Latest / The Ben Ferguson Podcast / "We Don’t Negotiate—We Rescue" One of the MOST Daring Ops in US History

Transcript

"We Don’t Negotiate—We Rescue" One of the MOST Daring Ops in US History · The Ben Ferguson Podcast

0:00
Speaker 1: Forty eight hours in hell in America. Thank Goodness brought
0:04
Speaker 1: home that second pilot. This was truly an incredible story.
0:09
Speaker 1: It started with a shootdown of a F fifteen to
0:12
Speaker 1: E Strike Eagle. It was flying a combat mission over Iran,
0:17
Speaker 1: and then suddenly it was hit. The jet then goes down.
0:21
Speaker 1: Both crew members, we learned ejected. Now think about this.
0:25
Speaker 1: They are no longer pilots in the sky. They are
0:27
Speaker 1: two Americans on the ground inside of Iran, and immediately
0:32
Speaker 1: they become the most important targets for the Iranian military,
0:37
Speaker 1: the IRGC, and any other radical group that would love
0:41
Speaker 1: to get their hands on an American. They are the target.
0:46
Speaker 1: Iranian forces then mobilize, we learned. The IRGC began sweeping
0:51
Speaker 1: the area. They then asked for local militias to join
0:55
Speaker 1: the hunt. Yes, the radicals, and there are even reports
0:59
Speaker 1: of a bounty it was placed on their heads of
1:01
Speaker 1: up to sixty thousand American dollars. That is a lot
1:05
Speaker 1: of money, by the way, in Iran. All this happening instantly.
1:10
Speaker 1: We learned about the first rescue. It was fast, it
1:14
Speaker 1: was violent, it was under fire. The first pilot didn't
1:17
Speaker 1: stay hidden long. The US locked unto his location using
1:21
Speaker 1: survival beacons, surveillance aircraft, and real time battlefield intelligence, and
1:27
Speaker 1: within hours rescue helicopters were inbound. But the reality was this,
1:32
Speaker 1: They were flying into hostile territory and Iran knew that
1:35
Speaker 1: America was going to come for our pilots. They had
1:40
Speaker 1: to take fire on the way in. Shots were hitting
1:43
Speaker 1: the aircraft and crew members we've now learned were wounded,
1:46
Speaker 1: and they still did not turn around. Not only did
1:49
Speaker 1: they keep going, but they landed, they grabbed the pilot,
1:52
Speaker 1: and they got out. Total time, we've now learned it's
1:56
Speaker 1: about seven hours. That alone is truly remarkable. But the
2:01
Speaker 1: sad part was, or the hard part was, that was
2:03
Speaker 1: just only half of the mission. The second airman was
2:07
Speaker 1: lost in the mountains. That second crew member gone. He
2:11
Speaker 1: disappeared into the Zagros Mountains, one of the harshest environments
2:15
Speaker 1: in the region, and for nearly two days he was
2:19
Speaker 1: all alone. He was surviving the hunt. Enemy patrols, we
2:24
Speaker 1: now have learned, we're sweeping the terrain around him, Drones
2:27
Speaker 1: were overhead, armed groups were searching ridges by ridge, and
2:32
Speaker 1: the American airmen was hiding, moving carefully avoiding capture, surviving
2:38
Speaker 1: with almost nothing but a side arm. At one point,
2:42
Speaker 1: reports indicated he had little more than a side arm
2:44
Speaker 1: and survival training. That's it, because well at forty eight hour,
2:49
Speaker 1: survival story truly unfolding behind enemy lines. And that's when
2:54
Speaker 1: America responded with full force. The US doesn't just send
2:58
Speaker 1: a rescue team, It launched a scale recovery operation. What
3:02
Speaker 1: are we talking about here? We've now learned that the
3:05
Speaker 1: President authorized Seal Team six hundreds of Special Operations personnel,
3:11
Speaker 1: armed drones flying constant overwatch strike aircraft ready to engage
3:16
Speaker 1: intelligence assets, tracking every moment on the ground. This was
3:20
Speaker 1: no longer just a rescue This is a controlled battlefield
3:24
Speaker 1: inside of Iran. The deception also bought time. We've learned
3:29
Speaker 1: this is probably what the movie One Day will probably
3:32
Speaker 1: be all about. While all of this was happening, US
3:36
Speaker 1: intelligence went to work. We now have learned that the
3:39
Speaker 1: CIA spread false information suggesting the pilot had already been recovered.
3:45
Speaker 1: Iranian forces react to this misinformation. They then moved in
3:49
Speaker 1: the wrong direction, and that confusion it lightly kept the
3:53
Speaker 1: airmen alive long enough for rescue forces to actually reach him.
