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Trump Drops Uranium Ultimatum “Hand IT Over — Or It’s Gone!" · The Ben Ferguson Podcast

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: When our founding fathers put the ideas of the Declaration
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  Speaker 1: of Independence to paper in Philadelphia, they signed and sealed
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  Speaker 1: an oath that had already been written in blood by
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  Speaker 1: patriots at Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill. The sacrifice berth
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  Speaker 1: the most incredible and exceptional nation in all of history,
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  Speaker 1: and our nation is doing better today that it's ever
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  Speaker 1: done before.
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  Speaker 2: You're listening to the forty seven Morning Update with Ben ferguson.
• 0:31
  Speaker 3: Good Tuesday morning. Nice have you with us on the
• 0:33
  Speaker 3: forty seven Morning Update. And we've got major movement coming
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  Speaker 3: out of Iran. First up, President Trump negotiating with everyone
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  Speaker 3: in the world able to see exactly what he thinks
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  Speaker 3: about uranium in Iran, and he put out a very
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  Speaker 3: clear statement, we're not messing around. Also, we look like
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  Speaker 3: we may be getting closer to a real deal. Now
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  Speaker 3: what will be in that deal? And there's a real
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  Speaker 3: timeline now for fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The
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  Speaker 3: question is what will Iran do and will they screw
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  Speaker 3: it up? It's the forty seven Morning Update and it
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  Speaker 3: starts right now. Story number one, Donald Trump has come
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  Speaker 3: out with a new message on true social regarding Iran's
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  Speaker 3: enriched uranium stockpile. And here's exactly how President Trump framed it.
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  Speaker 3: Trump said, quote, the enriched uranium nuclear dust will either
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  Speaker 3: be immediately turned over to the United States, or be
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  Speaker 3: brought home and destroyed, preferably in conjunction and coordination with
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  Speaker 3: the Islamic Republic of Iran, or destroyed in place or
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  Speaker 3: at another acceptable location. That line instantly sent shockwaves through
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  Speaker 3: not only Washington, but also the Middle East. And then
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  Speaker 3: it had a big impact in the international diplomatic circles.
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  Speaker 3: Why because this wasn't Trump talking vaguely about negotiations. This
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  Speaker 3: was the President of the United States publicly declared that
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  Speaker 3: Iran will not be allowed to keep enriched uranium period
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  Speaker 3: and that in many ways changes everything now. According to
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  Speaker 3: reports following the post, Trump's demand is now central to
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  Speaker 3: the ongoing negotiations connected to the conflict in the region
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  Speaker 3: and the broader talks involving the Strait of Hormuz, which
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  Speaker 3: I'll get to in a moment. For years, Iran has
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  Speaker 3: insisted that it's uranium and Richmond is a sovereign right.
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  Speaker 3: Iranian officials have repeatedly argued they should be allowed to
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  Speaker 3: maintain a quote civilian nuclear program. But Donald Trump's position
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  Speaker 3: is dramatically different from previous frameworks and especially from American leaders.
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  Speaker 3: He's not talking about limiting uranium enrichment levels. He's not
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  Speaker 3: talking about temporary pauses like Obama did either. He's talking
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  Speaker 3: about physically removing the stockpile from Iranian control or destroying
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  Speaker 3: it outright. That is a completely different level of pressure.
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  Speaker 3: And it's exactly why this story matters so much right now,
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  Speaker 3: because enriched uranium is now the centerpiece of the entire
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  Speaker 3: nuclear deal and debate, and it ceasefire Once uranium, by
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  Speaker 3: the way, reaches higher enrichment levels, Experts warn, the timeline
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  Speaker 3: towards weaponization becomes dramatically shorter, and the presence smart and
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  Speaker 3: understands you cannot trust Iran. And that's why the administration
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  Speaker 3: appears to be pursuing a strategy that's really built around
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  Speaker 3: one principle eliminate the stockpile itself. No stockpile, no breakout capacity,
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  Speaker 3: no ambiguity. And the timing is also well, really critical.
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  Speaker 3: These comments come as the President also continues military pressure
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  Speaker 3: and operations near the Strait of Hormuz. Multiple reports today
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  Speaker 3: confirm that US force is launched what we're described as
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  Speaker 3: self defense strikes targeting uranium missile sites and naval threats
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  Speaker 3: near the shipping corridor. That means diplomacy is happening under
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  Speaker 3: the shadow of active military confrontation now. At the same time,
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  Speaker 3: the Strait of horm Moves remains one of the most
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  Speaker 3: strategically important waterways on Earth and a huge centerpiece of
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  Speaker 3: not only the global shipping of oil and the strait
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  Speaker 3: also remains one of the most strategically important waterways on
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  Speaker 3: Earth and a huge percentage of what the Presdent has
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  Speaker 3: to figure out in this peace deal possibly with Iran. Now,
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  Speaker 3: according to reports, reopening and stabilizing the strait is now
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  Speaker 3: deeply connected to the broader nuclear negotiations next story number two.
