Episode 5215: War Expands To The Gulf States; MSM Is Losing Grasp On Their Audience

Summary

---

Bannon's War Room — Episode 5215

Date: March 14, 2026
Theme: War Expands to the Gulf States & Mainstream Media’s Waning Grip

---

Episode Overview

This high-intensity episode focuses on the rapid escalation of conflict in the Gulf States, especially following the U.S. bombing of Iran’s Kharg Island, and examines the repercussions across the Middle East—including oil infrastructure, escalations by regional players, and the strategic ambiguity of U.S. intentions. Host Stephen K. Bannon and guests, including Reagan Reese (Daily Caller White House Correspondent), David Sachs, and artist Hunan Khalili, also dissect the shifting media landscape as the MSM loses influence to new, alternative outlets in war coverage. Humanitarian aspects and the political climate within Iran find rare spotlight amid the broader geopolitical and military discussion.

---

Key Segments & Insights

1. Kharg Island Bombing and U.S. Escalation

[00:00–03:59]

• The U.S. launches large-scale bombing against military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island, a cornerstone of Iranian oil exports.
  • Stephen K. Bannon: “He continues, our weapons are the most powerful and sophisticated that the world has ever known. But for reasons of decency, I've chosen not to wipe out the oil infrastructure…” [01:12]
• Significant restraint: U.S. spares oil infrastructure, but threatens escalation if Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz.
• 2,500 Marines deploy to the region; potential ground or amphibious operations discussed but not confirmed.
  • David Sachs: “If [the U.S.] took out all the oil infrastructure, that would drive up oil prices… I don't think this strike will force them to cave...” [01:54]
• Analysts question Trump administration’s endgame and warn that true security in the Straits might require costly, sustained ground occupation.
  • Stephen K. Bannon: “You're probably going to have to have a significant ground force… you’re going to take a lot of casualties doing that.” [02:58]

2. Risks of Escalation Across Gulf States & Humanitarian Nightmare

[03:59–07:48]

• David Sachs warns about tit-for-tat targeting of Gulf state oil and water infrastructure if escalation continues:
  • “If you see that type of destruction continue, you could literally render the Gulf almost uninhabitable… 100 million people.” [05:34]
  • Raises specter of Israel’s deepening involvement and “dead man switch” scenarios for regional infrastructure.
  • “You have to worry about Israel escalating... by contemplating using a nuclear weapon, which would truly be catastrophic.” [07:29]

3. Domestic Security and Immigration Concerns

[07:48–09:55]

• Recent synagogue attack connected to Hezbollah sympathizer; leads to calls for hardened U.S. borders and stricter deportations.
  • David Sachs: “We need to make sure the border remains closed... The insanity of the sanctuary jurisdictions that they defend...” [08:53]

4. Trump’s Approach: Short Wars vs. Long Occupations

[09:55–11:39]

• Debate on whether Trump will commit to a protracted ground war.
  • Stephen K. Bannon: “One thing we know about Donald Trump is that he does not like a long conflict.” [10:04]
• Discussion on “shaping operations”—applying pressure without telegraphing intentions.

5. Mainstream Media Losing Relevance in War Coverage

[11:39–27:38, 22:29–27:38]

• Reagan Reese (Daily Caller) discusses transformation in Pentagon/White House press room dynamics:
  • MSM reps demoted to back rows; alternative and conservative outlets move up.
  • Resentment and tension as “new media” show up legacy outlets in press briefings with sharper, more substantive questions.
    • “There have been four press briefings... I have to tell you, Steve, it has been so uncomfortable. I've never experienced anything like this. The mainstream media reporters... start loudly complaining and saying, I’m in the back of the room again.” [22:29]
  • Alternative outlets adapt better to social media, amplifying divergent viewpoints.
    • Bannon: “I think the questions have been great... made the mainstream media… more to get to the facts... than editorial comment.” [24:45]
    • Reese: “There are questions from a different subset of America that need to be asked... That's what we're trying to do.” [25:58]

6. New Fronts: North Korea, UAE, and Expansion of Regional Conflict

[29:54–32:30]

• North Korea launches ten ballistic missiles during U.S.-South Korea drills.
• Drones and missiles hit UAE oil infrastructure; Iran warns it will retaliate against ports, docks from which U.S. strikes originate.
  • “The UAE has been singled out for the most amount of missiles and drones over the past two weeks... another threat from Iranian officials that it will be targeted even more.” [30:26]

7. Humanitarian Focus – Voices from Inside Iran

[34:02–45:04]

