The Culture War - Tim Pool - February 19, 2026


Trump Ready to Strike Iran THIS WEEKEND, MASSIVE Military Buildup

Hosted by
Tim Pool Phil Labonte Hannah Claire Brimelow
Mentioned
Diego Garcia Caroline Levitt Keir Starmer Mauritius Tucker Carlson Houthis The Gerald Ford Benjamin Netanyahu Abbas Ar-Gichi Mike Huckabee Marco Rubio Da-da-da-da-da-da-da Leavenworth Ayatollah Whitcoff Khamenei
Mamdani Socialism BACKFIRES On NYC, Mayor Threatens To RAISE Taxes On Working Class SCOTUS Strikes DOWN Trump Tariffs, Trump Says He Has ＂Backup Plan＂

Episode Stats


Length

25 minutes

Words per minute

182.09

Word count

4,613

Sentence count

333

Harmful content

Toxicity

8

sentences flagged

Hate speech

17

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

The latest on a possible strike on Iran, including the reported presence of U.S. forces on the Persian Gulf, and the possible timeline for such a strike, and what it means for the Middle East region.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
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00:00:45.660 We might be going to war with Iran. 0.71
00:00:47.460 We might be going to war with Iran. 0.71
00:00:49.080 It actually looks like it's getting quite serious.
00:00:51.860 Obviously, it would have been Thursday.
00:00:55.560 So Tuesday night, we saw reports that virtually anything that could fly that has a U.S. flag on it was heading in the direction of Iran.
00:01:04.560 And so a lot of people saw that and they said, okay, it looks like the buildup is occurring.
00:01:08.800 Now, there's a lot of different reports going on.
00:01:12.080 One thing we do know is an official told Reuters that the buildup was not expected to be completed until mid-March.
00:01:21.100 But every source that we have available, human sources, we would call it, you know, tracking airplanes, tracking ships,
00:01:28.540 and then also sources that have spoken under anonymity to various outlets have said the buildup is effectively complete already.
00:01:35.720 We are ready to go.
00:01:36.820 So this is why this headline is very interesting.
00:01:40.440 This is from CBS News, and basically every other outlet has picked this up as well, obviously.
00:01:44.600 Trump has discussed the timeline for Iran strikes, including as soon as this weekend, but no decision yet.
00:01:50.940 So again, official told Reuters, I think this was yesterday, buildup won't be done until mid-March.
00:01:55.940 Well, top security officials are saying Trump could be ready to go by this weekend, which is really something.
00:02:01.900 So we're going to read here.
00:02:03.040 This is from CBS News out of Washington.
00:02:06.300 Top national security officials have told President Trump the military is ready for potential strikes on Iran as soon as Saturday.
00:02:13.400 But the timeline for any action is likely to extend beyond this weekend, sources familiar with the discussions told CBS News.
00:02:19.320 Mr. Trump has not yet made a final decision about whether to strike, said the officials who spoke under condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive national matters.
00:02:28.160 The conversations have been described as fluid and ongoing as the White House weighs the risks of escalation and the political and military consequences of restraint.
00:02:37.060 One moment.
00:02:39.360 I need some cold brew concentrate mixed with urine.
00:02:42.560 I think that would be the solution here.
00:02:44.000 Over the next three days, the Pentagon is moving some personnel temporarily out of the Middle East region, primarily to Europe or back to the United States, ahead of potential action or counterattacks by Iran.
00:02:54.560 If the U.S. were to move ahead with its operation, according to multiple officials, it is standard practice for the Pentagon to shift assets and personnel ahead of a potential U.S. military activity and doesn't necessarily signal an attack on Iran is imminent, said one of the sources.
00:03:08.620 I'll keep reading here.
00:03:09.520 After contact by CBS News on Wednesday afternoon, a Pentagon spokesperson said that they had no information to provide.
00:03:16.620 Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to visit Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in about two weeks for further discussions, according to one of the sources.