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  Speaker 3: There is a critical moment that's happening right now in
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  Speaker 3: negotiations between the United States of America and Iran, and
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  Speaker 3: the center of everything is one narrow strip of water,
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  Speaker 3: and you know it impacts the entire global economy, and
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  Speaker 3: that is the Strait of Hormves Right now, the biggest
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  Speaker 3: question in the world isn't just weather the US Iran
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  Speaker 3: can avoid another massive escalation. The questions whether global shipping
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  Speaker 3: and the oil markets is well going to have stability
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  Speaker 3: or it's going to continue to go up and down
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  Speaker 3: like crazy, all because of this standoff. And now there
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  Speaker 3: are major developments on both fronts, and that is good news.
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  Speaker 1: Now.
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  Speaker 3: For weeks, the United States and Iran have been engaging
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  Speaker 3: in these intense negotiations, involving multiple mediators. This has included
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  Speaker 3: Oman and Katar and even Pakistan. They're all trying to
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  Speaker 3: get stability in the Middle East. They're trying to hammer
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  Speaker 3: out a broader agreement tied to the ongoing conflict. Now
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  Speaker 3: this is also happening as Iran is demanding sanction reliefs
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  Speaker 3: in a deal, and Iran says they really don't want
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  Speaker 3: to totally get rid of their nuclear ambitions. Of course
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  Speaker 3: they lie and say it is not for nuclear weapons,
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  Speaker 3: it's just for energy, which no one believes them. President
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  Speaker 3: Trump has also publicly said over the weekend that the
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  Speaker 3: negotiations are low largely at this point negotiated, meaning there's
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  Speaker 3: a lot of parts of the deal that have already
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  Speaker 3: been agreed to, and that a breakthrough could actually be
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  Speaker 3: very close. Now, Iran is simultaneously signaling that while progress
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  Speaker 3: is being made, a final agreement they're saying is not
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  Speaker 3: imminent now. They may be lying just to keep the
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  Speaker 3: people in Iran in line, as well as those that
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  Speaker 3: are in charge of the government, especially knowing that the
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  Speaker 3: IRGC is in charge of the country right now, and
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  Speaker 3: that really tells you what you need to know about
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  Speaker 3: these talks. Both sides want a deal, but neither side
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  Speaker 3: wants to look weak while getting there. Now, the biggest
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  Speaker 3: sticking point remains Iran's enriched uranium stockpiles. The United States
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  Speaker 3: has made it clear President Trump demanding that Ran either surrender, transfer,
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  Speaker 3: or neutralize it's highly enriched uranium. Now, Iran publicly has
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  Speaker 3: said over and over again they refuse to hand over
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  Speaker 3: anything within enriched uranium to America. Instead, we're now being
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  Speaker 3: told that negotiators are discussing possible face saving alternatives, including
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  Speaker 3: transferring the material to a third party country like Pakistan
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  Speaker 3: or Turkey, even Russia or China, two of our biggest adversaries.
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  Speaker 3: There's also another idea that was floated allowing Iran to
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  Speaker 3: dilute the material under strict international oversight. So that's the
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  Speaker 3: diplomatic side that's playing out behind the scenes, But the
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  Speaker 3: military and economic side of the story it still all
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  Speaker 3: is revolving around the Strait of hor Moos, and that's
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  Speaker 3: where things become incredibly important for Americans listening right now.
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  Speaker 3: The Strait of Hormos, It's clear it is the most
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  Speaker 3: strategic and important waterway on planet Earth when it comes
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  Speaker 3: to oil. Roughly twenty percent of the world's oil supply
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  Speaker 3: flows through that narrow corridor. When it is disrupted, we've
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  Speaker 3: seen what's happened. Oil price of spiked, the shipping costs
• 8:00
  Speaker 3: also skyrocket inflation. Then the risk of it grows and
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  Speaker 3: the global markets do what they do best, they flat
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  Speaker 3: out panic. So the big question is this is the
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  Speaker 3: Strait of Hormuz open or is it closed right now?
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  Speaker 3: The honest answer is this, it's partially open, heavily contested,
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  Speaker 3: and not operating in a normal atmosphere, meaning boats are
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  Speaker 3: not just coming and going as they need to. Now.