• Guest: Hunan Khalili (Artist, activist)
  • Iranian-American who creates murals for Iranian women’s rights, commissioned by Israel.
  • Describes regime brutality against women, including shootings for showing hair.
    • “These murals show the world that Israel is the only country in the Middle east that allows a mural with a woman's hair to be shown.” [34:11]
  • Argues only arming the Iranian people can produce real change:
    • “In Iran, only the bad guys have guns... If you arm the people of Iran... this could go a lot faster.” [38:25]
  • Highlights lack of support from Arab states for the cause, juxtaposed against Israeli and U.S. openness.
    • “UAE and Saudi Arabia... said, absolutely not. You cannot put up a mural with a woman's hair showing. So Israel is the only country that welcomed me.” [45:41]
• Urges the U.S. or Israel to support Iranian people by sending arms for self-defense.
  • “Strength through defense... give the men and women a chance to defend themselves, put a gun in their hand.” [41:28]

8. Contradictory Messaging from U.S. Leadership

[50:13–52:24]

• Pete Hegseth (aired clip): Argues military is “controlling objectives,” not losing control or widening the war.
  • “No, we're actually closing in on grabbing hold of and controlling what objectives we want to achieve...” [50:17]
• Reagan Reese points out contradiction:
  • “The president keeps saying that the war is about to wrap up... but why is every day an escalation? ...I don’t think they go together. I think they contradict.” [51:37]

---

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On escalation and risk:

  • “If you see that type of destruction continue, you could literally render the Gulf almost uninhabitable... for 100 million people.” — David Sachs [05:34]
  • “The Truth is the first casualty in war.” — Stephen K. Bannon [27:38]

• On media realignment:

  • “I've never experienced anything like this... the mainstream media reporters... making all these vocal complaints.” — Reagan Reese [22:29]
  • “I think friction often, like on a movie set, friction is actually good. It gets more creative.” — Stephen K. Bannon [27:38]

• On Iranian regime & resistance:

  • “If a woman shows her hair, the Supreme Leader said she’s making war on God.” — Hunan Khalili [34:11]
  • “In Iran, only the bad guys have guns... The people of Iran need to be armed.” — Hunan Khalili [38:25]
  • “You have 2 million people with guns holding down 90 million people.” — Hunan Khalili [38:25]

---

Timestamps: Key Segments

• [00:00–03:59] — U.S. attack on Kharg Island; military strategy and restraint
• [03:59–07:48] — Risks of Gulf war escalation; oil & desalination infrastructure at risk
• [07:48–09:55] — Domestic terror & border security politics
• [09:55–11:39] — Trump’s aversion to prolonged ground wars
• [11:39–27:38] — MSM vs. new media tensions in Pentagon/White House briefings; Reagan Reese segment
• [29:54–32:30] — North Korea missile test; UAE targeted, regional expansion risks
• [34:02–45:04] — Hunan Khalili interview: art, resistance, arming Iranian people
• [50:13–52:24] — Pete Hegseth clip on U.S. strategy vs. reality; Reese analysis of White House contradictions

---

Summary Takeaways

• War expands and intensifies in the Gulf, with U.S. opting for targeted assault (not outright oil war—yet) but remains ambiguous about long-term objectives.
• Escalation risks immense regional disaster, including destruction of critical infrastructure that could threaten millions.
• Alternative media is on the rise, displacing legacy outlets—sharper questions, more direct engagement, and a generational divide in war coverage.
• Humanitarian and resistance narratives are rarely foregrounded but emerge through unique guests like Hunan Khalili, shifting focus to the lived experience under the Iranian regime.
• Internal contradictions in U.S. administration messaging: “war nearly over” vs. “daily escalation.”
• Region remains volatile: North Korean provocations, Gulf state vulnerabilities, and possible Israeli ground invasion loom.

---

Listen for: Sharp on-the-ground reporting, generational media clashes, in-depth debate on the true consequences of war in the Gulf, and a rare focus on the people struggling within Iran’s borders.

Transcript

[Steve Bannon]

Now, here in 2026, you are president.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Are you thinking about taking Carg island, where 90% of the Iranian oil goes through? And what do you think about. Do you remember that interview and that, that school of thought? Yeah, but Brian, I can't answer a question like that. You should, and you should ask. You should be even asking it. It's one of so many different things. It's not high on the list, but it's one of so many different things. And I can change my mind in seconds. But, you know, for you to ask a question. Who would answer a question like that? I mean, you're asking me a question. Carg island, okay? Everything. Who would ask a question like that and what fool would answer it? Okay, let's say I was going to do it, or let's say I wasn't going to do it. Why would I send you? Oh, yes, Brian, I'm thinking about doing it. Let me, let me, let you know what time and when it'll take place. It's not, you know, it's sort of a foolish question, a little surprising for you because you're a smart man.

