Your World Tonight - Middle East latest, Mark Carney in London, Paralympics wrap, Oscars and more.

Episode Date: March 15, 2026

Iran's Foreign Minister says his country is not interested in peace talks... Refuting U-S President Donald Trump's claims that Tehran wants to make a deal to end the war.Also: Mark Carney is in London, and expected to meet with King Charles on Monday. On Sunday the prime minister met with leaders of the so-called Nordic Five in Oslo, Norway where they discussed strengthening defence ties, in light of the Trump administration's threats over GreenlandAnd: The Paralympics wrap up with today's closing ceremony. For Team Canada, there was a hockey heartbreaker but also some significant wins. You'll also hear about the growing conversation about funding for Canadian athletes.Plus: The 98th Academy Awards is happening tonight. Yet Hollywood's star power seems to be dimming, with fewer productions and declining box office returns. The lingering question... Can anything be done to return the dream factory to its former glory?

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This is a CBC podcast. There is no good experience talking with the Americans. We were talking. So why they decided to attack us? So what is good if we go back to talk once again? Iran's foreign minister says his country is not interested in peace talks, refuting U.S. President Donald Trump's claims that Iran wants to make a deal to end the war. You'll hear the latest on that, plus a report from northern Iraq on the group,

trying not to get drawn in. This is your world tonight. I'm Stephanie Skandaris. Also on the podcast, Mark Carney talks defending Greenland with the Nordic Five Leaders, but stops short of a firm offer of Canadian military help. Plus, glitz, glam, and existential dread. I think this is a particularly anxiety-inducing moment in Hollywood. As Hollywood celebrates the 98th Academy Awards,

industry insiders contemplate the service. survival of the film business. Yeah, I think that this conflict will certainly come to the end in the next few weeks. Could be sooner than that. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright says his country's war against Iran will wrap up soon. That may be the opinion in Washington, but Iran seems to have a different idea. Iran's foreign minister says his country will keep fighting as long as it takes. And Israel's military says it'll keep hitting targets inside Iran until all threats against Israel,

are eliminated. The war is now on day 16. Our chief correspondent, Adrian Arsino, reports from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia tonight. A good evening to you, sir. Iran's foreign minister on CBS's Face the Nation. Connecting by Zoom, that's curious, noted the host, since average Iranians don't have access to the internet now. Because I'm the voice of Iranians. And as that self-proclaimed voice, Abbas Aragi had a message for Donald Trump, batting away his suggestion that Iran's ready to talk about a ceasefire, but the U.S. President doesn't like the conditions. No, we never asked for a ceasefire, and we have never asked even for negotiation. We are ready to defend ourselves as long as it takes.

Tracking the back-and-forth bombing is getting dizzying, an Israeli airstrike near an Iranian police station, and the Islamic regime took reporters to the site of what may have been an American strike on two Tehran neighborhoods a few days ago. Some buildings flattened, some severely damaged. Some residents interviewed as they dragged furniture from the ruins. God willing, there will come a day when we see the result of all this patient, says one resident. Late in the evening, one of the Iranian-backed militias

hit the airport in Baghdad, claiming they were targeting Camp Victory. That's a former U.S. base inside that airport compound, a place still used for logistics. We are only targeting American assets. American installations, American military bases. Iran maintains American and Israeli interests are its only targets, but the Gulf states are feeling real pain, a lot of it financial.

A way out is hard to see. There were some suggestions today from Iran's ambassador to Saudi Arabia that conversations were needed with the Gulf neighbors. But Riyadh political analyst Salman Al-Ansari says there are doubts about that. Some sensible conversations is almost impossible, specifically right now, because Iran, as we know, is considered to be a headless country right now. Yes, they have the new Supreme Leader Mujtaba, but nobody knows his fate.

Saudi Arabia has emphasized Iran repeatedly that it doesn't allow the U.S. to launch attacks from its territory, but still, the kingdom is targeted daily by Iran. How long will it be patient? What would it take for Saudi Arabia to get into this fight? Yeah, there's no one clear-cut answer. If the Saudis would decide to enter with complete force, Iran is definitely going to be the biggest loser because Saudi Arabia will activate its bilateral defense agreement with Pakistan, and it will rally the Arab and Muslim wall. Pakistan is a nuclear nation.

