Verdict with Ted Cruz - June 23, 2026


BONUS POD： Closed？ Not Even Close—Oil Keeps Moving, but So Do Red Flags

Hosted by
Ted Cruz
Mentioned
Joe Getty Donald Trump Windward Ben Ferguson Vance Hillary Clinton Herbert Hoover Kamala Harris Chuck Schumer Santé Canada Nancy Pelosi Tim Hawkins Joe Biden Chris Obama John
China Communists Funding Anti-AI Propaganda, plus Soros DAs Releasing Murderers Election Night： Socialists win in NYC, Conservatives win in SC & GA plus Radical Judge Bars Trump from Preventing Illegals from Voting

Episode Stats


Length

19 minutes

Words per minute

165.78

Word count

3,236

Sentence count

188

Harmful content

Misogyny

2

sentences flagged

Hate speech

7

sentences flagged


Summary

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

As America marks its 250th anniversary, we re looking back at two and a half centuries of rebellion and liberty through the eyes of the heroes who defended it. On this episode of the 47 Morning Update with Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty, we ve got a major update on Iran, including that Iran may be buying American soybeans with unfrozen funds, plus, the Strait of Hormuz is actually still open.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:00:02.580 Guaranteed human.
00:00:30.000 soutenue par Santé Canada.
00:01:00.000 or wherever you did your podcast.
00:01:03.220 Why should you listen to Armstrong and Getty On Demand?
00:01:06.760 We're not boring.
00:01:07.840 A lot of news is boring.
00:01:08.840 And tedious.
00:01:09.720 And depressing.
00:01:10.300 And makes you angry.
00:01:11.680 You don't want to live your life like that.
00:01:13.940 Hey, I'm Jack Armstrong.
00:01:15.020 He's Joe Getty.
00:01:15.660 We're Armstrong and Getty.
00:01:16.780 We try to bring you the truth.
00:01:17.920 And help you figure out this crazy modern world.
00:01:20.320 How about something about a comedic tone?
00:01:24.800 We have a winner.
00:01:26.320 Yes.
00:01:26.720 Listen to Armstrong and Getty on demand on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:01:33.520 As America marks its 250th anniversary, we're looking back at two and a half centuries of rebellion and liberty through the eyes of the heroes who defended it.
00:01:42.180 The whole thing about this country is freedom.
00:01:45.580 If we're not careful, we could lose that.
00:01:47.560 On Medal of Honor Stories of Courage, we bring you the defining moments of valor that went above and beyond the call of duty.
00:01:55.640 Listen to Medal of Honor on the iHeartRadio app,
00:01:58.560 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 1.00
00:02:03.940 Can you ensure that the Iranians won't use profits
00:02:06.320 from oil sales to rebuild their military? 0.91
00:02:08.840 Well, they're not supposed to be doing that,
00:02:10.540 so I will say, but they're supposed to use money
00:02:12.760 to buy food for their people
00:02:14.100 because right now their people are very hungry
00:02:16.240 and they're buying it exclusively from us.
00:02:19.000 Corn, soybeans, it should be a lot of money.
00:02:21.960 I hope it's a lot of money.
00:02:22.820 You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.
00:02:27.920 Good Tuesday morning. Nice to have you with us on the 47 Morning Update.
00:02:31.760 We've got a major update on Iran,
00:02:33.840 including the fact that Iran may be buying American soybeans with unfrozen funds.
00:02:39.440 Plus, the Strait of Hormuz is actually still open.
00:02:42.960 So where are we right now?
00:02:44.500 We break it down for you.
00:02:45.760 Now, before we get to that,
00:02:47.280 I want to talk to you about how you can have a real impact in the world
00:02:50.360 with Compassion International.
00:02:52.140 A few years ago, I made the choice to partner with Compassion International to sponsor a child who is in desperate need.
00:02:59.760 Now, it was a great idea, right?
00:03:01.800 That's what most people say.
00:03:02.680 All right, it's nice, sure.
00:03:04.300 But you really have no idea just how much that simple act can actually change a life.
00:03:10.500 And I'm not just talking about the child.
00:03:12.000 I'm talking about my life.
00:03:13.600 Now, I sponsored Nadia and got to watch her life change right in front of my eyes, 1.00
00:03:18.180 going from starving alone on the street to getting the health care and education that she needs 1.00
00:03:23.640 to reach her God-given potential. I got to be a part of that change and the light of that
00:03:29.400 compassion not only illuminated her, it illuminated me. That's the power of compassion and it's
