Your World Tonight - Trump demands Iran surrender, oil prices climb, Khalistani group threatens Canadians, and more

Episode Date: March 6, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump is calling for nothing short of Iran’s unconditional surrender, rejecting peace talks. That posture as strikes and counterstrikes continue to hit Iran and surrounding countries for a seventh day. And intense Israeli airstrikes batter Beirut.And: Canadians are paying more at the pump as oil prices climb in response to the war.Also: An Ontario woman murdered this week had warned she was in danger, and a Khalistani extremist group may be responsible. A social media post says others who speak out against them could meet the same fate.Plus: Canada/U.S. trade negotiation, diversity at the Brier, and after federal cuts can U.S. national security agencies protect the country from threats?

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N-E-T-H-R-I-S-com. Nethris, much more than just a payroll software. This is a CBC podcast. It's a terrible influence of what is costing for people and then it's passed on to us. It sucks. I don't follow the news, but I've heard the rumblings, so I assumed it was going to go up. Still need gas. I still need to get places. It still sucks.

The growing global consequences of a deadly and distant war spilling over into the lives of Canadians. Gas prices are on the rise across the country as the battle rages in the Middle East, where the impact is much more direct. They are dropping 2,000-pound bomb in densely populated civilian areas. Their intention is clear to terrorize civilians. Iranian outrage, as attacks continue to pound the country, retaliatory strikes hit more American allies in the region, as the U.S. president insists he doesn't want negotiations just unconditional surrender.

Welcome to your world tonight. I'm Onondraam. is Friday, March 6th, coming up on 6 p.m. Eastern. Also on the podcast. To me, it's important that the dialogue continues and that's what's happening right now. Canada-U.S. Trade Talks back underway in Washington after Donald Trump hit pause last fall. Progress Canadian officials are framing as a positive step. Strikes and counter strikes hitting Iran and surrounding countries for a seventh day. While Israeli airstrikes battered Tehran and Beirut, Iran launched new.

retaliatory attacks on its neighbors. From Tel Aviv, Chief Correspondent Adrian Arsino has the latest. A reporter for Iranian State Television running in horror live on the air. Shouting, they're attacking again, they're attacking again. It looks and sounds like panic. And from other angles showing the black smoke throughout Tehran, you can understand why.

Some Iranians describing this as the toughest 24 hours of the war. Israel maintaining 50 fighter jets also bombed a vast underground network in Tehran, one that was intended for the late Ayatollah Khomeinia, but may still be used by senior leadership. A woman there we can't identify for her own safety sent us text messages, effectively saying the harder the bombing, the more frightening the regime forces seem to be. She wrote, they're more aggressive, more savage, and have a lot of anger. I think they feel helpless, but they show themselves to be strong because they're very, very arrogant.

Iran, again, lashing out at Gulf states with more drones, more ballistic missiles. Iran's deputy foreign minister making intentions clear. Saeed Hatasadei saying, the countries that host the U.S. forces or American allies will soon think that's not worth the risk, that the economic losses alone are too much to be. We have no option just to put an end to the presence of United States in the surrounding area of Iran. A strategy defense analyst Kelly Greco sees at work in the steady number of drones fired at the UAE, for example, daily. They're sending enough so that they're menacing and they're threatening, but that they're going to be able to sustain those kinds of numbers over time as part of an attrition strategy.

Every front in this war comes with its own agenda. It certainly does in Lebanon. Israel unleashing a massive bombardment in the southern suburbs of Beirut. And in the south of the country, all places Israel considers Hezbollah strongholds. Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese now displaced. Many not sure who to be afraid of more, Hezbollah or Israel's military. University students Sarah Musali saying, you can be with neither this side nor that side, both of them are more oppressive.

Almost a weekend and already there are patterns that repeat. Civilians stuck in the middle in Iran, the Gulf, Lebanon, and Israel, all spending their days and nights feeling hunted. Adrian Arsenal, CBC News, Tel Aviv. As the war expands, the U.S. president is calling for nothing short of Iran's unconditional surrender. Paul Hunter in Washington with the latest on Donald Trump's new threat and what it could mean. As the relentless U.S. assault on Iran continued, missile after missile was again fired from the sea with word from the U.S. its actions have only just begun. From the U.S. president today, a blunt message delivered on his truth social platform.