[Reagan Reese]

I am.

[Steve Bannon]

But you were just pretty amazing that

[Stephen K. Bannon]

you thought about it. In 1988, moments ago, at my direction, the United States Central Command executed one of the most powerful bombing raids in the history of the Middle east and totally obliterated every military target in Iran's

[David Sachs]

crown jewel, Kharg Island.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

He continues, our weapons are the most powerful and sophisticated that the world has ever known. But for reasons of decency, I've chosen not to wipe out the oil infrastructure on the island. The President then adds, however, should Iran or anyone else do anything to interfere with the free and safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz will immediately reconsider this decision.

[David Sachs]

Kharg island is where most of Iran's oil exports flow.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

It has gone untouched until now. Also, we should point out today we Learned that some 2500 Marines and sailors are headed into the region.

[David Sachs]

And though we don't yet know what

[Stephen K. Bannon]

this Marine Expeditionary Unit's mission is or may be, they are traditionally used for

[David Sachs]

large scale evacuations as well as amphibious assaults.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

The President, as you know, has neither ruled out ground combat or hasn't ruled it in or out, I should say day was, Trump says that military targets were struck, but why not effectively try to take over the island to control the oil. Oil coming out of there. If he had done that, it would have been a major escalation. 90% of Iran's oil experts go through this one tiny island, it's about five miles long, about 20 miles out into the Persian Gulf. And so this is a Trump pressure tactic. This is, you know, I'm going to strike all the military targets on this island, but I'm not going to all these refineries and other things like that. I think he's just trying to, again, pressure the Iranian regime, which the administration seems to think is going to work. You know, more bombs and more pressure and they're just going to cave. I don't, I don't think this strike will force them to cave, but that's why it's significant that he did not take out all that oil infrastructure. And then most importantly, if he took out all the oil infrastructure, that would drive up oil prices. What do you see tomorrow when you see the next day? They're going to be hit so hard. They're going to be hit. They can talk all they want, but, you know, let's see what they do. So they're going to maybe do something having to do with the Straits, I don't know, but they're being hit so hard, It'll take them 20 years to rebuild. Have a very professional military people are going to do their jobs. They're going to do them very professionally. I think there has to be some question about where is this all leading, what was the plan, what is the strategy? And we've heard a number of different versions of that. I think it's helpful for the military to have a clear objective, a clear mission. Julian described the situation in the Straits very accurately. It's a very tough problem. It's a problem we've been looking at, I've been looking at, in scenarios for 20 or 30 years now. It's going to take a large force. I think our military people, our professionals understand that. And you're probably going to have to have a significant ground force and you're probably going to have to stay there for a while and you're going to take a lot of casualties doing that. That's what it would take to get a determined Iran to a position where we could assure shipping that it was safe to go through the Straits. And that's not where we are now. And I don't see a clear path to get there anytime soon.

[David Sachs]