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  Speaker 3: Commercial shipping is resumed in limited forms in some areas,
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  Speaker 3: but the situation remains, as they describe it, unstable and
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  Speaker 3: highly militarized. The United States naval presence remains enormous in
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  Speaker 3: the region with Iran. They're continuing to use threats, inspections,
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  Speaker 3: even proxy pressure, and maritime leverage as bargaining tools to
• 8:51
  Speaker 3: get what they want in this piece deal. Now, according
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: to the latest reporting, today, negotiators are now discussing a
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  Speaker 3: new framework that would fully open the strait roughly thirty
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  Speaker 3: days after a formal peace agreement is signed. Now, during
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: that period, Iran would reportedly begin removing naval mines and
• 9:12
  Speaker 3: halt transit fees and restrictions tied to the conflict. Now
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  Speaker 3: that is a huge development. It also means something critical.
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  Speaker 3: The Strait is not fully normalized yet. If it were
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  Speaker 3: fully open and secure, there would be no need for
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  Speaker 3: these negotiations to reopen it. And remember how we got here.
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  Speaker 3: After the broader conflict escalated earlier this year, Iran used
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  Speaker 3: any leverage they could have, and they moved aggressively to
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  Speaker 3: disrupt shipping through the Strait. The United States then responded
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  Speaker 3: with naval operations, escort missions, and eventually that naval blockade
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  Speaker 3: targeting Iranian ships activity in the waterway. Now, at this point,
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  Speaker 3: commercial traffic through the region nearly collapsed. Insurance costs for
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  Speaker 3: tankers loaded oil markets then panicked, and global shipping companies
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  Speaker 3: rerouted their vessels, costing time and money. Some tankers simply
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  Speaker 3: refused to transit the area altogether, and the world was
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  Speaker 3: reminded how fragile global energy infrastructure really is now. The
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  Speaker 3: US then launched their maritime operations that was in theory
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  Speaker 3: designed to reopen commercial transit and also to ter Iranian interference.
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  Speaker 3: Those operations included escort missions, mind clearing efforts, and aggressive
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  Speaker 3: naval enforcement actions. Now Iran, meanwhile, they tried to leverage
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  Speaker 3: as crisis politically. One proposal from Tehran reportedly and quitted,
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  Speaker 3: creating a new Persian Gulf shipping authority. They would effectively
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  Speaker 3: route traffic through Iranian controlled procedures and potentially would impose
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  Speaker 3: tariffs or fees. Golf Arab states strongly opposed that idea,
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  Speaker 3: warning that it would hand a ran too much control
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  Speaker 3: over international commerce. And that's where the geopolitical chess board, well,
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  Speaker 3: it gets really fascinating, because this isn't just about a
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  Speaker 3: random America any longer. China is now watching closely because
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  Speaker 3: China depends heavily on the old shipments through the Strait.
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  Speaker 3: Europe is also watching energy prices directly impact their economies,
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  Speaker 3: and even more importantly than that, the Gulf states, well,
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  Speaker 3: they're watching because their financial futures literally depend on stable exports,
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  Speaker 3: and if they don't have it, they don't get the
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  Speaker 3: money they need. Now there's also the war aspect of this.
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  Speaker 3: Israel is watching all this because any sanctions really for
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  Speaker 3: nuclear promises, they affect their security and the regional security
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  Speaker 3: as well. In Russia, they're also watching as intently as
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  Speaker 3: we are, because instability in the global energy markets benefits
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  Speaker 3: Moscow financially in a way that can alter and change
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  Speaker 3: their war with Ukraine. And that's why these negotiations it
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  Speaker 3: becomes so complicated. This isn't simply a bilateral nuclear discussion
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  Speaker 3: any longer. It's a negotiation about energy, military power, shipping lanes,
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  Speaker 3: proxy wars, regional alliances, and global economic stability. Now, politically,
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  Speaker 3: both sides are trying to claim there's real momentum. Some
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  Speaker 3: of its flat out lies from the Iranian government trying
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  Speaker 3: to keep their people in line. Iran is telling its
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  Speaker 3: domestic audience that it did not surrender, it did not
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  Speaker 3: hand over a uranium o outright and forced Washington, they say,
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  Speaker 3: into broader negotiations rather than unilateral capitulation. So here we
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  Speaker 3: are at possibly what could be the beginning of the
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  Speaker 3: end of this conflict. The question is will cooler minds
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  Speaker 3: prevail in Iran or are we looking at more military
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  Speaker 3: strikes from the United States government at the leadership of
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  Speaker 3: President Donald Trump.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to the forty seven Morning Update
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: with Ben Ferguson. Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever
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  Speaker 2: you're listening to this podcast right now and for more
• 13:09
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  Speaker 2: and we will see you back here tomorrow.