Absolutely. Like, we can say it literally that there is a nuclear umbrella over Saudi Arabia, a Pakistani nuclear umbrella over Saudi Arabia. Yeah, that's some warning to Iran. Absolutely, absolutely. Worse, not better is how this war is feeling as it enters its third war. week. Adrian Arsnell. CBC News, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The U.S. Israel War has created an opening for another group to take up arms against the Iranian regime. Exiled Iranian Kurds living in northern Iraq. But Iraqi Kurds are trying hard

not to get drawn into the fighting. Senior international correspondent Margaret Evans reports from Iraqi Kurdistan. There is in northern Iraq a sense of growing unease, a dissonance. as the U.S. Israeli war against Iran draws ever closer. For Kurdish-Iranian opposition fighters who've enjoyed sanctuary here for decades, it's not yet close enough for them to make a difference. Even so, Tehran and the Iraqi militias that support it still send drones and missiles to attack them.

First, because we are Kurd, we are against the regime of Iran. Efsane Rameen is a mother, a fighter, and part of a broad coalition of Iranian Kurdish rebel groups on both sides of the border. All of these are parts of the drone. She shows me the remains of a drone that hit her party's camp not far from the Kurdish regional capital, Erbil, last week. Dressed in army fatigues, like a handful of armed fighters around her, she says she's grateful to U.S. President Donald Trump for attacking Iran. It's not direct help, she says, but all in all, it's a shared goal. But reports that Iranian Kurdish fighters are preparing to instigate an uprising at Trump's behest

are much exaggerated. That's according to Babashik Hosseini, one of the party leaders here. Destroying the Iranian regime is not for us alone. to do, he says, it should be America, Qatar, Saudi, Oman. Still, the mere prospect of it clearly makes their Iraqi Kurdish hosts uncomfortable. Wary of getting dragged into the conflict, they've assured Iran they won't let armed Kurdish-Iranian fighters cross over the border. Their numbers estimated at a few thousand fighters between the different factions. Dilshad Shahab is an advisor to the Kurdish Regional Presidency.

We have a relationship with the United States, he says, we have a relationship with Iran, so we are not taking a side. Even though Iran and its proxies have been attacking U.S. military bases in Iraqi Kurdistan and civilian targets like hotels, the threat of Iranian attacks has also shut down oil fields, causing widespread power outages. Instead, he blames the central government to, in Baghdad. So do the men in this crowd in Soleimania,

waiting at a rare working cash point given the power cuts. Everyone here is afraid of the war, says Osman, a man in his 70s. For us, Baghdad destroyed the situation here, says Osman. No, America. Iraq. It reflects renewed fears for the Iraqi Kurds, that the autonomy they've built. Note for themselves inside of federal Iraq is at risk. Margaret Evans, CBC News, northern Iraq.

A main gateway into Gaza, the Rafa crossing, will reopen on Wednesday, according to Israel's military. Israel closed all of Gaza's crossings at the beginning of its war with Iran. Rafa connects Egypt with Gaza. It's crucial for getting medical evacuees abroad and supplies into the territory. The crossing reopened briefly in early February, after being shot since May 24. Mark Carney is in London tonight

where he's expected to meet with King Charles on Monday. This morning, the Prime Minister was in Oslo, meeting the leaders of the so-called Nordic Five. They discussed strengthening defense ties in light of the Trump administration's threats over Greenland. It was Carney's last stop in Norway where he also observed NATO military exercises. But as Murray Brewster reports,

he was cautious about making Canadian military commitments. And we believe that these six countries are not weak countries. They are strong countries in terms of their values, in terms of their determination. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Garas Store, delivering an affirmation, as much as it felt like he was answering U.S. President Donald Trump. With a new war in the Middle East, Greenland and Trump's annexation threats may seem like a long time ago in our collective memory. Not so for Danish Prime Minister Meta Fredrickson.