There will be no deal except unconditional surrender, he wrote, adding, after the selection of, as Trump put it, a great and acceptable leader in Iran, we will make Iran great again. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt soon after on that term, unconditional surrender. What the president means is that when he, as commander-in-chief of the U.S. armed forces, determines that Iran no longer poses a threat to the United States of America, and the goals of Operation Epic Fury has been fully realized, then Iran will essentially be in a place of unconditional surrender. Whether they say it themselves or not. Leavitt added the U.S. as well on its way to that, with the latest expectation being it'll take four to six weeks to get there. On reporting today that Russia is now aiding Iran with intel that could help Iran

in striking U.S. forces, said Leavitt, in a sense, doesn't matter. That clearly is not making a difference with respect to the military operations in Iran because we are completely decimating them. This morning, Trump, in a phone call with CNN, described Iran as now neutered, adding he's good with whoever the next leader of Iran is, as long as they're friendly to America. Separately, the president also meeting at the White House today with U.S. defense contractors after reporting this week that the Pentagon has been having trouble negotiating fresh contracts on weaponry. Trump calling today sit down a very good meeting, saying they'll now quadruple production of certain weaponry and will do so, as Trump put it, as rapidly as possible.

All of this, as the White House published more social media videos depicting the continuing war in Iran. This one, editing Major League Baseball hitters, smacking home runs, including one against the Blue Jays, intercut with missile targets being hit in Iran. Another, borrowing a sample from the video game Grand Theft Auto and intercutting more strikes in Iran. Oh shit. Here we go again.

It comes with the cut line locked in. Paul Hunter, CBC News, Washington. I am working as the foreign minister to bring Canadians home as soon as possible. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says her department is working to get Canadians out of the Middle East. She says Ottawa has booked hundreds of seats on flights between Beirut and Istanbul and the first chartered flight will leave Dubai for Istanbul on Saturday. And four buses will go from Qatar to Saudi Arabia tomorrow. Ottawa is organizing the transportation, though passengers still have to pay for their tickets. Anin says they are looking at all options, but

traveling by water may not be a good idea. We must utilize all options to assist Canadians. And that includes all means of transportation. I will reiterate that seaway is always an issue and is especially dangerous at this time. But my team is sourcing all means of transportation for Canadians to leave the region as a whole. Honan says so far 3,500 Canadians have asked for help to leave the region.

While the Middle East War is also hitting the global economy, all week uncertainty has caused a spike in oil prices leading to the biggest weekly jump ever. That has consequences in Canada too, from prices at the pumps to the energy industry in Alberta. Nisha Patel reports. The straight of war moves has been essentially shut down. About 20 million barrels of oil usually pass through the narrow strait

between Iran and Oman every day. But Iran is attacking tankers, making the route much more dangerous. Richard Tully's managing director at Water Tower Research says most vessels are stalled, and oil-producing countries like Iraq are running out of storage. It's the inventories filling up around the Middle East. There's limited options to move more oil out. Kuwait is discussing shutting in production. Nearly one-fifth of the the global oil supply is being choked off, sending crude oil prices soaring to almost 91 U.S. dollars a barrel. Up 35 percent since the conflict began, it's the biggest weekly gain ever. Cutter's energy minister warned if the straight remains shut, oil could hit 150 U.S. dollars a barrel

within two weeks. Further action to reduce pressure on oil is imminent. U.S. President Donald Trump says he can get oil exports moving again. offering up a $20 billion program to ensure tankers from any losses. But Tully says energy won't move freely until attacks on ships stop altogether. Maybe the hope for discussions and de-escalation between the parties. And then in that case, once we get past the opening up the straight of Hormuz to some extent that prices would start to level off. Oil is traded on the global market so Canadian energy producers could benefit from higher prices. And so could oil-rich provinces like Alberta, says Mark Parsons, chief economist at ATB Financial.