00:03:23.720 Carolyn Levitt said at a White House press briefing on Wednesday that there are many reasons and arguments that one could make for a strike against Iran, but diplomacy is always the president's first option.
00:03:31.820 And she declined to discuss whether a potential strike would be coordinated with Israel, but she told reporters a very successful operation in June that targeted Iran's nuclear facilities, obviously referring to last summer when we were kind of in a similar situation where all signs were pointing towards a potential war with Iran.
00:03:50.520 We saw the strikes, and I think the immediate reaction from everyone was, oh my gosh, we just started another war.
00:03:56.280 And then that didn't actually turn out to be the case.
00:03:59.380 We conducted an operation which, at best, incapacitated Iran's nuclear program.
00:04:07.300 Iran responded with a strike on our base in Qatar, but this was premeditated.
00:04:13.780 They actually told us the strike was going to happen so we could evacuate personnel.
00:04:17.740 It was more of an attack to save face.
00:04:19.120 This is actually quite common on the international scale.
00:04:22.800 I'll read here.
00:04:24.080 The USS Abraham Lincoln Aircraft Carrier Group and its flotilla of warships are already in the region.
00:04:28.880 And a second carrier group, the USS Gerald Ford, was en route to the Middle East.
00:04:32.980 As of Wednesday, the Ford was off the coast of West Africa, according to maritime vessel tracking data.
00:04:36.960 And as we know, today's Thursday.
00:04:39.940 The Gerald Ford is now in the neighborhood.
00:04:41.240 So things are getting hot, and the question really is, you know, what exactly is the goal for the Americans here?
00:04:51.240 Well, I actually think Carolyn Leavitt is accurate when she says, of course, the first goal here is democracy.
00:04:56.820 I'll start by saying I think President Trump and the Trump administration, by and large, really would not like a war in this situation.
00:05:06.860 Again, people will point out that war with Iran has been the goal of the United States and a lot of shadowy figures within the government for quite some time now.
00:05:16.020 But I think Trump, the admin, et cetera, has the wherewithal to understand that, look, starting a war right before the midterms is not a very good idea.
00:05:27.380 There's also something that's worth considering, and people don't actually consider this, but something that is worth considering is that this sounds crazy, but this is true.
00:05:36.480 This is actually reflected in geopolitics, and it's not being reported about in the media.
00:05:39.500 There's been zero questions asked about the Trump administration to the Trump administration on this.
00:05:43.280 But this is truly, this does play a role in geopolitics, is the Winter Olympics are currently underway.
00:05:49.120 And again, you might roll your eyes at that and say, well, who cares about the Winter Olympics?
00:05:52.540 Well, we've actually seen historically that powers do not want to start wars during international events.
00:05:58.780 This is just not something that's conventional.
00:06:01.060 It doesn't play well.
00:06:01.920 Italy is an ally.
00:06:02.920 That's where the Winter Olympics are currently.
00:06:04.380 And that could potentially throw a wrench into things if a war is started, an international war is started during that event.
00:06:09.920 Don't believe me.
00:06:10.740 If you look back at the Ukraine-Russia war when that broke out, Russia actually waited for the Winter Olympics to be wrapped up in China before they actually conducted their military operation, whatever you want to call it.
00:06:24.160 So again, these international events do play a role.
00:06:28.360 They do play a role in the decision-making process.
00:06:31.200 And again, no one's talking about this, but that's something that should be considered as far as timeline goes.
00:06:36.320 This is why I actually suspect that that official that told Reuters the buildup won't be complete till mid-March, I think he was basically saying that's the timeline.
00:06:44.780 Where right now, as we speak, I'll just go ahead and pull this up because I think this will be useful.
00:06:52.300 It would be...
00:06:54.320 Sorry, I got my pieces jumbled here.
00:06:58.380 This is from Al Jazeera.
00:06:59.760 Iran says, good progress made in nuclear talks with U.S. and Geneva.
00:07:03.900 So this is why I think it's...
00:07:06.620 I don't think this weekend would be the time where we would see an action taken.