3:57
Speaker 1: There was firepower from above as you US teams closed
4:01
Speaker 1: in a Ranian unit started converging. That's when American air
4:05
Speaker 1: power stepped in. Drones began targeting hostile movements on the ground,
4:11
Speaker 1: aircraft strike approaching convoys. The US essentially created a protective
4:16
Speaker 1: bubble around the rescue zone around the second pilot. Now,
4:21
Speaker 1: all that was happening in real time, in real combat,
4:25
Speaker 1: and then the final moment came and it was almost
4:28
Speaker 1: a near disaster when they found him. The second airman
4:31
Speaker 1: was alive, but injured. He was still in the fight.
4:35
Speaker 1: Extraction began, and then another problem. One of the aircraft
4:39
Speaker 1: on the ground malfunction. Now imagine the stakes. You're an
4:44
Speaker 1: enemy territory, You've got seconds and your ride is literally compromised.
4:49
Speaker 1: So what do they do. They destroyed the aircraft so
4:52
Speaker 1: it couldn't fall into enemy hands. The backup assets were
4:55
Speaker 1: then brought in, the perimeter was held, and finally they
4:59
Speaker 1: lifted all. Both men are now out of the country.
5:03
Speaker 1: That is what happened. One pilot rescued within hours under fire.
5:08
Speaker 1: The second rescued nearly two days after evading the enemy
5:13
Speaker 1: in Iran. US forces operated inside of Iran, engaged the
5:17
Speaker 1: elements and still got out clean. And that is when
5:21
Speaker 1: it was finally over. President Trump sang it very simply,
5:26
Speaker 1: we got him now. This operation also sends a clear
5:30
Speaker 1: message if you're an American in danger, as long as
5:34
Speaker 1: President Trump is in charge, We're coming, no matter where
5:37
Speaker 1: you are, no matter how hostile the environment, no matter
5:40
Speaker 1: who is hunting you. After forty eight hours, one American
5:46
Speaker 1: was hunted in the mountains of Iran. But he wasn't
5:48
Speaker 1: alone because behind him was the full weight of the
5:52
Speaker 1: United States military and all of our assets. And in
5:56
Speaker 1: the end, the enemy didn't get him. We did. Once again,
6:00
Speaker 1: America proved we don't leave our people behind. I want
6:05
Speaker 1: to take a moment and talk to you about a
6:07
Speaker 1: man named Phineas who has a child survived the Holocaust.
6:12
Speaker 1: Phineas survived because Christians hid him from the Nazis, risking
6:17
Speaker 1: everything to save his life. Today, he is in his eighties,
6:22
Speaker 1: He can no longer stand on his own or leave
6:25
Speaker 1: his home to receive medical care, and when the siren
6:28
Speaker 1: sounds and the missiles fall, he doesn't have time or
6:31
Speaker 1: the strength to reach safety. But once again Christians are
6:36
Speaker 1: helping save his life. Through the International Fellowship of Christians
6:39
Speaker 1: and Jews, a mobile clinic brings doctors and medicine right
6:44
Speaker 1: inside of his home, providing care he wouldn't receive, especially
6:48
Speaker 1: in wartime. Christians saved my life during the Holocaust, he said,
6:53
Speaker 1: and now again they're helping me. So as Israel's Holocaust
6:58
Speaker 1: Remembrance Day approaches, owner survivors like phineas not just with
7:02
Speaker 1: words but with action. Give forty five dollars right now
7:07
Speaker 1: and you can rush life saving essentials to the vulnerable
7:10
Speaker 1: in Israel under fire eight and eight four eight eight
7:14
Speaker 1: IFCJ that's eight eight eight four eight eight if CJ,
7:19
Speaker 1: Or go online to IFCJ dot org. That's if CJ
7:25
Speaker 1: dot org. Once again, America proved we don't leave our
7:30
Speaker 1: people behind. As it was announced on TV at two
7:34
Speaker 1: three in the morning. This is how CNN put it,
7:38
Speaker 1: telling the world that we got him.
7:40
Speaker 2: Just tell me what is the latest and what more
7:42
Speaker 2: are US officials saying about how this rescue mission actually unfolded?
7:47
Speaker 3: Well, Ben, a second US official confirmed to me a
7:49
Speaker 3: short time ago that the second crew member has indeed
7:52
Speaker 3: been rescued, saying that this mission has been completed. We
7:55
Speaker 3: are pressing officials now at the Pentagon, at sent Common
7:59
Speaker 3: elsewhere as to what the details of this rescue mission
8:02
Speaker 3: were whether there was a firefighter involved, as some outlets
8:05
Speaker 3: are reporting that there was one. We're trying to get
8:07
Speaker 3: some details on that, pressing them during these overnight hours
8:10
Speaker 3: on that. But as you mentioned, some of the best
8:13
Speaker 3: detail that we have at this very moment comes from
8:15
Speaker 3: the President of the United States himself, Donald Trump, posting
8:18
Speaker 3: on truth Social a couple of additional details about the
8:21
Speaker 3: rescue mission, the President saying, quote, this brave warrior was
8:24
Speaker 3: behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being
8:29
Speaker 3: hunted down by our enemies who were getting closer and closer.
