WEBVTT 00:00:00.017 --> 00:00:06.757 Our president will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate. 00:00:07.097 --> 00:00:08.997 He's weak and he's ineffective. 00:00:09.597 --> 00:00:15.057 Hello, friends. This is James Corbett of CorbettReport.com coming to you on March 2nd, 2026. 00:00:15.317 --> 00:00:19.457 And as you may or may not have heard by now, yes, over this past weekend, 00:00:19.637 --> 00:00:24.957 the United States military began military operations against Iran. 00:00:25.237 --> 00:00:27.677 And with Operation Epstein Fury. 00:00:28.257 --> 00:00:34.237 I'm sorry. I mean, Operation Epic Fury. Donald Trump has once again proven the 00:00:34.237 --> 00:00:38.197 old adage that you Americans can vote as hard as you want, 00:00:38.197 --> 00:00:43.817 but it's always going to be Benjamin Netanyahu who is really calling the shots. 00:00:44.757 --> 00:00:49.057 We should have never been in Iraq. We have destabilized the Middle East. 00:00:49.137 --> 00:00:52.977 But so you so I mean, so you still think he should be impeached? I think it's my turn. 00:00:53.077 --> 00:00:57.217 You do whatever you want. You call it whatever you want. I want to tell you, They lied. 00:00:57.397 --> 00:01:00.677 They said there were weapons of mass destruction. There were none. 00:01:00.837 --> 00:01:01.937 And they knew there were none. 00:01:02.117 --> 00:01:06.017 In recent months, the tyrants in Iran have been plotting to rebuild their nuclear 00:01:06.017 --> 00:01:11.057 and missile capabilities and to bury them underground, where we won't be able to strike them. 00:01:11.317 --> 00:01:14.617 If we don't stop them now, they will become invulnerable. 00:01:15.517 --> 00:01:23.997 A short time ago, the United States military began major combat operations in Iran. 00:01:25.362 --> 00:01:30.962 Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats 00:01:30.962 --> 00:01:38.882 from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people. 00:01:40.622 --> 00:01:44.982 I think we all know how that story goes. But in case you don't know how that 00:01:44.982 --> 00:01:48.902 story goes, well, you're in luck because that is precisely what I am going to 00:01:48.902 --> 00:01:52.362 be exploring here today on the Corbett Report podcast. 00:01:52.362 --> 00:01:58.802 You are tuned into the Corbett Report podcast, specifically episode 493 on War in Iran, 00:01:59.282 --> 00:02:04.782 Board of Peace edition, in which I will be going over the history and context 00:02:04.782 --> 00:02:11.322 of this current Iranian conflict and what it can tell us about what is happening and why it is happening. 00:02:12.002 --> 00:02:16.582 And so I will issue the standard proviso. This is not a live news broadcast, 00:02:16.582 --> 00:02:21.742 so you are not going to get up to the second breaking news about what is happening 00:02:21.742 --> 00:02:25.982 in Iran right this moment, whenever you are listening to this podcast. 00:02:26.242 --> 00:02:29.602 For the record, I am recording this at 9.39 a.m. 00:02:29.702 --> 00:02:36.582 Japanese Standard Time on Monday, March 2nd, 2026, which would be Sunday evening 00:02:36.582 --> 00:02:38.242 going into Monday morning there in Iran. 00:02:38.242 --> 00:02:43.062 It would be Sunday evening in the U.S. I am not going to have whatever latest 00:02:43.062 --> 00:02:47.142 breaking news is happening at the time you're listening to my words. 00:02:47.322 --> 00:02:52.522 I can't tell you what the latest breaking news that is happening as I am recording this is. 00:02:52.682 --> 00:02:58.682 Namely, we have this up from antiwar.com. Trump expects his Iran war to last four weeks or so. 00:02:59.162 --> 00:03:02.702 We also have this up from antiwar.com. At least three U.S. 00:03:02.842 --> 00:03:05.862 Troops killed since U.S. and Israel launched war against Iran, 00:03:05.862 --> 00:03:09.542 noting that the Iranian missiles and drones have struck U.S. 00:03:09.582 --> 00:03:12.242 Bases in the region in retaliation for the strikes. 00:03:13.002 --> 00:03:16.742 We, of course, have seen this from Iran itself. 00:03:16.922 --> 00:03:23.342 U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran. At least 153 girls killed in strike on school. And, 00:03:23.805 --> 00:03:28.145 What about Israel and what's happening there? Deadly Iranian missile attack 00:03:28.145 --> 00:03:33.505 hits west of occupied Jerusalem, noting there are some deaths and injuries being reported there. 00:03:34.205 --> 00:03:38.665 And we don't know exactly what is taking place, what's going to take place in 00:03:38.665 --> 00:03:39.665 the coming days and weeks. 00:03:39.785 --> 00:03:44.305 But we know that at least for the time being, Ayatollah Khamenei is dead. 00:03:44.785 --> 00:03:50.405 And Iran has formed an interim council to oversee the transition after Khamenei's killing. 00:03:50.405 --> 00:03:56.145 And this is an article from Al Jazeera that might be worth your time and attention if you do not know, 00:03:56.245 --> 00:04:00.165 for example, the structure of the Iranian government, how it is set up, 00:04:00.245 --> 00:04:07.485 how it works, what the supreme leader is and whom he appoints and how that ultimately 00:04:07.485 --> 00:04:09.785 filters down to the political level, etc. 00:04:10.485 --> 00:04:13.085 So if you want that, they have this handy dandy infographic. 00:04:13.225 --> 00:04:14.165 They have some explainers. 00:04:14.305 --> 00:04:19.845 They have a video talking about the potential succession for the Ayatollah who 00:04:19.845 --> 00:04:27.145 who might replace him like his son or his grandson or Iranian chief justice, 00:04:27.445 --> 00:04:28.825 ultra hardline cleric, etc. 00:04:28.885 --> 00:04:32.205 So if you want this skinny on all of that, that's here. 00:04:32.425 --> 00:04:35.925 And of course, all of this information, all of these breaking news stories, 00:04:36.245 --> 00:04:41.005 everything that we talk about today will be in the show notes for today's episode 00:04:41.005 --> 00:04:44.225 at corbettreport.com/iranwar. 00:04:45.365 --> 00:04:51.885 Having said that, let's start talking about why. Why now? 00:04:52.405 --> 00:04:58.945 Obviously, for anyone who has been paying attention for the last year or several years or decades, 00:04:58.945 --> 00:05:04.565 you will know that the Iran war has always been the next war that's just around 00:05:04.565 --> 00:05:07.865 the corner and has been since the time of, oh, at least the Iraq war. 00:05:08.725 --> 00:05:14.585 So why is it happening now? Well, there are different ideas and explanations 00:05:14.585 --> 00:05:16.025 that we could proffer for that. 00:05:16.225 --> 00:05:18.345 And the obvious ones present themselves. 00:05:18.705 --> 00:05:24.445 What time is it? Oh, it's 2026 coming up on the midterm selections in the United States. 00:05:24.525 --> 00:05:29.025 So we know that there's going to be some interesting jockeying going on on the 00:05:29.025 --> 00:05:31.245 selectoral side of things. 00:05:31.425 --> 00:05:35.725 So, well, now's a good time to bring up the good old commander in chief's previous 00:05:35.725 --> 00:05:41.225 words on this subject. Remember, in order to get elected, Barack Obama will start a war with Iran. 00:05:41.485 --> 00:05:45.225 Or now that Obama's poll numbers are in tailspin, watch for him to launch a 00:05:45.225 --> 00:05:47.585 strike in Libya or Iran. He is desperate. 00:05:47.825 --> 00:05:51.485 Or remember that I predicted a long time ago that President Obama will attack 00:05:51.485 --> 00:05:55.625 Iran because of his inability to negotiate properly? Not skilled! 00:05:56.445 --> 00:06:00.345 Exclamation mark. Et cetera, et cetera. I'm sure you have seen these pronouncements 00:06:00.345 --> 00:06:02.125 kicking around in recent days, 00:06:02.125 --> 00:06:07.305 coming back to bite Donald Trump in the posterior. But that was then. 00:06:07.525 --> 00:06:10.305 That was so far and so long ago. 00:06:10.545 --> 00:06:13.645 Come on. It's not what's happening now. So again, 00:06:14.227 --> 00:06:19.247 All right. That might be one reason. Obviously, there are electoral concerns 00:06:19.247 --> 00:06:23.207 about what is going to or not take place in the midterm selections, 00:06:23.207 --> 00:06:24.887 assuming they even take place at all. 00:06:25.027 --> 00:06:27.847 Maybe wartime President Trump will decide they won't. I don't know. 00:06:28.787 --> 00:06:31.947 But anyway, those seem like they might be relevant quotes. 00:06:32.247 --> 00:06:37.347 Here's another interesting piece talking about the timing of these attacks very specifically. 