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Bessent issues CHILLING warning to Iranian allies · DEEP INSIGHT

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: To the Middle East, the Trump administration is expected to
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: roll out what Treasury Secretary Scott Benson calls the toughest
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: sanctions in the history against Iran.
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: Chief Foreign Correspondent Trey Inks joins us live from Tel
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: Aviv with the details.
• 0:15
  Speaker 3: Trey. Yeah, hey guys, good morning.
• 0:18
  Speaker 4: The United States is set to unleash new economic sanctions
• 0:22
  Speaker 4: against Iran to put new pressure on the regime in Tehran.
• 0:26
  Speaker 3: U.S.
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  Speaker 4: Treasury Secretary Scott Besant wrote on Sunday, President Donald Trump
• 0:31
  Speaker 4: and the overwhelming might of our military have significantly dismantled
• 0:34
  Speaker 4: Iran's military capabilities and weakened its nuclear program. Now we
• 0:38
  Speaker 4: are entering the endgame. At dawn begins an economic D-Day,
• 0:42
  Speaker 4: the single greatest financial offensive ever marshaled against any adversary.
• 0:46
  Speaker 4: The economic pressure comes as the Iranian rial crossed $ 2
• 0:49
  Speaker 4: million to $ 1 U.S., a historic low for the country's currency.
• 0:53
  Speaker 4: The head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council responded on X,
• 0:57
  Speaker 4: saying if the economic war continues, not a single drop
• 1:00
  Speaker 4: of oil will be exported, neither through the Strait of
• 1:02
  Speaker 4: Hormuz nor nor from anywhere in the Persian Gulf. Iran
• 1:05
  Speaker 4: will regard any country's participation in or support for America's
• 1:09
  Speaker 4: economic war against the Iranian people as an act of war.
• 1:13
  Speaker 4: Despite this statement, reports do indicate that crossings through the
• 1:16
  Speaker 4: Strait of Hormuz are up 400% over the last two weeks.
• 1:20
  Speaker 4: The United States is overseeing vessels out of the Persian
• 1:23
  Speaker 4: Gulf through a safer southern passage. This passage allows for
• 1:26
  Speaker 4: millions of barrels of crude oil to be exported each day. Still,
• 1:29
  Speaker 4: the Iranians remain defiant.
• 1:33
  Speaker 5: The fact that the United States has once again moved
• 1:35
  Speaker 5: from military threats, saying that it will strike and so on,
• 1:39
  Speaker 5: to reviving its old plans shows that they are truly
• 1:41
  Speaker 5: desperate and have no solution when it comes to the
• 1:43
  Speaker 5: great Iranian nation. Therefore, they keep bringing their old plans
• 1:47
  Speaker 5: back onto the scene.
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: The U.S.
• 1:50
  Speaker 4: Naval blockade also remains in place, as CENTCOM says 70
• 1:54
  Speaker 4: commercial vessels have been redirected since the blockade was reimposed.
• 1:57
  Speaker 4: In terms of U.S. military movement, the USS Abraham Lincoln
• 2:00
  Speaker 4: is headed home after being deployed for 274 days. This
• 2:04
  Speaker 4: aircraft carrier made its last port call in December, breaking
• 2:07
  Speaker 4: a Navy record. The vessel is being replaced by the
• 2:10
  Speaker 4: Japan-based USS George Washington. On Friday, President Trump doubled down
• 2:14
  Speaker 4: on his position that the strait is now U.S.
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: Territory.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: They'll never have a nuclear weapon.
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: They want to make a deal so badly. We don't
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: even know if we want, because I view the Strait
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: of Hormuz as an American territory right now.
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: It's an American territory.
• 2:32
  Speaker 4: The question remains, will this new economic pressure lead to
• 2:34
  Speaker 4: a deal or a return to combat?
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: Guys?
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: Trey, we have had sanctions on Iran for decades, and
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: we've been in a war with them now for months
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: with increased sanctions. Iran's economy is teetering on the.
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: Collapse as it is.
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: How could these new sanctions actually be the death blow
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: to the Iranian economy and ultimately, at the end of
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: the day, force this regime out?
• 3:02
  Speaker 4: Look, there's a compounding factor here, and we don't know
• 3:05
  Speaker 4: exactly what's going to be announced by the U.S. Treasury,
• 3:07
  Speaker 4: but the rial number is really the most significant over
• 3:10
  Speaker 4: the past 24 hours. It is at a historic low,
• 3:13
  Speaker 4: more than two million rial to one U.S. dollar, and
• 3:16
  Speaker 4: it's an indication that inflation inside of Iran is rapidly rising.
• 3:20
  Speaker 4: Coupled with the U.S. naval blockade and additional sanctions, it
• 3:23
  Speaker 4: puts new pressure on the regime in Tehran. And again,
• 3:26
  Speaker 4: this question about who can make the decisions inside of Iran.
• 3:29
  Speaker 4: President Trump on Friday talked about this as being one
• 3:31
  Speaker 4: of the biggest problems of the United States, that even
• 3:34
  Speaker 4: if new pressure is applied, they have to get to
• 3:36
  Speaker 4: the individuals who can actually make an agreement and ensure
• 3:39
  Speaker 4: that it's enforced.
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: Okay, Trey Yinks live for us. Thank you, Trey. We're
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: going to bring in the U.S. ambassador to NATO, Matt Whitaker. Matt,
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: thanks for coming on. You know, obviously, as we just
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: heard Trey say, we don't know what these sanctions are
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: going to be that's going to be announced today. But
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: my question is, why wasn't something like this done sooner?