8:32
Speaker 4: By the hour.
8:33
Speaker 3: The President said that this crew member was never truly
8:37
Speaker 3: alone because his commander in Chief, Secretary of War, Chairman
8:41
Speaker 3: of the Joint Chiefs of STEPH, and fellow warfighters were
8:44
Speaker 3: monitoring his location twenty four hour day and diligently planning
8:47
Speaker 3: for his rescue. The President also said that, at his direction,
8:51
Speaker 3: the US military sent dozens of aircraft armed with what
8:54
Speaker 3: the President called the most lethal weapons in the world
8:57
Speaker 3: to retrieve this crew member. As Ben mentioned, the President
9:00
Speaker 3: saying that this crew member sustained injuries but will be fine.
9:05
Speaker 3: You know, this is the first time that a manned
9:09
Speaker 3: US aircraft has been shot down in Iran during this conflict.
9:13
Speaker 3: Near the beginning of the war, three fifteen's were mistakenly
9:17
Speaker 3: shot down by Kuwaiti defense forces, this being the first
9:20
Speaker 3: time that a manned US aircraft was shot down in
9:22
Speaker 3: Iran by hostile fire. We can also tell you, though,
9:26
Speaker 3: that there was a second incident on Friday where a
9:30
Speaker 3: US A ten Thunderbolt two plane also known as a
9:33
Speaker 3: war Hog, was struck by Iran. That plane did not
9:37
Speaker 3: go down inside Iran. The pilot, according to an official
9:41
Speaker 3: familiar with the matter, was able to guide the plane
9:44
Speaker 3: out of Iranian airspace and eject from the plane. Then,
9:48
Speaker 3: so the second second time that a US warplane was
9:52
Speaker 3: hit in about a twenty four hour span on Friday,
9:54
Speaker 3: and good news to report that that second airman has
9:57
Speaker 3: been rescued in Iran.
10:00
Speaker 1: This is what makes America difference, folks. Two of our
10:03
Speaker 1: own go down behind enemy lines, hunted out number deep
10:07
Speaker 1: inside hostile territory, and we didn't hesitate, We go in,
10:11
Speaker 1: we fought through it, and we brought him home. That
10:14
Speaker 1: strength that is resolved. That's the United States of America
10:18
Speaker 1: at its absolute best. So you can celebrate the two
10:22
Speaker 1: American airmen are alive because this country keeps its word.
10:27
Speaker 1: And let this be remembered as one of those days
10:29
Speaker 1: in history when America showed the world we never leave
10:32
Speaker 1: our people behind. God bless our men and women in uniform,
10:36
Speaker 1: and most importantly, God blessed the President United States of
10:39
Speaker 1: America for having the cojones to do this. There is
10:44
Speaker 1: also something else that's happening, the President making it pretty
10:48
Speaker 1: darn clear there's no safe havens in this country as
10:53
Speaker 1: the US is cracking down on Iranian elite family members.
10:58
Speaker 1: You heard that right. There's a new message coming out
11:01
Speaker 1: of Washington right now, and it's aimed directly at the
11:03
Speaker 1: ruling class in Iran. If you're connected to power in Tehran,
11:08
Speaker 1: you don't get to enjoy the benefits of life in
11:10
Speaker 1: the United States. Following the rising tensions and ongoing conflict
11:16
Speaker 1: with the regime, the administration has began targeting something that
11:19
Speaker 1: rarely gets talked about publicly, the family members the high
11:23
Speaker 1: ranking and Ranian officials living, studying, and working inside the US. Now,
11:28
Speaker 1: these aren't just random individuals. We're talking about relatives tied
11:33
Speaker 1: to senior government leaders, powerful insiders within Iran's political system
11:38
Speaker 1: individuals directly connected the regime's inner circle, and for years
11:42
Speaker 1: critics have argued that there's been a well ridiculous loophole.
11:48
Speaker 1: While Iran's leadership chance death to America, some of their
11:51
Speaker 1: own family members have quietly benefited from American freedoms. US
11:57
Speaker 1: officials are now taking action because of the presence. Leadership
12:02
Speaker 1: visas are being revoked, immigration statuses are being reviewed, Removal
12:08
Speaker 1: proceedings are already happening in certain cases. The message is simple.