00:03:35.880 something I'm trying to teach my children about as well. Now the light of Christ shines on all of us
00:03:41.960 And you can feel this for yourself and for your children.
00:03:46.460 You can sponsor a child and have them involved.
00:03:49.020 That's what I love so much.
00:03:50.800 So not only are you changing a child's life, you're helping change the world,
00:03:54.520 but you may even be changing yourself and your family.
00:03:57.780 You can sponsor a child today.
00:04:00.420 Visit Compassion.com.
00:04:03.180 That's Compassion.com.
00:04:06.360 It's the 47 Morning Update, and it starts right now.
00:04:09.620 Story number one.
00:04:10.720 I want to get you an update on what's happening with the Strait of Hormuz right now
00:04:14.040 and the Iran deal, which is up and down as the vice president's trying to salvage this thing
00:04:19.000 and try to get us some good news.
00:04:21.500 But what we are being told right now is that tankers are, in fact,
00:04:25.600 continuing to move through the Strait of Hormuz despite the Iranian threat.
00:04:30.100 Although Iran proclaimed that the Strait of Hormuz was once again closed on Saturday,
00:04:34.980 tankers continue to move through the vital waterway,
00:04:37.320 including very large crude carriers and liquid natural gas tankers as well.
00:04:43.180 That is good news for the world economy.
00:04:45.820 The strait was reopened on Thursday after President Donald Trump
00:04:49.360 and the Iranian president signed their Memorandum of Understanding, the MOUs,
00:04:53.820 to establish the framework for a quote-unquote peace deal.
00:04:58.660 Just a few days later on Saturday, Tehran announced the strait was closed again
00:05:02.580 because Israel was still fighting Iran's terrorist proxy, Hezbollah, in Lebanon.
00:05:08.760 U.S. Central Command, CENTCOM, responded by saying
00:05:11.740 that Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz.
00:05:14.300 Quote, unquote, very simple.
00:05:16.020 Then came out with another statement saying traffic continues to flow
00:05:19.300 and U.S. forces are monitoring the situation to ensure this, in fact, remains the case,
00:05:25.320 is what the CENTCOM spokesman, Captain Tim Hawkins, said in a statement.
00:05:29.660 Now, safe passage through the international waterway remains intact today as 55 merchant ships transited, moving large amounts of cargo and more than 17 million barrels of oil to the global market, Simcom said on Saturday.
00:05:48.140 U.S. forces remain present and vigilant to ensure all aspects of the agreement with Iran are adhered to, obeyed, and in full force and effect, the statement continued.
00:05:59.660 Now, CENCOM referred to the latest bulletin from the Joint Maritime Information Center,
00:06:05.840 which lowered its risk advisory level for the Strait of Hormuz to moderate and said the Strait is, quote, now open.
00:06:14.960 JMIC posted an update on Sunday that said traffic flows are increasing, so not decreasing,
00:06:22.500 even though Iran said that the Strait was closed.
00:06:25.420 Well, the number of ships going through increased.
00:06:28.100 They said navigational system interference and wider regional military activity continues to warrant caution.
00:06:35.160 Navigational interference includes hailing and surveillance activity by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard, the IRGC.
00:06:43.040 Reuters also reported on Monday that oil and liquid natural gas tankers are indeed moving through the Strait of Hormuz and traffic is picking up.
00:06:52.000 They said four LNG tankers controlled by Qatar headed into the Gulf and through the strait on Monday,
00:06:59.720 while two super tankers, which can carry up to four million barrels of crude alone,
00:07:05.240 crossed into the Gulf with one signaling its destination as the Iraqi port of Basra.
00:07:12.420 The report said that the data from the ship tracker also confirmed that.
00:07:16.480 They said two smaller crew tankers carrying just under 2 million barrels of oil in total
00:07:22.660 sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf of Oman on Monday,
00:07:27.240 citing a different set of ship tracking data for that.
00:07:30.240 So what we now know, it's pretty clear now that this is apparently what Iran says 0.63
00:07:38.620 and their propaganda doesn't actually match reality, I think it's fair to say, yet again.
00:07:43.860 Now, Reuters also noted that more ships could be passing through the strait with their Automatic Information System, or AIS, transponders turned off for safety.
