Transcript of Iran Just Massively Escalated New

Iran just did it again. Iran struck 2 tankers, one off the coast of Qatar, another tanker 30 nautical miles east off the coast of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. The location where these strikes have taken place represents a massive escalation. With respect to Qatar, the tanker that was struck appears to be a stationary tanker there. There were many casualties reported. We're still waiting on an official casualty account. And in Fujairah, a very big deal. This tanker was struck right there in the Gulf of Oman. In both cases, these appear to be stationary tankers that have been used for some of these ship-to-ship transfers we've been talking about, these STS transfers, which is how CENTCOM is trying to direct ships to avoid Iran's control over the Strait of Hormuz by having smaller ships carry barrels of oil, transfer it to other ships, transfer maybe some of it over land, or transfer some of it hugging the coast of Oman and trying to sneak out with the AIS detection off in order to avoid IRGC detection where Iran will strike these tankers. Folks, in the past 8 days, about 15 tankers, perhaps even more, have been by the IRGC in the Strait of Hormuz and now in the Gulf of Oman.

This is a very big deal, folks. And in response, CENTCOM has posted the following message. US CENTCOM says, claim earlier today, a general from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed in media reports that the Strait of Hormuz is closed and his country has, quote, full control over it. This is false, says CENTCOM. And then they say, fact: traffic is flowing through the Strait of Hormuz right now, carrying commercial goods and energy supplies, including 20 million barrels of crude oil. The United States and regional partners clearly control the Strait of Hormuz. If you clearly control the Strait of Hormuz, then why is the closest US Navy vessel— why is the Closest US aircraft carrier about 1,000 kilometers away in the Arabian Sea. One of the 2 aircraft carriers part of the so-called blockade, the USS George H.W. Bush, has actually abandoned the blockade. It is now in Phuket, Thailand. The USS Theodore Roosevelt has left from San Diego to accompany the USS— George Washington, which is now the only aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea that is part of this so-called blockade right now. An amphibious assault group has also left from San Diego and will be reaching the Arabian Sea by mid-November.

But Iran realizes that the United States military bases in the Middle East have all essentially been abandoned. The Trump regime has retreated as Iran has destroyed most US military bases in region. Heck, Senator Chris Murphy said when he took a trip to the Middle East this week, the Pentagon refused to allow him to even visit any military base in the Middle East, which is his job as a senator to conduct oversight. And I think one of the reasons why they are blocking him from visiting these military bases is the same reason why they're blocking members of Congress and senators from visiting ICE concentration camps, so-called detention centers in the United States. They want to cover up what's happening. And in the case of these military bases, the United States wants to cover up the fact that these military bases have been destroyed. And we've showed you a lot of photos that we got from people who were at these bases of the condition of what a lot of them look like now. Iran realizes that the US only has one aircraft carrier in the region and that Donald Trump is very wary and scared of escalation right now before the midterms, especially as the price of diesel and gas continues to surge and the price of Brent and WTI crude continues to surge as well.

And those crack spreads continue to rise as well. While all of this is going on, Iran's Foreign Ministry announcing meetings with foreign ministry leaders from other countries. For example, Esmail Bakay, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, posted this photo. Today I received the new German ambassador to Iran, Ambassador Alex Dittmann, and we had an engaging and frank discussion on prevailing trends in international relations. Countering the threats and challenges that jeopardize the rule of law and endanger international peace and security remains a shared responsibility, one that calls for insight, courage, and cooperation. Well, so much for economic outcasts. You have Iran meeting with the ambassador of Germany in Iran. Iran's foreign Ministry spokesperson also said, today I had a fruitful conversation with the Ambassador of Pakistan, Mr. Imran Ahmad Sadiq. Also, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Gharbabadi posted these photos with the meetings he just held with the new ambassador of India, Japan, and Spain in Tehran, where they discussed a range of important regional and international issues. And he says, in these meetings, we emphasized preserving and expanding bilateral relations based on mutual respect and shared interests. And you see the photos right here of the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister meeting with the ambassadors from Spain and Japan and India right here.