00:07:10.880 Who knows, I could be eating crow at some point in the next few days.
00:07:14.420 But I don't suspect that it's going to happen this weekend because we still have many rounds of negotiations with Iran taking place in Geneva right now.
00:07:22.280 So there's, in this piece, Oman is the one that is brokering these talks.
00:07:28.840 I'll just read very quickly here from Al Jazeera.
00:07:31.640 Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abbas Ar-Gichi.
00:07:37.020 People say the name on the news and I always forget how to pronounce it.
00:07:40.560 I'm just used to reading it.
00:07:41.940 Has said that, quote, good progress has been made in indirect nuclear talks with the United States.
00:07:45.740 As Washington warned, that military action remains an option if diplomacy fails.
00:07:49.660 The talks mediated by Oman were held in the Swiss city of Geneva on Tuesday against a backdrop of increased military flexing by both sides in the Gulf region.
00:08:00.040 And we were told that the talks were still continuing.
00:08:03.280 Ultimately, we were able to reach a broad agreement on a set of guiding principles based on which we will move forward and begin working on the text of a potential agreement.
00:08:11.460 This is what he said.
00:08:12.880 Good progress has been made compared with the previous round in Oman earlier this month.
00:08:17.160 He said, adding, we now have a clear path ahead, which I think is positive.
00:08:20.580 And then he said, on Wednesday, Iran was drafting a framework for future talks with the U.S.
00:08:26.160 So this is interesting for a variety of reasons.
00:08:29.940 But this is why this is important.
00:08:31.220 Because if you go back and you look at the nuclear talks prior to the attack on Iran last summer,
00:08:37.920 is what the Iranian officials were saying, because they had talks in Oman, actually, prior to the run-up to the war.
00:08:45.280 Whitcoff was meeting them in Oman.
00:08:47.620 He met them in, I believe he met them in Italy as well for these rounds of talks.
00:08:52.040 And the Iranians were not happy.
00:08:53.880 What they were telling the press in the run-up to the attack was, Whitcoff, at some point, I believe it was the discussion in Italy,
00:09:02.080 they claimed that he left early.
00:09:03.680 He showed up late and then left early.
00:09:05.860 And he actually left the meeting early to meet with the Israelis, which was quite funny.
00:09:10.300 And so the Iranians were, the messaging that they were telling the press in the last year's nuclear discussions was not good news.
00:09:19.500 They were saying there was zero progress being made.
00:09:21.020 We weren't being taken seriously, et cetera, et cetera.
00:09:25.580 Now, this was all reporting from the state media on Iran, so who knows.
00:09:28.440 But this is from Al Jazeera, which is a slightly more reputable outlet than Iranian state media.
00:09:33.420 But it is encouraging, I will say, it is encouraging that the Iranians are not sounding the alarm bell.
00:09:40.740 Encouraging for the Americans.
00:09:42.600 And so I'll read here.
00:09:44.500 Messages from the U.S. were mixed.
00:09:45.860 Speaking to reporters, Carolyn Levitt said,
00:09:48.740 A little progress had been made during the talks, but we're still very far apart on some issues.
00:09:54.720 Iran would be very wise to make a deal with President Trump in this administration.
00:09:58.260 I believe this was the headline from the BBC.
00:10:00.280 White House pressing Iran to make a deal while ramping up military progress.
00:10:03.780 So this is the posture of the White House is there.
00:10:06.180 They're openly saying maximum pressure is being put on the Iranians to make a deal here.
00:10:13.240 A lot going on.
00:10:14.220 There's a lot of moving parts.
00:10:15.420 This is my assessment of the situation.
00:10:17.900 And a few people that are geopolitical experts, military experts, et cetera, have shared this sentiment.
00:10:23.900 This is the point I made on the show last night.
00:10:25.480 So Amber Duke was on the show, obviously, at the Daily Caller.
00:10:28.620 She's fantastic.
00:10:29.260 But she made an interesting statement as she was saying she was on Facebook and one of her, I guess, one of her friends or something had posted that her husband, she was upset because her husband was supposed to be deployed in a few weeks.
