Ben Meiselas reports on escalating tensions between the United States and Iran after Tehran warned that any strike would bring an immediate and geographically unlimited response. The episode covers statements from Iranian officials, including remarks from a top adviser to Ayatollah Mojtaba Khomeini and an interview with Iran's foreign minister on regional diplomacy, along with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's reported push for escalation.
Meiselas also examines reports of U.S. military deployments, air defenses around Mar-a-Lago, Trump's recent threats, and a former general's testimony on homeland drone defenses. Listeners will hear the host's critical framing of these developments and the competing claims each side makes.
In this episode Ben Meiselas
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Donald Trump is walking right into a fatal trap with catastrophic escalation in Iran that Netanyahu is walking him into. Iran's top leaders are saying, "Don't test us if you strike, we are going to unleash hell in the region." And Iran has been releasing videos to show what its underground ballistic missile, cruise missile, and drone capabilities actually look like. A secret phone call was held between Donald Trump and Netanyahu during this call.
Netanyahu is pushing Donald Trump to attack Pickax Mountain in Iran, where Netanyahu claims that Iran is developing nuclear weapons. Iran denies it's developing nuclear weapons, although we increasingly hear from top Iranian officials saying, "We should probably get nuclear weapons because that's the only way to deter the Trump regime and Netanyahu regime aggression." And so the trap that Netanyahu is also trying to walk Donald Trump into: "The moment you strike Pickax Mountain, then Iran is going to respond right away and strike all of the regional targets that it's already identified regarding U.S.
assets in the region and any remaining U.S. bases, which will create an all-out war situation." Now, Netanyahu's power is very quickly eroding. We had previously reported here on the MeidasTouch Network that Gadi Eisencott, the main opposition leader in Israel, is forming a government right now with the Arab bloc in Israel after the elections that took place last week. That would actually remove Netanyahu as prime minister. Gadi Eisencott would become the new prime minister.
Netanyahu is terrified as there will be the criminal prosecution of him. There will be lots of investigations into him. So this is him clinging on to power. He knows that Donald Trump is about to get wiped out with the MAGA Republicans after the elections in less than 48 hours, folks. And so Netanyahu and Donald Trump, two very desperate, sick genocidal maniacs, are desperately trying to escalate this catastrophic war. The Trump regime has now moved 13 U.S.
Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft in Israel's airports in anticipation of this major escalation. The Trump regime also moved some of the remaining interceptors and interceptor systems here in the United States to Israel. That could have been used by Ukraine, or that could have been used here in the United States. But nope, Netanyahu got that. Well, Netanyahu already has the Iron Dome. But if you take a look at what's going on in Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump is preparing for this escalation to protect himself while we, the American people, don't actually have the protection when there is this massive escalation.
He put all of these Avenger surface-to-air missiles all around Mar-a-Lago to protect himself from drones and ballistics when the United States coastline and other areas in the United States are actually not protected. So let me just show you over here what Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago compound looks like with all these surface-to-air missiles. It should be noted that these same trucks also follow him around when he's golfing on the taxpayer dime. What a freaking pathetic lunatic he is.
Let's just see what that looks like. Let's play it. Now, Donald Trump, during a speech yesterday, also said that, you know, "Maybe I'm going to do this the easy way.
Maybe I'm going to do it the hard way. You know, I'm being nice right now," he said. "I want to try to save as many lives as I can, but at some point, we're going to have to give them the hammer," is what Donald Trump says. "We're going to have to give them the hammer." What the hell? Who talks like this, you freaking lunatic? Here, play this clip.
Look at these words. I have a chart. Vietnam, 21 years, thousands and thousands of people killed. Hundreds of thousands of people killed. Afghanistan, years and years. And we never fight to win. We don't fight to win. We fight to die. I don't know what we do to these stupid, stupid presidents. But Afghanistan, we could have won that. I could have won that war in three weeks. I could have won the Vietnam War in a week. You know, they drop whatever the hell that red crap is that they drop to keep dropping it in the forest.
