The Ben Shapiro Show - BREAKING: Trump DESTROYS Iranian Nuclear Program!

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00:01:05.000 Well, folks, here we are, special weekend edition of the Ben Shapiro Show, and for an astonishing reason, on Sunday night in Iran, Saturday night Eastern time, the United States military, authorized by President Donald J. Trump, flew six B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, the most sophisticated bomber ever assembled, 37 hours from Missouri to Iran's nuclear facilities at Fordow, dropping some 12 massive ordnance penetrators, GBU-57s, capable of penetrating some 200 feet of rock each.

00:01:33.000 On the nuclear site and obliterating it.

00:01:35.000 According to the Wall Street Journal, quote, So, how bad is the impact?

00:02:03.000 Destroying the ventilation shafts could be a way to do major damage underground.

00:02:07.000 Each of the dozen GBU-57 bunker busters that hit Fordow carried four tons of TNT, according to Mick Mulroy, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East.

00:02:16.000 Again, according to the Wall Street Journal.

00:02:18.000 Satellite images collected by Maxar Technologies after the weekend attack show several large holes punched in a ridge over the underground installation.

00:02:25.000 Maxar also said entrances to it were blocked with dirt and debris after the U.S. dropped 12 GBU-57 massive ordnance penetrators each weighing 30,000 pounds for the first time in the history of warfare.

00:02:35.000 The surface was coated with a layer of blue-gray ash.

00:02:39.000 Now, again, worth noting here that we just dropped 30,000 pound bombs, 12 of them, down a shaft that from the air was the size of a washer.

00:02:48.000 If you've seen Top Gun Maverick, essentially it's that, except from 30,000 feet with the B-2.

00:02:53.000 Meanwhile, according to Ynet, U.S. Navy submarines launched approximately 30 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles from about 480 kilometers, 280 miles away, targeting the Natanz and Isfahan sites.

00:03:08.000 They had been previously damaged, but not irreversibly destroyed by Israeli attacks, according to Ynet.

00:03:12.000 So President Trump first took to Truth Social to explain he had authorized the destruction of the Iranian nuclear program.

00:03:19.000 He posted, quote, We have completed our very successful attack on the three nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan.

00:03:26.000 All planes are now outside of Iran airspace.

00:03:28.000 A full payload of bombs was dropped on the primary site Fordow.

00:03:32.000 All planes are safely on their way home.

00:03:33.000 Congratulations to our great American warriors.

00:03:35.000 There is not another military in the world that could have done this.

00:03:39.000 Thank you for your attention to this matter.

00:03:42.000 Which is becoming one of my favorite Trumpisms.

00:03:44.000 Thank you for your attention to this matter.

00:03:46.000 Because he certainly has everybody's attention.

00:03:48.000 He then explained that Fordo was gone.

00:03:51.000 And he added that this was, of course, a historic moment.

00:03:56.000 He posted, I will be giving an address to the nation at 10 p.m. at the White House regarding our very successful military operation in Iran.

00:04:01.000 This is an historic moment for the United States of America, Israel, and the world. 0.53

00:04:05.000 Iran must now agree to end this war.

00:04:07.000 Thank you.

00:04:09.000 Correct.

00:04:10.000 So then He was flanked by the Vice President, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

00:04:22.000 Here's what the President had to say in its entirety.

00:04:25.000 Thank you very much.

00:04:27.000 A short time ago, the U.S. military carried out massive precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime, Fordo, Natanz and Esfahan.

00:04:43.000 Everybody heard those names for years as they built this horribly destructive enterprise.

00:04:51.000 Our objective was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world's number one state sponsor of terror. 0.99

00:05:03.000 Tonight I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular Military success.

00:05:11.000 Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.

00:05:17.000 Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. 1.00

00:05:21.000 If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier. 0.99

00:05:26.000 For 40 years, Iran has been saying, death to America, death to Israel. 0.98

00:05:31.000 They have been killing our people, blowing off their arms, blowing off their legs with roadside bombs. 0.99

00:05:37.000 That was their specialty.

00:05:39.000 We lost over a thousand people and hundreds of thousands throughout the Middle East and around the world have died as a direct result of their hate.

00:05:48.000 In particular, so many were killed by their general, Qasem Soleimani.

00:05:54.000 I decided a long time ago that I would not let this happen.

00:05:59.000 It will not continue.

00:06:00.000 I want to thank and congratulate Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.

00:06:06.000 We worked as a team like perhaps no team has ever worked before.

00:06:10.000 And we've gone a long way to erasing this horrible threat to Israel. 0.91

00:06:14.000 I want to thank the Israeli military for the wonderful job they've done.

00:06:19.000 And most importantly, I want to congratulate the great American patriots who flew those magnificent machines tonight and all of the United States military on an operation the likes of which the world has not seen in many, many decades.

00:06:34.000 Hopefully we will no longer need their services in this capacity.

00:06:38.000 I hope that's so.

00:06:40.000 I also want to congratulate the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Raisin Cain, spectacular general, and all of the brilliant military minds involved in this attack.

00:06:52.000 With all of that being said, this cannot continue.

00:06:55.000 There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days. 0.92

00:07:03.000 Remember, there are many targets left.