This is a good time to declare victory and get out. And that is clearly what the markets would like to see. You are seeing, however, a faction of people, I'd say largely, but not exclusively in the Republican Party who want to escalate the war and who are calling for things like ground troops or regime change, or they simply want the pounding of Iran to just keep going on and on. I saw an op ed in the Wall Street Journal to that effect, that we shouldn't try and find an off ramp. We should just keep going with this. And I just want to lay out, I think, some of the risks of what an escalatory approach could entail. So, first of all, we're all seeing that the, the Straits of Hormuz are closed right now. We don't want that to persist longer than it has to. But there are actually worse outcomes than that. So if the Iranians get hit, if their oil and gas infrastructure gets hit, they've already said they're going to engage in tit for tat retaliation against the Gulf states. And we saw there was recently the Iranians blew up this giant oil depot in Oman. You saw some of those images. They could continue to target the oil and gas infrastructure across the Gulf states. And if that happens, it won't really matter if the Straits get reopened because you won't be able to restart oil and gas production in the Middle East. So that would be, I think, a much worse outcome that could result from escalation. Furthermore, there's an even worse, I think, scenario from there, which is the region is very dependent on desalination plants. I think something like 70% of Riyadh gets their water from desalination. I think it's something like 100 million people on the Arabian Peninsula that get their water from desal. I mean, it's basically a desert, right? And those desal plants are soft targets. You already saw there was, I think there was one desal plant in Iran that got hit and then it caused Iran again, tit for tat to hit a desal plant. I think it was in Kuwait. I could be off about that. But in any event, if you see that type of destruction continue, you could literally render the Gulf almost uninhabitable. I mean, you're just not going to have enough water for 100 million people. And human beings just cannot survive very long without water. So that would be a truly catastrophic scenario. And we're talking about destroying the Gulf states economically and then also from a humanitarian perspective. So I think we have to take things like this into account. When you hear people preaching for or advocating for escalation, you also have to, I think, consider the impacts on Israel. I mean, it's hard to know exactly how much damage Israel is taking right now. There's a social media blackout. But what you're starting to hear trickle out is that Israel is getting hit harder than they've ever been hit before in their history. And we're only two weeks into this. If this war continues for weeks or months, then Israel could just be destroyed or very large parts of it. Now, I think Israel is a harder target than the Gulf states. Their infrastructure is more hardened. Also, they're further away. The Gulf states are vulnerable to drones and short range missiles, whereas Israel is mainly vulnerable to long range missiles. Nonetheless, at some point their air defenses could become exhausted if it hasn't happened already and Israel could get seriously destroyed. And then you have to worry about Israel escalating the war by contemplating using a nuclear weapon, which would truly be catastrophic. So there's a lot of scenarios here, a lot of really frightening scenarios about where escalation could lead to. And even though the United States is a much more powerful country than Iran, they essentially have a dead man switch over the economic fate of the Gulf states and even potentially beyond that, the habitability of some of these countries.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

We are learning new details about yesterday's attack on a Michigan synagogue. Sources tell CNN that the assailant had previously been flagged in US Government databases for connections with the terror group Hezbollah, joined now by CNN's Chief Law Enforcement and intelligence analyst, John Miller. So John, what was the extent of the suspect's ties to Hezbollah? Well, the federal government said they had nothing to tie him to Hezbollah, but he was tied through communications, telephone records and other things to members of Hezbollah. And this came up when he came back from a trip to Lebanon in 2019. He was flagged by the system because of that note. And Customs and Border Protection people, we are told by law enforcement sources, went through his phone and found those Hezbollah members names in his contact list. We also now know that his brothers and nephews were killed in an Israeli strike against Hezbollah targets just days ago in Lebanon. So that really kind of points us to a probable motive for this attack.

[David Sachs]

There's a few things we need to do. One, we need to make sure the border remains closed. The deportations need to continue regardless of the Democrat whining about it. They don't think that a sovereign country should ever be able to tell people, you know, who can come and who should have to leave. We should not relent on that. And then also we need to reform our legal immigration system. Laura, a lot of these people have come in legally. A lot of American workers have been displaced by foreign workers. A lot of American students have been displaced by these visa mills at universities and tax breaks that Companies get after the fact. So we've got a lot of work to do. But we clearly have laws right now that need to be enforced. Federal law enforcement can enforce those. And I just want to point out one thing, the insanity of the sanctuary jurisdictions that they defend, it literally means that this monster that stabbed the woman in Virginia to death, who has 30 priors and illegal immigrant that governor was, will not tell federal law enforcement or ICE when that person gets released from prison. They will not tell federal law enforcement when rapists and murders are released into our communities.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

One of the objectives now is to

[Reagan Reese]

keep gas prices down, to get shipping moving. And the way to do that is put troops on the ground in Iran.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

So it's a good question. I mean, one thing we know about Donald Trump is that he does not like a long conflict. Right? We, you know, this is what is so different about this war right here. Venezuela, Venezuela was planned to be a very short in and out operation. He put a strict limit on his bombing of Iran last year. This seems potentially much more open ended. We're now talking about ground troops.

[David Sachs]

But if we know Donald Trump and

[Stephen K. Bannon]

everyone in America is an expert on Donald Trump, we know that he is going to probably balk before he, he really commits to something that's going to be a long term presence on the ground. So I think it's too early to say that we're going to have a marine operation taking one of the islands in the straits or doing something. But we have to be asking these questions. We have to try to figure out what their plan is and what the options that people are putting before him are. This is the primal scream of a dying regime. Pray for our enemies. Cuz we're going medieval on these people. Reason I got a free shot on all these networks lying about the people. The people have had a belly full of it. I know you don't like hearing that. I know you try to do everything in the world to stop that, but you're not going to stop it. It's going to happen. And where do people like that go to share the big lie?