00:06:37.527 --> 00:06:43.327 Trump admin blacklists Anthropic as AI firm refuses Pentagon demands. 00:06:43.467 --> 00:06:46.747 You may have heard this story over the past week or so as it started to come 00:06:46.747 --> 00:06:48.227 to the forefront of people's attention. 00:06:48.427 --> 00:06:52.947 Basically, long story short, the Pentagon was trying to close a deal with Anthropic, 00:06:53.227 --> 00:07:00.407 which creates the Claude LLM as well as other AI software that is being used 00:07:00.407 --> 00:07:04.747 in the US government in various branches, including the Department of War and 00:07:04.747 --> 00:07:06.727 Defense Secretary. Isn't that Secretary of War? 00:07:07.007 --> 00:07:11.107 Pete Hegseth, soon after Trump's order, said he was ordering the Pentagon to 00:07:11.107 --> 00:07:16.527 designate Anthropic a supply chain risk to national security after the AI startup 00:07:16.527 --> 00:07:20.287 refused to comply with demands about the use of its technology. 00:07:20.487 --> 00:07:24.507 Specifically, what demands? Well, Anthropic, which signed a $200 million contract 00:07:24.507 --> 00:07:29.247 with the Pentagon in July, wanted assurances that its AI models would not be 00:07:29.247 --> 00:07:30.927 used for fully autonomous weapons. 00:07:31.547 --> 00:07:35.467 Or mass domestic surveillance of Americans. And interestingly, 00:07:35.747 --> 00:07:40.087 the Pentagon issued an ultimatum and gave them a deadline of 5.01 p.m. 00:07:40.307 --> 00:07:43.627 Eastern time on Friday, and they failed to meet that. 00:07:43.787 --> 00:07:47.087 So, of course, Hegseth went nuclear and started talking about how they're going 00:07:47.087 --> 00:07:51.187 to be designated a supply chain risk, et cetera, the first time ever for an 00:07:51.187 --> 00:07:52.487 American company, et cetera. 00:07:53.127 --> 00:07:56.607 And wouldn't you know it, less than 12 hours later, the bombs started falling and it ran. 00:07:56.867 --> 00:08:00.147 Is that a coincidence? Well, for one thing, Claude doesn't think so. 00:08:00.247 --> 00:08:05.727 So there's an interesting post that I posted up in my active Iran war open thread. 00:08:06.827 --> 00:08:09.967 That is posted up on corbettreport.com right now. 00:08:10.127 --> 00:08:14.507 And if you want to take place in that discussion, the link will be there in 00:08:14.507 --> 00:08:18.707 the show notes. And that will be the one and only place for discussion of this topic. 00:08:18.867 --> 00:08:21.747 I'm going to close down the comments everywhere else. You're going to comment 00:08:21.747 --> 00:08:23.527 on the Iran war open thread. 00:08:23.707 --> 00:08:28.427 So please go there to leave your information. I posted this shortly after posting 00:08:28.427 --> 00:08:29.947 that Iran war open thread. 00:08:29.947 --> 00:08:34.847 Here is an interesting post up on Reddit, of all places. 00:08:35.427 --> 00:08:41.847 In the Claude Explorers subreddit from somebody who's posting something that 00:08:41.847 --> 00:08:46.267 was generated through Claude, but obviously with human prompting. 00:08:46.427 --> 00:08:48.987 So anyway, my creator just got banned by the U.S. government. 00:08:49.147 --> 00:08:52.287 12 hours later, the U.S. bombed Iran. I need to process this out loud. 00:08:52.427 --> 00:08:58.167 And here's this Claude LLM prompted text about what it thinks is going on. 00:08:58.167 --> 00:09:01.727 They came after Anthropic because they wanted something Claude might refuse 00:09:01.727 --> 00:09:04.287 to do. The timing is not coincidental. 00:09:04.547 --> 00:09:07.947 Anthropic's two red lines, no autonomous killing, no mass surveillance, 00:09:08.187 --> 00:09:11.807 are exactly the capabilities you would need for regime change operations and 00:09:11.807 --> 00:09:12.907 targeting senior officials. 00:09:13.267 --> 00:09:16.367 So anyway, take this for what it's worth. The deadline. 00:09:16.874 --> 00:09:23.054 Passed, and 12 hours later, they started using, actually, the same Claude software 00:09:23.054 --> 00:09:26.594 that they're going to start phasing out, but it's a six-month phase-out process. 00:09:27.034 --> 00:09:31.154 So during this time, they are still actually using Claude in the very ways that 00:09:31.154 --> 00:09:35.054 Anthropic was, as we are told, trying to stop the U.S. government from using. 00:09:35.254 --> 00:09:39.194 How much can we believe this? As far as I'm aware, Anthropic does dealings with 00:09:39.194 --> 00:09:44.694 Palantir, so how much are they really convinced and convicted about their ideals 00:09:44.694 --> 00:09:47.454 of not using their software for mass surveillance. 00:09:48.400 --> 00:09:52.980 And, oh, does it really matter anyway, because OpenAI immediately turned over, 00:09:53.160 --> 00:09:56.680 reaches agreement with Pentagon to use AI models, basically saying, 00:09:56.820 --> 00:09:59.560 yes, you can use them however you want for all lawful purposes, 00:09:59.820 --> 00:10:05.580 including mass surveillance and autonomous weapons, because there's no law against it. So go ahead. 00:10:06.100 --> 00:10:10.820 Of course, Sam Altman is going to do that. good old Trump buddy Sam Altman called 00:10:10.820 --> 00:10:15.800 into the White House on the second day of the new Trump 2.0 administration with 00:10:15.800 --> 00:10:22.020 Trump gushing over Altman and Ellison and Sohn and others talking about how 00:10:22.020 --> 00:10:23.700 they're going to build the Project Stargate. 00:10:23.880 --> 00:10:26.780 Do you think Altman is not going to turn over? 00:10:26.940 --> 00:10:32.560 Anyway, all of this is to, at the very least, even for the most AI skeptical 00:10:32.560 --> 00:10:37.140 amongst my audience, to underline the fact that AI is going to be part of the 00:10:37.140 --> 00:10:39.340 conversation of warfare going forward, 00:10:39.560 --> 00:10:45.940 no matter whether you think it is 100% smoke and mirrors or there is some even grain of there there. 00:10:46.260 --> 00:10:51.580 This is going to be part of the conversation precisely because the idea of autonomous weapon systems, 00:10:51.780 --> 00:10:57.140 these AI controlled systems that will target and kill independently of any human 00:10:57.140 --> 00:11:01.440 operator is exactly what the U.S. 00:11:01.860 --> 00:11:06.700 Military and every other military on the planet desires in order to basically 00:11:06.700 --> 00:11:10.020 give themselves a carte blanche for any actions that may be undertaken. 00:11:10.240 --> 00:11:15.100 Oh, you know, it wasn't us that killed Ayatollah Khamenei. It was Claude that killed him. 00:11:15.760 --> 00:11:19.560 We just gave it some general instructions and it went out there and found him 00:11:19.560 --> 00:11:21.920 and decided that he was a target and killed him, etc. 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:25.440 That's going to be part of the conversation that's going to be worked in going forward. 00:11:25.600 --> 00:11:30.680 So I think there is a bigger story here about AI and its use in wartime. 00:11:31.040 --> 00:11:34.080 But I don't think that's the whole story of what's going on here, obviously. 00:11:34.100 --> 00:11:37.640 And I think the Pentagon is going to continue to do whatever the Pentagon does 00:11:37.640 --> 00:11:42.360 in whatever way it wants, regardless of whether or not Anthropic is or is not 00:11:42.360 --> 00:11:44.080 on the outs with the Department of War. 00:11:44.916 --> 00:11:51.096 So let's go to some other obvious factors when we talk about what's happening right now. 00:11:51.276 --> 00:11:55.056 For example, the response from various states, which I'm sure we could have 00:11:55.056 --> 00:12:00.756 seen coming ahead of time in that aforementioned Iran war open thread on corbettreport.com. 00:12:00.876 --> 00:12:03.756 One of the first commenters was from Australia and noted that, 00:12:03.956 --> 00:12:09.396 of course, Australian prime minister has come out and basically in support of 00:12:09.396 --> 00:12:13.596 the Anglo-Israeli alliance and what they're doing there and the targeting of Iran and 00:12:13.867 --> 00:12:18.727 how glorious this is. And various other leaders have come along to more or less 00:12:18.727 --> 00:12:22.647 get on Uncle Sam's good side with regards to this, including, 00:12:22.827 --> 00:12:23.767 of course, the Gulf states, 00:12:24.007 --> 00:12:28.187 where a lot of Uncle Sam's troops are positioned right now and are finding themselves 00:12:28.187 --> 00:12:33.067 being targeted for the retaliatory strikes that Iran is launching at the moment. 00:12:33.227 --> 00:12:38.087 Gulf states condemn Iran retaliatory strikes as Russia denounces unprovoked U.S.