00:07:07.000 Tonight's was the most difficult of them all, by far, and perhaps the most lethal.

00:07:13.000 But if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed, and skill.

00:07:21.000 Most of them can be taken out in a matter of minutes.

00:07:25.000 There's no military in the world that could have done what we did tonight.

00:07:29.000 Not even close.

00:07:30.000 There has never been a military that could do what took place just a little while ago.

00:07:36.000 Tomorrow, General Cain, Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, will have a press conference at 8 a.m. at the Pentagon.

00:07:44.000 And I want to just thank everybody, and in particular, God.

00:07:50.000 I want to just say we love you, God, and we love our great military.

00:07:54.000 Protect them.

00:07:55.000 God bless.

00:07:56.000 The Middle East, God bless Israel, and God bless America.

00:08:00.000 Thank you very much.

00:08:02.000 That was the president's full statement.

00:08:03.000 Astonishing, astonishing stuff there.

00:08:06.000 Typical Trump, but like peak Trump.

00:08:09.000 The best.

00:08:10.000 Meanwhile, General Dan Raisin Cain of the Defense Department did hold a presser with the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, in which he detailed more information on what was called Operation Midnight Hammer.

00:08:20.000 This was Sunday morning.

00:08:22.000 At midnight Friday into Saturday morning, a large B-2 strike package comprised of bombers launched from the continental United States.

00:08:30.000 As part of a plan to maintain tactical surprise, part of the package proceeded to the west and into the Pacific as a decoy, a deception effort known only to an extremely small number of planners and key leaders here in Washington and in Tampa.

00:08:48.000 The main strike package comprised of seven B-2 Spirit bombers, each with two crew members, proceeded quietly to the east with minimal communications.

00:08:59.000 Throughout the 18-hour flight into the target area, the aircraft completed multiple in-flight refuelings.

00:09:07.000 Once over land, the B-2s linked up with escort and support aircraft in a complex Tightly timed maneuver requiring exact synchronization across multiple platforms in a narrow piece of airspace, all done with minimal communications.

00:09:25.000 At approximately 6.40 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, 2.10 a.m.

00:09:32.000 Iran time, the lead B-2 dropped two GBU-57 massive ordnance penetrator weapons on the first of several aim points at Fordow.

00:09:43.000 As the President stated last night, the remaining bombers then hit their targets as well, with a total of 14 mops dropped against two nuclear target areas.

00:09:55.000 All three Iranian nuclear infrastructure targets were struck between 6.40 p.m. and 7.05 p.m. Eastern Time.

00:10:05.000 Again, that's about 2.10 in the morning local time in Iran, with the Tomahawk missiles being the last to strike at Esfahan to ensure we retain the element of surprise.

00:10:17.000 An astonishing operation by the United States.

00:10:20.000 Military also on Sunday morning.

00:10:22.000 Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth sounded off as well.

00:10:25.000 Tehran is certainly calculating the reality that planes flew from the middle of America and Missouri overnight, completely undetected over three of their most highly sensitive sites, and we were able to destroy nuclear capabilities, and our boys in those bombers are on their way home right now.

00:10:44.000 We believe that'll have a clear psychological impact on how they view the future, and we certainly hope they take the path of negotiated peace.

00:10:51.000 But I could not be more proud.

00:10:55.000 Let me be 100% clear. 0.99

00:10:57.000 President Trump has more spine, more intestinal fortitude, more cojones than any president of my lifetime. 0.98

00:11:06.000 By far, it's not close. 0.97

00:11:09.000 This, of course, is a historically courageous man.

00:11:11.000 If that was not clear from the moment he stood up during the last campaign, shaking his fist and yelling fight, fight, fight after being shot in the ear, President Trump is a man who has courage.

00:11:20.000 He said for decades, Iran would not have a nuclear weapon.

00:11:24.000 And then he kept his word.

00:11:26.000 And keeping your word is unbelievably rare.

00:11:29.000 Bill Clinton, 1995.

00:11:31.000 We are determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

00:11:34.000 George W. Bush, 2006.

00:11:35.000 Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

00:11:38.000 Period.

00:11:39.000 Barack Obama, 2015.

00:11:40.000 I have stated that Iran will never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.

00:11:43.000 Joe Biden, 2022.

00:11:45.000 We will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.

00:11:47.000 Donald J. Trump.

00:11:48.000 Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.

00:11:53.000 2025.

00:11:54.000 This is a man of courage who keeps his word with spine.

00:11:58.000 With true, unbelievable, heroic spine.

00:12:02.000 President Trump was already a historic figure, but he is now a seminal figure in both American history and in world history.

00:12:09.000 First, American history.

00:12:10.000 President Trump faced down a lot of haters, both Democratic America haters and their Republican horseshoe theory isolationist friends.

00:12:19.000 President Trump was never going to start World War III.

00:12:22.000 That was not what was going to happen here.

00:12:24.000 Anyone who told you that was going to happen was lying to you.

00:12:28.000 Because President Trump lives in the world.

00:12:30.000 He lives in the world of reality.

00:12:32.000 And he played this absolutely perfectly.

00:12:35.000 It is not possible for a president to have played this better.