Look at those photographs right there. Now, Brett Erickson, who I think has been doing a real good job with his analysis of everything that's going on in the Middle East, the escalation trap that Trump falls further and further into, the trap that Donald Trump is in right now, as he's put the United States in a very weak position. The fact that the Trump regime in the United States have lost the war to Iran. Here's what Brett Erickson said in response to the news later in the evening last night that this ship, that this tanker was struck in the Gulf of Oman, 30 nautical miles east of Fujairah, which is United Arab Emirates. New, another vessel is on fire near the Strait of Hormuz, but notably today, this vessel is located just a few miles away from where the Gulf of Oman ship-to-ship transfers take place. This is a clear sign from Iran that they simply weren't trying to fully close Hormuz. If the ship-to-ship transfers are shut down, it is game over. And what Erickson has argued before is that what Iran was waiting for is they knew that for the United States to take this southern route in the Gulf of Oman and the ship-to-ship transfer, it was so expensive that all Iran had to do was strike one tanker or 2 tankers and it would make it so the risk premium was still so high that the shipping costs would increase the price of crude.

So we've been reporting how it now costs about 1.5 $1.5 million per day to load up the crude on a very large tanker and try to move it out of the Strait of Hormuz. Whereas before the war, it was $30,000 a day. Heck, these tanker captains are making $100,000 per month and getting a $50,000 bonus if they make it out of the Strait of Hormuz without their ships being blown up by the IRGC. So what Erickson argues, and I agree with, Iran waited, you know, the movie Braveheart, Hold, hold, hold. And occasionally they'd strike a tanker. And as we got closer to the midterms, they wait for Donald Trump to remove an aircraft carrier so that the Trump regime and CENTCOM only has one aircraft carrier 1,000 kilometers away. So the US doesn't really have a lot of hard power in the region. Also, they know that close to the midterms, Donald Trump doesn't want to escalate because he doesn't want the prices to go even higher. And then— In the past 8 days. Remember in Braveheart? I don't like Mel Gibson, but I think it's a good reference. Hold now. And then Iran waited, waited, waited.

Boom. And then we saw tanker, tanker, tanker, tanker, tanker. And that's where we're getting somewhere in the range of 15 or more tankers struck by Iran in the past 8 days. And the fact— and they're escalating how they're striking these tankers. It's a big deal that a tanker was struck. 30 nautical miles east off of Fujairah. That's one of the areas where there are pipelines to try to circumvent Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz. That's a main area where ship-to-ship transfers are taking place. They try to move the oil there, and because it's already kind of in the Gulf of Oman, they try to get the oil out that way. And so if they're striking in Fujairah, Iran's saying game on right there, and they're shooting tankers, stationary tankers right there by the, uh, by Qatar. Even if they're not stationary, that is a massive escalation. Here's how Brett Erickson describes the tanker being struck off of Qatar. Just moments ago, the UKMTO issued a new report that says Iran struck another vessel off Qatar. This is a very significant escalation because it shows that Iran is not merely going to sit by and take shots at vessels attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz under US air cover, but instead look to strike vessels across the Gulf that are anchored off port.

This is not the first time we have seen this either. Just a few weeks ago, when the US and Iran were engaged in their tit-for-tat escalation, Iran struck vessels off the ports of the UAE and Iraq. If this continues, these vessels are helpless. And then he goes on to say, Iran's strike earlier today of this tanker off the port of Qatar represents significant escalation. And he says, Uh, this raises the stakes substantially for mariners attempting to transit along Hormuz. When the risk of being killed increases— there were multiple casualties in the tanker hit off Qatar— your pool of available mariners decreases and the premium they need to be paid increases extraordinary. So what is Donald Trump saying with all of this? Well, last night at a deranged event that he held in San Antonio, Texas, he says Iran's got a little spunk. Because it's a little spunk, but otherwise they're destroyed. Play this clip. They're a failed nation. They are a failed nation. They got a little spunk left, but not much.

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Meanwhile, you had Pete Hegseth doing PT in San Diego before the USS Abraham Lincoln returned. This is what he was doing. Play this clip. I mean, what the hell is even happening? He was too tired to do pull-ups. So he decided to high-five people. I don't even know what is this? You're the, you're the Defense Secretary. You shouldn't be. But what the hell are you even doing here? Play this clip. All right, get ready in 3, 2, 1, go! By the way, this escalation by Iran comes at a time where under Kash Patel, NPR is reporting yesterday the FBI has lost more than 1,500 special agents and counterintelligence squads, and many offices are running 50 to 60% staff. Agents tracking Iran were fired just before the war started. One insider describes the situation as, quote, it's terrifying, honestly. Now, with all of this taking place, Barack Ravid, Donald Trump's stenographer, he posted the following story last night. Military ordered to be ready for possible Iran strikes as Trump weighs timing. The Pentagon instructed U.S. Central Command several days ago to conclude preparations for resuming major combat operations in Iran. The directive didn't include include a specific date for launching strikes, and Trump hasn't made any final decisions, Barack Ravi, Trump's stenographer, says.