00:10:41.640 And she was upset because his superiors had told them, actually, you're being deployed right now.
00:10:47.660 Like, pack your bags.
00:10:48.480 It's time to go.
00:10:49.160 And it was funny because then Amber caught that and she was making the point that, look, why would he be needing to be deployed suddenly, immediately, when the timeline was set for quite a long time in their anticipation for his deployment?
00:11:03.180 So that does indicate that, again, the United States is really ramping up a lot of pressure here on Iran.
00:11:11.440 So that's interesting.
00:11:13.140 That's, I would say, a bad indicator.
00:11:15.340 But a good indicator, from my point of view, and then a few other people have shared this sentiment that I've seen, is that the fact that officials are talking to the press, right?
00:11:26.560 You're seeing report after report, you know, the Reuters, even CBS has had some reporters saying that officials are speaking to them.
00:11:37.540 And that's actually kind of a good sign that we're not going to have a war.
00:11:41.780 Because think about this.
00:11:42.700 Think about at the beginning of the year with Venezuela, the Venezuela operation.
00:11:46.600 Happened overnight.
00:11:47.420 No one knew it was coming.
00:11:48.420 We didn't have a single leak.
00:11:49.560 There was no reporting in the press that we were actually going to conduct an operation like that.
00:11:53.480 You know, we had seen that there was a carrier strike group in the region.
00:11:56.880 Obviously, we had seen the vessels being struck, the drug boats or whatever.
00:12:01.260 But there was no indication that we were actually going to conduct an operation in Venezuela because, again, the Pentagon had completely locked everything down.
00:12:11.220 You know, there were zero leaks coming out, zero, certainly zero officials talking to the press about what they think is going to happen or what their assessment is, these sorts of things.
00:12:20.500 Now we're seeing that this buildup in Iran, every news outlet in America is getting officials speaking to them.
00:12:26.640 That's actually a good sign because that indicates that the Trump administration is actually letting information be released.
00:12:34.220 Okay.
00:12:34.420 Because these officials, perhaps some of them are just speaking out of line and they're reporting confidential information.
00:12:41.940 But, again, we see with Venezuela that the Pentagon has demonstrated that they've gotten everything pretty airtight and that officials will not speak unless they're sort of allowed to or permitted to or at least like encouraged to.
00:12:53.340 So the fact that we're seeing senior officials, Reuters are saying they had a senior official talking to them, that indicates that the Pentagon is allowing information to be released on what our plans are in regards to Iran.
00:13:08.200 And the reason for that is because as soon as that hits the press, the Iranians are seeing that.
00:13:12.940 The Iranians are now seeing that the Trump administration is serious about striking them, and that will give us leverage in negotiations. 0.94
00:13:20.280 So all this to say, the fact that we're seeing officials talking indicates that the Trump administration is seeking to maximize pressure to get a deal.
00:13:29.900 And we are seeing negotiations are happening in Switzerland as we speak.
00:13:33.340 Again, this is the issue, though.
00:13:34.860 This is what the issue is.
00:13:36.780 Fundamentally, this is what the issue is.
00:13:37.920 Let me see if I can find it.
00:13:38.680 Oh, there it is.
00:13:41.220 Stumbling blocks.
00:13:41.900 Al Jazeera outlines it.
00:13:42.960 I could outline this myself, but I think it'll be useful to use their writing here.
00:13:45.400 Iran, for years, sought relief from sweeping sanctions imposed by the U.S., including a Washington Post ban on other countries buying its oil.
00:13:53.280 Tehran has said that the ongoing talks to focus its uranium enrichment program, insisting that any deal must deliver tangible economic benefits to Iran while maintaining its sovereignty and national security.
00:14:03.280 Meanwhile, Washington has demanded that Iran forego uranium enrichment on its soil and has sought to expand the scope of talks to non-nuclear issues such as Tehran's missile stockpile.
00:14:15.940 Iran has said that they will not accept zero uranium enrichment and that its missile capabilities are off the table.