00:12:38.000 President Trump was not dragged into a war.

00:12:40.000 He managed this with absolutely stunning professionalism, cleverness, with common sense.

00:12:47.000 He gave the Israelis the ability to do what they needed to do.

00:12:49.000 And then Israel did with unbelievable courage and innovation.

00:12:53.000 Israel cleared the skies. 0.95

00:12:54.000 Israel killed Iran's top generals.

00:12:55.000 Israel devastated their nuclear scientists. 0.80

00:12:57.000 And President Trump waited.

00:12:59.000 He offered Iran an off-ramp, and then another off-ramp, and then another off-ramp. 0.58

00:13:03.000 Off-ramps and off-ramps.

00:13:04.000 And then, when they didn't take it, he acted brilliantly with our unparalleled American military, the greatest military in the history of planet Earth, bar none, no second competitors.

00:13:16.000 In the face of those who believe, both left and right, that American involvement in the world is somehow the prime evil, the great driver of world suffering, that the world is somehow better off in the hands of the Chinese and the Russians and Iran going nuclear, he stood up. 0.87

00:13:29.000 He stood up to the morons like AOC on the left who proclaim that Trump himself is a Hitlerian threat to the world by standing up to a true Hitlerian threat to the world. 0.93

00:13:38.000 And he stood up. 0.99

00:13:39.000 To the dolts on the right who thought that they could somehow claim the movement Donald Trump built, the Make America Great Again movement, for themselves, painting Howard Zinn America-hating turd with a coating of MAGA language and then trying to pass it off as filet mignon.

00:13:54.000 He stood up to all of them, and he proved that America is great again, which brings us to world history.

00:14:00.000 America must be strong in the world.

00:14:02.000 We are the indispensable power.

00:14:04.000 We always were.

00:14:05.000 We must be.

00:14:06.000 And President Trump always understood that to make America great again, America would actually have to be great, which meant reestablishing a central principle. 0.93

00:14:14.000 Do not fuck with the United States of America on our core interests. 0.97

00:14:18.000 Do not do it. 0.99

00:14:20.000 Joe Biden destroyed that credibility.

00:14:22.000 He did so in Afghanistan.

00:14:23.000 He said don't.

00:14:25.000 And then every single person who could did.

00:14:27.000 Not anymore.

00:14:29.000 President Trump has reestablished American deterrence.

00:14:31.000 He has reestablished American strength.

00:14:33.000 He always said peace through strength.

00:14:36.000 And he always meant it.

00:14:38.000 This is because President Trump understands the most important things.

00:14:42.000 American power matters.

00:14:44.000 American credibility matters.

00:14:46.000 American honor matters.

00:14:48.000 And then there's the future of the world, because everything just changed.

00:14:52.000 The Middle East is now a very different place. 0.95

00:14:54.000 Israel? 0.53

00:14:55.000 Our closest ally in the Middle East, maybe in the world, is a regional power with the support of the United States.

00:15:00.000 The Abraham Accords are in the offing for Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Sunni world. 1.00

00:15:05.000 The United States is working closely with the Saudis, with the UAE, with Bahrain, with powers in the northern African sphere to join the Abraham Accords and with Iran on its heels, rocked, their nuclear program destroyed.

00:15:18.000 That is a possibility that would not have been thinkable just a couple of years ago.

00:15:24.000 Even more importantly, is now thinking twice about Taiwan.

00:15:27.000 Remember, China has been looking across that Taiwan Strait, thinking maybe we'll take Taiwan, maybe we'll take Taiwan, and maybe President Trump will do nothing.

00:15:33.000 Well, maybe they're having a second think now that President Trump has used some mops to drop them, some massive ordnance penetrators, to drop them on Iranian nuclear facilities.

00:15:43.000 Russia, which may have been casting its eyes at Northern Europe, at Eastern Europe, has to be thinking a little bit about what future expansionism would mean.

00:15:52.000 Because of President Trump.

00:15:54.000 He is truly an all-time historic figure.

00:15:57.000 He proved it again over the course of the last few weeks.

00:15:59.000 There has never been anyone quite like him.

00:16:00.000 There probably won't be again.

00:16:02.000 He thinks differently.

00:16:03.000 He acts differently.

00:16:04.000 And that is a magnificent, magnificent thing.

00:16:08.000 Folks, we'll get to more on this in just a moment.

00:16:10.000 First, of course, in these uncertain days, Israel faces attacks as war with Iran continues.

00:16:15.000 Families across Israel are living in fear.

00:16:17.000 They're wondering if the next siren will sound in their neighborhood.

00:16:19.000 Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, targeting nuclear and military sites deep inside Iran to prevent an existential threat while bracing for retaliation that is endangering hundreds, thousands, perhaps millions of innocent lives.

00:16:30.000 In the midst of crisis, hope endures.

00:16:32.000 The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, IFCJ, is on the ground delivering life-saving aid where it's needed most.

00:16:37.000 IFCJ provides emergency food, shelter, trauma support, and security upgrades, including bomb shelters and fortified hospital units.

00:16:43.000 In the past year alone, IFCJ has helped over 2 million people, supplying basic needs to the elderly, Holocaust survivors, new immigrants, and children traumatized by war.