But U.S. and Israeli sources say it could happen before the U.S. midterm elections and possibly the Israeli elections a week earlier. If major combat operations resume, they're expected to include massive bombing of Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear targets, sources say. Resuming the war in the next 3 to 4 weeks could influence the midterm elections, in part because oil prices might rise in response. The department's job is to develop and present military options to the president, a Pentagon official says. Here's what another official says. The US is in a very strong position with control of the Strait of Hormuz and the Iranian economy collapsing. Iran has been decimated and things will go one of two ways, the easy way or the hard way, the official said. President Trump holds all the cards and will do whatever is the best for the United States. I mean, is Donald Trump your source? That literally seems like a quote that Donald Trump gave. Look, if the US controls the Strait of Hormuz, then why is the closest aircraft carrier 1,000 kilometers away? Why wouldn't there be Navy destroyers, amphibious combat units? Why wouldn't there be anything? Why would the logistics center have to be moved to the Diego Garcia base and not in Bahrain?

answer those questions if the US controls the Strait of Hormuz. Why have there been more tankers struck by the IRGC in the Strait of Hormuz over the past week than when the war— since the war started? We've had more tankers struck this past week than any time before. Why is it that the tankers are charging $1.5 million a day in order to move crude or move other supplies out of the Strait of Hormuz when before the war it was $30 $30,000 a day. Why? Because the Trump regime is lying about absolutely everything here. And I'll say this, you know, you've been seeing some of the titles I've been doing for a long time, right? Like I've been saying, the US is in retreat, Trump is in retreat. And it's not that I'm rooting against them. Like, I'm just trying to deliver the facts of what's happening. I'm looking at satellite footage and I'm conveying what the troop movements are saying. This is a catastrophic war the United States should never have been involved in. in the first place. It is also being implemented in the most incompetent manner as well. A war that we should never have been in.

And then execution-wise, it's just an example of a Trump bankruptcy. We had to remove an aircraft carrier from the Pacific. The only aircraft carrier in the Pacific, the George Washington, is now the sole aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea. It's 1,000 kilometers away. It's relatively helpless if it moves any closer. That's why it has to stay this far distance away. And we don't have the resources, even in the Middle East, to really match Iran's escalation right now. And Iran knows that. So Donald Trump is left with calling Barack Ravid, and he thinks that's going to scare Iran. Like, he thinks that they're going to go, oh, we, we must make a deal. They're going to— Iran is not scared of the United States. On day one, the United States launched something that was multiples of Iraq's shock and awe, slaughtered indiscriminately people in Iran on day one, used so many weapons, and Iran was able to withstand that. Iran knows that Trump doesn't have the will to put ground troops in Iran, nor should the United States be involved in this at all, yet alone put ground troops. You're not going to win a war through bombing.

That's not going to work. And Iran knows it's in a stronger position. I'm not saying that because I'm rooting for them. I'm not saying that because because I'm saying it because it's the reality. The truth is, and maybe you don't want to hear the truth, I think you come to the Midas touch. Iran is in a much stronger position. Iran is a major regional power. It's a major global power now. Its army is not destroyed. It has a stockpile of ballistic missiles and Shahed drones more than when the war started, in my view. That's just the reality of the situation. And you could have CENTCOM say, claim we control the Strait of Hormuz.

We don't.

We don't control the Strait of Hormuz. What should happen, the Trump regime should remove all of its— remove the remaining aircraft carrier and just get out. And then if Iran doesn't allow tankers through the Strait of Hormuz once the US leaves, then what the US can do is try to marshal an international alliance. Remember, we do that, you know, and then— And then Actually go in with allies and go in with the coalition. But right now, this ain't working. And by the way, if you just look at Trump's whole life, this is how he behaves. And he's just kind of frozen there, and it's just loser behavior. It's like, what are you even doing? You're just gonna lie. The whole thing now is just, it's about to wrap up, it's about to wrap up, their economy is about to collapse, they're about to be destroyed, they're going to be a deal any day, there's going to be a deal. tomorrow, there's gonna be a deal tomorrow. None of that's happening. None of that's true. Iran knows the situation, and they're escalating and escalating and escalating, and they're gonna continue to do this because also the more the Trump regime also tries to block any type of food or medicine or supplies from getting into Iran, Iran's not motivated to do a deal.

They're motivated to escalate when the Trump regime does that. So that's where we're at now. We'll keep you posted every step of the way. Let me know what you think. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 7 million subscribers. Get your copy of WTF America. Get the ebook, get the hardcover book or the audio. Thanks for watching.

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