[Steve Bannon]

MAGA MEDIA I wish in my soul,

[Stephen K. Bannon]

I wish that any of these people had a conscience. Ask yourself, what is my task and what is my purpose? If that answer is to save my country, this country will be saved.

[Steve Bannon]

WAR ROOM here's your host, Stephen K. Ban.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Saturday 14 March Year of alert 2026 Overnight one of the most intense and I think you can take it that virtually every day and this is why we're doing Sunday shows Now to match Our Saturday show, 10am to noon, 12 noon Eastern Daylight Time in our traditional morning slot. Because every day it seems like the, the kinetic part of this is ratcheting up the overnight a strategic bombing of Kharg island to take out the military infrastructure on Karg island and not to leave untouched or virtually untouched the oil refinery and oil infrastructure capability of the Iranian regime ordered yesterday an amphibious ready group out of Japan. The release of they talked about 5000, but they've only mentioned the USS Tripoli, 2500 marines heading to with support ships and combatants heading to the North Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman in this bombing campaign. At the same time, the Israelis leaked to Axios that they were planning the most massive ground invasion for 20 years since 2006 into Lebanon. And that seems to be in the planning stages. But the kinetic part of this ratcheted up dramatically overnight also additional bombing targets in Tehran. My understanding is Israel did get hit again last night. I think you heard right there. David Sachs. David Sachs is, is the crypto czar, but also the artificial intelligence czar. As you know, we don't agree with David Sacks on many, many things, but I think that was a very, you know, ripped from the pages of War Room Walkthrough. The only thing I would say is that I think off ramps and we were one that discussed off ramps in the first couple of days of this war. You're in it now and particularly in it in the, in the Persian Gulf. The center of gravity of this war has shifted to the oil and to the Persian Gulf. We just we'll have a clip when we get back as soon as we came on. Looks like UAE an oil depot depot or one of their big refineries may have been hit just moments ago. Also reports from agency Free Press or agency France Press that 10 ballistic missiles, experimental or just practice ballistic missiles fired by the North Koreans overnight. We're gonna get to all of that. Reagan Reese, the White House correspondent for the the Daily Caller will join us after a short commercial break. If a major disruption happened to you once again, if a major disruption happened and you couldn't get to the store, how long do you think you could last with what's in your house right now? If it's anything less than a month, you need to check out our friends at my Patriot Supply. They're America's number one preparedness company with over 3 million satisfied customers. And right now when you go to preparewithbannon.com their best selling 4 week emergency supply food kit comes with an additional Week of free food. That should get the best selling four week emergency food supply. And it comes with an additional week of free food kicked in. This is the best long term storable food you can find. You're getting at least 2,000 calories a day. Real meals made with real ingredients, no artificial flavors, no artificial colors, and a shelf life measured in decades. Look, we all need to know that we need food stored for emergencies. Look around your house right now. How long would you last? Why not get it from the most trusted folks in the business? Get a free week of food thrown in while you're at it. Go to preparewithbannon.com to get your free week of emergency food today. That's preparewithbannon.com America's number one preparedness company, my Patriot supply with over 3 million certified customers. Make sure you're one of them.

[Steve Bannon]

War Room, here's your host, Stephen K. Ban.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Okay, there is so much going on right now and we're going to put this all in perspective of this. Let's say this as we have said many times over, I guess the last 10 days, I think this is the 14th day of the war. Believe it's the 14th day of the war. The center of gravity of this, as we've said, has shifted to the Gulf. Not just Straits of Hormuz, but the entire situation of our allies there. David Sacks talking about desalination of water, which this could quickly become more of a water war even than an oil war of the 100 million people living in the Gulf and the other environs because this regime is, and President Trump I think said, or Pete said it the other day, there's a bunch of rats cornered. Well, these are definitely cornered rats and they're very tough hombres and they come from a messianic apocalyptic culture. So they're going to fight to the end. I don't think there's much surrender in these guys. So you're just going to have to hunker down for it. But I just don't think, oh, claiming victory, things we could have done, could have been possibilities in the first 4, 5, 6 days of this war, I just don't think are possibilities now because this situation in the Gulf and of course you know the dramatic nature of it because of the calling up of the, the amphibious ready group yesterday, this bombing. And look, these things aren't, they don't put these together in a couple hours. That infamous ready group is something they've thought through in their planning. It's down you go down the, you know the list of what you do, and here's what we're going to do, and maybe we need this now that's when you kick it in. Also, the bombing last night appears to have been so lethal. And of course, our. It shows you once again, air supremacy, or at least, you know, full scale, you know, air dominance over certain elements of Iran, that the military can pull it off with another tremendous expeditionary evolution, just like the end of the 12 Day War. But this thing gets more and more complex every day. So, Reagan, first off, you're the White House correspondent. You've also got a great piece and substack I'm gonna get to in a moment about the Pentagon. But how do you. I want to give my, the Raft team and my own production team a hat tip because every day they are curating everything that's going on in the world and curated down to 10, 12, 13, 14 minutes of the best video and are able to juxtapose what things are saying. But that takes a team to go through it. And these young people are very focused on every minute of what's happening in this war. How does one juggle what's happening between the White House, the press briefings, the Pentagon when you've got so much else going on that President Trump is doing in addition that we are now fighting a major conflict?

