmental needs that families meet. Last month, the group published data on Christian giving to orphan care since 2020 and found that donations to residential care have gone up.

OSWALD: Most people who are giving to residential care say it is the most important thing that they give to, even above a local church.

She says churches play a key role in connecting the dots for Christians to visit orphanages on short term trips and donate to them through church programs.

While a growing number of donors say they know about the downsides of residential care, 8 in 10 believe orphanages are essential for children in need.

OSWALD: …it might be that people believe family is best for children, but they don't know that it's possible. And the reality is there are other options, and those options are working.

Some in the U.S. are working to help churches better understand those other options, internationally and domestically. Bryan Proctor is Executive Director of Orphan Care Alliance, or OCA, in Louisville, Kentucky.

PROCTOR: We were doing a lot of support for international adoption and that was really kind of the focus. And then we began to see just a sudden increase of needs right here in Kentucky…

Opioid addiction surged in Kentucky between 2013 and 2020, destabilizing many families.

PROCTOR: I often say, not everybody's called to foster or adopt, but we're all called to do something.

OCA still supports families visiting international orphanages and making adoptions. But they also assist foster families and train mentors for children in residential care.

PROCTOR: there's a little over 6,500 churches in the state of Kentucky and 8,700 children in the foster care system. So if every church would step in and help one and a half kids, man, we would eliminate a government-ran foster care system.

For his part, Nabieu returned after college to Children’s Rescue Centre to work with children and their international sponsors.

NABIEU: They were starving for family. They were longing for family, for love, for belonging.

A decade ago Nabieu started reuniting the 40 or so children with family members, providing ongoing education support. Oswald says this transition is part of a larger development across Africa, where church-run orphanages have long been the norm.

OSWALD: …that's a challenging mindset that more and more people are overcoming as they see the opportunities and benefits to help children either stay in family or grow foster families and adoptive families amongst their congregations.

Nabieu now lives in the United States, and advocates for orphan care that helps local communities raise children in family homes.

NABIEU: Those who have supported orphanages over the years did so out of love, compassion and faith…They helped children survive, you know. But as our understanding has grown, so has our responsibility.

Poverty continues to be the primary reason children end up in long term residential care, but Nabieu and Oswald are hopeful the shift to home-based care continues to provide children with what they need while keeping family in the picture.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Harrison Watters.

MARY REICHARD,, HOST: A Kenyan runner laced up in London last weekend to make marathon history.

AUDIO: Nobody’s ever done this, they said it couldn’t be done.

Sebastian Sawe averaged just about 4 minutes and 33 seconds per mile for 26.2 miles.

AUDIO: An historic performance! Absolutely incredible. I’ve never seen anything like that.

It marked the first time anyone has ever gone under 2 hours in a sanctioned full marathon.

Some say it was all about the shoes, a feat of engineering, so to speak, providing energy return and running economy, weighing no more than a deck of cards. But for Sawe it was a matter of chasing down a dream.

SAWE: I've shown them everything is possible with the matter of time.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Thursday, April 30th.

Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: \And I’m Mary Reichard.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: A redemption story.

Bryan Dawson heads up 1819 News, an unapologetically conservative upstart media organization headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.

BROWN: Looking at him today, you’d never guess Dawson spent more than five years in prison. But it was there that he gave his life to Christ, and everything changed.

Here’s WORLD Senior Writer Kim Henderson.

KIM HENDERSON: Bryan Dawson has an incredible testimony. And he’s told it to all kinds of audiences.

Christian radio…

DAWSON: I was working for some very unsavory characters that were organized crime, cartels…

College campuses…

DAWSON: When I was 23 years old, I was facing 384 years in prison for attempted murder, aggravated robbery, and extortion…

Podcasts with national reach…

DAWSON: I believe God put me through quite a bit of turmoil in my past to prepare me for what I’m doing now…

What he’s doing now is shaking up the Alabama media scene. The married homeschooling dad with 7 kids started and leads Alabama’s thriving state-focused media organization, 1819 News.

DAWSON: We see it as our job to tell the truth so that we can have a free and flourishing Alabama. That's our goal. That's our heart.

So just how did the Colorado convict overcome his criminal background to become a Christian and head of a conservative news organization that drew more than 6 million viewers to its website last year?

TOUR: We're at 1819 News. And this is our home office, yes. And so our radio show, which is News Talk, 93.1 they are live daily, nine to noon…

1819 News is named after the year Alabama gained statehood. The state-centric branding extends all the way to offices in a historic building in downtown Birmingham.

TOUR: And then this is Brian's office, who is our president and CEO…

Dawson sits behind a solid wood desk in his Birmingham office as he speaks easily about his tough upbringing and turn to crime. He says he hit rock bottom when he was 23.

DAWSON: I was sleeping in a car and I had, like, open wounds that were from overuse of meth, open sores in my arms and my legs and my chest and my body and my armpits…

But even then, Dawson wasn’t willing to make a change. It took the threat of 384 years in prison to finally get his attention.

DAWSON: When I got sentenced to 16 years, I knew that God had moved, and I made a decision that I'm going to look at prison as an opportunity to change, not as a punishment.