00:07:55.320 They said based on visual observations, traffic does seem to slow considerably after the IRG said that the strait was closed again,
00:08:03.580 falling from 26 ships spotted on Saturday to just five on Sunday.
00:08:09.980 So when they say something like this, it does have an impact.
00:08:13.860 Now, the South Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries also said on Monday that two ships operated by South Korea have been able to pass safely through the straits since the MOU was signed.
00:08:24.060 The ministry provided few further details in the interest of safety because the ships have not yet fully exited what is described as a high-risk zone.
00:08:32.980 They mentioned that neither of them is crewed by South Koreans or currently headed for port in South Korea.
00:08:40.700 They listed also intelligence, Lloyd's List Intelligence said on Sunday that commercial traffic, quote,
00:08:48.760 continued to move through the strait over the weekend despite repeated Iranian claims that it had closed the waterway
00:08:54.720 in response to what described as Israel's violation of a ceasefire because of them targeting terrorists in Lebanon.
00:09:02.080 Now, another maritime intelligence company known as Windward concurred with its own analysis
00:09:07.420 that traffic through the Southern Corridor was not reflecting any closure.
00:09:12.660 They noted that the Strait was nowhere near returning to its pre-war traffic loads
00:09:17.380 based on the traffic data.
00:09:20.080 Windward split the analytical difference by observing that high visibility traffic
00:09:24.260 with transponders switched on had stalled even before the IRGC declared the Strait was closed on Saturday.
00:09:30.400 So they're turning off their transponders for safety reasons.
00:09:33.860 They said 12 transits today down from 21 on June 20th, neutral and European tonnage absent five of the seven inbound vessels dark, Windward said.
00:09:46.540 So again, that means that they're turning off their transponders because they feel like that gives them a better chance of safely passing through the strait.
00:09:54.060 They said the current traffic profile is dark, sanctioned, and Iran-linked resemble the late blockade baseline more than a functioning open strait,
00:10:03.180 The analyst concluded there.
00:10:04.980 So this is what the vice president is having to deal with right now.
00:10:09.960 This is what the president's having to deal with right now.
00:10:12.200 This is what the Trump administration's having to deal with right now.
00:10:14.200 And honestly, this is what the world's having to deal with.
00:10:18.040 Now, Fox News anchors also poured a lot of blunt, I think a fair way of saying it is,
00:10:24.060 cold water on J.D. Vance's Iran deal update.
00:10:26.980 And put it this way, as they were describing the latest update,
00:10:30.560 As Vance said, Trump wants to focus on Iran's actions, I guess, more than their words.
00:10:36.220 Listen carefully to their words.
00:10:37.820 OK, the vice president boarding the plane, Air Force Two, and heading back to the United States
00:10:41.700 after a couple of days of negotiations there in the beautiful part of the world,
00:10:44.840 was there in Switzerland with the Iranian delegation.
00:10:47.480 Sanders saying that he's achieved some success in setting up a mechanism to keep the Strait of Hormuz open,
00:10:52.560 though a lot of people would say American firepower is all you need to do that.
00:10:55.680 Setting up a mechanism to achieve a lasting ceasefire.
00:10:59.040 and the fact that the Iranians say that they will allow inspectors to come in
00:11:03.180 in terms of their nuclear program,
00:11:05.260 but the vice president there with a caveat that says
00:11:09.020 we don't know exactly what that means,
00:11:10.660 and if history is any guide, it might not mean much.
00:11:13.180 Yeah, adding that it's been a very confusing process to negotiate with the Iranians,
00:11:17.300 but that positive talk about getting that oil moving
00:11:19.800 is what continues to send oil prices lower now, near $74 a barrel.
00:11:24.360 The U.S. stock market's still hovering near all-time high,
00:11:27.320 So as long as the messaging continues to be that, you know, we have reason to believe that the White House is happy with what they've seen so far, John.
00:11:35.600 And the word from the administration, and you and I know this because we were on a call with the senior administration official a little more than a week ago,