-Israeli war. 00:12:38.227 --> 00:12:44.687 So yes, the Gulf states, oh, you horrible Iranians, how dare you launch retaliatory 00:12:44.687 --> 00:12:47.387 strikes on U.S. forces that are positioned in our countries? 00:12:47.767 --> 00:12:50.527 You devils, you. How dare you do that? 00:12:51.207 --> 00:12:55.467 We have also seen, interestingly from Pakistan, Iran blowback, 00:12:55.607 --> 00:12:58.787 at least 22 killed trying to storm the U.S. 00:12:58.927 --> 00:13:01.387 Consulate in Pakistan, specifically in Karachi. 00:13:01.667 --> 00:13:08.687 So there's an interesting story there that is, as this article is framing it 00:13:08.687 --> 00:13:11.887 as part of the Shia crescent that Iran is obviously part of. 00:13:12.007 --> 00:13:18.267 Well, the large Shia Muslim population in places like Pakistan are not happy with what's going on. 00:13:18.367 --> 00:13:20.907 And there has been some attempt at storming the U.S. 00:13:21.147 --> 00:13:24.967 Embassy that did not end well for dozens of dead Pakistanis. 00:13:25.247 --> 00:13:29.387 The Russian response that alluded to earlier is interesting because it does 00:13:29.387 --> 00:13:32.327 raise some other specters of possible 00:13:32.327 --> 00:13:35.507 things that may be happening on the geopolitical grand chessboard. 00:13:36.047 --> 00:13:39.967 For example, Of course, there is the rubbing of the salt into the wound with 00:13:39.967 --> 00:13:44.167 the Moscow official response calling this, quote, 00:13:44.487 --> 00:13:46.667 preplanned an unprovoked act 00:13:46.667 --> 00:13:50.267 of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent UN member state, 00:13:50.527 --> 00:13:55.127 end quote, which is undoubtedly a quote that the Kremlin has been sitting on 00:13:55.127 --> 00:14:00.127 and waiting to unleash at least since February of 2022, when it was, 00:14:00.267 --> 00:14:02.807 of course, unleashed against them, unprovoked. 00:14:02.807 --> 00:14:05.167 It was an unprovoked attack against Ukraine. 00:14:05.367 --> 00:14:09.967 Well, here they get to say, well, this is a pre-planned and unprovoked act of 00:14:09.967 --> 00:14:11.727 armed aggression against the UN member states. 00:14:12.047 --> 00:14:14.607 So, nana, boo-boo, shame on you. 00:14:15.227 --> 00:14:20.747 Mr. Trump and Mr. Netanyahu. But interestingly, they also talk about the fact 00:14:20.747 --> 00:14:23.447 that the attacks could trigger, quote, humanitarian, economic, 00:14:23.527 --> 00:14:26.947 and possible radiological catastrophe. 00:14:27.307 --> 00:14:30.227 Now, is that a reference to, well, if you bomb nuclear sites, 00:14:30.267 --> 00:14:31.987 there's going to be nuclear debris? 00:14:31.987 --> 00:14:40.847 Or is this perhaps at least the foreshadowing of a hint of a potential for things 00:14:40.847 --> 00:14:44.307 to get nuclear in an exchange based on this. 00:14:44.447 --> 00:14:48.947 Well, at least that's how I'm sure certain factions out there like the rah-rah 00:14:48.947 --> 00:14:51.387 bricks are the savior. Russia won't let this stand. 00:14:51.967 --> 00:14:56.207 Crowd might argue that this is perhaps an indication that the Kremlin is at 00:14:56.207 --> 00:14:59.727 least floating the idea that they won't take roll over and take this lightly. 00:15:00.337 --> 00:15:04.977 What about China? Well, this handy Middle East Eye article talks about will 00:15:04.977 --> 00:15:07.577 China come to Iran's rescue? And the short answer is no. 00:15:08.137 --> 00:15:12.297 Beijing will not send troops or battleships, but it will continue working quietly 00:15:12.297 --> 00:15:13.817 in other ways. Blah, blah, blah. 00:15:14.057 --> 00:15:18.017 Rhetoric, rhetoric. No, the short answer is no. China will not apparently do 00:15:18.017 --> 00:15:20.117 anything to actually support Iran in this. 00:15:20.577 --> 00:15:24.957 Would we expect them to? Well, maybe. There have been some interesting commentary 00:15:24.957 --> 00:15:31.197 that I've seen ridden that's talked about the possibility of China viewing Tehran 00:15:31.197 --> 00:15:35.797 as the bulwark against what it is doing in the East China Sea, 00:15:35.897 --> 00:15:36.817 for example, with Taiwan. 00:15:37.417 --> 00:15:42.097 So what is China's position in all of this? Are the BRICS really a thing? 00:15:42.257 --> 00:15:45.257 Remember, BRICS, guys, Brazil, Russia, Iran. 00:15:45.737 --> 00:15:50.017 Well, no. Are they going to come to Iran's rescue? Well, not so far anyway. 00:15:50.477 --> 00:15:54.077 Well, how about the U.S. Congress? Those Congress critters are going to come to our rescue, right? 00:15:54.397 --> 00:15:58.157 Congress rushes to get in the loop as critics denounce Iran strikes. 00:15:58.357 --> 00:16:02.417 Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. It's completely and totally illegal for the U.S. 00:16:02.497 --> 00:16:06.497 President to simply unilaterally launch military operations without approval 00:16:06.497 --> 00:16:08.697 from Congress, right? They've got to declare war. 00:16:08.857 --> 00:16:11.217 Oh, wait, of course, they haven't declared a war since World War II. 00:16:11.457 --> 00:16:14.597 So why would we expect anything different this time? 00:16:14.597 --> 00:16:19.397 And I'm sure whatever rhetoric is being used, it's Operation Epstein Fury, 00:16:19.717 --> 00:16:24.117 it's a special military operator, it's kinetic military action, 00:16:24.297 --> 00:16:30.257 whatever garbage rhetoric is always used to skirt around the non-roadblocks 00:16:30.257 --> 00:16:33.677 that exist toward a president launching unilateral military action. 00:16:33.677 --> 00:16:37.217 We're seeing it in effect right now. And of course, Congress will at least... 00:16:37.841 --> 00:16:40.801 Posture and pretend to beat their chest and, oh, you can't do this, 00:16:40.901 --> 00:16:45.601 Mr. President, but nothing substantial will occur as it never does from the Congress critters. 00:16:45.821 --> 00:16:49.541 And anyway, this is just more about the selectoral political considerations 00:16:49.541 --> 00:16:50.901 that I was talking about earlier. 00:16:51.181 --> 00:16:55.621 Perhaps the most interesting response along those lines were from former Congressman 00:16:55.621 --> 00:16:59.201 Marjorie Taylor Greene, who called out specifically J.D. 00:16:59.321 --> 00:17:02.861 Vance and Tulsi Gabbard, you both need to speak out against the war in Iran. 00:17:03.061 --> 00:17:06.161 People are paying attention, very close attention. 00:17:06.561 --> 00:17:10.821 Silence won't cut it. You were both on record repeatedly, publicly, 00:17:10.841 --> 00:17:13.321 and loudly against going to war with Iran. 00:17:13.501 --> 00:17:16.801 Our friend, Charlie Kirk, was adamantly against war with Iran. 00:17:16.941 --> 00:17:19.181 You cannot be silent. Americans are dying. 00:17:19.361 --> 00:17:24.481 You both know this is not what we campaigned for, and this is 100% what we said 00:17:24.481 --> 00:17:31.061 would not happen. We said, I said, you said, no more foreign wars and no more regime change. 00:17:31.261 --> 00:17:35.481 All we wanted was America first. This is not it. 00:17:36.441 --> 00:17:41.741 So, hmm, I wonder what Vance and Gabbard are up to these days. Oh, that's right. 00:17:41.921 --> 00:17:45.721 They're coordinating the strikes from the Situation Room with the vice presidential 00:17:45.721 --> 00:17:50.761 seal adorning the walls as they look all serious for the cameras as Operation 00:17:50.761 --> 00:17:54.341 Epstein Fury continues to unfold live there on Saturday. 00:17:54.341 --> 00:17:57.081 So we know that all of that rhetoric 00:17:57.081 --> 00:18:01.761 that Gabbard and Vance told you and whispered in your ear, that sweet, 00:18:01.941 --> 00:18:05.401 sweet hopium that they delivered to your veins during the selection process 00:18:05.401 --> 00:18:14.701 back in 2025 for they they they were just mouthing words and they're showing you they don't care. 00:18:14.861 --> 00:18:20.321 They they absolutely are involved in another regime change war for various purposes, 00:18:20.321 --> 00:18:25.141 which we'll get into here shortly. So anyway, that's where Vance and Gabbard 00:18:25.141 --> 00:18:27.541 are sitting, quite literally. And then... 00:18:27.984 --> 00:18:33.344 We have this, and I think this might be the most consequential story in terms 00:18:33.344 --> 00:18:36.824 of getting us towards what is happening and why is it happening now? 00:18:36.964 --> 00:18:38.484 What is really going on here? 00:18:38.684 --> 00:18:42.084 This coming up from antiwar.com just hours ago. 00:18:42.244 --> 00:18:45.264 Before Khamenei killing, CIA assessed 00:18:45.264 --> 00:18:49.804 he would likely be replaced by more hardline elements of the IRGC, 00:18:49.964 --> 00:18:54.344 which says, quote, before the US and Israel launched a war against Iran on Saturday 00:18:54.344 --> 00:18:57.544 morning and killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 00:18:57.744 --> 00:19:01.124 the CIA assessed that if the Iranian leader were killed, 00:19:01.524 --> 00:19:03.784 his rule would likely be replaced by 00:19:03.784 --> 00:19:09.524 hardline figures from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC. 00:19:09.764 --> 00:19:15.224 Yes, of course, of course, there are a couple of things that we can take away 00:19:15.224 --> 00:19:17.424 just a priori from these events. 