12:12
Speaker 1: If you're part of a regime that is actively hostile
12:15
Speaker 1: to the United States, you don't get to live, study,
12:18
Speaker 1: or build a future here while the same regime threatens America. Now,
12:23
Speaker 1: the strategy behind this is simple. This isn't just about
12:26
Speaker 1: immigration enforcement. It's about pressure. Because here's the reality. Many
12:31
Speaker 1: of Iran's elites have long maintained a two track lifestyle,
12:36
Speaker 1: power and influence inside of Iran while they take their
12:40
Speaker 1: own opportunities and comforts for their families abroad. By targeting
12:45
Speaker 1: that second track, the US is hitting something very important
12:49
Speaker 1: and very personal for the leadership in Iran. This isn't
12:54
Speaker 1: just policy pressure, It's now part of family pressure. Supporters
12:59
Speaker 1: of the move have made it clear why this works.
13:02
Speaker 1: It closed a loophole that has existed for years. It's
13:06
Speaker 1: about fairness. Americans don't get to live freely in Iran.
13:10
Speaker 1: It's also about national security, limiting access for those tied
13:15
Speaker 1: to the hostile regimes. And it's also about accountability, making
13:20
Speaker 1: sure the ruling class feels the consequences of the actions
13:25
Speaker 1: of their own family. This action by the United States
13:29
Speaker 1: comes as tensions remain extremely high between the US and Iran,
13:33
Speaker 1: especially following recent military operations, and while the policy doesn't
13:38
Speaker 1: target every day Iranian citizens, it does draw a clear
13:41
Speaker 1: line when it comes to those connected to power. Let
13:45
Speaker 1: me tell you one example of just one person that
13:49
Speaker 1: has been affected by this, and they should have been
13:52
Speaker 1: the daughter of one of Iran's regimes most powerful officials.
13:57
Speaker 1: Has left the United States. Has been from re entering
14:01
Speaker 1: after being fired from the medical facility Atlanta, Georgia's Emery University.
14:07
Speaker 1: The doctor, whose father served as the secretary of Iran's
14:11
Speaker 1: Supreme National Security Council before being killed in a US
14:16
Speaker 1: air strike, was removed from her post as an assistant
14:19
Speaker 1: professor at the university following a public backclash triggered by
14:23
Speaker 1: the brutal regime's mass murder of protesters. The California Post
14:28
Speaker 1: reports she and her husband are no longer in the
14:31
Speaker 1: country and have been barred from re entry. Officials said
14:35
Speaker 1: both were removed as part of a hardline crackdown on
14:39
Speaker 1: direct individuals link to anti American regimes. Her father was
14:44
Speaker 1: considered a close confidant of the former Supreme Leader the
14:48
Speaker 1: Iatola Koamani, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike with
14:53
Speaker 1: many other top members of the regime as they met
14:55
Speaker 1: the morning of February the twenty eighth. Now, what's all
15:00
Speaker 1: what's so interesting is that her own father was briefly
15:03
Speaker 1: seen as a de facto leader of Iran as Operation
15:06
Speaker 1: Epic Fury unfolded. The New York Times reported at the time.
15:11
Speaker 1: His tenure did not last long. Another Israeli airstrike on
15:15
Speaker 1: March seventeen took him out, also killing the doctor's brother
15:19
Speaker 1: as well. Now, the federal government revoked the doctor and
15:22
Speaker 1: her husband's legal status earlier this month as part of
15:25
Speaker 1: a broad crackdown on foreign nationals with ties to the
15:29
Speaker 1: Iranian leadership, as well as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard the IRGC,
15:34
Speaker 1: which has been named a terrorist organization by the US
15:37
Speaker 1: State Department Now. The backlash in January include a petition
15:41
Speaker 1: signed by more than one hundred thousand people and in
15:44
Speaker 1: demonstration outside an Emory University Medical Center, with protesters waving
15:49
Speaker 1: signs that declared statements such as did you know Iran
15:53
Speaker 1: tear Chief's daughter is your co worker? The Winship Cancer
15:57
Speaker 1: Institute is highlighted as one of the Universe's gems, known
16:02
Speaker 1: for its research into the disease and its development of
16:04
Speaker 1: cutting edge cancer treatments for its patients. Momentum for the
16:08
Speaker 1: physicians ouster was amplified when Representative Buddy Carter, a Republican
16:14
Speaker 1: from Georgia, wrote to Emory and the Georgia Medical Board
16:18
Speaker 1: demanding that the individual be fired and stripped of her
16:21
Speaker 1: medical license. The Georgia congressman argued the country's institution should
16:26
Speaker 1: not serve as a safe harbor for individuals tied to
16:31
Speaker 1: hostile regimes that, according to the Post, and that the
16:34
Speaker 1: physician was a national security risk as well. The doctor
16:38
Speaker 1: reported received legal status with a green card in twenty
16:41
Speaker 1: twenty one. Yeah you guessed it. Under President Joe Biden's administration.