The Alberta budget just released a forecast around $60 oil, and we're at 90 today. Now, if we see oil prices higher for longer or sustained period, that's a significant boost to government revenues. But according to Roger McKnight, Chief Petroleum Analyst at NPRA, International, the surge could also test the resilience of the global economy. So as price of crude goes up, so does the price of gasoline, so does the price of diesel, so does the price of jet fuel, so does the price of everything, because it's very inflationary. Drivers in St. John New Brunswick are already noticing the change at the pumps. I assumed it was going to go up and there's nothing we can do about it.

I still need gas. I still need to get places, but it still sucks. As far as I'm concerned, everything is just rising, rising. Well, we'd like to see it When it goes down. Though if the conflict isn't resolved quickly, prices aren't likely to go down anytime soon. Nisha Patel, CBC News, Toronto. Coming right up, Canadian trade officials are back in Washington, trying to get cross-border negotiations back on track.

And a well-known Punjabi activist in Ontario said she was being targeted for views and even warned her life was in danger. Days later, she was murdered. Later on, we'll have this story. I'm Julia Israel in St. John's, where Canada's national curling championships are underway and bringing a lot of firsts to the Montana's briar. It's been great to not only represent Tulsaburg and our province, but also represent

the many different communities that may not see themselves traditionally in curling, and show everyone that curling is a safe space and is a home for anyone, no matter where you come from or what your background is. Representation is growing in Canada's curling scene. I'll have that story later on Your World Tonight. High-level trade talks between Canada and the U.S. got a reboot today, months after Donald Trump shut them down. Canada's trade minister is back in Washington for a face-to-face meeting with his American counterpart. But as Kate McKenna found out, he's not saying much.

What do you hope to accomplish from these talks? Minister, I need anything to say at all? As he left a meeting with U.S. trade representative Jameson Greer, Canada's point person for U.S. trade, Dominic LeBlanc, refused to talk. But in a statement released after the meeting, Leblon's office said he introduced Canada's new trade negotiator Janice Charette and Ottawa's new ambassador to the U.S., Mark Wiseman. It says they had a constructive and substantive discussion about the upcoming review of the free trade agreement and other issues affecting both countries. The meeting, a return to the table after a turbulent year in Canada-U.S. relations. Last fall, U.S. President Donald Trump hit pause on negotiations over in Ontario anti-tariff. fat. Since then, he's also lashed out over Prime Minister Mark Carney's speech in Davos and gloated

about winning Olympic gold in hockey. The hope is to continue those conversations to get the best outcome for Canadian workers in our Canadian industries. Canada's international trade minister Menendor Cedew told CBC's chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton, restarting talks, is a good step. To me, it's important that the dialogue continues and that's what's happening right now. But the stakes are very high. A review of the free trade agreement is set to happen later this year. Trump has signaled he wants changes. And earlier this week, Carney said when the U.S. slap tariffs on Canadian goods like steel aluminum and auto parts, the administration blew up part of the deal. That agreement effectively has been broken in the short term by U.S. actions. Carney says the review could get things back on track.

That is the process to reestablish the trust, if you will, the viable agreement that individuals, companies, investors and others can look to with confidence. But a former Trump trade advisor says Canada should buckle up. The trade spat between Canada and the U.S. and moves like allowing some Chinese EVs into the Canadian market may be taking a toll. Kuzma's other trading partner, Mexico,

already seems farther along, with the first round of talk scheduled with the U.S. later this month. Everett Everset Eisenstadt worked for the office of the U.S. trade representative. I think the discussions with Mexico are much deeper, much more frequent. The fact that there hasn't been

a real engagement, at that level for quite some times, it makes this a significant event, demonstrates that there hasn't been the kind of dialogue, really, to move the relationship forward. When all of this started, more than 75% of Canadian exports went south of the border. That figure has dropped almost 10%. But free trade with the U.S. still has a huge impact on the Canadian economy, giving Canada a big incentive to keep negotiating. Kate McKenna. CBC News.