00:16:51.000 As Israel defends her citizens, IFCJ stands with them, funding bulletproof ambulances, supporting first responders, offering comfort to those in the line of fire.

00:16:59.000 Your support means food for the hungry, safety for the vulnerable, hope for nations.

00:17:08.000 We can bring light to the darkest moments.

00:17:10.000 Visit benforthefellowship.org to donate today.

00:17:12.000 That's one word, benforthefellowship.org, to donate.

00:17:15.000 Alrighty, so, let's talk about how this happened.

00:17:18.000 Obviously, there were divisions inside the administration.

00:17:20.000 There were rumors up to the day before the actual strike.

00:17:24.000 That there were members of the administration, particularly the vice president, who was not supporting the strike.

00:17:28.000 There was some suggestion that the vice president was pushing, saying the United States shouldn't be involved, suggesting the Israelis were going to drag the country into war.

00:17:35.000 Now, that's been denied by the vice president, by others in the room.

00:17:38.000 We know that there was a big fight inside the administration over the course of the last few weeks over the proper path forward.

00:17:43.000 President Trump did not waver on this thing.

00:17:46.000 Apparently, according to Axios, behind the scenes, President Trump's request was made directly to Benjamin Netanyahu.

00:17:52.000 Last week, the Netanyahu essentially cleared the airspace of Iran, take out particular air defense units in order to clear a path for the B-2. 0.74

00:17:59.000 Netanyahu apparently said, how can we help?

00:18:01.000 And Trump told Netanyahu he wanted the IAF, the Israeli Air Force, to eliminate as many Iranian air defense systems as possible in southern Iran to clear a path for incoming U.S. B-2 stealth bombers.

00:18:10.000 The U.S. then provided Israel with a list of air defense systems it wanted eliminated ahead of the strike, according to an Israeli official.

00:18:18.000 Apparently, according to Axios, An Israeli official told Axios, we did not press the United States to join the war.

00:18:24.000 We were careful not to create the impression that we are dragging the U.S. into a war.

00:18:27.000 But luckily for us, God hardened Pharaoh's heart. 0.51

00:18:29.000 That would be Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei. 1.00

00:18:32.000 He acted like an idiot and refused any proposal from the United States. 1.00

00:18:36.000 That is absolutely true, obviously. 1.00

00:18:38.000 Apparently, the president gave his final go-ahead for the strike a few hours before the actual strike.

00:18:50.000 A senior administration official said the goal was to create a situation when everyone wasn't expecting it, which is why presumably on Friday, as I talked about on the show, he said he would make a decision within two weeks.

00:18:59.000 As I said, the most likely scenario was this.

00:19:01.000 This was the most likely scenario.

00:19:03.000 Not to say I called it, but of course I did because President Trump has been very consistent in his approach right here.

00:19:10.000 His order to the military to proceed unleashed an operation that has been the focus of top secret planning, according to the Wall Street Journal.

00:19:16.000 Within hours, B-2 bombers penetrated Iranian airspace and dropped at least half a dozen bunker bombs on Iran's underground nuclear facility at Fordo.

00:19:25.000 And, as we say, U.S. attacks on Marines launched Tomahawk cruise missiles against sites in Isfahan as well as Natanz.

00:19:33.000 Apparently, the special envoy Steve Vudkov has now been authorized to talk with the Iranians, mainly so that he can hear their proposals for getting everyone to stop slamming the living hell out of them. 1.00

00:19:42.000 And the president has made very clear.

00:19:44.000 If Iran reacts the wrong way, there is more coming. 0.97

00:19:47.000 If Iran decides that they want to react by attacking the United States, if they wish to respond by closing the Straits of Hormuz, Again, for all of those who are claiming that this was all about regime change, that the United States was going to launch hundreds of thousands of troops into Iran the same way that we did in Iraq, that was always sheer absolute crap.

00:20:14.000 But strategically speaking, the reason that Ayatollah Khamenei is alive, beyond the fact that the United States doesn't feel like rebuilding the place, and wouldn't even if Ayatollah Khamenei were killed, because it would be up to the Iranian people to actually do that.

00:20:26.000 The reason for that is because there are a lot of things the United States can do to escalate this should Iran decide to escalate this. 0.54

00:20:34.000 Meanwhile, Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke quickly after the president issued the airstrike.

00:20:40.000 And here's what he had to say.

00:20:41.000 Congratulations, President Trump.

00:20:44.000 Your bold decision to target Iran's nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history.

00:20:54.000 In Operation Rising Line, Israel has done truly amazing things.

00:20:59.000 But in tonight's action against Iran's nuclear facilities, America has been truly unsurpassed.

00:21:07.000 It has done what no other country on earth could do.

00:21:12.000 History will record that President Trump acted to deny the world's most dangerous regime the world's most dangerous weapons.

00:21:21.000 His leadership today has created a pivot of history.

00:21:25.000 That can help lead the Middle East and beyond to a future of prosperity and peace.

00:21:32.000 President Trump and I often say, "Peace through strength." First comes strength, then comes peace.

00:21:40.000 And tonight, President Trump and the United States acted with a lot of strength.