16:47
Speaker 1: In January, well before the military operation on Iran. The
16:51
Speaker 1: US Treasury Department levied sanctions against her father for being
16:55
Speaker 1: one of the first Iranian leaders to call for violence
16:59
Speaker 1: in response to the legitimate demands of the Iranian people.
17:03
Speaker 1: The department sanctioned eighteen other officials, and it charged we're
17:08
Speaker 1: laundering petroleum money as part of a shadow banking network
17:12
Speaker 1: instead of using it to benefit the Iranian people. Now,
17:15
Speaker 1: while his daughter was living the American dream, treating patients
17:19
Speaker 1: and researching developmental therapeutics from Atlanta, the woman was allegedly
17:25
Speaker 1: terrorizing the people or excuse me, I should say her
17:28
Speaker 1: father was terrorizing the people of Tehran and labeling the
17:33
Speaker 1: US the Great Satan. Now, that's just one example of
17:39
Speaker 1: what we are now dealing with. It's frustrating as all
17:43
Speaker 1: get out. Why would we allow these types of leaders
17:47
Speaker 1: families to live the American dream. Well, those days are over.
17:52
Speaker 1: The President making it clear if you stand with the
17:55
Speaker 1: regime that threatens America, don't expect benefits from America. And
18:00
Speaker 1: if you're trying to kill Americans as part of that regime,
18:03
Speaker 1: guess what, We're not going to allow your family to
18:06
Speaker 1: be safe inside the United States of America either, And
18:11
Speaker 1: that may be the most important part of this entire story.
18:15
Speaker 1: The president now looking at all different ways that he
18:18
Speaker 1: can do anything in his power to hold the regime
18:23
Speaker 1: accountable for their actions. We're also being told the presidents
18:27
Speaker 1: looking at other family members as well, that they can
18:30
Speaker 1: start asking even more questions about and looking into getting
18:34
Speaker 1: rid of more of these family members that are inside
18:37
Speaker 1: the United States of America, that are family members of
18:41
Speaker 1: those that are hostile to the United States of America. Now,
18:44
Speaker 1: why did it take so long? As the last question
18:46
Speaker 1: that many people are asking, why did it take us
18:50
Speaker 1: doing this finally at this point, and why did it
18:53
Speaker 1: happen much sooner? They're all, by the way, great questions.
18:58
Speaker 1: I don't know. Many Americans are extremely frustrated over this,
19:02
Speaker 1: as they should be. Why were we allowing regime leader
19:07
Speaker 1: kids to come in this country? You can also ask that,
19:10
Speaker 1: by the way, about many of the al Qaeda leaders
19:12
Speaker 1: back in the day, They were allowed in the United
19:14
Speaker 1: States America to study, We educated them, we gave them
19:17
Speaker 1: a safe place, and then they went back and they
19:20
Speaker 1: declared war on us. Why are we allowing so many
19:23
Speaker 1: people that hate us into America? That's a bigger question.
19:28
Speaker 1: Today's cover by the way of the California Post says
19:33
Speaker 1: busted in Land of Satan, Ice snabs Iran's big kin
19:39
Speaker 1: living in la a social media influencer. Yes, a social
19:44
Speaker 1: media influencer living her best life in America while her
19:49
Speaker 1: family is killing innocent people in Iran. That is what
19:53
Speaker 1: the story is really all about. One eight hundred four
19:57
Speaker 1: seven four nine seven three Z two one eight hundred
20:01
Speaker 1: four to seven nine to seven three two Patriotmonbo dot
20:06
Speaker 1: com phone lines are open. We also are being told
20:10
Speaker 1: that there's a very good chance we're gonna hear from
20:13
Speaker 1: some of the people involved in the rescue operation in
20:16
Speaker 1: Iran that we're being toln happen in the next few days.
20:20
Speaker 1: As the President put it, we got him. The US
20:23
Speaker 1: rescued that second f fifteen airmen in Iran, all personnel
20:27
Speaker 1: the White House confirming are safe. Poete is saying it
20:30
Speaker 1: this way. God bless America, God bless our troops, and
20:35
Speaker 1: happy Easter to all. That is the message from the
20:40
Speaker 1: President of the United States of America tonight. I couldn't
20:43
Speaker 1: agree with him more on this, and it'll be interesting
20:46
Speaker 1: to see what we hear moving forward. We also have
20:49
Speaker 1: found out, according to Senior Administration officials prior to locating
20:54
Speaker 1: the weapons system's officer in the US militaries daring rescue,
20:58
Speaker 1: the CIA launch to decept campaign spreading word inside Iran.