00:14:22.800 So, again, this is the issue.
00:14:25.700 Where's the brinksmanship here, right?
00:14:26.980 I mean, if Iran and if Tehran and Washington are just seeing two completely different situations and what their conditions for a deal would be, I don't really know where the deal is.
00:14:40.440 It's very unclear here.
00:14:43.240 The Ayatollah, Khamenei, he actually came out and he gave a speech where he was saying, you know, under no circumstances are we surrendering our nuclear program.
00:14:51.200 If they're not going to surrender their nuclear program, they're certainly not going to surrender their missile stockpile.
00:14:56.820 That's very obvious.
00:14:58.800 So, again, it's just very unclear what specifically we can actually accomplish here at the negotiating table.
00:15:06.420 So, while I said there are encouraging signs that the Trump administration is prioritizing a deal here, the Trump administration, by all accounts, does not want to go to war for a variety of reasons, including the upcoming midterms.
00:15:19.100 What's the deal going to be?
00:15:20.580 Because Iran, you know, their line is completely out of step with ours. 1.00
00:15:27.520 Things are definitely heating up.
00:15:29.060 This was, again, in Reuters.
00:15:30.800 Russia warns of escalating Iran tensions amid U.S. military buildup.
00:15:35.220 This was quite interesting.
00:15:36.560 So, I made the point on the show last night that Russia, they really provided Venezuela with nothing.
00:15:43.580 No sort of relief whatsoever.
00:15:47.760 And I suggested that this would occur again in Iran. 0.50
00:15:50.520 And I do think that that probably is going to be the case.
00:15:53.080 But this is interesting.
00:15:54.540 This was reporting from Reuters over their Dubai outlet.
00:15:58.440 Russia warned against, quote, unprecedented escalation of tension around Iran on Thursday and urged restraint amid a U.S. military buildup in the region that a senior American official said should be complete by mid-March.
00:16:10.300 That was the reporting that I had seen.
00:16:11.500 U.S. threats to bomb Iran with the two sides far apart on talks, and Tehran's nuclear program have pushed up oil prices.
00:16:17.860 And a Russian Corvette, and so this is really important here, a Russian Corvette on Thursday joined planned Iranian naval drills in the Gulf of Oman, a vital sea route for global energy.
00:16:27.640 About 20% of all energy in the world passes through the Gulf of Oman.
00:16:31.160 So that's a very big deal that the Russians are joining the Iranians for joint naval drills in the Gulf of Oman.
00:16:39.320 That is a very, very big deal.
00:16:41.740 Now, again, I don't think that Russia is going to get involved if this is a military operation.
00:16:47.680 But this becomes a prolonged war.
00:16:50.660 Iran has a lot of proxies.
00:16:52.200 They have a lot of proxies.
00:16:53.000 They have the Houthis. 0.96
00:16:53.700 They have Hezbollah.
00:16:55.060 They have Hamas. 0.95
00:16:56.080 These are all proxies of Iran. 0.95
00:16:57.660 And Russia is going to provide some assistance here.
00:17:03.340 They're going to provide some aid.
00:17:04.260 The question is, what do they have?
00:17:06.320 Because, again, they're tied up in Ukraine right now, and that's probably not going to stop anytime soon. 0.96
00:17:12.140 But the munitions and whatnot that would be required for a defense of Iran or that would be useful for their proxies, those are different munitions.
00:17:21.220 And the munitions currently being utilized in the Ukraine operation, the Ukraine war.
00:17:25.460 So I wouldn't count necessarily completely count out Russia here.
00:17:30.580 Obviously, the Kremlin just would really not like to see a war because this ultimately puts Russia in a really bad situation if the U.S. and Iran go at it because they're going to have to weigh in.
00:17:39.440 They're going to have to, again, sort of pick a side here for lack of a better word.
00:17:43.260 If they sit on their hands when Iran is going down, how else is any other country supposed to trust Russia as a potential ally, as a potential partner, geopolitical partner?
00:17:54.000 It's very unclear.
00:17:54.580 So this was four days ago from Reuters, but this was the initial reporting that I remembered seeing.
00:18:00.920 And I was like, that's kind of interesting that this is in the news.
00:18:03.680 And then now we're seeing the context come out.