[Reagan Reese]

Ma'. Am. Yeah, well, this is definitely the main focus and I think the biggest thing that has happened in President Trump's administration thus far. And so that is where my focus is. And I'm bouncing back and forth between the Pentagon press briefings, the White House press briefings. If the White House has background calls with officials, I'm jumping on those, trying to meet with as many Pentagon sources as I can on the side. You know, I'll admit it, I'm young. This is my first time covering a war. And so there's so much information and there's also so much I don't know. And so what we're trying to do right now is one, ask the questions that our audience wants to know. What do they feel like is unanswered about this war, and then also try to parse through the administration's messaging on the Iranian war. I think it has been, it's been hard to follow. I am not completely sure exactly what the objectives are left. What do we still have left to achieve in this war? Why did we strike exactly now, what was the real reasoning there? We've heard several different things. So trying to get answers on that front and then just on the White House and all the other things that the president's doing. The first press briefing that Caroline Levitz had after the United States struck Iran, everyone asked about Iran. I'd already been into Pentagon press briefings at that point. I was the only one who asked about a domestic issue. We asked about the SAVE act because that matters to the American people too. They want to see the President talk about domestic issues and care about those things. And so just finding that balance of covering this war that is going to impact people back home, but also highlighting those domestic things that the American people desperately need the President to focus on.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

No, I think it's this is why I wanted you on this morning because like Breitbart, the Daily Caller, I would say is a institution that support, has supported the President. You've, I think, had a one on one with the president, correct me if wrong, didn't you? I think you did an Oval Office interview one on one with the President shows you the esteem that Caroline Levitt and the team over there, Stephen Chung, hold your reporting. And that's why I think it's very fascinating to this sub stack that you did. And I want, if we can put the substack up, here's what I would like to do. I want to play a short clip. Do we have the Pete Hegseth clip from yesterday? Is that ready yet? Okay, I need a yes or no. Okay, fine. Thank you. So let's go to your sub stack. Ma', am, what is the walk me through this substack you wrote about Mondays. You covering the Pentagon on Monday?

[Reagan Reese]

Yes. So as probably most of your viewers know, the Pentagon shook up their press briefing room. They had people sign an agreement on covering the Pentagon. It had its set of rules. There were only a select few ballots that chose to sign that agreement. And then a lot of people like the mainstream media didn't sign that agreement. We at the Daily Caller, we didn't actually sign that agreement. But we've been working on our relationship with the Pentagon to make sure that we can see still be able to get answers at press briefings and cover events and etc. And so what this has done is now that there are press briefings being regularly held at the Pentagon. It has put outlets like myself, those who have signed the agreement, real America's Voice, Lindell tv, et cetera, all in the first two rows of the press briefing. It has put all of the mainstream media outlets, abc, cbs, you name it, in the back of the room. And so there have been four press briefings, I believe at The Pentagon. And I have to tell you, Steve, it has been so uncomfortable. I've never experienced anything like this. The mainstream media reporters, they come in and they start loudly complaining and saying, I'm in the back of the room again. Where's my CEO? It's in the back of the room. And they're making all these vocal complaints. And then they will walk around the first two rows where me and my colleagues are sitting. Daily Wire is also one of those outlets, Center Square One America News. And they will look at each seat in the front and second row. They're looking for their name, they're all assigned seating. And they'll, you know, sigh and kind of huff and puff in our direction when they don't find their seat in the first two rows. There was a comment that was made at the last press briefing on Friday. A mainstream media reporter was remarking how he was excited that that regular media, meaning them, got called on more than the new media and outlets like myself. And so I write in the piece, the White House press corps is supposed to be the worst of the worst. I've been a part of it for three years now. I have never experienced anything this uncomfortable and this petty than I have in the Pentagon the last couple of weeks.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Because those guys are dug in at the Pentagon. You'll find out that they're dug into that building. They got their own ways. I. I want to. But if I can make an observation, I think that the new media and, and look, you get some softball questions, you can tell, or I'm not saying they're planted, but you get some softball questions from, from some of the new media. But by and large, I am very impressed with the new media people that have come in of some of the sharp questions and really questions asking for real analytics to come out. And I think it's made. I think it's made the. The mainstream media guys even better because they realize that, hey, there's some sharp young people here and they're asking good questions. So I got to step up for the Wall Street Journal or for the New York Times. That's my observation. I don't know how it feels like in the room, but we watch these every day very closely and kind of go through it to curate. But I think by and large, the new media have come in to like, say, hey, we got something to prove. I think the questions have been great, by and large, and I think it's made the mainstream media, I'm not saying, less snarky and more to get to the facts of the matter than to give editorial comment. Your thoughts on that?