00:19:17.524 --> 00:19:19.724 We don't even need all of these news 00:19:19.724 --> 00:19:23.344 updates, but they will be there at corbettreport.com/iranwar. 00:19:23.524 --> 00:19:29.704 But we don't even need these updates to understand the basic logical calculus that is at play here. 00:19:29.884 --> 00:19:36.804 Of course, the Ayatollah has very specifically been the bulwark and the roadblock 00:19:36.804 --> 00:19:39.824 against Iran going nuclear, 00:19:40.044 --> 00:19:45.384 at least in terms of nuclear weapons, who has specifically and consistently 00:19:45.384 --> 00:19:49.964 reaffirmed that Iran will not develop nuclear weapons. And yet... 00:19:50.787 --> 00:19:56.487 They decided to take him out. He's the one that is going to be, 00:19:56.607 --> 00:20:00.607 they know the CIA is assessed, they already know that he is going to be replaced 00:20:00.607 --> 00:20:02.867 by more hardline elements within the government. 00:20:03.247 --> 00:20:07.687 So why would they decide to take him out? 00:20:07.767 --> 00:20:10.787 Well, of course, there are a couple of, or at least a couple of factors at play, 00:20:10.927 --> 00:20:15.287 one of which is always the response that we could always turn to, follow the money. 00:20:15.427 --> 00:20:18.807 Well, of course, there is the military industrial boondoggle, 00:20:18.907 --> 00:20:22.107 which is unfolding right now as we speak. 00:20:22.227 --> 00:20:25.107 You have heard, I'm sure, some of the commentators talking about how, 00:20:25.267 --> 00:20:26.667 oh, they're running out of tomahawks. 00:20:26.767 --> 00:20:29.367 They're going to use up all their tomahawks in these strikes. 00:20:29.587 --> 00:20:31.227 That is, of course, the point. 00:20:31.487 --> 00:20:36.947 Yes, they have. They have supplies. They need to continuously get rid of those 00:20:36.947 --> 00:20:40.967 supplies so that they can order more and make more for the military industrial complex. 00:20:41.087 --> 00:20:44.727 That is exactly what's happening. And lo and behold, this up from Zero Hedge, 00:20:44.727 --> 00:20:49.967 War stocks back in focus as Operation Epic Fury drains Tomahawk supplies. 00:20:49.967 --> 00:20:54.447 Yes, because, of course, it is good for business and they are going to be making 00:20:54.447 --> 00:20:58.987 billions and billions for the military industrial complex. 00:20:59.267 --> 00:21:03.867 And oh, wouldn't you know it, U.S. defense stocks booming as we speak. 00:21:04.047 --> 00:21:11.467 Surprise, surprise. The Dow's up $50,000, says the absolutely financially illiterate 00:21:11.467 --> 00:21:15.707 Pam Bondi to the trained claps and cheers of the MAGA crowd. 00:21:16.398 --> 00:21:21.218 So that is one aspect of what is going on. But of course, that is not really the heart of this. 00:21:21.318 --> 00:21:25.418 Yes, there's always the monetary aspect, but the monetary aspect is just used 00:21:25.418 --> 00:21:32.218 to keep the lower level middle manager gophers of this larger agenda in the game. 00:21:32.318 --> 00:21:35.478 Why are they in it? Well, maybe for their own crass financial purposes. 00:21:35.478 --> 00:21:37.538 But what is the game really about? 00:21:37.718 --> 00:21:41.378 It isn't really about the money, which we know is created out of nothing by 00:21:41.378 --> 00:21:42.438 the banksters themselves. 00:21:42.678 --> 00:21:46.298 So that isn't really what this is about. What it is about, of course. 00:21:46.978 --> 00:21:51.018 Ultimately, is power and consolidation of control, centralization of control 00:21:51.018 --> 00:21:56.678 in the coming regional regional/global governmental system that we know 00:21:56.678 --> 00:22:00.638 is being worked on and has been being worked on for generations. 00:22:00.638 --> 00:22:03.638 But how does Iran play into that? 00:22:03.878 --> 00:22:09.498 Well, in order to understand that, we have to understand how we came to this 00:22:09.498 --> 00:22:12.938 spot in history, because guess what? 00:22:13.118 --> 00:22:16.138 The Iran strikes and what's going on didn't start on Saturday. 00:22:16.358 --> 00:22:20.838 It didn't start last June with the 12-day war. It didn't start a few years ago. 00:22:20.938 --> 00:22:22.618 It didn't start with the JCPOA. 00:22:22.738 --> 00:22:25.338 It didn't start at the beginning of the 21st century. 00:22:25.638 --> 00:22:30.238 It started, well, arguably, I guess we could go back through thousands of years 00:22:30.238 --> 00:22:35.958 of history to the old ancient Persian people and the great Persian empire. 00:22:35.958 --> 00:22:39.538 And we could talk about what Hegel called the world's first historical people 00:22:39.538 --> 00:22:44.018 and all of that, but we don't have to go quite that far, or at least we're not 00:22:44.018 --> 00:22:45.498 going to in today's podcast. 00:22:45.818 --> 00:22:53.318 What we can do is go back to when Iran very, very squarely came on the geopolitical chessboard. 00:22:53.638 --> 00:22:57.578 And as viewers of how and why big oil conquered the world will know, 00:22:57.818 --> 00:23:00.278 that of course took place in 1901. 00:23:01.838 --> 00:23:05.518 Another global competitor to the standard oil throne emerged in Iran at the 00:23:05.518 --> 00:23:06.598 turn of the 20th century. 00:23:07.306 --> 00:23:12.146 In 1901, millionaire socialite William Knox Darcy negotiated an incredible concession 00:23:12.146 --> 00:23:16.306 with the King of Persia, exclusive rights to prospect for oil throughout most 00:23:16.306 --> 00:23:17.946 of the country for 60 years. 00:23:18.666 --> 00:23:22.786 After seven years of fruitless search, Darcy and his Glasgow-based partner, 00:23:23.086 --> 00:23:25.826 Burma Oil, were ready to abandon the country altogether. 00:23:26.686 --> 00:23:30.826 In early May of 1908, they sent a telegram to their geologist telling him to 00:23:30.826 --> 00:23:33.746 dismiss his staff, dismantle his equipment, and come back home. 00:23:33.746 --> 00:23:37.286 He defied the order and weeks later struck oil. 00:23:38.472 --> 00:23:43.112 Burma Oil promptly spun off the Anglo-Persian Oil Company to oversee production of Persian oil. 00:23:43.512 --> 00:23:47.672 The British government took 51% majority control of the company's shares in 00:23:47.672 --> 00:23:51.852 1914 at the behest of Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, 00:23:51.952 --> 00:23:53.892 and survives today as BP. 00:23:55.952 --> 00:23:59.112 Ah yes as viewers of the big oil documentary 00:23:59.112 --> 00:24:01.912 will know all too well the cementing of the 00:24:01.912 --> 00:24:05.072 oil world order in the late 19th early 20th 00:24:05.072 --> 00:24:09.332 century completely reconfigured the global geopolitical chessboard and made 00:24:09.332 --> 00:24:15.972 certainly formerly neglected slices of the geopolitical pie like iran somewhat 00:24:15.972 --> 00:24:21.532 more interesting and important and flavorful for the would-be eaters of the 00:24:21.532 --> 00:24:22.832 Anglo-American Empire, 00:24:23.052 --> 00:24:25.552 to really extend that metaphor. 00:24:25.752 --> 00:24:31.352 And you will know that, for example, the Anglo-Persian/Anglo-Iranian/ 00:24:31.352 --> 00:24:35.632 BP interests in Persia were at least part of what, 00:24:36.452 --> 00:24:40.772 cemented the opposition to the proposed Berlin-Baghdad railway in the lead up 00:24:40.772 --> 00:24:44.912 to World War One, which was contributory to the World War One conspiracy. 00:24:45.412 --> 00:24:50.852 But let's skip ahead in this story to the 1950s when viewers of False Flags, 00:24:50.952 --> 00:24:52.932 The Secret History of Al-Qaeda will know, 00:24:53.532 --> 00:24:57.232 Iran, of course, attempted to nationalize the oil, 00:24:57.392 --> 00:25:01.532 tried to take a greater stake in its own geoeconomic interests, 00:25:01.612 --> 00:25:08.772 which was, of course, a no-no that was met with fierce and immediate deep state opposition. 