00:11:41.600 is that if this all transpires in the way that the White House hopes it will, it has the potential to transform the Middle East.
00:11:49.280 The vice president reiterated that again.
00:11:51.220 But he also said we haven't built the house yet. 1.00
00:11:53.560 And I would think of all of the things, all of the houses or all of the buildings that President Trump has built over his long and storied career as a real estate developer, building this particular house with the Iranians is probably the toughest challenge he's ever faced. 0.96
00:12:08.480 And I'm sure that's all part of the vision. All right. We are going to have much more on that and reaction to it coming up. 0.99
00:12:13.120 So you can hear there, there's a lot of people that are scratching their head like the vice president is there with a caveat that says we don't know exactly what that means referring to this, you know, nuclear inspections.
00:12:25.640 And if history is any guide, that might not mean much.
00:12:29.260 Those are the words from Fox News Channel.
00:12:31.220 I think it's very interesting how blunt they were there after the vice president kind of gave his update of where we are.
00:12:37.320 We now are being told that the frozen Iranian funds would not be released unless the United States continues to see progress while describing a Qataris as an oversight mechanism for funds that could be used to buy American soybeans.
00:12:52.840 Vance's remarks came after a reporter asked whether Iran had already agreed that frozen funds could be used to buy American soybeans.
00:12:58.620 Vance replied, yeah, that was something that came up yesterday.
00:13:01.800 We actually asked the Qataris to help us set up the mechanism so that we could ensure that the money goes where we want it to go.
00:13:08.940 And they agreed to that.
00:13:10.860 We have a good relationship, obviously, with them and a good operational oversight mechanism in place.
00:13:15.680 But even with that said, even with the caveat that's going to benefit American farmers and obviously benefit the people of Iran, we want both.
00:13:23.740 But fundamentally, the money is not going to be unfrozen unless we continue to see progress.
00:13:28.080 and that will obviously be a big part of the negotiations in the days to come.
00:13:33.040 Now the comments follow the release of the memo of understanding between the United States and Iran
00:13:37.060 which the White House confirmed after the full text was shared with reporters.
00:13:41.100 The memo said the United States and Iran had jointly agreed in good faith
00:13:44.380 to terms involving the current conflict, the current sanctions,
00:13:48.400 Iran's nuclear program and negotiations towards a quote-unquote final deal.
00:13:52.860 The memo also stated the United States would make fully available for use
00:13:57.380 the frozen or restricted funds and assets of Iran upon implementation of the MOU.
00:14:03.240 Two countries would mutually agree on procedures for releasing these funds during the negotiations,
00:14:09.300 and the text said that such funds, whether kept in the original account or transferred,
00:14:13.840 would be fully usable for payment to any unlimited beneficiary designed by the Central Bank of Iran.
00:14:23.280 That is where a lot of conservatives started screaming, I was one of them,
00:14:27.380 over this massive red flag.
00:14:29.060 And that's why the question that was asked there of the president was an important one.
00:14:32.540 Now, you can hear the vice president saying, no, no, no, like, we've got this.
00:14:35.960 Everything's fine.
00:14:38.180 Again, this goes back to the issue of trust, but verify.
00:14:42.000 President Trump was also asked if he would risk worldwide depression and strike Iran again.
00:14:48.220 So, again, the media, with their doom or gloom, questioning, continuing.
00:14:51.880 Listen.
00:14:52.040 If a war with Iran could cause a worldwide depression, as you noted, Mr. President, are
00:14:57.900 you willing to risk economic catastrophe and strike Iran again?
00:15:01.200 Well, not the way I'm doing it.
00:15:02.360 It's not going to cause depression.
00:15:04.160 Yes, but if they don't abide by the memorandum of understanding.
00:15:06.620 Well, nuclear weapon supersedes depression.
00:15:09.900 Depression is real bad.
00:15:11.320 Nuclear weapon will cause depression much more quickly.
00:15:15.780 The way we're doing it, we have the opposite of a depression.
00:15:18.960 We're doing really well.