00:18:05.520 This was an exclusive that they got.
00:18:07.180 The U.S. military is preparing for potentially weeks-long Iran operations.
00:18:12.680 So, again, you know, people are suggesting that this could be like last summer where we just conduct a single operation, a single, you know, instance, and then it's over.
00:18:21.940 Same thing happened in Venezuela.
00:18:23.300 Well, the reporting that we're seeing from Reuters, again, this is officials telling Reuters this,
00:18:29.760 indicates that potentially this could be a prolonged conflict.
00:18:34.420 I think this would certainly classify as a war.
00:18:36.400 The U.S. military is preparing for a possibility of sustained weeks-long operation against Iran if President Donald Trump orders an attack, two senior, sorry, these aren't senior officials, two U.S. officials told Reuters.
00:18:48.580 And what could become a more, far more serious conflict than previously seen between the countries.
00:18:54.120 The disclosure by the officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of planning raises the stakes for diplomacy underway between the United States and Iran.
00:19:02.760 And then they go into the discussions in Geneva.
00:19:06.360 The reason why a weeks-long conflict is kind of concerning, well, it's very obvious why it's concerning, but another reason why this is concerning is because, again, if this is a we're in, we're out, it's done in four hours operation, that's one thing.
00:19:21.080 But a weeks-long Iranian operation, what that does is that has, again, large impacts for the region.
00:19:26.940 That activates the Houthis, that activates Hezbollah, that activates Hamas. 0.96
00:19:30.780 Again, that draws Israel into the conflict.
00:19:33.760 So Israel is going to get involved here, and that's where it's going to turn into a regional war.
00:19:39.140 We already saw Iran and Israel trade missiles last year.
00:19:44.140 Israel has unfinished business in Iran.
00:19:45.900 Iran feels like they have the capabilities to destroy Israel, so we would have to see if that's the case. 0.91
00:19:53.700 Who knows?
00:19:54.660 Granted, a few of their missiles did penetrate the Iron Dome, which is worth considering.
00:19:58.460 If the U.S. military enters a prolonged conflict with Iran, the Israelis will get involved.
00:20:05.080 Now, Levitt, a few others have said we aren't really coordinating with them right now, but that's a little difficult to believe for a variety of reasons.
00:20:15.900 One thing that was interesting, this was an interesting tidbit that was in the news, and this is what sucks, because anytime you bring up Israel, because the discourse right now is so toxic, immediately everyone just starts reading between the lines.
00:20:27.320 I'm just, right now, I'm giving reporting, right?
00:20:30.040 I'm giving, like, reporting.
00:20:31.620 This is what we know.
00:20:33.200 Again, this is far removed from any other context.
00:20:35.020 I'm just trying to determine the situation on the ground here.
00:20:38.160 I'm not making any grandiose political statements, et cetera, et cetera.
00:20:40.660 I'm just saying it's an objective reality that Israel would be involved with the war with Iran.
00:20:45.420 That is their number one global adversary.
00:20:47.260 Of course they would.
00:20:48.080 It's obvious.
00:20:49.680 Something that was interesting was Tucker Carlson yesterday went to Israel.
00:20:54.740 Apparently, he didn't leave the airport or something.
00:20:57.940 But he went to Israel.
00:20:58.980 He interviewed Mike Huckabee, that sort of thing.
00:21:00.600 Well, what we had heard is that Tucker Carlson was under pressure by the Trump administration to, I guess, tone it down on Israel.
00:21:07.020 That was what the reporting was saying.
00:21:09.300 Again, this is neither here nor there.
00:21:11.060 What is interesting is that the Trump administration is sort of trying to tighten ranks around commentary and whatnot surrounding Israel,
00:21:20.500 which indicates that they know that if we enter a weeks-long operation, Israel is going to be involved,
00:21:26.080 and that they want the best possible press as possible pertaining to Israel being a partner in a geopolitical skirmish.
00:21:32.600 So that was quite interesting.
00:21:33.980 This was a truth social post by Trump last night, or it was yesterday afternoon.