[Reagan Reese]

Well, definitely. First, I'll say I acknowledge some of these reporters that are in the Pentagon press briefing of the mainstream media. They've actually been reporting in two war zones and really have been in the thick of it. And they have decades of experience. I don't have that. I know I don't have that. But that doesn't make the questions we've asked in the briefing room any less valid. It's the same way that the White House has brought in new outlets that have a different perspective. There are questions from a different subset of America that need to be asked that they want to know. And so while I've been in the Pentagon press briefing room, we have asked about what the actual objectives are of this war. What are we really trying to accomplish if we wanted the names of the U.S. casualties and wanted more details on how they were killed. Those are just two examples of the questions that we're asking. We want to ask more about drone attacks and the Strait of Hormuz and how are you going to secure that? All of these things are, like you said, getting down to the nitty gritty of war. But also talk about the things that the Americans are wondering, is this going to impact them back home? What do they need to be prepared for? And the other thing I'll say is I think a lot of the new reporters are probably a little bit younger. We adapt more to the social media and stuff like that. And I can imagine that also creates some friction as well because we're using our phones and using all the different platforms that we have to create content. And forcing the legacy media reporters around us to adapt in that way, I think is also causing some friction as well.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

No, it's definitely. But I think it's, I think friction often, like on a movie set, friction is actually good. It gets more creative. Look, the president still, the fundamental way he puts things out besides these phone calls with reporters, is put it down on social media. Reagan, hang over a second. I want to drill down a little bit. But on yesterday's press briefing over at the I think it was yesterday or Thursday kind of all blends together. We'll get it up in a second. Reagan Reese is with us. She is the White House correspondent for the Daily Caller, also covering some of the Pentagon briefings. And these young people, I think, are doing a great job hustling, finding information, asking tough questions and getting pushback as they should. Creative, the creative process of going through and getting to the truth. Because remember, the Truth is the first casualty in war. Short commercial break Back in a moment. I've got a question for you. How do you usually get your medication? Let me guess, you call the doctor, you wait for an appointment to get a prescription, sit in a waiting room, then you stand around in line at the pharmacy hoping they actually have what you need. That's not convenient. That's a system that doesn't work. There's a better way. And that way is where all family pharmacy comes in. They take the hassle out of the process. You go online, select what you're looking for, complete a short medical form and a licensed physician reviews your request. If it's appropriate, they write the prescription and your medication is shipped straight to your home. They've got essentials like antibiotics, antivirals, Ivermectin, NAD plus and hundreds of other prescription medications. It's simple, it's efficient and it puts you back in control. Stop dealing with the old way, get your medical freedom and do it today. Go to allfamilypharmacy.com Bannon and use promo code Bannon10 to get 10% off your order. Get your medical freedom today. Go to allfamilypharmacy.com Bannon and use promo code Bannon10 to get 10% off your order. The United States and South Korea are in the middle of a joint military

[Reagan Reese]

drill and North Korea is not taking it lightly.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Well, earlier in the day, Seoul's northern

[Reagan Reese]

neighbor fired a round of 10 ballistic

[Stephen K. Bannon]

missiles towards the East Sea. North Korea's missile launch was an apparent flexing of muscles against the South Korean U.

[Reagan Reese]

S Joint military exercise.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

According to South Koreans and the Japanese militaries.