21:03
Speaker 1: The US force had already found him and we're moving
21:05
Speaker 1: him on the ground for exfiltration out of the country.
21:10
Speaker 1: We've learned now that was a lie and it probably
21:15
Speaker 1: saved his life. It's incredible, isn't it. God bless America.
21:22
Speaker 1: Over the last thirty days, the United States and Israel
21:25
Speaker 1: have carried out more than eleven thousand strikes against Iran
21:29
Speaker 1: military infrastructure. We're now learning from the White House translation,
21:33
Speaker 1: this mission the President is doing is working. The strikes
21:38
Speaker 1: have been against Iran's military infrastructure that include missile systems,
21:43
Speaker 1: naval assets, weapons depots, and systemically dismantling the regime's ability
21:49
Speaker 1: to threaten the region and more importantly, threaten US. The
21:52
Speaker 1: US and now President Trump is signaling very clearly that
21:58
Speaker 1: this war is nearing its end. He said this directly,
22:02
Speaker 1: This won't last much longer. Why because Iran has been,
22:06
Speaker 1: in his words, significantly debilitated. Their military capability has been crippled,
22:13
Speaker 1: their ability to launch sustained attacks has been severely reduced
22:17
Speaker 1: their leverage gone and now because of the overwhelming show
22:22
Speaker 1: of force, something else is happening behind the scenes that
22:25
Speaker 1: matters just as much as the bombs and the strikes.
22:28
Speaker 1: Iran is really feeling the pressure. The White House is
22:32
Speaker 1: now saying negotiations are progressing quickly. That is something that
22:37
Speaker 1: the White House has said that the media can't believe,
22:40
Speaker 1: and Democrats don't want you to believe because they want
22:44
Speaker 1: this to be a quagmire. They want this to be
22:46
Speaker 1: a never ending war. They want to use it politically
22:49
Speaker 1: to hurt President Donald Trump. Now, after weeks of decisive
22:53
Speaker 1: military action, the regime, the chance death to America is
22:57
Speaker 1: now signaling they may be willing to come to the tape.
23:00
Speaker 1: That doesn't happen, by the way, by accident, and it
23:03
Speaker 1: doesn't happen by weakness from President Trump either. This happens
23:07
Speaker 1: because Donald Trump made it clear the United States while
23:10
Speaker 1: he's in charge, leads through strength, not through appeasement or
23:14
Speaker 1: sending pallats of cash like the Obama administration did. And
23:19
Speaker 1: President Trump is also making it clear there is a deadline.
23:23
Speaker 1: I Ran now has until early April to comply, and
23:27
Speaker 1: if they don't, the President has also made it very
23:29
Speaker 1: clear what comes next will be even more devastating. Now
23:34
Speaker 1: let's talk about the strategy a little bit more, because
23:37
Speaker 1: this is where this administration is drawing a very sharp
23:39
Speaker 1: contrast to the past. Number one, they've said they are
23:43
Speaker 1: not in favor of an endless war. And number two,
23:46
Speaker 1: the Trump administration has made it clear this is not
23:49
Speaker 1: nation building. This is decisive action, the White House says,
23:53
Speaker 1: with a clear objective to eliminate the threat, force a resolution,
23:58
Speaker 1: and then get the hell out. In fact, President Trump
24:01
Speaker 1: is already saying that once the job is done, the
24:04
Speaker 1: US can step back and even the Straight of Hormuz,
24:07
Speaker 1: one of the most critical shipping lanes in the world,
24:09
Speaker 1: will stabilize once Iran backs down. That's called understanding leverage,
24:14
Speaker 1: and that's called understanding power as well. Now let's also
24:18
Speaker 1: not forget this. Israel is fully aligned with this strategy.
24:22
Speaker 1: They see this moment for what it is a historic
24:25
Speaker 1: opportunity to eliminate what they've called next essential threat to them,
24:29
Speaker 1: and together the US and Israel now have total air superiority,
24:34
Speaker 1: and Iran's ability to project power is collapsing in real time.