I am very grateful, I have to say this, for all the help we have received in the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland and Denmark. We have had a totally unacceptable pressure from the US and the US president. And even for the Danish media, Prime Minister Mark Carney was asked pointedly whether Canada would send troops to defend Greenland from the US. We stand four square behind the principles of sovereignty, territory, integrity, it is for the people of Greenland and Denmark to decide their futures. We will back that with measures as necessary. Not exactly a yes or no. Carney did say Russia is the number one threat in the high north. NATO, in direct response to the crisis over Greenland, has established a new initiative known as Arctic Sentry to better coordinate military activity in the region. And that may be

the silver lining to the crisis, according to Iceland's prime minister, Christrun Matul Frasatir, saying the attention is long overdue. Iceland has obviously felt the pressure and felt the sort of shift in action around us. We've been worried about Greenland. We're obviously worried in general about the situation in Europe when it comes to Ukraine. But we're not afraid. Iceland may not be afraid, but a new report from the Washington-based Atlantic Council paints an alarming picture of how Russia's economy has switched to war footing

and lays out five possible scenarios where Moscow could test NATO, three of the five involving seizing islands belonging to Nordic countries. Matthew Bollege is with the Center for European Policy Analysis. So we need to hone our deterrence posture, we need to hone our presence in the region to be more assertive and to make sure that we defend the national interests. Carney has moved on to the UK, where he is slated to meet tomorrow, with both British Prime Minister Kier Starmor and King Charles.

The war in the Middle East and the economic fallout of the oil crisis are likely to dominate the discussions. Murray Brewster, CBC News, London. Still ahead, the Paralympics wrap up with today's closing ceremony. For Team Canada, there was a hockey heartbreaker, but also some significant wins. You'll also hear about the growing conversation about funding for athletes.

That's all coming up on your world tonight. In BC, the RCMP has charged two people with murder in the death of a man from Burnaby who went missing last month. 45-year-old Massoud Masjudi was a former university math instructor. The RCMP launched an investigation into his disappearance after reports from concerned neighbors. Caroline Bargut has that story. In the building from where Massoud Masjudi disappeared more than a month ago, remnants of dusting powders still appear on the walls where RCMP had searched for fingerprints. In the stairwell, the floors are now scrubbed clean, where neighbors told CBC there was previously a pool of blood.

Sergeant Freda Fong is with the BC's Integrated Homicide Investigation Team. Initial investigation by the Burnaby RCP determined that Mr. Miss Judy's disappearance was suspicious and that criminality was involved. Arizu Sultani and Medi Amadaze Razave have been charged with first-degree murder. Police say the accused and victim knew each other and that the homicide was targeted. It has caused widespread fear in the Iranian community. Ms. Judy was an outspoken critic of the Iranian regime, active on social media. He was also in the process of suing the son of the former Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, as well as the two people now accused in his murder.

He claimed they and others defamed him. In court documents, Ms. Judy alleged Pahlavi was in contact with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and the besiege. He also alleged that Pahlavi used supporters to harass, undermine, and disarmine and disarmine and credit pro-democracy Iranian dissidents. Pahlavi has filed responses and denied those allegations. Ms. Judy was supposed to appear in court on the day he disappeared. We are aware the victim was an outspoken individual and passionate about his political beliefs. And as with all of our investigation, a person's background, which includes their beliefs

and lifestyle and activities, form a part of the evidence and it's being assessed continuously. Ms. Judy had filed a lot of lawsuits over the years, including one against, against his former employer, Simon Fraser University. One judge deemed him a, quote, vexatious litigant, unquote. Vahid Beheshti is a friend and political activist in the UK. He spoke to CBC News prior to the arrest being made. What happened to Masudikam happen to all of us at any time? Kaveh Shrews is a lawyer and a senior fellow at the McDonald-Loree Institute in Toronto.

Naturally, when something bad happens to a person like that, it's reasonable to wonder whether or not the Iranian regime has been involved in that. The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center says the regime has been linked to at least 162 extrajudicial killings of political opponents in 19 different countries. The RCMP is still looking for a motive. A fulsome investigation is ongoing into everyone's backgrounds and whether or not there are relations, if any, to any organization. So that is still ongoing and it's being considered as we speak. The two accused remain in custody and are expected to appear in court on Monday. Caroline Bargut, CBC News, Vancouver.