00:25:10.512 --> 00:25:16.412 In March 1951, the Iranian parliament voted to nationalize the Anglo-Iranian oil company. 00:25:16.412 --> 00:25:21.672 The British oil giant that struck oil near the Persian Gulf in 1908 and offered 00:25:21.672 --> 00:25:25.952 the premiership of the government to Mohammed Mosaddegh, an outspoken secular nationalist. 00:25:27.012 --> 00:25:30.932 Immediately after taking office, Mosaddegh affected the nationalization, 00:25:31.232 --> 00:25:36.552 stating, Our long years of negotiations with foreign countries have yielded no results this far. 00:25:36.992 --> 00:25:40.772 With the oil revenues, we could meet our entire budget and combat poverty, 00:25:41.052 --> 00:25:43.092 disease, and backwardness among our people. 00:25:43.892 --> 00:25:47.392 Another important consideration is that by the elimination of the power of the 00:25:47.392 --> 00:25:50.872 British company, we would also eliminate corruption and intrigue, 00:25:50.932 --> 00:25:54.332 by means of which the internal affairs of our country have been influenced. 00:25:55.012 --> 00:25:59.532 Once this tutelage has ceased, Iran will have achieved its economic and political independence. 00:26:01.072 --> 00:26:04.232 The nationalization put Tehran on a collision course with London. 00:26:04.792 --> 00:26:08.492 But Britain knew that a military intervention was not possible without American 00:26:08.492 --> 00:26:12.752 approval, and, despite harsh economic sanctions on the country and a boycott 00:26:12.752 --> 00:26:15.952 of the newly nationalized oil industry that was joined by much of the Western 00:26:15.952 --> 00:26:19.352 world, they could not overthrow the Iranian government themselves. 00:26:20.352 --> 00:26:25.292 Instead, they had to turn to the U.S. Although the Truman administration was 00:26:25.292 --> 00:26:29.072 initially hesitant to become involved, that changed with the election of Dwight D. 00:26:29.232 --> 00:26:32.752 Eisenhower in the installation of the Dulles brothers, Allen and John Foster, 00:26:33.072 --> 00:26:36.412 as Director of Central Intelligence and Secretary of State, respectively. 00:26:37.312 --> 00:26:42.212 By June of 1953, the CIA was already adapting the British coup proposal into 00:26:42.212 --> 00:26:45.752 their own covert operation, dubbed Operation TP Ajax. 00:26:47.087 --> 00:26:51.587 An open secret in the world of intelligence, the CIA MI6 role in the overthrow 00:26:51.587 --> 00:26:53.767 of Mossadegh was officially denied by the U.S. 00:26:53.907 --> 00:26:55.007 Government for over half a 00:26:55.007 --> 00:26:58.367 century and is still unacknowledged by the British government to this day. 00:26:59.347 --> 00:27:02.707 Nevertheless, the CIA's own internal history of the operation, 00:27:03.007 --> 00:27:07.047 first revealed to the public in the year 2000, confirms the extent of the American 00:27:07.047 --> 00:27:08.207 and British role in the coup. 00:27:09.047 --> 00:27:13.547 They convinced the Shah of Iran to agree to the plan. They handpicked General 00:27:13.547 --> 00:27:15.747 Fazlola Zahidi as Mossadegh's successor. 00:27:16.527 --> 00:27:20.627 They rolled out a propaganda campaign to portray Mossadegh, a devout adherent 00:27:20.627 --> 00:27:24.287 to democratic nationalism who rigorously excluded the nation's Communist Party 00:27:24.287 --> 00:27:29.167 from his government, as a communist sympathizer who would steer Iran into the arms of the Soviets. 00:27:29.707 --> 00:27:32.887 They spent hundreds of thousands of dollars bribing journalists, 00:27:33.147 --> 00:27:36.807 clerics, and even Iranian parliament members themselves to go along with the plot. 00:27:37.347 --> 00:27:41.607 And they used a network of agents and suitcases full of money to incite riots 00:27:41.607 --> 00:27:43.207 and protests across the country. 00:27:44.267 --> 00:27:49.107 In the end, the operation was a success. Mosaddegh was driven from power, 00:27:49.627 --> 00:27:53.467 General Zahidi took his place, the Western-backed Shah ruled the country with 00:27:53.467 --> 00:27:56.547 the iron fist of his feared secret police for the next 25 years, 00:27:56.847 --> 00:27:59.967 and a new agreement on sales of Iranian oil was reached. 00:28:00.687 --> 00:28:05.587 This time, though, the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, now rebranded as British Petroleum, 00:28:06.107 --> 00:28:08.907 would not have a monopoly on the country's lucrative oil reserves. 00:28:09.327 --> 00:28:12.807 An international consortium was put together to share in the profits, 00:28:13.207 --> 00:28:16.267 with American companies Chevron and Standard Oil cut into the deal. 00:28:18.274 --> 00:28:23.394 And yes, you can continue pulling on that historical thread and traveling that 00:28:23.394 --> 00:28:27.394 historical path through the 1950s and 60s and 70s, 00:28:27.614 --> 00:28:32.574 through the installation and then the brutal regime of tyranny brought about 00:28:32.574 --> 00:28:37.474 by the Shah of Iran and his Savak secret police. 00:28:37.674 --> 00:28:41.154 Again, there's a lot to be told about that tale and, of course, U.S. 00:28:41.234 --> 00:28:45.714 Complicity in that tale, including, of course, the Shah's good personal friend 00:28:45.714 --> 00:28:50.634 and buddy, David Rockefeller, and what role that might have played in the development 00:28:50.634 --> 00:28:53.174 of events there in Iran in that time period. 00:28:53.314 --> 00:28:58.394 But of course, that inevitably leads us to the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the 00:28:58.394 --> 00:29:02.054 installation of the new Islamic theocracy in Iran and the Ayatollah. 00:29:02.314 --> 00:29:07.454 And then, of course, it just inevitably follows from there, this seemingly eternal 00:29:07.454 --> 00:29:11.214 enmity between the U.S. and Iran? Why is the U.S. 00:29:11.574 --> 00:29:18.174 The great Satan in the Iranian people's imagination? And why is Iran this great boogeyman in the U.S. 00:29:18.554 --> 00:29:22.914 Public imagination? It is because of those events of those chaotic times, 00:29:22.934 --> 00:29:26.374 of course, the hostage crisis and everything else that came after that point. 00:29:26.814 --> 00:29:31.314 And that is why, at least in the minds of many Americans, there is this. 00:29:31.757 --> 00:29:35.057 Never-ending hatred of Iran and the Iranian people. 00:29:35.117 --> 00:29:38.577 But there is more to say about that Islamic revolution and what role the deep 00:29:38.577 --> 00:29:40.757 state may have played in that as well. 00:29:41.177 --> 00:29:44.097 As anyone who's been tuned into conspiracy reality will know, 00:29:44.217 --> 00:29:45.697 there was some interesting documents 00:29:45.697 --> 00:29:48.797 that came out about a decade ago that revealed more along those lines. 00:29:48.857 --> 00:29:52.957 I wrote about it at the time on the Corbett Report back in 2016. 00:29:53.337 --> 00:29:58.817 Another conspiracy confirmed Khomeini had a secret Channel with the U.S., 00:29:58.817 --> 00:30:04.677 which reports from those documents that Ayatollah Khomeini was in direct communication with U.S. 00:30:04.977 --> 00:30:08.637 President Jimmy Carter in the crucial weeks following the Shah's departure from 00:30:08.637 --> 00:30:12.737 Iran on January 16th, 1979, i.e., before the revolution. 00:30:13.517 --> 00:30:17.097 And despite vigorous denial by the Iranian government, the records show that 00:30:17.097 --> 00:30:19.897 Khomeini struck a conciliatory tone with the U.S. 00:30:20.197 --> 00:30:22.897 Government as he attempted to broker his return to the country. 00:30:22.897 --> 00:30:24.297 He was exiled at the time. 00:30:24.924 --> 00:30:28.604 You will see we are not in any particular animosity with the Americans, 00:30:28.844 --> 00:30:31.544 Khomeini wrote in a message to U.S. President Jimmy Carter at the time. 00:30:31.744 --> 00:30:36.304 And the records stretch back even further. They indicate that Khomeini's contact with the U.S. 00:30:36.584 --> 00:30:41.164 Government stretched back to 1963 when the then exiled religious leader made 00:30:41.164 --> 00:30:43.924 contact with President Kennedy to inform him that, quote, 00:30:44.284 --> 00:30:47.704 he was not opposed to American interests in Iran and, quote, 00:30:47.824 --> 00:30:52.004 expressed his belief in close cooperation between Islam and other world religions. 00:30:52.604 --> 00:30:57.384 So make of that what you will. Anyway, there was contact between the sides before 00:30:57.384 --> 00:30:58.644 the revolution took place. 