24:39
Speaker 1: Even Israel is starting to put timelines on their own action,
24:43
Speaker 1: saying they believe that they have about two more weeks
24:46
Speaker 1: of strikes and then they will probably end up wrapping
24:50
Speaker 1: things up. Israel even said in another statement today they
24:54
Speaker 1: are prepared for strikes for several weeks to come, but
24:58
Speaker 1: they understand that the window also closing, and this was
25:01
Speaker 1: not about actual invasion, Israeli's military spokesman saying on Tuesday
25:07
Speaker 1: that Israel is prepared to keep operating for several weeks
25:10
Speaker 1: to come. The Prime Minister hinted that the war against
25:14
Speaker 1: Iran was definitely beyond the halfway point, as it has
25:17
Speaker 1: now entered its fifth week. We are prepared to keep
25:20
Speaker 1: operating for weeks to come if need be. We have
25:23
Speaker 1: the targets for that, the munitions for that, demand power
25:26
Speaker 1: for that, and it's up to the leadership to decide,
25:29
Speaker 1: is what was said from Israeli's government. The Israeli Defense
25:33
Speaker 1: Force said on Tuesday that all of it's critical and
25:36
Speaker 1: essential targets in Iran will have been destroyed by Passover,
25:40
Speaker 1: which begins on Wednesday. The IDF to find critical targets
25:45
Speaker 1: as Iranian weapons that directly threaten Israel, including key elements
25:50
Speaker 1: of its nuclear program. While essential quote unquote. Targets are
25:54
Speaker 1: key elements of the Iranian military industrial complex that do
25:59
Speaker 1: not pose and imminent threat by themselves, such as satellite
26:02
Speaker 1: launch facilities. So you add all this together, and critical
26:07
Speaker 1: and essential targets make up about thirty to forty percent
26:11
Speaker 1: of the bombing objectives set by Israeli leadership before the
26:14
Speaker 1: operation began. The IDF said it would be possible to
26:19
Speaker 1: declare victory after eliminating the remaining critical and essential targets,
26:23
Speaker 1: but it would prefer to continue degrading Iran's military industrial
26:27
Speaker 1: complex to weaken the regime. This goal seems consistent with
26:32
Speaker 1: Israel's hint that a few more weeks of airstrikes are
26:35
Speaker 1: obviously being planned. Israeli warplaying struck major raneing and weapons
26:40
Speaker 1: factories in Tehran over the weekend, including plants that manufacture
26:45
Speaker 1: key ballistic missile components and drone engines as well. The
26:50
Speaker 1: IDF said it was also able to destroy several of
26:53
Speaker 1: Iran's temporary command centers, eliminating high ranking officers who were inside,
26:59
Speaker 1: as well as some of Iran's remaining anti air weaponry.
27:03
Speaker 1: On Friday, the IEDF set a massive attack involving over
27:06
Speaker 1: fifty warplanes inflicted severe damage on their heavy water reactor
27:11
Speaker 1: and an uranium enrichment facility that produced yellow cake uranium
27:16
Speaker 1: powder for nuclear fuel Netnahu even said on Newsmax on
27:20
Speaker 1: Monday that the operation in Iran is beyond the halfway
27:24
Speaker 1: point in terms of mission success, although he did not
27:27
Speaker 1: say or wished to put a schedule on the remainder
27:31
Speaker 1: of the war. We've already degraded their missile capabilities, destroyed factories,
27:36
Speaker 1: and eliminated key nuclear scientists, he noted, praising the steady
27:39
Speaker 1: progress of the mission so far.
27:43
Speaker 5: We're into this war just over a month now. You're
27:46
Speaker 5: the war Prime Minister, and I think i'd like to
27:51
Speaker 5: understand what you feel you've achieved Israel in the United
27:55
Speaker 5: States working together so far in this war, and when
27:59
Speaker 5: do you think we might see light at the end
28:01
Speaker 5: of the tunnel mission accomplished.
28:04
Speaker 6: Look, if you remember what happened before the war, Iran
28:06
Speaker 6: was the great bully of the Middle East and the world.
28:09
Speaker 6: It was the prime sponsor of state terrorism across many continents,
28:15
Speaker 6: including in the Western Hemisphere, including by the way with
28:19
Speaker 6: Venezuela and with others, and they killed and named more
28:23
Speaker 6: Americans than any other force in recent decades, thousands and
28:26
Speaker 6: thousands killed and maimed in Afghanistan by Iranian IED's. They
28:31
Speaker 6: bombed your embassies. They tried to kill President Trump twice
28:34
Speaker 6: or so trying to kill them. Most importantly is they
28:39
Speaker 6: chant death to America. They also say death to Israel,
28:42
Speaker 6: but they say America is the great Satan. They're religious
28:46
Speaker 6: zealots and they have to wipe out Western culture led
28:50
Speaker 6: by America, and Israel is considered the little Satan because
28:54
Speaker 6: we're just standing in their way of conquering the Middle East,
28:57
Speaker 6: which is their preliminary step of getting to America and
29:01
Speaker 6: hitting America. So this is a regime that has been
29:04
Speaker 6: targeting America for forty seven years. It's their rezone detroits.
29:09
Speaker 6: The reason for being they're completely ideological fanatics who are
29:15
Speaker 6: not necessarily responsive to the careful calculation of costs and benefit.
