Tehran’s nuclear-weapons race was a risk the United States, Israel and others couldn’t tolerate, and its terrorism and brutality have only worsened. Its development of weapons that could reach Europe is a growing, grave threat. But as more than one of this episode’s guests say, the war with Iran involves other states, too — including China, which faces losing another supplier of the cheap oil that has been powering its own ambitions. It’s also a message from U.S. President Donald Trump to Beijing that America won’t ignore adversarial aggression. Brian Lilley speaks with John Bolton, former presidential security advisor; Rick Hillier, Canada’s former chief of the defence staff; former U.S. intelligence officer Jonathan Panikoff; Eylon Levy, former Israeli government spokesman; Vivian Bercovici, former ambassador to Israel; and Postmedia’s Adam Zivo, reporting from Tel Aviv. (Recorded Feb. 27–Mar. 1, 2026.)