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Dominating Iran, and Where the Heck is the Navy’s Sixth-Generation F/A-XX Stealth Fighter? (From the Joe Piscopo Show)
September 9, 2026 By Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D., Vice President, Lexington Institute. Joe Piscopo rules New York City drive time radio. This conversation dissected Iran’s motives, the economic pressure applied by warrior Treasury Secretary Bessent, plus the U.S. Air Force’s new F-47 stealth fighter — and where the heck is the Navy’s sixth-generation F/A-XX? Highlights below and link here. Joe Piscopo: Iran’s got that apocalyptic end-of-the-world kind of mantra that they live by, but how are we doing militarily? We’ll probably have to finish this off militarily with air strikes after we sanctioned them into submission, correct?
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Check out the latest article co-authored by Jasim Al-Azzawi and Paolo von Schirach, President of the Global Policy Institute
Check out the latest article co-authored by Jasim Al-Azzawi and Paolo von Schirach, President of the Global Policy Institute: “The China Paradox: A Giant Built on Cracked Foundations” Read the full article: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260903-the-china-paradox-a-giant-built-on-cracked-foundations/ #China #ChineseEconomy #Geopolitics #GlobalEconomy #USChinaRelations #ForeignPolicy #GlobalAffairs #GPI #GlobalPolicyInstitute
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Raising Stakes in the Strait of Hormuz (From Fox News)
By Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D., Vice President, Lexington Institute. September 1 ,2026 FOX News America Reports anchor John Roberts and guest host Jacqui Heinrich, FOX News White House Correspondent, kicked off the discussion of the commercial ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz, the Iran blockade, China in the spotlight and more. Highlights below and clip here. John Roberts: Loaded oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz briefly catching fire after it was hit by some form of projectile. Latest attack coming in shipping traffic increases and the U.S. ramps up economic pressure on Iran. Here’s what President Trump said about the Strait of Hormuz just a few minutes ago. Listen. President Donald J. Trump (Sound on Tape): Last night we took 24 boats through the Strait, we’re taking them through all the time, very openly. It doesn’t mean we’re finished with the military. But the Strait is open, as you know. The Strait of Hormuz is open. We have control and we have the blockade. Iran’s not getting anything. Nothing is going through. Not one ship has gotten through.
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Economic D-Day for Iran, and What About Munitions? (From the FOX News Rundown)
By Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D., Vice President, Lexington Institute. August 27,2026 The USA has dismantled Iran’s power projection capabilities, and next comes what Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent calls the “economic asphyxiation.” John Saucier of the FOX News Rundown explored the lead-up to President Donald J. Trump’s new policy: hitting Iran in the wallet. Highlights below, and link here. John Saucier: President Trump, this week announcing a new strategy with Iran, as he declares economic warfare against the country. The President, who has been unable to come to a deal with a fractured Iranian leadership, is hoping hitting them in the wallet might help finally bring an end to this conflict.
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Trump’s Order On Aircraft Carrier Catapults and Weapons Elevators (From The John Batchelor Show)
By Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D., Vice President, Lexington Institute. August 24,2026 Aircraft carriers and President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order order on aircraft launch catapults and weapons elevators for the Ford-class were the topics for this radio interview and podcast with John Batchelor and Gordon Chang. Highlights below, and audio clip here. John Batchelor: The U.S. Navy is in action right now all around the world, especially in the Middle East, and the carrier battle groups are the centerpiece of the U.S. ability to project power. One system on the new carrier has been controversial for years. Recently, on the USS Gerald R. Ford, there was much talk about the steam launch being replaced. The steam catapult. It worked, and then we decided to fix it. What did we fix it with? Rebecca Grant: The steam catapults have been great since the 1950s. Think about Top Gun. You see the pilot salute, the landing signal officer gives the wave, and that catapult slams the F/A-18 off the deck and launches it into the air. Fantastic system, we’re still going to use catapults, but the new USS Gerald R.
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Here Come the Drone Highways in the Sky
By Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D., Vice President, Lexington Institute. August 13,2026 Where America once built railways, the new lanes for commerce are drone corridors in the sky. Getting a handle on drone package delivery for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) routes is an urgent priority for the FAA. Secretary of Transportation Sean P. Duffy has the lead, and the backing of Executive Order 14307, to advance domestic commercialization of UAS technologies at scale. The EO also mandates that the U.S. “accelerate the safe commercialization of drone technologies.”
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Iran on Notice, And Why Russia’s Electronic Intel Won’t Make a Tactical Difference (From FOX Business)
By Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D., Vice President, Lexington Institute. August 6,2026 Fox Business Network anchors Jackie DeAngelis and Lou Basenese kicked off a discussion of American forces in U.S. Central Command, Russia’s attempts to help Iran with electronic intelligence, and why protecting critical infrastructure like data centers is an emerging lesson of the Iran war. Highlights below, and show clip here. Jackie DeAngelis: A touch of déjà vu today, with President Trump putting Iran on notice one last time. President Donald J. Trump (SOT): This is a last chance for them to sign good document. I want to give them every last chance before decapitation. But hopefully they’ll come to their senses. They called me and said, “please don’t attack, we’ll make a deal.” That’s the real truth, and everyone knows it. I’m under no time constraints, you know, I don’t happen to be running.
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Re-Evaluating Europe’s Nuclear Future
By Massimiliano Cintura July 30, 2026 The European Union’s trajectory toward carbon neutrality by 2050 has confronted continental institutions with a complex energy and economics dilemma: reconciling the goal of drastic greenhouse gas emissions reductions with security of supply and cost containment for European households and industries. In recent years, the push toward electrification centered on the integration of non-programmable renewable energy sources (such as solar and wind) into national grids highlighted critical issues related to intermittency and the necessity of securing a reliable baseload power capacity. While the deployment of clean energy proceeds at a steady pace, grid infrastructure restructuring, energy storage systems, and wholesale price volatility have demonstrated that the transition to green energy entails unprecedented and unanticipated financial commitments.
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What Is Iran’s Endgame in the Strait of Hormuz?
GPI hosted a timely discussion on **"What Is Iran's Endgame in the Strait of Hormuz?"** featuring **Ahmad Hashemi** as the speaker and moderated by **Paolo von Schirach**. The conversation examined Iran's strategic objectives in the Strait of Hormuz and the broader implications for regional security, global energy markets, and international geopolitics. Missed the event? Watch the full discussion here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPCZuZf2O3A #Iran #StraitOfHormuz #MiddleEast #Geopolitics #MaritimeSecurity #EnergySecurity #ForeignPolicy #GlobalAffairs #GPI #PolicyAnalysis
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A credible U.S. Africa Strategy must include the Sudan Crisis
by Areig Elhag and Paolo von Schirach July 22,2026 Since February 28, 2026, when direct military confrontation erupted between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other, in what the Pentagon named "Operation Epic Fury," the Red Sea and Gulf regions required a comprehensive threat reassessment. An April 8 ceasefire and the Islamabad negotiations on the 11th of that month failed to produce a final agreement. On April 28, 2026 the Jeddah Gulf consultative summit, chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, placed the Strait of Hormuz and the risks of its closure at the top of the policy agenda.
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