00:21:46.000 President Trump, I thank you.

00:21:49.000 The people of Israel thank you.

00:21:51.000 The forces of civilization thank you.

00:21:54.000 God bless America.

00:21:56.000 God bless Israel.

00:21:57.000 And may God bless our unshakable alliance, our unbreakable faith.

00:22:03.000 Now, meanwhile, the Iranians are doing what they always do. 1.00

00:22:05.000 They're threatening fire and fury.

00:22:06.000 Now, to be clear, the reason that I'm making fun of that a little bit is because literally every night of this war so far, they've issued some public statement about how this will be a historic night that will be remembered for the rest of time.

00:22:15.000 And then they shoot off like 10 missiles at Israel.

00:22:18.000 So this idea that they are going to take on the number one military power on planet Earth after having their air defenses completely destroyed, their top general staff killed, all of their nuclear scientists dead, and their main nuclear facilities reduced to ash, I don't know, man.

00:22:33.000 I don't think that that's what's in the cards here.

00:22:35.000 Now, that doesn't mean that Iran can't do anything.

00:22:36.000 Iran could theoretically launch some terror attacks. 0.97

00:22:39.000 They could try to kill Westerners in small numbers elsewhere as a sort of symbolic gesture of how much they hate.

00:22:46.000 But the idea that they are a widespread threat at this point in time, after the defenestration of so much of their military capacity, again, that is highly unlikely, shall we say.

00:22:57.000 So Iran has been issuing all sorts of empty threats.

00:23:00.000 The Iranians have said that the United States will somehow pay.

00:23:05.000 They aired a map of U.S. military bases in the Middle East, and they declared, Mr. Trump, you started, we will end it.

00:23:09.000 That was on Iranian state TV.

00:23:11.000 Uh-huh.

00:23:12.000 If by end it, you mean your own regime.

00:23:14.000 Then good luck to you, and I hope that you enjoy what comes next.

00:23:17.000 President Trump made that very clear as well on Truth Social.

00:23:20.000 Any retaliation by Iran against the United States of America will be met with force far greater than what was witnessed tonight.

00:23:25.000 Thank you, Donald J. Trump, President of the United States.

00:23:28.000 Again, I enjoy his sign-off so much.

00:23:30.000 They really are enjoyable.

00:23:31.000 Like, people don't know who he is at this point.

00:23:33.000 He has to sign off with President of the United States.

00:23:35.000 Meanwhile, Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, he made clear as well.

00:23:38.000 He says, listen, if you retaliate, you just won't be in power anymore.

00:23:42.000 If they want to target Americans in the region or around the world, there are many more targets inside of Iran. 0.79

00:23:49.000 So I cannot stress enough what President Trump has said, that they should not retaliate against our troops or American citizens anywhere if they want to continue in power.

00:24:00.000 We'll get to more on this in a moment.

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00:24:51.000 Okay, so what is Iran going to do?

00:25:11.000 Well, they have now announced that they are going to order the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

00:25:14.000 Okay, so according to the New York Post...

00:25:23.000 The move, which could block $1 billion in oil shipments per day, is likely to send oil prices soaring.

00:25:27.000 Now, number one, as far as the United States is concerned, that actually in the short term, not wonderful because you have higher prices to pump.

00:25:34.000 But in the mid to long term, it's actually not quite terrible because one of the problems of the very low oil prices we've been seeing recently is that new drilling.

00:25:43.000 New fracking of wells, new drilling in the United States has actually stopped.

00:25:46.000 So a slightly higher oil price is good.

00:25:48.000 It's conducive to the American oil industry right now.

00:25:51.000 But there is a bigger problem with what Iran is doing. 0.67

00:25:55.000 And for that, we turn to our sponsors over at Perplexity.

00:25:58.000 So, quick question for Perplexity.

00:25:59.000 How much of China's oil is supplied via the Straits of Hormuz?

00:26:02.000 How much of the United States' oil is supplied via the Straits of Hormuz?

00:26:06.000 Because here's the thing.

00:26:07.000 The United States, we're pretty self-sufficient in terms of oil.

00:26:11.000 And Iran shutting off the Straits of Hormuz, it's going to hurt China way worse than it hurts us.

00:26:16.000 According to Perplexity, approximately 20 million barrels of oil per day, about 20% of global consumption, pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

00:26:23.000 Of the oil that transits Hormuz, 70-82% of all of it is destined for Asian markets.

00:26:29.000 China is the single largest recipient.

00:26:32.000 China, along with India, Japan, and South Korea, accounted for 67% of all crude oil and condensate flows through the strait in 2022 and the first half of 2023.

00:26:42.000 So, China bleeds first. 0.96

00:26:45.000 Analysts say if this is what happens, then actually the people who hit hardest are, wait for it, the Chinese. 1.00

00:26:50.000 That seems like a really stupid strategic move. 0.99

00:26:52.000 How about the United States? 0.99

00:26:53.000 Well, the United States imports That accounts for 3% of total U.S. petroleum liquids consumption.

00:27:08.000 Not 70 to 82%, 3%.

00:27:10.000 So, again, could that be a long-term problem in the same way that it's kind of a problem, that the Houthis have shut down the Red Sea?