Washington. She was outspoken on a contentious fight in her homeland. And just last week warned she herself may be in danger. Now an Ontario woman is dead and a social media account suggests she was murdered because of her political views. Ithel Musa reports. I know sometimes I feel scared when they said, we kill you. Then I said, okay, you can kill me, kill me. Any time. That was Nancy Grywall speaking exclusively to CBC News just last week. The 45-year-old died Tuesday after being stabbed in LaSalle, just outside Windsor, Ontario. She spoke about being the target of harassment in her community and online for her views. Born in India, Grewal had a major social media presence, particularly among Punjabis. She was outspoken and openly shared her

anti-Kalistan views. Here's some of what she told CBC. If you come India, we kill you, we do this, we do this. Who was threatening you in India? All Khalistanis-is-is-I-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. I have a so many tax masses on my social media accounts. So I print out and give to the police. They have everything. An extremist social media account has posted that Grie Wall was killed over her criticism of the Khalistani movement. It seeks to establish a homeland for six in India.

In the past, it has been linked to deadly attacks, including one of the worst in Canadian history, the 1985 Air India bombing, which killed more than 300 people. Kyrpatwat Singh, Panam, with six for justice in the United States, says his fight for independence is not rooted in violence. Khalistan is a political opinion. Anybody who has an opposing political opinion, they have a choice. We have given them a choice to make. And the choice is to vote in Khalistan offrendom.

The Indian government considers the Khalistan movement a security threat and has designated several of its leaders as terrorists, including Panam. Two prominent Khalistan leaders were recently killed on Canadian soil. Their deaths linked to agents acting on behalf of the Indian government. Grie Wall's death is happening while a major shift in relations is taking place between the federal government and India. Prime Minister Mark Carney and India's leader announced recently a new partnership, featuring multi-million dollar deals and a pledge to sign a free trade agreement. Meanwhile, police in LaSalle say they believe the stabbing of Grie Wall was targeted and not random.

Her sister, Alicia, paid tribute to her in a post on social media, saying, I lost my sister, my strength, my forever friend. Ivelmuse, CBC News, Toronto. Well, back to our top story. As the war in the Middle East intensifies, so are concerns about possible threats on American soil. It's raising questions about whether U.S. national security agencies are able to defend against them after a year of sweeping cuts and shifting priorities. Katie Nicholson has more. Body camera footage from Austin police captured the moment officers took down the man who had

opened fire in a Texas bar on Saturday, killing three people and injuring 16 more. Stop boarding! Stop morning! The shooter wore a sweatshirt that said, property of Allah, and another shirt with an Iranian flag. The FBI continues to probe the suspect for possible terror. It's the kind of incident that fuels fear of potential terror attacks in response to the conflict in Iran. The FBI's counterterrorism and intelligence teams have been on high alert since the U.S. launched strikes on Iran. But under the Trump administration, Democratic lawmakers say the agency has shed hundreds of jobs over the last year, while also reassigning between 25 and 45 percent of its agents who normally handle counterterrorism, cyber, and espionage to Trump's immigration crackdown.

So the United States might be more vulnerable than it was a year ago. Daniel Biman is the director of the Terrorism Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in D.C. He says reassigning agents from counterterror makes it hard to pick up the threads. Most terrorist groups and state sponsors are regularly changing. As a result, the individuals involved, the technology they're using, the plots they're up to, that changes as well. And if you're not engaged with this threat for six months or longer, it's not that you have no knowledge. Of course, you still retain considerable knowledge and capabilities,

but you have to come up to speed, and that takes time. Iran conflict also began as the funding shut down at the Department of Homeland Security dragged into a second month, while lawmakers try to force change on immigration enforcement. Its secretary, Christy Noem, was also fired Thursday, but not before she told a congressional committee that members of one of its key national teams aren't even on the job. Our cybersecurity agency has lost hundreds of workers that have been furloughed. I'm not overly concerned that the counterterrorism profile is diminished. A lot of large municipal police services have improved and created their own counterterrorism units.

