Watch Webinar – Trump’s Postponed Ultimatum
Click here to read a transcript.
After weeks of rising oil prices due to Iranian attacks that paralyzed global shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, on March 22, President Donald Trump issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the regime: either “fully open” the crucial shipping bottleneck, or the United States will “hit and obliterate” Iran’s electrical infrastructure.
But then, days later, President Trump instructed U.S. forces to “postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five-day period,” due to what he claimed were “productive conversations” with the Iranian regime on a “complete resolution” of hostilities. This is despite Iran escalating its attacks by launching two missiles at the Diego Garcia base, beyond the range of known Iranian missiles, and using cluster munitions against Arab states for the first time.
To discuss all this, JINSA hosted a webinar with former U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander and JINSA Hertog Distinguished Fellow Gen Frank McKenzie, USMC (ret.), and JINSA Julian (z’’l) & Jenny Josephson Senior Vice President for Israeli Affairs IDF MG (ret.) Yaacov Ayish, the former Israeli Defense Attache to the United States.
JINSA Vice President for Policy Blaise Misztal moderated the conversation.
Gen Frank McKenzie, USMC (ret.) Gen Frank McKenzie, USMC (ret.) is the Hertog Distinguished Fellow at JINSA and also oversees national security research at the University of South Florida. He previously served as Commander, U.S. Central Command, and, prior to that, served as Commander, U.S. Marine Forces Central Command. He also spent several years serving as the Director for Strategic Planning and Policy at the Pentagon. |
IDF MG (ret.) Yaacov Ayish IDF MG (ret.) Yaacov Ayish is the Julian (z”l) & Jenny Josephson Senior Vice President for Israeli Affairs at JINSA. MG Ayish previously served as Israel’s Defense and Armed Forces Attaché to the United States. He is the former Head of the IDF General Staff Operations Branch and former IDF Ground Forces Chief of Staff, among other distinguished roles. |
Blaise Misztal Blaise Misztal is the Vice President for Policy at JINSA. Misztal previously was a Fellow at the Hudson Institute, and has held roles as the Executive Director of the Task Force on Extremism in Fragile States and Director of the National Security Program at the Bipartisan Policy Center. |