00:27:18.000 Sure, that could be a problem.

00:27:20.000 Also, it could give Israel an excuse to just sink the Iranian Navy.

00:27:23.000 The fact is, the United States did that under Ronald Reagan in 1988.

00:27:27.000 The Iranians were making trouble, so Reagan just sank all of it. 1.00

00:27:31.000 It sounds like the Iranian Navy is the British Navy circa 1870 or something.

00:27:35.000 So, again, if this is the best they can do, first of all, it hits exactly the wrong people.

00:27:39.000 There are also no allies coming to the rescue of Iran at this point.

00:27:43.000 Perhaps the most astonishing headline of the weekend, other than the actual attack itself authorized by President Trump, was Hezbollah. 0.81

00:27:50.000 So Hezbollah, of course, was the supposedly massively powerful terrorist group that existed in Syria and Lebanon, armed with supposedly hundreds of thousands of highly targeted rockets aimed at Israeli skyscrapers.

00:28:02.000 And then Israel completely wiped them out in October of 2024.

00:28:05.000 There was the beeper operation of 2024.

00:28:07.000 There was the killing of Hassan Nasrallah.

00:28:10.000 There was the destruction of all of their stockpiles of weaponry.

00:28:13.000 there was the driving of them completely out of southern Lebanon.

00:28:16.000 Hezbollah getting hit so hard that they couldn't even...

00:28:23.000 So, Hezbollah has been asked by Iran, can you guys help, like, a little?

00:28:27.000 And Hezbollah's like, have fun, guys! 0.74

00:28:31.000 I hope you do great, yeah!

00:28:34.000 According to the Times of Israel, Hezbollah will not attack either Israel or the United States, after a spokesperson for the Iran-backed terror group told Newsweek, quote, Iran is a strong country capable of defending itself.

00:28:45.000 Logic dictates it can confront America and Israel. 1.00

00:28:49.000 Have fun!

00:28:50.000 You guys are doing great.

00:28:52.000 You can handle this all by your lonesomes.

00:28:55.000 That is because Hezbollah understands that if it were to get involved at this point, Israel would just go in and clock the living hell out of them.

00:29:00.000 Israel would finish them. 0.99

00:29:01.000 That would be the end of Hezbollah. 0.96

00:29:02.000 And the Lebanese government has essentially said as much.

00:29:05.000 Meanwhile, how about the Russians?

00:29:06.000 Well, the Russians are talking a lot.

00:29:08.000 So, the Russians are suggesting that somebody might move a nuclear warhead into Iran, like from abroad.

00:29:16.000 Apparently, the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Arahi, And Dmitry Medvedev,

00:29:41.000 Ex-Russia president and deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council said, Trump, who came in as a peacemaker president, has started a new war for the U.S. Yeah, I want to hear about peacemaking from the country that invaded Ukraine, thousands of people and hundreds of thousands of its own citizens.

00:29:55.000 He then suggested the enrichment of nuclear material.

00:29:59.000 And now we can say it outright.

00:30:00.000 The future production of nuclear weapons will continue and quote, a number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads.

00:30:07.000 No, you're not.

00:30:09.000 Stop it.

00:30:10.000 If Russia wanted to supply Iran with a nuclear warhead, they would have done so long ago.

00:30:13.000 They don't want Iran to have a nuclear warhead.

00:30:15.000 In fact, Vladimir Putin was asked directly about the situation.

00:30:18.000 He said, well, actually, it turns out a lot of Israeli citizens are Russian in origin and speak Russian.

00:30:24.000 And so we actually don't want to endanger those people.

00:30:26.000 So again, lots of empty threats coming from a lot of quite terrible people.

00:30:31.000 What does all of it amount to?

00:30:33.000 We'll have to wait and see.

00:30:35.000 However, let us just say that Iran is in the weakest position it has been.

00:30:38.000 Since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, and were they to lash out in too dramatic a fashion at Israel, the United States, any of the U.S.'s allies, things would get a whole hell of a lot worse.

00:30:51.000 The president made that quite clear.

00:30:53.000 Joining us on the line is Amit Segal.

00:30:54.000 He's the chief political analyst for Israel's leading news outlet, Channel 12 News, and author of the daily newsletter, It's Noon in Israel.

00:31:00.000 Amit, thanks so much for taking the time.

00:31:01.000 Really appreciate it.

00:31:02.000 Thanks, Ben.

00:31:03.000 Good night from Israel.

00:31:04.000 So, let's talk about what this means to Israel, that President Trump authorized the strike on Iran's Fordow facility, the nuclear facility buried under 90 meters of rock, using some of the most sophisticated planes and weaponry known to man, stuff that was only available to the United States.

00:31:21.000 First of all, what does it mean to Israel?

00:31:22.000 What does it mean to the world?

00:31:23.000 What does it mean for the United States that President Trump took, what I think is one of the bravest actions I've ever seen a president take?

00:31:29.000 I think it's the first time the United States of America has adopted the Begin Doctrine. 0.63

00:31:34.000 Begin is the late Prime Minister of Israel who in 1981 set the rule that there won't be a nuclear weapon in the Middle East.