00:21:42.000 Again, this indicates that the Iranian situation is getting serious.
00:21:49.500 This was the truth social post, and I'll explain why afterwards.
00:21:52.540 I have been telling Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom that leases are no good when it comes to countries,
00:21:57.000 and that he is making a big mistake by entering a 100-year lease with whoever it is that is claiming right.
00:22:03.980 Title or interest to Diego Garcia, strategically located in the Indian Ocean.
00:22:07.880 Our relationship with the United Kingdom has been strong and powerful.
00:22:09.600 Da-da-da-da-da-da-da.
00:22:10.740 In our opinion, they are fictitious in nature.
00:22:15.620 Should Iran decide not to make a deal, it may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia in the airfield located in Fairford
00:22:21.240 in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous regime.
00:22:24.820 An attack that would potentially be made on the United Kingdom, as well as other friendly countries.
00:22:29.860 Again, the UK has assets in the region.
00:22:31.460 Cyprus, I mean, they have massive bases in Cyprus.
00:22:34.040 Obviously, the Chagos Islands, this is where Diego Garcia is located.
00:22:38.360 You know, we've seen with their missile range that the United Kingdom themselves might be within range.
00:22:41.660 I don't know if that's what Trump is suggesting here.
00:22:43.200 So this is Trump going back on initially the reporting was he was actually okay with the deal that Keir Starmer was making with Mauritius,
00:23:09.140 which would turn over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
00:23:14.140 It's irrelevant.
00:23:15.000 Mauritius is irrelevant.
00:23:16.060 This is a decision made out of wokeness.
00:23:18.400 The United Kingdom is questioning their ability to govern any land that is not their own.
00:23:24.120 And so they're saying, well, this is a form of decolonization. 0.90
00:23:27.080 It's absolutely retarded. 1.00
00:23:28.160 And it has massive geopolitical implications because Diego Garcia is a massive base. 0.81
00:23:31.520 This is where we conducted a lot of our operations during the global war on terror.
00:23:33.980 And this is where if we were to conduct an operation in Iran, it would be primarily based out of Diego Garcia.
00:23:40.180 So the fact that they're trying to give away that land is a massive problem for the Americans.
00:23:44.700 Who cares what the implications are on the British here? 0.99
00:23:46.720 This is a massive problem for us. 0.99
00:23:48.600 So the fact that Trump initially was sort of like whatever, it's a stupid idea, but whatever. 0.99
00:23:53.540 If you want to give your land away, you can. 0.87
00:23:55.780 To now, he puts out a statement yesterday saying, actually, no, you cannot give away this land.
00:23:59.860 And this belongs to the United Kingdom, and it should remain that way. 0.79
00:24:04.700 That tells me that, again, this Iran saga is serious here. 0.53
00:24:09.840 He understands that we are going to need an asset in the region for long-term purposes.
00:24:14.980 Again, if we were just thinking in-and-out strike, it would be pretty irrelevant.
00:24:18.840 Because the strike conducted last June, I believe, that was, I think, from Leavenworth.
00:24:25.800 I believe that's where it was.
00:24:26.900 So it's like from Kansas.
00:24:27.620 So we literally sent a bomber from Kansas all the way over to Iran, bombed them, flew all the way back to the United States.
00:24:32.700 Well, if we're entering a prolonged conflict with Iran, we are going to need a base, and that's going to be Diego Garcia in this instance. 0.89
00:24:39.220 So very, very interesting from President Trump.
00:24:43.920 This is why I think what specifically set him off.
00:24:46.640 The U.K. blocked the U.S. use of RAF Fairford and Diego Garcia for Iran strikes, citing international law.
00:24:54.620 And then this is what Trump, this is why Trump put that true social post out, is this was just a retarded situation. 1.00
00:25:00.500 The United Kingdom, just total idiots. 1.00
00:25:02.940 I mean, Starmer's at like 15% in polling, so he's very unpopular. 1.00
00:25:06.100 So he doesn't even really have the right to turn over this land right now.
00:25:09.860 This is what led Trump to withdraw support for the previous deal with Mauritius.
00:25:14.460 So senior U.K. officials privately called the situation bleak.
00:25:18.480 That is very fair to say.