Rob Schmitz is NPR's international correspondent based in Berlin, where he covers the human stories of a vast region reckoning with its past while it tries to guide the world toward a brighter future. From his base in the heart of Europe, Schmitz has covered Germany's levelheaded management of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of right-wing nationalist politics in Poland and creeping Chinese government influence inside the Czech Republic.
With the Iran war entering a third week and the price of oil reaching nearly $105 a barrel on Monday, President Trump again urged NATO countries and China to help the U.S. secure the vital Strait of Hormuz.
The war with Iran enters its third week, as Trump and his top aides refocus their messaging on "winning" to regain faltering support, in the Senate, Republican lawmakers take up the SAVE Act this week.