00:31:43.000 And when Iraq tried to obtain a nuclear weapon, so he bombed it. 0.63

00:31:48.000 Ronald Reagan, the then president, condemned begging and even declared a temporary arms embargo.

00:31:55.000 So it's very, very...

00:32:11.000 The extent to which this prevents Iran's nuclear ambitions moving forward.

00:32:15.000 What comes next?

00:32:16.000 Obviously, every time Iran is hit, they then sound off and talk about fire and fury and how they're going to destroy everything in sight. 1.00

00:32:23.000 I think every single night of the war so far, they've issued some sort of statement about how it will be a historic night remembered forever.

00:32:27.000 And what they actually mean is that they will fire 10 missiles at Israel, eight of which will be shot down and two of which will fall in civilian areas.

00:32:33.000 So what does it mean when Iran is threatening, shaking its fist at the United States, threatening the Straits of Hormuz, threatening Israel?

00:32:41.000 So, they are trying to cause Israel the most severe damage. 0.98

00:32:47.000 That's what they can do.

00:32:48.000 It's not that they can escalate against Israel.

00:32:52.000 The only question is the United States.

00:32:54.000 Will they shut down the Hormuz area?

00:32:57.000 I'm not sure. 0.99

00:32:59.000 Will they try to kill Americans?

00:33:00.000 I think that President Trump and Secretary Rubio... 0.66

00:33:10.000 So I think, in my opinion, that they will try to do something symbolic unless Ayatollah Khamenei decided to go nuts and to actually end this regime.

00:33:22.000 Now, here's the thing.

00:33:24.000 We have a case in our history in which a dictator in the Middle East didn't understand a Republican U.S. president threatening him.

00:33:33.000 It was Saddam Hussein. 0.72

00:33:34.000 But Saddam Hussein could explain himself because he really didn't have a weapon of mass destruction.

00:33:43.000 Now, Ayatollah Khamenei knows that there was a reason why President Trump came after him. 0.81

00:33:47.000 So it would be extremely stupid for him to try and engage a war against the United States of America because he has only one level to escalate against U.S. troops. 0.85

00:34:01.000 The U.S. has a lot to escalate. 0.93

00:34:03.000 For instance, 85% of the Iranian economy are concentrated in one island and one port.

00:34:12.000 For instance, killing Khamenei himself in a bunker in northern Tehran, etc., etc. 0.94

00:34:17.000 So it would be a very, very stupid thing for Ayatollah Khamenei to do, which is exactly the reason why there is a suspicion he might try to do it. 0.86

00:34:25.000 So, I mean, when we look at what Israel does next year, how much longer this war lasts? 0.93

00:34:30.000 So President Trump made very clear this was his mission.

00:34:32.000 His mission is now accomplished, barring some sort of further action from the Iranians. 0.96

00:34:36.000 Israel, of course, continues to fly sorties because they're ballistic missiles that are still flying into Israel every single night.

00:34:41.000 So from Israel's perspective, how much longer does this mission last?

00:34:44.000 What does this look like?

00:34:45.000 Does this look more like Okay, so as for Israel, in a week or so, Israel is about to end its pile of targets in Iran, which includes the Iranians' nuclear facilities.

00:35:16.000 Almost 100% done.

00:35:18.000 The ballistic missile program, 75% done.

00:35:24.000 Israel eliminated two-thirds of the launchers and give or take one quarter of the ballistic missiles.

00:35:30.000 So once Israel eliminates 30, 40, 50 more launchers, it necessarily means that we can actually back to, give or take, normal routine in Israel.

00:35:40.000 So Prime Minister Netanyahu tonight said, This is an infamous policy that Israel has taken over the last decades against Hamas and Hezbollah, which said you can actually build your arsenal and recruit new tourists and build tunnels, but as long as you don't attack us, we won't attack you.

00:36:07.000 Now, it's the same policy, but different.

00:36:10.000 Because it's the same policy applied.

00:36:12.000 After Israel will have already eliminated their launchers and ballistic missiles and their nuclear program. 0.76

00:36:20.000 So it emanates from the fact that Israel is under the impression that Iran would not be able to sign a deal.

00:36:28.000 They have been humiliated too much.

00:36:31.000 They are too proud.

00:36:32.000 They will not be able to sign a deal.

00:36:34.000 Only sort of an undeclared ceasefire.

00:36:38.000 So, I mean, when we look at how this shapes the future for Israel, obviously the answer is in enormous ways.

00:36:45.000 Israel has completely reshuffled the deck in the Middle East. 0.94

00:36:47.000 you had said to most people after october 7th and the devastation of october 7th 2023 that fast forward a year and a half and israel would have essentially wiped out hezbollah so the point where hezbollah can't even get involved in this conflict that they hit hezbollah so hard that assad fell in syria clearing the skies for israeli highway like an air highway from tel aviv essentially to tehran that israel would have devastated hamas that israel would be flying clear sorties over iranian skies in the middle of the day for

00:37:23.000 What does that mean for the Abraham Accords? 0.51

00:37:24.000 And also, what does that mean for the Gaza Strip, where Israel is still attempting to finish off Hamas, restore its hostages?