29:20
Speaker 6: So they do things that other countries don't do. You
29:23
Speaker 6: have countries that are adversarial to you. But I don't
29:26
Speaker 6: hear North Korea chanting death to America. I don't hear
29:31
Speaker 6: China chanting Both Korea. I don't hear Russia. You know,
29:33
Speaker 6: these are all countries which you have which are adversarial
29:36
Speaker 6: to you. But they're not seized by this fanaticism. But
29:40
Speaker 6: Iran is so. Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons and
29:44
Speaker 6: the means to deliver them to every American city. And
29:46
Speaker 6: this is what this is about. Preventing them from having
29:49
Speaker 6: this intercontinental ballistic missiles with nuclear weapons to tip them,
29:56
Speaker 6: which could threaten the life of every American. That's why
29:59
Speaker 6: President than Trump chose to act to prevent them from
30:02
Speaker 6: doing this.
30:03
Speaker 1: Now, you can obviously hear there from Ben Renette Yahoo
30:06
Speaker 1: that he understands he has a mission that he's trying
30:09
Speaker 1: to accomplish. That mission is a little bit different than
30:11
Speaker 1: the US's mission. It may take a little bit longer
30:14
Speaker 1: for him to be able to do what he needs
30:15
Speaker 1: to do to protect his people, and clearly the President
30:18
Speaker 1: understands that. What's also interesting is what we said earlier
30:21
Speaker 1: today on Fox News Channel. Take a listen to Brian
30:24
Speaker 1: mask He's the Republican from Florida, the House Foreign Affairs Chairman,
30:29
Speaker 1: and this is what he had to say about what's
30:31
Speaker 1: happening not only on Wall Street, but also the price
30:33
Speaker 1: of crude oil and the Strait of Hormuz, as well
30:36
Speaker 1: as Donald Trump's outline for what he's trying to do.
30:39
Speaker 2: So let's bring in now our House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman,
30:42
Speaker 2: Florida Republican Brian mass Welcome to you, sir. First, I
30:46
Speaker 2: want to ask you about the breaking news that seems
30:48
Speaker 2: to be sending markets much much higher at this moment.
30:51
Speaker 2: The Dow up nine hundred and twenty points. It's a
30:54
Speaker 2: big turnaround for where it was earlier today, and it
30:56
Speaker 2: seems to be hinging on this report to report. It's
31:00
Speaker 2: one from the Wall Street Journal, one from the New
31:01
Speaker 2: York Post. First, the Wall Street Journal reporting that President
31:04
Speaker 2: Trump is telling AIDS reportedly that he's willing to end
31:08
Speaker 2: the war without fully reopening the Strait of Horror MUZ.
31:12
Speaker 2: The concern, apparently from the President is that this would
31:15
Speaker 2: push the epic Fury operation past its six week deadline.
31:20
Speaker 2: I want to get your thoughts and your reaction first
31:22
Speaker 2: to that.
31:23
Speaker 4: A couple of reactions. Just Number one, the President had
31:25
Speaker 4: outlined a goal from the beginning. He's trying to stay
31:28
Speaker 4: within the parameters of what he outlined. Number Two, you have,
31:31
Speaker 4: of course, golf partners in the golf partners in the
31:33
Speaker 4: region that are unwilling to see the straits of horror
31:36
Speaker 4: mouz be this toll road for around where they can
31:39
Speaker 4: simply charge for anything that goes in or out of there.
31:42
Speaker 4: They're not going to allow that to take place, and
31:44
Speaker 4: so there's conversations, debate, everything going on with that as well.
31:47
Speaker 4: And if the United States accomplishes its mission of destroying
31:50
Speaker 4: every single piece of Iranian military hardware, the drones, the Navy,
31:54
Speaker 4: the Air force, the ballistic missiles, everything that can reach
31:57
Speaker 4: out and touch us, as has been our goal, then
31:59
Speaker 4: we have a set controlled the straits and the way
32:01
Speaker 4: that we decided from the onset that we wanted to
32:04
Speaker 4: control this.
32:05
Speaker 1: It is very clear that Wall Street and also the
32:08
Speaker 1: rest of the world is reacting to President Donald Trump
32:11
Speaker 1: making it very clear he does not believe this war
32:13
Speaker 1: is going to last that much longer. He also believes
32:16
Speaker 1: that we are accomplishing our mission, and that is about
32:20
Speaker 1: safety and security. We'll keep following this story. I can
32:24
Speaker 1: promise you that we've got a lot more that's going
32:27
Speaker 1: to happen the days ahead, So make sure you don't
32:29
Speaker 1: forget Grab our podcast, The Ben Ferguson Podcasts wherever you
32:33
Speaker 1: get your podcasts as well, hit that subscriber ont or
32:36
Speaker 1: download button so you don't miss any of the breaking news.