00:15:22.040 The numbers are incredible. The oil is at a level that nobody's ever seen before. Oil prices are way down. I think they're very comparable to what they were. Chris, I don't know, pretty comparable to what they were before we started.
00:15:36.100 They've returned most of the way back down. 0.71
00:15:37.620 So if Iran does not abide by the MOU, are you still willing for drugs?
00:15:44.620 What I didn't say it would cause a depression.
00:15:47.620 I said it could cause a depression, right?
00:15:49.620 And they said that I don't want to be Herbert Hoover.
00:15:52.620 That's a president I don't want to be because he, you know,
00:15:56.620 he was in charge during the Great Depression.
00:16:00.620 And certainly a lot of bad things could happen.
00:16:03.620 That would be one of the things.
00:16:04.620 of things i don't think it would but if it did but no if if iran doesn't uh live up to their
00:16:11.840 agreement or if they're not behaving i will i will do what i have to do it really is interesting to
00:16:19.780 hear the media there do everything that they possibly can to make you believe that the the
00:16:25.300 sky is falling the world is ending it is over folks and if if if donald trump attacks iran
00:16:33.340 again that we're going to go into this catastrophic economic fall not just america but the rest of
00:16:38.960 the world ask yourself this question why would the media describe it this way because they do
00:16:45.300 not want the president united states of america to be successful in actually dismantling iran
00:16:50.920 from being a threat to our national security and and what they're really about here is they want
00:16:59.580 this president to be a failure they want him and everything that happens to be a failure so if the
00:17:08.060 president does his job which is to keep us safe and deal with the national security issue that
00:17:13.960 the can have been kicked down the road for how long i go back to what donald trump is doing he
00:17:19.140 has the same policy towards iran that that hillary clinton had that bill clinton had that barack
00:17:25.920 Obama had, that Joe Biden had, that Kamala Harris had, that Chuck Schumer had, that Nancy Pelosi
00:17:30.300 had, that Iran cannot get a nuclear weapon. The only difference is that a guy by the name of
00:17:36.080 Donald Trump is actually willing to do it. They were not. They just would keep punting and kicking
00:17:43.440 the ball because they didn't want to deal with it. Thank you for listening to the 47 Morning Update
00:17:48.780 with Ben Ferguson. Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever you're listening to this
00:17:54.160 podcast right now and for more in-depth news also subscribe to the ben ferguson podcast and we will
00:18:00.800 see you back here tomorrow on neutral podcast we're celebrating america's 250th birthday
00:18:06.900 and i ask my guests how they're spending their fourth of july brett bear i will be working i'll
00:18:13.840 be in washington because it's a big big day jared isaacman i plan to be flying an f5 fighter jet
00:18:20.300 painted in Freedom 250 colors
00:18:22.140 along with four other fighter jets
00:18:24.180 flying over the nation's capital.
00:18:25.860 Listen to Newt's World on the iHeartRadio app,
00:18:28.720 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you did your podcast.
00:18:33.000 Why should you listen to Armstrong and Getty on demand?
00:18:36.700 We're not boring.
00:18:37.680 A lot of news is boring.
00:18:38.660 And tedious.
00:18:39.540 And depressing.
00:18:40.140 And makes you angry.
00:18:41.500 You don't want to live your life like that.
00:18:43.780 Hey, I'm Jack Armstrong.
00:18:44.840 He's Joe Getty.
00:18:45.500 We're Armstrong and Getty.
00:18:46.600 We try to bring you the truth
00:18:47.660 and help you figure out this crazy modern world.
00:18:50.020 How about something about a comedic tone?
00:18:54.520 We have a winner.
00:18:56.160 Yes.
00:18:57.180 Listen to Armstrong and Getty on demand on the iHeartRadio app,
00:19:00.260 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:19:03.280 As America marks its 250th anniversary,
00:19:06.120 we're looking back at two and a half centuries of rebellion and liberty
00:19:09.600 through the eyes of the heroes who defended it.
00:19:12.000 The whole thing about this country is freedom.
00:19:15.420 If we're not careful, we could lose that.
00:19:17.420 On Medal of Honor, Stories of Courage, we bring you the defining moments of valor that went above and beyond the call of duty.
00:19:25.480 Listen to Medal of Honor on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.