00:37:31.000 Israel obviously has been using the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to disintermediate the United Nations and anyone else who's working for Hamas.

00:37:37.000 What does this mean for the immediate and midterm future for the state of Israel?

00:37:41.000 So first of all, it's an opportunity to reframe this war.

00:37:46.000 The horrific events of October 7, 2023 were not the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, but the Pearl Harbor in the regional war of Israel against Iran.

00:38:00.000 And this gives an explanation.

00:38:02.000 The leader of Hamas is not a state leader, but a division commander that actually rebelled his leadership in Tehran, thus invading Israel without notifying Tehran and Beirut.

00:38:17.000 And that's why Israel could overcome Pearl Harbor exactly the way Roosevelt overcame Pearl Harbor. 0.69

00:38:30.000 Defeating Iran following the defeat of Hezbollah and Syria would lead to a sort of new solutions in Gaza. 0.84

00:38:38.000 I'll give you one example, for instance.

00:38:40.000 And I know that Hamas leaders are horrified by the event.

00:38:46.000 It's as if an Israeli prime minister would wake up in the morning only to find out that China occupied Washington.

00:38:55.000 Now, here's the thing.

00:38:57.000 It can open a window for a total collapse of Hamas or for a total surrender of parts of Hamas or for something of an interim agreement in which Israel can actually save the perimeter and Philadelphia corridor and to have free access to Gaza if terrorist activity is coming back and death.

00:39:21.000 We'll actually wrap up the war with a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia, because Saudi Arabia would get the end of the Gaza war, and in exchange, it would give peace agreement with Israel.

00:39:32.000 That's, in my opinion, one of the scenarios that are feasible.

00:39:36.000 So, I mean, obviously, this is not just a triumph for Prime Minister Netanyahu and for Israel.

00:39:40.000 It's also a triumph for President Trump, who managed this as well as any world leader has managed a conflict.

00:39:46.000 He gave Prime Minister Netanyahu the green light.

00:39:48.000 Either before or after the actual strikes went forward.

00:39:51.000 He obviously had provided material support.

00:39:54.000 He never wavered in his support for Israel along this entire line.

00:39:58.000 He said that Israel needed to do what it had to do.

00:40:00.000 And then he said, okay, when it appears clear that the Israelis need some help finishing off Fordow, at least to not take whatever the risky option be, he then went and he did the thing. 0.77

00:40:10.000 It's an extraordinary act of spine by the President of the United States.

00:40:13.000 He changed the world.

00:40:14.000 He changed the Middle East in one stroke. 0.99

00:40:16.000 And honestly, I can't give too much credit for the president of the United States for making this move for both America and for civilization more broadly.

00:40:25.000 What's the feeling in Israel about President Trump right now?

00:40:28.000 Well, I used to say that Israel could have been the reddest state in the United States as he joined the United States as the 51st state.

00:40:39.000 It's something between Montana and Alabama.

00:40:42.000 Now I think it's even redder than what is the reddest state? 1.00

00:40:47.000 The most Republican one?

00:40:50.000 Montana maybe?

00:40:51.000 I think Kamala Harris shouldn't have registered to run here tomorrow morning. 1.00

00:41:01.000 It's something like 95% to 5%.

00:41:03.000 And I think Israel is so lucky that President Trump won.

00:41:11.000 You know, if you read the statements by senators like Chuck Schumer, who pretended to be a true friend of Israel, that pay lip service.

00:41:24.000 To say that Iran is a terrorist state and yet opposes this attack without the approval of Congress, as if Iranians wouldn't have listened to Congress, it would have been kept a secret.

00:41:36.000 So, President Trump is very popular in Israel right now, and he didn't have the October 7th failure to actually compensate for Netanyahu.

00:41:46.000 But this combination of President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu turns to be, I think, one of the most powerful alliances between a president and a prime minister, and in this case, for the benefit of the whole region.

00:42:02.000 He's chief political analyst for Israel's leading news outlet, Channel 12 News, author of the daily newsletter, It's New to Israel, which you should absolutely check out as well, his Telegram channel.

00:42:09.000 His stuff is really great.

00:42:10.000 Amit, thanks so much for the time and the coverage.

00:42:11.000 Thanks so much, Ben.

00:42:13.000 Well, folks, an absolutely historic weekend.

00:42:15.000 The President of the United States, again, unparalleled spine.

00:42:18.000 Just, I've never seen anything remotely like it in my political lifetime.

00:42:22.000 Good for him, good for America, good for Israel, obviously, good for the region, and good for the world.

00:42:27.000 The President just changed the course of world history in a dramatically positive way.

00:42:33.000 And really, thank you, Mr. President.

00:42:36.000 There's a reason that we all supported you.

00:42:38.000 There's a reason we backed you.

00:42:40.000 There's a reason I campaigned for you, Mr. President.

00:42:42.000 Thank you for doing the right thing again.

00:42:45.000 Alrighty, folks.

00:42:46.000 We've reached the end of the show.

00:42:47.000 We'll be back here tomorrow with much more.

00:42:48.000 I'm Ben Shapiro.

The Ben Shapiro Show - June 22, 2025

BREAKING: Trump DESTROYS Iranian Nuclear Program!

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