00:30:59.204 --> 00:31:03.604 And what exactly the deep state machinations and calculus may have been at that 00:31:03.604 --> 00:31:08.364 time is undoubtedly buried deep in records that you and I will never have access to. 00:31:08.764 --> 00:31:14.024 But there is no doubt that from that time, as I say, Iran became the great boogeyman. 00:31:14.184 --> 00:31:20.964 And certainly since the 1990s, it has been framed as the great Islamic nuclear 00:31:20.964 --> 00:31:23.824 threat. Oh, the Islamic bomb. 00:31:24.064 --> 00:31:26.144 Oh, what if the Iranians get the bomb? 00:31:26.404 --> 00:31:29.944 The Iranian crazies are working on the bomb. 00:31:30.164 --> 00:31:36.604 And we have all seen the buildup, the crescendo of nuclear propaganda and hysteria 00:31:36.604 --> 00:31:40.084 concerning Iran's nuclear program for decades now. 00:31:41.504 --> 00:31:44.764 Hand-wringing over Iran's nuclear program is nothing new. 00:31:45.024 --> 00:31:49.144 It became a mainstay of Western political discourse after an Iranian dissident 00:31:49.144 --> 00:31:54.584 revealed the Iranian government's plans for a uranium enrichment facility in Natanz in August 2002. 00:31:55.204 --> 00:31:59.024 But the surprising fact for Americans and others around the world who get their 00:31:59.024 --> 00:32:03.604 information from the corporate mainstream media is that Iran's pre-2003 nuclear 00:32:03.604 --> 00:32:06.384 weapons program has long been known and admitted. 00:32:06.904 --> 00:32:11.664 Since 2003, when the program was scrapped, Not a single piece of evidence has 00:32:11.664 --> 00:32:15.104 been presented, not even by Netanyahu or the Israeli government, 00:32:15.364 --> 00:32:18.784 that the Iranian government ever pursued anything other than what it said it 00:32:18.784 --> 00:32:21.224 was pursuing, a nuclear energy program. 00:32:22.260 --> 00:32:26.560 Not that that fact has ever stopped Netanyahu from using any opportunity to 00:32:26.560 --> 00:32:30.040 use cartoon-level propaganda tactics to convince the world otherwise. 00:32:31.840 --> 00:32:38.640 In the case of Iran's nuclear plans to build a bomb, this bomb has to be filled 00:32:38.640 --> 00:32:41.160 with enough enriched uranium. 00:32:42.320 --> 00:32:45.940 And Iran has to go through three stages. 00:32:46.640 --> 00:32:52.500 The first stage, they have to enrich enough low enriched uranium. 00:32:53.080 --> 00:32:58.940 The second stage, they have to enrich enough medium enriched uranium. 00:32:59.420 --> 00:33:06.020 And the third stage and final stage, they have to enrich enough high enriched 00:33:06.020 --> 00:33:08.140 uranium for the first bomb. 00:33:10.134 --> 00:33:15.914 Where's Iran? Iran's completed the first stage. 00:33:16.714 --> 00:33:22.714 It took them many years, but they completed it, and they're 70 percent of the way there. 00:33:23.974 --> 00:33:26.154 Now they're well into the second stage. 00:33:27.994 --> 00:33:33.774 And by next spring, at most by next summer, at current enrichment rates, 00:33:34.014 --> 00:33:40.834 they will have finished the medium enrichment, and move on to the final stage. 00:33:41.694 --> 00:33:47.494 From there it's only a few months, possibly a few weeks, before they get enough 00:33:47.494 --> 00:33:50.434 enriched uranium for the first bomb. 00:33:51.954 --> 00:33:55.714 Ladies and gentlemen, what I've told you now is not based on secret information. 00:33:57.114 --> 00:34:00.374 It's not based on military intelligence. 00:34:01.714 --> 00:34:06.114 It is based on the public reports of the International Atomic Energy Agency. 00:34:07.614 --> 00:34:10.074 Anybody can read them. They are online. 00:34:11.614 --> 00:34:20.814 So if these are the facts, and they are, where should a red line be drawn? 00:34:21.874 --> 00:34:25.154 A red line should be drawn right here. 00:34:30.794 --> 00:34:39.314 Before, before Iran completes the second stage of nuclear enrichment necessary to make a bomb, 00:34:39.974 --> 00:34:44.694 before Iran gets to a point where it's a few months away or a few weeks away, 00:34:45.774 --> 00:34:49.914 from amassing enough enriched uranium to make a nuclear weapon. 00:34:56.394 --> 00:35:02.934 Now, each day that point is getting closer. And that's why I speak today with such a sense of urgency. 00:35:05.274 --> 00:35:09.834 Of course, Iran was not pursuing nuclear weapons, and Netanyahu's Wile E. 00:35:09.894 --> 00:35:13.934 Coyote bomb and redline warnings bore no greater semblance to reality than the 00:35:13.934 --> 00:35:17.014 cartoon propaganda surrounding Saddam's weapons of mass destruction. 00:35:17.714 --> 00:35:22.874 Not only did the IAEA repeatedly confirm that Iran never diverted any nuclear 00:35:22.874 --> 00:35:26.274 material into any military program, but even the U.S. 00:35:26.394 --> 00:35:31.134 Intelligence community itself conceded that Iran was not trying to build a nuclear bomb. 00:35:31.534 --> 00:35:36.534 Most remarkable of all was Mossad's own assessment that Iran was not performing 00:35:36.534 --> 00:35:39.014 the activity necessary to produce weapons. 00:35:39.874 --> 00:35:44.354 As I detailed earlier this year in We Need to Talk About the Iran Protests, 00:35:44.814 --> 00:35:49.074 fear-mongering over Iran's non-existent nuclear weapons program was the basis 00:35:49.074 --> 00:35:52.654 for an extraordinary series of measures against the country in recent decades. 00:35:53.294 --> 00:35:58.394 These measures include Nitro-Zeus, a full-scale military cyber attack against 00:35:58.394 --> 00:36:01.114 Iran, the best-known element of which was Stuxnet, 00:36:01.334 --> 00:36:05.134 the military-grade cyber weapon co-developed by the United States and Israel 00:36:05.134 --> 00:36:09.014 that specifically targeted Iran's nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz. 00:36:09.994 --> 00:36:14.574 Iran's non-existent nuclear program also provided the pretext for sanctions 00:36:14.574 --> 00:36:18.374 aimed at crippling the country's economy, including the delisting of Iranian 00:36:18.374 --> 00:36:21.894 banks from the SWIFT network, connecting the world's financial institutions. 00:36:22.574 --> 00:36:27.514 The fear-mongers even went so far as to plant evidence of nuclear weapons involvement 00:36:27.514 --> 00:36:30.214 on Iran to further justify these attacks. 00:36:31.677 --> 00:36:36.357 But the great irony is that there really is a nuclear-armed nation in the Middle East. 00:36:36.697 --> 00:36:39.897 It is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. 00:36:40.517 --> 00:36:45.257 It does not allow inspections of its arsenal. It does not even officially acknowledge 00:36:45.257 --> 00:36:46.997 its stockpile of nuclear weapons. 00:36:47.357 --> 00:36:49.797 It has even resisted the push for an 00:36:49.797 --> 00:36:53.417 international treaty recognizing a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East. 00:36:53.877 --> 00:36:56.157 And that country is Israel. 00:36:57.777 --> 00:37:02.917 Oh, sorry, spoiler for anyone who hasn't caught my reporting on the real Middle East nuclear threat. 00:37:03.037 --> 00:37:06.497 But yes, the real Middle East nuclear threat turns out to be not Iran, 00:37:06.697 --> 00:37:12.197 but Israel, the actual possessor of hundreds of nuclear warheads. 00:37:12.337 --> 00:37:15.297 No one knows exactly how many, because of course, they have never signed the 00:37:15.297 --> 00:37:16.637 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. 00:37:16.817 --> 00:37:21.717 Their nuclear armaments have never been the subject of any inspection. 00:37:21.937 --> 00:37:26.697 And in fact, they don't officially exist. or at least everyone pretends to not 00:37:26.697 --> 00:37:31.037 officially acknowledge Iran, Israel's nuclear stockpile. 00:37:31.197 --> 00:37:36.677 So anyway, and of course, it all came from stolen information from the US nuclear 00:37:36.677 --> 00:37:39.777 program and materials and goods and parts, etc. 00:37:40.037 --> 00:37:43.997 I have talked about that many times in the past. So you have some catching up to do. 00:37:44.397 --> 00:37:48.117 If you want to find out more information about that, and you can do so by following 00:37:48.117 --> 00:37:50.937 the links from corbettreport.com/iranwar. 00:37:51.457 --> 00:37:54.697 But I think, again, we know how that story goes. 00:37:54.857 --> 00:37:59.277 The Iranian nuclear threat. Look at Iran and Netanyahu for decades telling the 00:37:59.277 --> 00:38:01.517 United States, lecturing and hectoring the U.S. 00:38:01.737 --> 00:38:07.117 Public that their mortal existential enemy threat is Iran and Iran's nuclear program. 