Agent Orange, even though it's red. Agent Orange, they drop it in the forest for years and years and years. Instead of going after Ho Chi Minh City and the different places, I would have won that war in one week. I would have won the war in Afghanistan in a very short period of time. And the only reason I want to not finish with Iran is I want to be nice. I want to try and save all those lives if I can. And they're sitting there with a very bad... But at some point, we're going to have to give them the hammer.
Most of it's gone. They're shipped.
Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirate President MBZ's top advisor, Anwar Gargash, is absolutely terrified of what Iran's retaliation is going to look like. Here, you'll hear him. I mean, you can actually hear the fear in his voice as he says, "We really don't want another round of escalation. We won't be able to deal with this." Here, play this clip.
From the perspective of the UAE, and I would also say Gulf countries, we don't really want to see another round of confrontation in the region. We want to see a diplomatic and political resolution of this crisis, protracted crisis.
Now, here's what Donald Trump said about his phone call with Netanyahu. Let's play it over here.
We replaced the grass. The whole lawn we had to replace. They burned it out with acid. Yeah.
Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday. Can you tell us anything about that conversation?
No, just had a very good talk with him. We had a very good talk.
Did you talk to Iran with him?
Excuse me?
Did you discuss with Iran?
I did. Yeah, I did.
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If not, they'll help you fix it. Your Medicare plan shouldn't be the thing standing between you and your best possible life. Call Chapter today at 82 Medicare. That's 82 Medicare. Now, what are they saying in Iran right now? Well, the top advisor to Ayatollah Mojtaba Khomeini, Mohsen Razai, said, "If we do not punish Trump and the U.S., tomorrow other countries will think that attacking Iran carries no consequence.
If the enemy makes any new mistake, it will face devastating blows and a defense that will be a source of national pride. If war breaks out, Iran's response will be decisive. We will break America's horns and deprive it of the ability to defend itself." Mohsen Razai, the top advisor to Ayatollah Mojtaba Khomeini, also says, "During recent meetings with Iranian officials, representatives of regional countries discussed future arrangements and actually adopted firm positions against Israel. Officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan explicitly warned of Israel's intention to expand the scope of its aggression to other Muslim countries as well."
Now, these statements by Mohsen Razai also come after Ayatollah Mojtaba Khomeini put out an order essentially saying that if the United States strikes anywhere in Iran materially, like Pickax Mountain, they have a response that is overwhelming and that is not geographically limited. And just you have the order that the moment the U.S. strikes, strike everything in the region. Now, Donald Trump continues to claim that Iran doesn't have a military, that it doesn't have weapons, that it doesn't have this.
It does. It has a massive arsenal of ballistic missiles. It has a massive arsenal of cruise missiles. It has a massive arsenal of drones. Those Shahed-style drones have now been upgraded significantly, even since the last major escalation. Now, is the Iranian military anywhere near as strong as the United States military? Of course it isn't. But we have to also understand how modern warfare is actually fought. You don't need massive aircraft carriers or these gigantic weapon systems.
These Shahed drones, these Nimble cruise missile and ballistic missiles, that's really all you need. And Iran has perfected those designs. And now the ability to actually use these and use them in a way that U.S. interceptors, which have dwindled, and even if they haven't dwindled, which by the way, they have, the interceptors struggled to do some of the things that these Iranian ballistics do. Like they can carry these cluster munitions, which in the middle of the air can kind of spread out the various kind of the drones.
And so therefore, you know, it's hard to actually strike a specific ballistic missile or it's hard to strike any of the kind of fallout from the ballistic missiles. In addition to what Mohsen Razai had to say, Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, gave a long interview with Al Jazeera, about a 50-minute interview with Al Jazeera. I'll give you what some of the main points were. He talks about how the following. He says, "Three countries in the region signed the Mecca Agreement together: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey.
But they did not visit Tehran as members of that agreement." Remember last week there was a meeting of those countries and Iran. "They visited as three major regional countries seeking consultation with another major country. I believe this was a very good beginning. Their approach was extremely positive and constructive. We agreed to continue these talks at different levels among the four countries." So while the Trump regime and Netanyahu regime are threatening this massive escalation, behind the scenes, Iran is talking to these regional countries and regional powers about a new security structure to put in place as well.