Conservative leader Pierre Pollyev made a brief stop in Windsor in the midst of his trip to the U.S. That started in Detroit on Friday, where he spoke with senior executives of General Motors and Ford. He continues next week to Texas and then New York City. Today, Pollyev was talking about his plan to prop up Canada's auto industry. J.P. Tasker has more. And we can't just wave the white flag because the president claims that he's going to take our jobs. Conservative leader Pierre Pahliev is pitching an auto policy he says can save the industry from going under. As U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs weigh on the industry,

Poliyev wants to slap his own levies on carmakers that do not assemble vehicles here at home. Under his proposed plan, if automakers build a car in Canada, they can bring in another one made in the U.S. or Mexico duty-free. This would create a powerful incentive for them to relocate and repatriate production. back to this country. Polyev also wants to drop the GST on Canadian-made cars to spur demand for vehicles like the Toyota Ravre 4 or the Chrysler Pacifica. We will bring our factories roaring back to life.

Our plants will be humming. Our mills will be stamping more aluminum and steel. We will make our country strong, self-reliant and sovereign. But his whole plan hinges on Trump going along and dropping his tariffs on Canadian autos. The problem is we don't know. need their product. A potentially tall order from a president who has already said he wants to gut the Canadian industry. You know, we don't need cars made in Canada. We don't need cars made in Mexico. We want to make them here. The focus on autos comes amid stark new data showing the industry is in peril.

Canadian auto exports are roughly half of what they were at this time last year, before Trump's tariffs took effect. That's very bad. You know, those, you know, you can think of it as an abstract number, you know, auto industry exports, wait a minute, those are people's jobs. Those are jobs that my next door neighbors have. Industry expert and University of Windsor Professor Peter Fry's says Pollyas's plan to tie car sales to production could actually hurt an already hobbled industry. In the past, Canada has exported more cars than its consumers have bought, and therefore agreeing to a quota could actually limit future car manufacturing, he says. It is a serious matter. And that's why simplistic, you know, get-rich-quick-type solutions are not necessarily the right things to do.

Plus, Polly has planned a do away with the electric vehicle mandate could hurt Next Star's massive battery plan in Windsor. The best thing they can do is diversify our economy, work to diversify our economy away from the United States to more reliable, trustworthy partners. That's part of Carney's own auto plan. that U.S. tariffs have upended the bargain. Released earlier this year, Carney is relying on a series of tax measures to attract new auto makers to Canada. And on Friday, a glimmer of hope,

Chinese auto giant BYD said it's considering a new plant here. J.P. Tasker, CBC News, Ottawa. You're listening to Your World Tonight from CBC News. And if you want to make sure you never miss one of our episodes, follow us on Spotify, Apple, wherever you get your podcasts. Just find the follow button and lock us in. It's a wrap for the Paralympic Winter Games in Italy. And on the last day, another disappointment for Team Canada's national hockey program.

Despite a fierce battle against Team USA, the para ice hockey team are taking the silver medal. But while Canada did score gold in other events, Canadian athletes say more funding is needed to get a better showing on the podium. Philip LeShenock reports. with the gold medal. Another heartbreaker for Canada. Team USA won 6 to 2 scoring a short-handed goal and an empty netter. It's the third time Canada faced the U.S.

in a showdown for gold on the ice at Milano-Cortina, the women's men's and now the men's Paralympic national hockey teams. All three U.S. teams beat Canada. It's the first sweep of all the hockey tournaments at the Olympics and Paralympics. But team captain Tyler McGregor made sure to acknowledge that all three of Canada's teams showed grit and determination to get to the finals. I love that we got to do this with this group of people, man. They're unbelievable.

Still on this the final day of the Paralympic Winter Games in Italy, team Canada has much to be proud of. Canada won 15 medals, including three golds, placing eighth overall. Canada's wheelchair curling team won its first gold since 2014 in a nail-biter over defending champion, China. And there we go. It came down to the very last shot of the match by Canadian skipper Mark Idelson.

The first side ever to complete the tournament, undefeated. Idelson and Canada's other gold medalist, Para Nordic skier Natalie Wilkie, carried the flag into the closing ceremonies. Another goal for Natalie Wilkie. Wilkie won two gold, one silver and a bronze. and became the first Canadian athlete to be selected to carry the flag in both the opening and closing ceremony at the same Paralympic games. She'll be remembered for winning Canada's first medal of these games.