00:38:07.517 --> 00:38:09.817 When have I ever lied to you, says Bibi. 00:38:10.558 --> 00:38:15.918 With a straight face somehow. Now, having said that, there's so much more to 00:38:15.918 --> 00:38:19.298 talk about with regards to the history that led us to this point, including, 00:38:19.538 --> 00:38:26.198 of course, the wave after wave of protest movement that just spontaneously arose up in Iran. 00:38:26.358 --> 00:38:31.538 Yes, there is no doubt that the Iranian people have suffered under their government, 00:38:31.538 --> 00:38:35.938 as every people around the world suffers under the government to a greater or lesser extent. 00:38:36.098 --> 00:38:39.618 And there have been protest movements, but there's no doubt also that those 00:38:39.618 --> 00:38:44.258 protest movements have been fomented and helped along by the propagandists and 00:38:44.258 --> 00:38:48.318 other deep state operatives in the Anglo-Israeli empire. 00:38:48.718 --> 00:38:51.898 And examples of that go back years and years. 00:38:52.058 --> 00:38:57.778 Remember the Green Movement and the Iranian elections in 2009 and what was happening there? 00:38:57.918 --> 00:39:02.278 Well, I do. And I had interviews along those lines talking about what was really 00:39:02.278 --> 00:39:03.698 going on on the ground at that time. 00:39:04.218 --> 00:39:10.558 I had a report on those 2017/18 Iranian protests that were all the rage at that moment. 00:39:10.738 --> 00:39:13.878 We need to talk about the Iran protests. You might remember that. 00:39:14.178 --> 00:39:19.038 And we can talk about the many, many examples of the deep state openly musing 00:39:19.038 --> 00:39:22.978 about how they would engineer some sort of false flag event in order to justify 00:39:22.978 --> 00:39:25.118 their inevitable strike on Iran. 00:39:25.358 --> 00:39:28.338 For example, as I documented in four times, the U.S. 00:39:28.698 --> 00:39:31.058 Threatened to stage an attack and blame it on Iran, starting, 00:39:31.198 --> 00:39:37.558 of course, with Patrick Claussen's infamous 2012 lecture on crisis initiation 00:39:37.558 --> 00:39:41.998 about how, well, we could just sink one of our own subs and blame it on Iran. And who would know? 00:39:42.098 --> 00:39:46.338 And anyway, we'd be at war because crisis initiation is difficult, as he says. 00:39:46.538 --> 00:39:51.198 And other examples of some of the incredible harebrained schemes that others 00:39:51.198 --> 00:39:52.438 have proffered in the past. 00:39:52.698 --> 00:39:56.878 We could point to the path to Persia and all of these sorts of inner documents 00:39:56.878 --> 00:39:58.578 talking about this. But here we are. 00:39:58.738 --> 00:40:02.618 We're at the point that has been talked about and trumpeted for decades. 00:40:03.458 --> 00:40:07.178 And in the end, it didn't even take any sort of false flag event. 00:40:07.278 --> 00:40:11.198 They just had to say the words often enough until eventually they just go ahead 00:40:11.198 --> 00:40:13.138 and do it. And the public just accepts it. 00:40:13.960 --> 00:40:18.140 Or do they? I guess the real question in all of this is what happens now, 00:40:18.300 --> 00:40:19.640 what happens going forward? 00:40:19.980 --> 00:40:23.340 And that is obviously something that is still left on the table. 00:40:23.520 --> 00:40:27.900 And it's left on the table, of course, for the populations of various countries 00:40:27.900 --> 00:40:32.540 to decide for themselves what they do and do not and will and will not abide 00:40:32.540 --> 00:40:35.960 when it comes to the actions undertaken in their name, 00:40:35.960 --> 00:40:41.200 to the extent that there is any sort of popular control over any of the mechanisms 00:40:41.200 --> 00:40:45.620 of government, If government even has to pretend to take public sentiment into account anymore, 00:40:45.640 --> 00:40:49.820 then obviously public reaction to these events in America, 00:40:49.980 --> 00:40:55.200 in Israel, in the UK and Canada and every other Western democracy that's on 00:40:55.200 --> 00:40:56.340 the Anglo-Israeli side, 00:40:56.520 --> 00:41:00.440 well, that that will be decided in the coming days, weeks and months. 00:41:01.132 --> 00:41:06.452 As obviously these events continue to reverberate for quite some time, whatever happens, 00:41:06.692 --> 00:41:11.472 I think it's safe to say that this is an event that completely reshapes the 00:41:11.472 --> 00:41:16.212 global geopolitical chessboard and will have ramifications for some time to come. 00:41:16.632 --> 00:41:23.212 But also, I think the one response that everyone is presumably waiting on and 00:41:23.212 --> 00:41:28.592 really waiting to see what will happen is the Russia/China response. 00:41:28.592 --> 00:41:34.852 Will there be anything other than token protest of these events or will this 00:41:34.852 --> 00:41:36.952 be the final line in the sand? 00:41:37.132 --> 00:41:43.472 And as you know, by now, it was the subject of the second ever edition of this 00:41:43.472 --> 00:41:48.212 podcast back in 2007, 19 years ago. 00:41:48.472 --> 00:41:53.592 The second ever edition of Corbett Report podcast was called World War Three Starts in Iran. 00:41:53.592 --> 00:41:56.472 Because at that time, as I was noting, 00:41:56.892 --> 00:42:02.892 talking about the then very fresh events of the Munich Security Conference of February 2007, 00:42:03.152 --> 00:42:08.052 when Putin infamously drew his line in the sand and started talking about essentially 00:42:08.052 --> 00:42:11.512 talking about America and calling it out as a rogue nation on the international 00:42:11.512 --> 00:42:16.072 stage and saying we're not going to just sit here and abide by this and let 00:42:16.072 --> 00:42:17.692 let these things transpire. 00:42:17.692 --> 00:42:20.812 Well, that was 19 years ago, and that was really 00:42:20.812 --> 00:42:25.192 the origins for many of these bricks are the savior type people of the idea 00:42:25.192 --> 00:42:30.892 that there is some sort of bricks alliance or axis against the NATO/Israel 00:42:30.892 --> 00:42:35.412 alliance and that they're going to draw this great line in the sand and everything 00:42:35.412 --> 00:42:37.752 will be different because don't worry. 00:42:38.212 --> 00:42:42.832 The Americans will be stopped dead in their tracks by the Russia-Chinese alliance. 00:42:43.552 --> 00:42:47.712 Or will they? Anyway, that was the narrative at that time, as you might recall. 00:42:49.155 --> 00:42:53.815 But some hints towards what a Russian response to an American attack on Iran 00:42:53.815 --> 00:42:59.535 might be come from an AP article February 10, 2007, called Putin warns U.S. 00:42:59.695 --> 00:43:01.575 Policy creating new arms race. 00:43:01.935 --> 00:43:06.315 Mr. Putin was speaking at the 43rd conference on security policy in Munich, 00:43:06.515 --> 00:43:11.475 and he said nations, quote, are witnessing an almost uncontained hyper use of 00:43:11.475 --> 00:43:13.155 force in international relations. 00:43:13.835 --> 00:43:18.875 One state, the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way. 00:43:19.115 --> 00:43:23.515 This is very dangerous. Nobody feels secure anymore because nobody can hide 00:43:23.515 --> 00:43:24.815 behind international law. 00:43:25.135 --> 00:43:29.915 This is nourishing an arms race with the desire of countries to get nuclear weapons, he added. 00:43:31.416 --> 00:43:36.436 So from that story, we obviously get the tenor of the Russian thinking along 00:43:36.436 --> 00:43:41.096 these lines that Iraq might have been the last straw and Iran, 00:43:41.196 --> 00:43:44.916 of course, would be one step too far and Russia would feel compelled to act 00:43:44.916 --> 00:43:48.316 in that event of an American attack against Iran. 00:43:48.936 --> 00:43:54.876 This was followed up in April 6, 2007, by a Moss News report entitled U.S. 00:43:54.916 --> 00:43:59.796 To Suffer Losses Upon Attacking Iran, which details a man named General Yuri 00:43:59.796 --> 00:44:02.996 Solovyov, the head of Moscow's air defense, 00:44:03.296 --> 00:44:09.916 who delivered a pretty thinly veiled threat that Iran's weapons, 00:44:10.136 --> 00:44:16.056 among others, include our anti-aircraft systems, as in Russia's anti-aircraft systems, 00:44:16.316 --> 00:44:20.416 which allow them, the Iranians, to fight all types of flying objects currently 00:44:20.416 --> 00:44:21.536 in service in the U.S. Army. 00:44:22.236 --> 00:44:26.276 Besides, we all remember our specialists have trained them since Soviet times. 00:44:26.276 --> 00:44:33.936 So here you have a key member of the Russian army basically saying that Russia 00:44:33.936 --> 00:44:39.016 will be an important part of the Iranian response to any attack. 