Iran's foreign minister, Araghchi, says, "We did not attack our friends or friendly countries. We attacked American bases that unfortunately are located in their territory. Unfortunately, I must say that some countries in the region even encourage the Americans to attack Iran. I hope those countries have also learned their lesson." He's specifically referring to UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, perhaps even Kuwait and Jordan. "I hope those countries have learned their lessons. The best approach is for them to convince their American friends not to start another war.
No one should expect that if we are attacked, we will simply sit and watch without doing anything." Iran's foreign minister, Araghchi, then addresses the letter that J.D. Vance sent to Mohsen Razai, the top advisor to Ayatollah Mojtaba Khomeini. And Araghchi says, "Mr. Razai himself can speak about Vance's message, but the message seeks to keep the path of dialogue open, continue talks between the two countries, and reach a peaceful settlement of the existing differences. We have carefully studied the message.
Dr. Razai has examined it extensively, and it has also been discussed in high-level meetings. We will determine our policy accordingly. If Mr. Vance sent a message to Mr. Razai, he should be asked why. If their intention was to create divisions, that would be another mistake. Added to the United States' long series of mistakes." And finally, regarding the economic blockade on Iran, Araghchi says, "Look, I don't deny the economic pressure, but we will not surrender because of economic pressure.
We will not raise our hands and surrender. We will not sell our dignity because of economic pressure, and we will not sacrifice our independence." He goes on to say, "In international relations, there are no 100% guarantees. The only guarantee is the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Our strength is the guarantee of any agreement." Meanwhile, Iran struck at least two tankers yesterday in and around the Strait of Hormuz and another tanker closer to the east coast of Saudi Arabia by the Ras Al Qadafi area.
A tanker traveling southeast through the Arabian Gulf, Persian Gulf, has been struck by two unknown projectiles. Then earlier in the day, Iran's navy released footage of two additional tankers that were struck in the Strait of Hormuz. Now, while Donald Trump has surrounded Mar-a-Lago with surface-to-air missiles, it should be noted that, as I said at the outset, the U.S. is actually not protected. One of the former, one of the top generals responsible for the security of the homeland recently spoke at a defense conference.
And you'll hear right here, you know, this top general saying that the U.S. is not prepared if there were drone strikes or if there were any significant attack on the United States. "The U.S. under the Trump regime is not prepared." This is what the general himself is saying. Here, play this clip right here.
The next threat to the homeland can be a swarm of inexpensive drones launched from inside our own borders rather than a missile approaching from thousands of miles away. Does NORAD have the sensor coverage, authorities, and decision speed necessary to respond?
No.
And could you comment on that and on the gap today, the biggest gap you see?
Well, I mean, we don't. We don't have the sensors. And we're not, you know, depending on where that swarm is going to attack depends on whether we have any sensors at all. And so, and also whether we've got any factors to get after that problem. So, you know, we are ill-equipped right now to handle something like that. And obviously that is, we've seen it used, we're seeing it used on a daily basis around the world.
And we've got to figure out how to mitigate that threat. But we're not there yet.
We also heard statements from Iranian Army spokesperson, General Mohammad Akhraminian. "Any renewed U.S. aggression will face immediate, more devastating responses. American forces, facilities, and interests could be targeted wherever reachable, including outside West Asia." And then IRGC spokesperson, General Hassan Mohabi, said, "Iran has established a vast operational battlefield with no geographic limits. The U.S. has failed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, despite possessing the world's largest navy, claimed that Iran brought down American F-35 jet during the war, and declared Washington cannot even defend itself, let alone its allies."
So that's the state of play right now. We'll keep you posted every step of the way here on the MeidasTouch network. Let me know what you think. Get a copy of WTF America the way out of this hell and back to democracy. Appreciate y'all so much.
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MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Trump’s reckless approach to Iran as Tehran warns that any strike or miscalculation will trigger an immediate, catastrophic response without geographic limits. Meiselas breaks down Iran’s warnings, Netanyahu’s push for escalation, and the deadly choices Trump is making.
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