Scott Wade is the director of the cybersecurity program at George Washington. Washington University. He says it's also not uncommon to see the private sector take on some of the cyber threat load in the U.S., monitoring for and thwarting attacks. But he does expect an uptick in cyber and other attacks. We will see an increase of both Iranian proxies and lone wolf actors engaging against the United States. Asked by Time magazine whether Americans should be worried about Iranian retaliation in the U.S., U.S. President Donald Trump replied, I guess, And added, we expect some things. When you go to war, some people will die.

Katie Nicholson, CBC News, Washington. By the time the weekend is done, Canada will crown its latest kings of curling. St. John's is hosting this year's Breyer, where some big names are competing for the last time. But as Julia Israel tells us, there are lots of young curlers stepping up and changing the face of the game. Roll it! Roll it. It's every Canadian curler's dream to make the country's top-level change.

championships. For the men, that's the briar. It's tons of fun to play in front of that energetic of a crowd. It can get a little noisy out there, which makes it hard to hear at times. Dylan Neapage calls it a dream come true, representing Team Ontario. It's his first time playing in the briar. It's actually the whole team's first year here. I don't think it's much of a disadvantage just for me this week because everyone's going through the same boat with how loud the crowds have been, which is amazing. Knee page was born profoundly deaf.

He's now the first deaf athlete to curl in the briar. It's really cool to be a part of history in that sense. I've had a couple of people come up to me this week who are also cochlear implant recipients and just telling me their stories and how impactful it is to see an athlete who has the cochlear implants competing at the top level. Neepage plays along friends like Jaden King,

who's also making history this year. He's the second youngest skip to play the briar for Ontario at 23 years old and the first black skip in the championship's history. First generation curler in my family. None of my family curls except for me. I saw it on TV. It was just on the background and I just wanted to try it. It's been great to not only represent Tulsonburg and our province,

but also represent the many different communities that may not see themselves traditionally in curling and show everyone that curling is a safe space and is a home for anyone in my. matter where you come from or what your background is. Over in Newfoundland and Labrador, growing up, I never really had anyone that would look like me. Satai Penny is also a black curler who has found a home in the sport. She curls from a Memorial University in St. John's.

They just won gold earlier this month. All my friends don't get the sport. And like, they just think I'm playing a white person sports. But I've changed their minds now. Seeing these changes and seeing people out here like like us will help the younger generation want to join the sport because now younger athletes can look about us and see like they can do it so we can do it too, you know? Henry. It's running good. It's running good.

King says he sees a growth of the sports popularity and its diversity. Just like the demographics of Canada are changing, so is curling. And I guess traditionally curling was played in a lot of rural areas, and now it's sort of transitioning into more urban centers and becoming very popular. At a briar, marked by the passing of the torch from retiring curling legends to the next generations, so too is the growth of its representation. Julia Israel, CBC News, St. John's. While staying with sports, we close tonight with a grand opening with some major political

drama. In northern Italy, the 26th Paralympic Games are officially underway. Athletes, fans, and officials gathered in Verona for the game's opening ceremony this afternoon. kicking off eight days of competition, more than 600 athletes will be taking part. But not all of them took part in today's festivities, with some passing on the ceremony because of who else was invited. Russian Federation Federation. Well, that is something that has rarely been seen or heard over the past four years, Russian Paralympic athletes in today's ceremony, wearing national regalia, waving the Russian flag. If they win gold, Russia's national anthem will be played at these games.

Russian athletes have been disqualified for many international competition. since the country's invasion of Ukraine. Their inclusion here sparked early protest. Ukraine and several other European countries did not march in the opening ceremony. International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons spoke to CBC Sports about the decision. We are bounded by integrity, by fairness,

but all the values that we stand for. But we cannot follow political sides one or the other. We have to remain neutral, remain focused on sport. 91 members voted one way, and then we have half of the world complaining about that decision. It would have been the other way around if the decision was different. Canada! Canada! Canada did not participate in the opening ceremony either. The team said it was for performance reasons, as did Great Britain and France. Canada has 50 athletes competing across all sports. The Paralympic Games run through March 15th. Well, thanks for being with us.

This has been your world tonight for Friday, March 6th. I'm Onond the Rum. Good night. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca.ca slash podcasts.