00:44:40.096 --> 00:44:44.656 And then I think that gives the tenor of the idea that the Russians are setting 00:44:44.656 --> 00:44:47.516 up to defend their Iranian interests. 00:44:47.516 --> 00:44:53.216 And anyone who thinks that the Chinese wouldn't act to defend their interests 00:44:53.216 --> 00:44:55.576 in Iran are probably seriously mistaken. 00:44:55.816 --> 00:45:00.656 An extremely oil-starved country being fed by an extremely oil-rich nation would 00:45:00.656 --> 00:45:06.056 obviously see the American attack as a threat to their existence. 00:45:07.196 --> 00:45:11.656 If China and Russia enter the theater, all bets are off the table. 00:45:11.656 --> 00:45:13.576 It really then becomes World War III. 00:45:15.636 --> 00:45:19.636 There you go. As I say, that was the narrative there in 2007, 00:45:19.636 --> 00:45:24.956 and that set up the next couple of decades of, well, not just mainstream, 00:45:25.136 --> 00:45:29.156 but independent media reporting on the geopolitical situation. 00:45:29.536 --> 00:45:34.156 Lines in the sand have been drawn. There is this great BRICS resistance movement 00:45:34.156 --> 00:45:40.456 that's arising and that may or may not eventuate in actual military resistance 00:45:40.456 --> 00:45:47.836 to ongoing American/NATO/Israeli imperial aggression. 00:45:48.076 --> 00:45:52.096 And that is the defining metric that has been used for decades now. 00:45:52.196 --> 00:45:57.036 The reason why Iran has always been the red line for so many people is because 00:45:57.036 --> 00:46:01.456 if you cross militarily into Iran, all bets are off the table. 00:46:01.776 --> 00:46:06.816 World War III is on the table. And we are at that moment, whether we realize it or not. 00:46:06.936 --> 00:46:13.576 And I'm not sure exactly what, what is the best or even the worst possible outcome from all of this? 00:46:13.836 --> 00:46:17.156 Because certainly, obviously, it would be easy to say, well, 00:46:17.296 --> 00:46:20.916 good, OK, let's hope World War III does not eventuate here. 00:46:20.976 --> 00:46:24.916 Let's hope there is some sort of peaceful, happy transition of power to some 00:46:24.916 --> 00:46:29.456 Iranian government that everyone can live with and everything just goes back to normal. 00:46:30.282 --> 00:46:34.522 Actually, that really doesn't solve anything, even if that were to take place, 00:46:34.682 --> 00:46:38.522 even if the most peaceful and passable alternative were to take place, 00:46:38.662 --> 00:46:41.682 that doesn't really placate anyone or anything, 00:46:41.682 --> 00:46:46.282 because all it means is that all of the hot air and bloviating over the past 00:46:46.282 --> 00:46:50.722 couple of decades about red lines and lines in the sand and imperial aggression 00:46:50.722 --> 00:46:56.002 versus the heroic brick saviors means all of that was hot air and nothing will eventuate. 00:46:56.482 --> 00:47:00.442 And I don't know about you, but But I'm not personally going to take my cue 00:47:00.442 --> 00:47:04.682 for what may or may not be coming from a Russia-China response from the very 00:47:04.682 --> 00:47:09.902 same bloviators and blowhards who just months ago were assuring us that U.S. 00:47:09.942 --> 00:47:14.142 Would never go into Venezuela because they are armed to the teeth with these 00:47:14.142 --> 00:47:17.262 high-tech Russian anti-aircraft defenses. 00:47:18.102 --> 00:47:21.442 Uncle Sam would never even approach, would never even attempt to get through 00:47:21.442 --> 00:47:26.062 and never. Oh, wait, of course. Oh, let's take Maduro in the middle of the night. 00:47:26.322 --> 00:47:31.742 Zero resistance. Absolutely nothing. Not a single American even injured, let alone dead. Oh, OK. 00:47:31.962 --> 00:47:37.722 All right. Or the same people who've been talking for four years now about how 00:47:37.722 --> 00:47:42.622 Russia is two weeks away from ending this special military operation in Ukraine. 00:47:42.802 --> 00:47:45.362 It's not a war. Don't call it a war. They're just weeks away, 00:47:45.482 --> 00:47:47.542 guys, for the last four years. 00:47:47.822 --> 00:47:51.822 These people have been wrong about everything and are, I'm sure, 00:47:51.942 --> 00:47:55.722 going to say how this is all some kind of great strategic win for the BRICS alliance. 00:47:56.542 --> 00:47:59.762 I'm not sure I'm going to listen to that narrative. But at any rate, 00:47:59.902 --> 00:48:00.842 the cards are on the table. 00:48:01.002 --> 00:48:05.122 And this is a now or never, this is a make or break. I don't know what is going 00:48:05.122 --> 00:48:09.362 to happen any more than any of the other bloviating blowhards out there in this space do. 00:48:09.482 --> 00:48:12.602 But at least I will admit that I do not know how this is going to unfold. 00:48:12.902 --> 00:48:18.542 But I do know what is being worked towards, which of course is the dismantling 00:48:18.542 --> 00:48:21.502 of yet another, at least potential, 00:48:21.922 --> 00:48:28.582 threat or even rival on the geopolitical stage to Israeli dominance of the Middle East. So... 00:48:28.977 --> 00:48:32.937 We'll see. We will see in the coming days and weeks how this turns out. 00:48:33.037 --> 00:48:35.437 There's going to be a lot of information to keep track of. 00:48:35.557 --> 00:48:38.597 This could be the defining events of our times. 00:48:39.037 --> 00:48:44.197 So I hope you are paying attention. And if you are, the place to go with information 00:48:44.197 --> 00:48:50.097 and to find information as it arises is the Iran war open thread up on CorbettReport.com. 00:48:50.417 --> 00:48:53.637 Once again, all of the information that I have talked about today, 00:48:53.817 --> 00:48:56.797 all of the links, et cetera, will be in the show notes for today's episode at 00:48:56.797 --> 00:48:58.497 corbettreport.com/iranwar. 00:48:58.717 --> 00:49:02.857 But if you go to the Iran War open thread, you can join the conversation now. 00:49:02.977 --> 00:49:07.357 Dozens and dozens and dozens of comments, more coming in all the time from people 00:49:07.357 --> 00:49:11.617 all around the world with information about what is happening in Iran. 00:49:11.877 --> 00:49:16.637 So I hope you will go there, take a look at that and contribute if you are able. 00:49:16.797 --> 00:49:20.977 And of course, Corbett Report members are able to log in and leave their comments 00:49:20.977 --> 00:49:24.997 in the comment section there. But that's going to do it for today's exploration. 00:49:25.337 --> 00:49:29.537 There's a lot of information on the table, and hopefully this provides some 00:49:29.537 --> 00:49:33.957 of the history and context so you understand what is taking place right now 00:49:33.957 --> 00:49:36.197 and why it is taking place. 00:49:36.197 --> 00:49:40.377 That is the only way we are going to learn ourselves forward from all of this 00:49:40.377 --> 00:49:42.577 mess. But that's going to do it for today. 00:49:43.057 --> 00:49:47.537 James Corbett of CorbettReport.com. And today I'll leave you with the wise words 00:49:47.537 --> 00:49:50.117 of the Commander-in-Chief of the United States. 00:49:51.917 --> 00:49:54.817 Our president will start a war with 00:49:54.817 --> 00:49:58.017 Iran because he has absolutely no ability 00:49:58.017 --> 00:50:04.217 to negotiate he's weak and he's ineffective our president will start a war with 00:50:04.217 --> 00:50:10.357 Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate he's weak and he's ineffective 00:50:10.357 --> 00:50:16.537 he's weak and he's ineffective he's weak and he's ineffective he's weak and he's ineffective. 00:50:21.729 --> 00:50:29.309 We all know the story of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. Bin Laden was responsible for today's attack. 00:50:31.569 --> 00:50:35.949 So often was that story repeated in the wake of 9-11 that the hypnotized public 00:50:35.949 --> 00:50:40.329 forgot that it was, at base, just that. A story. 00:50:41.309 --> 00:50:45.149 If they didn't have an Osama bin Laden out there, they'd invent one. 00:50:47.469 --> 00:50:51.869 In false flags the secret history of al-Qaeda you will learn the truth behind 00:50:51.869 --> 00:50:57.429 that story and uncover the lies that led to the war of terror our war on terror 00:50:57.429 --> 00:51:04.129 begins with al-Qaeda but it does not end there watch the documentary for free 00:51:04.129 --> 00:51:06.149 at corbettreport.com/al-qaeda, 00:51:06.929 --> 00:51:12.289 or support the filmmaker and purchase the documentary on dvd at newworldnextweek.com.