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: Good morning. It's good to be with you. Well, Ashley.
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: The real reason is that, obviously, there is an escalation
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: that you would go through. You don't maximize everything that
• 4:09
  Speaker 3: you bring to a conflict like this. And so, you know,
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: President Trump has obviously kept a clear goal of getting
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: a deal done that guarantees forever that Iran does not
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: produce— possess nuclear weapons. And that's going to always be
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: the number one goal. And so, you know, incrementally increasing
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: the pressure on Iran and the regime, I think, will
• 4:35
  Speaker 3: accomplish that. You know, we have— militarily, you know, they've been decimated.
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: They have no meaningful military that can defend or protect
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: the Iranian people. And their navy is on the bottom
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: of the Strait of Hormuz. And so, you know, these sanctions,
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: I think, that are going to be announced today— I' m not
• 4:53
  Speaker 3: going to get ahead of Secretary Besant, but I think
• 4:56
  Speaker 3: these sanctions are going to be dramatic. I think they're
• 4:59
  Speaker 3: going to be meaningful. But, you know, I want to
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: highlight their currency is as weak as it's ever been.
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: And inflation is skyrocketing. And those two things, combined with
• 5:09
  Speaker 3: this naval blockade that's being successfully executed, together with us
• 5:14
  Speaker 3: opening a lane in the Strait of Hormuz to move
• 5:18
  Speaker 3: oil in and out and ships back in to get
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: more oil— I mean, you know, some days— I think this is important,
• 5:23
  Speaker 3: Ashley— some days, we are moving more oil now than we
• 5:27
  Speaker 3: did pre-conflict because of the pipelines that have been opened
• 5:31
  Speaker 3: up and all that's happening in the Middle East. And
• 5:35
  Speaker 3: so this is obviously— we are entering an end phase, but,
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: you know, Scott Besson's announcement today is critical and important.
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: And he's putting other nations on notice, warning those who
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: continue to financially back Tehran, stating the following. The alternative
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: for those who tether themselves to Tehran is the foreclosure
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: of any path to lasting prosperity— And any nation that
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: serves as a financial artery of a withering regime should
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: expect to share in its isolation. Basically saying, look, we're
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: going after Iran, but if you side with Iran, we're
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: going to go after you too. And that's going to
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: be horrible for your future. Which countries is Scott Besant
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: really threatening there, Ambassador?
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: Well, there are several countries that still continue to trade
• 6:21
  Speaker 3: with Iran. And it's no secret, and it's been publicly
• 6:25
  Speaker 3: talked about, that China still buys oil from Iran, especially
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: when it was able to get out of the Strait.
• 6:33
  Speaker 3: You know, countries like India also accept Shadow Fleet oil.
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: oil from other countries, including Iran. So, I think there's—you know,
• 6:45
  Speaker 3: this is a clear indication that the conflict is with Iran,
• 6:50
  Speaker 3: that we do not seek conflict. To expand this conflict,
• 6:53
  Speaker 3: you know, we want everybody to join the United States
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: in the denuclearization of Iran, because this is an important project.
• 6:59
  Speaker 3: Can you imagine, as crazy as they have been since
• 7:03
  Speaker 3: this conflict began, if they possessed a nuclear weapon, how
• 7:06
  Speaker 3: threatening that would be not only to the region, but
• 7:09
  Speaker 3: as they developed even more sophisticated missile technologies? how that
• 7:13
  Speaker 3: could threaten here in Europe and even the continental United States.
• 7:17
  Speaker 3: And that is not acceptable. President Trump has said that
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: that is not acceptable. And he's taken action. Many presidents
• 7:23
  Speaker 3: have dithered on this issue. President Trump has taken decisive action. Yeah.
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: And as we heard Trey say, I mean, one of
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: the main issues, if not, you know, it's a huge
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: issue with dealing with Iran is who is making these
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: decisions and who's agreeing on this? Because we'll say one
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: thing and then we'll hear them say something completely different.
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: So obviously that is something that is as high on
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: the radar for the administration. But do you think that
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: they can actually come to some sort of agreement? I mean,
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: if not all this pressure is put on them, but
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: can there be do you think there can be an
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: agreement made with them?
• 8:00
  Speaker 3: I think there is always a chance for a deal
• 8:04
  Speaker 3: to be made. We continue to open— be open to that possibility.
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: This is absolutely an issue, is knowing exactly who you're
• 8:14
  Speaker 3: making a deal with and can they follow through. And,
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: you know, the bluster that we're hearing from the Iranians
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: is from desperation. They are obviously not strong. They are
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: not in a strong position. It is time for them
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: to come to the table, enter into the deal, no
• 8:30
  Speaker 3: nuclear weapon, become a peaceful state that is part of
• 8:35
  Speaker 3: the world community. And that is always open to them.
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: But— You know, we do not have any tolerance for
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: a nuclear-ambitious Iran, and President Trump has made that very clear.
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: And also, we need to be clear, the politics are
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: always at play here. This is pretty good news, a
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: pretty good weekend of news for the administration with regard
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: to the war in Iran with the midterms, now officially
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: less than two and a half months away. Ambassador Whitaker,
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: thank you, as always.
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: We appreciate it. Thank you.
• 9:02
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• 9:04
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• 9:08
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