Like we dream of this and sorry. To have it all come together is really, really special. I think we can be really proud of what Canada did. Former Team Canada Paralympic hockey player and sports commentator Claire Buchanan says the Paralympic squad faces the same challenges as Canada's other Olympic contenders. Funding, I think that's probably our biggest barrier. She'd like to see more funding to make parisports accessible at the community level. So that we can be one of those top five, top three countries in the world that are bringing in medals for their countries.

During his visit to Norway, Prime Minister Mark Carney pledged to revamp funding for Canadian athletes. Consultations with organizers will be held over the next six months. Falkishanak, CBC News, Toronto. The 98th Academy Awards is underway this evening in Los Angeles. But after a century of cultural dominance, Hollywood's star power is dimming. Fewer movies are being made and box office returns are down. Eli Glassner now on the health of the American film industry and how to keep the Dream Factory running. There you go, slipping in.

Hollywood Boulevard. Every year this city street gets its own movie makeover, transforming into the most watched red carpet in the world. But this year, there's Bedlam behind the scenes. I think this is a particularly anxiety-inducing moment in Hollywood. Matt Bellany covers Hollywood for the Town podcast. The fact that you've got two of the five legacy studios in talks to merge, you've got AI, we had the fires, we had the labor strikes. it's all created an environment of anxiety. Post-pandemic, the industry has changed.

The box office never returned to pre-pendemic heights. Major studios are making fewer adult dramas, the kind the Oscars depend on. And overall, the number of wide releases has dropped by 20% since the year 2000, according to the ComScore research firm. Add to that, the fear of job losses from the pending paramount Warner Brothers merger and the idea of La La Land as a. dream factory could be in doubt.

The ability for a creator to come to L.A. and work his or her way up and get a big break that allows them to have a career and entertainment, that's just getting harder and harder. In the midst of all the upheaval enter the Oscars, a show fighting for eyeballs, hosted again by Conan O'Brien. All right, guys, we're going to use low back, a lot of buttocks. I think for the broadcast itself, obviously, viewership has been going down for years. I think it's only going to continue to do so.

Katie Rich is the awards editor with the Ancler. She says the Oscars still cut through the noise. You know, Sinners gets its record-breaking 16 Oscar nominations. And I had two friends who have nothing to do with the movie industry, text me that they were finally watching the movie. But even the Oscars is evolving, cutting a new deal to move the broadcast from ABC to YouTube in 2029. What does this move to YouTube mean for the Oscars?

How significant is this? I think it's a major move for the Oscars. And what they are getting out of it is a partner that it was willing to continue paying them $100 million a year, which ABC was not. And they are getting the future audience that is younger and more global and more mobile. When it comes to fears about the death of cinema, Frankenstein director Guillermo del Toro says, he's seen that movie before. We had to bring cinema scope when cable came in, when DVDs, when BPA, everything. I think that we mutate, but the need for stories is still alive.

Alive and kicking, as the Oscars and Hollywood both brace for change. You like Laster, CBC News, Los Angeles. A key player in 90s, Granite, Canada's own, Melissa O'Brien. Ofdemar is about to pull back the curtain on what the scene was really like with a new memoir. Proudly, born and raised in Montreal, she found fame playing bass in the band, Hull. Oh, make me over! Reframing the image of lead singer Courtney Love is part of her book's mission, as she told CBC Montreal. I love her. I truly consider her a soulmate. I wanted to reframe her because the world treated her terribly.

Another love of her life? Montreal itself, her awe of it instilled by her parents, Linda Gaborio and Nick Offdemar, both legendary figures in the city. My book starts with the chapter on my mother, the chapter on my father, and the chapter on my city. And yes, all three of them are the entities that raised me and defined me. Other pivotal times in her life, briefly joining the Smashing Pumpkins as a touring member and launching a solo career. The bass, a self-taught instrument that she says chose her. The bass and the camera were their perfect ability to have a sort of sidewall flower perspective of music and of the crazy music scene. Because I was in love with music, but no, I certainly did not want to be front and center.

Break my heart. Melissa Offdemar's memoir, Even the Good Girls Will Cry, is out on Tuesday. Here's more of her. This has followed the waves on your world tonight. I'm Stephanie Scandaris. Good night. For more CBC podcasts, go to cBC.ca.ca.com.