First he tried New Age philosophy. Then Dawson met a fellow prisoner who had a different message.

DAWSON: He walked up, big dude with the Semper Fi tattoo, introduces himself as a Christian. And he begins to just, you know, become my friend and plant gospel seeds.

But it took time for the seeds to grow. Three years. Dawson is still amazed by his conversion.

DAWSON: Just seeing the grace of God in every aspect of my life and his kindness, and just deciding to find a piece of, you know, human refuse, if you will. I'm, you know, in prison, going nowhere fast, and him deciding to just show his kindness and bring me out of that.

Dawson continued to see God’s hand as he reentered society as a felon.

DAWSON: My story post prison is a bunch of people giving me a chance. Tim Maranville and his wife Beth wanted to mentor me. And they did and discipled me. And he got me my first job at USA Radio Networks. Floyd Brown, when he bought USA Radio, he was very good to me. And then Lee Habeeb, the guy that created Laura Ingraham's radio show, found me, gave me a job.

Dawson had a knack for marketing nationally-syndicated content to radio stations. He took Habeeb’s new show from 80 to 330 stations. Then he did a stint fundraising for Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign. By then, Dawson was a staunch conservative. And he was ready to wage the culture war closer at home at 1819 News.

These days, he also speaks at conventions, churches, political gatherings.

Here he is telling the crowd at a Turning Point USA event the secret to overcoming his criminal background.

DAWSON: First and foremost. Jesus Christ saved me, gave me a new heart, a new mind, a new, you know, way of looking at things. And I leaned into that and I've been blessed from that.

And back in his office, Dawson continues to reflect on God’s goodness.

DAWSON: He just hands me this career path, and he has saw that it would succeed, despite my shortcomings, despite my feelings, he just saw fit that it would succeed, and I'm just going to try and do my best to be faithful.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kim Henderson in Birmingham, Alabama.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

As the U.S. weighs its next moves in the Middle East, one question looms: Do we really understand the adversary we’re dealing with? WORLD commentator Cal Thomas says that question may matter more than any battlefield success.

CAL THOMAS: President Trump recently canceled a planned round of negotiations with Iran—after it became clear the Iranians weren’t even planning to show up.

That alone should raise a deeper concern: Do we know what drives the regime we’re negotiating with?

The ancient Chinese strategist Sun Tzu put it this way: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”

But if you misunderstand—or assume your enemy thinks as you do, or values what you value—you are already at a disadvantage.

Sorry to say, I see little evidence the United States truly understands Iran and its theology.

Retired Israeli diplomat Yoram Ettinger argues the key lies in Iran’s founding document—the 1979 constitution. He says it lays out, plainly, a religious and ideological mission: to export the Islamic revolution, to oppose the United States, and to establish a global order rooted in its interpretation of Islam.

That is not a negotiating position. It is a worldview.

And if that worldview is rooted in theology—if leaders believe their mission is divinely mandated—then it is not something easily bargained away.

Yet listen to the confidence from Washington. Here’s Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, testifying to the House Armed Services Committee yesterday:

HEGSETH: President Trump … has had the courage to ensure Iran never gets a nuclear weapon, and he’s ironclad in that. We have the best negotiator in the world driving that deal. … two months in on an existential fight for the safety of the American people … we are proud of this undertaking. I am proud that President Trump has had the courage to do it …

That is one way to see it.

But there is another view—one voiced even inside Congress. This is the ranking Democrat on the committee, Congressman Adam Smith of Washington state:

SMITH: One of the big questions that we need to get answered today is—where is this going? What is the plan to achieve our objectives? We’ve seen the cost, and the cost is very, very high. … We keep hearing about the targets we’ve struck, and that’s an incredible accomplishment from a tactical standpoint—but we’re not in this for a tactical advantage. … because one of the oldest clichés in the military is—the enemy gets a vote. They don’t have to do what we tell them to do.

And that is the point.

Iran’s leaders are not coy about their aims. They speak openly about opposing the West. They support proxy wars, terrorism, and regional instability—not as tactics of convenience, but as extensions of their ideology.

They even have a concept—taqiyya—which permits deception in the service of advancing their cause.

That means diplomacy, for them, is not an end.

It is a tool. A means to buy time. To gain advantage. To move closer to their long-term goals.

If that is true—and their own words suggest it is—then the United States is not negotiating with a partner seeking compromise.

We are negotiating with a regime that believes compromise may be a form of disobedience to God.

And that changes everything.

America tends to assume that other nations want what we want—stability, prosperity, peace.

But not all do.

Some regimes are willing to sacrifice their own people to advance their cause. They do not share our moral framework. They do not measure success the way we do.

And when we ignore that—when we substitute wishful thinking for clear-eyed analysis—we risk losing not just negotiations … but the larger conflict.

Yoram Ettinger gets that.

Do we?

For WORLD, I’m Cal Thomas.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Tomorrow: it’s Culture Friday with John Stonestreet. And, a double-header review: Animal Farm and The Devil Wears Prada 2. 

That and more tomorrow. I’m Mary Reichard.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. 

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio. WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Bible says, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly. The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” —Proverbs 15:1-3

Go now in grace and peace.

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