[Reagan Reese]

The missiles were launched from North Korea's west coast.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Japan estimates that the missiles reached a

[Reagan Reese]

maximum altitude of 80 km and flew

[Stephen K. Bannon]

approximately 340 km before landing near the east coast of the Accordion Peninsula and outside Tokyo's exclusive economic zone. Look at the smoke from a fire burning at an oil port at the uae. Debris from an intercepted drone fell this morning near the Strait of Hormuz. Officials say no injuries were reported, though sources say some operations were suspended. And this comes hours after US Strikes on Iran's Kharg Island. As Oren discussed, Iran has warned that that ports and docks in the UAE could be targeted. CNN's Paula Hancock is with us now from the UAE in Abu Dhabi. What do you know? Well, Victor, we've certainly seen the UAE has been singled out for the most amount of missiles and drones over the past two weeks. And now another threat from Iranian officials that it will be targeted even more. This is the latest that we have heard from the spokesperson of the armed forces. It comes after the US Attack on Cog island, even though it was military targets that were taken out.

[Reagan Reese]

We did hear from the US President

[Stephen K. Bannon]

saying it could be oil infrastructure next if the Strait of Hormuz is not back to normal. So I'll quote what we heard from this statement saying. We warned the UAE leadership that the Islamic Republic of Iran views it as, as its legitimate right to strike the origins of American missile launches, those concealed in ports, docks and shelters used by U.S. forces under the COVID of Emirati cities in defense of its national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Now, it's worth pointing out that the UAE maintains that its defensive posture remains unchanged. We certainly not heard anything different to that. But Iran feeling that some of these missiles are coming from Emirati territory despite no confirmation or suggestion that that is in fact accurate.

[Reagan Reese]

Okay.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

And people know mbz, really the leader of the UAE is our strongest ally, least military ally in the, in the region. Also, Scott Bess, when we get to this, more later, Epoch Times is going to join us. Scott Bess and Secretary treasury in Paris even as we speak negotiating with the Chinese over the trade deal. Looks like the state visit is on. We'll deal more with that. You heard the, the situation in East Asia with the North Koreans during our joint military exercise with the South Koreans. And the South Korean prime minister didn't get a lot of publicity. Actually went and met with the president, I think on Thursday. Not really an announced visit. Reagan Reese is going to stick with us and come back in a second. We'll deal more with the Pentagon and some of the, not just messaging, but actually the action that's taking place versus the description of the action. Human Khalili joins us now from San Francisco. Human, thank you very much. We've got some folks. Talk to us about what you're doing. It's a fascinating project. We haven't dealt a lot with the humanitarian side here in the war room. We've been very focused on kind of the geopolitics, the economics of it all and what's actually happened, how this thing's going to play out. But you've got a project and you're going to be at CPAC next week to unfurl it. Talk to us about your project. Okay, we have to take him off mute.

[Steve Bannon]

Take two. Steve, thank you so much for having me.

[David Sachs]

Hang on.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Let's, let's take, let's. Yeah, let's take it from the top. Go Ahead.

[Steve Bannon]

Steve, thank you so much for having me. It's a real honor to be here. I'm the only artist in the world asked by the state of Israel to make murals in support of the women of Iran. I was born Muslim. I'm a Christian now, and I was raised in the San Francisco Bay area. I did 17 trips in 21 months, and I unveiled 18 woman life freedom murals in the Holy Land. These murals show the world that Israel is the only country in the Middle east that allows a mural with a woman's hair to be shown. All right, well, I guess we're going to get to the slides right now. In Iran, if a woman shows her hair, the Supreme Leader said she, she's making war on God. And when you say the words war on God, you are saying you can do anything you want to that woman. So obviously shooting him in the head is the most obvious choice. But one of the things the Islamic regime does is they'll take a gun and they'll shoot out one of the eyes of a woman who shows her hair. This woman here, her name is Ghazal. And they shot out her eye. And so I wanted the world to see this. But I'm making art. You know, I'm an artist. So how do I turn this into something beautiful? If you show the next slide here, this is a mural that I made in Natania. I worked with an artist named Benzie Brofman, who took my design and brought it to life. The bird covering her eye is the hoopoe it's mentioned in the book of Leviticus to show that, hey, this woman lost an eye. And just to show the world, hey, this is the brutality of the Islamic regime to towards its own people. If they're this brutal to their own people, how brutal are they going to be to the rest of the world? If we could go to the next slide. This is President Raisi, the former president of Iran. This man is responsible for killing 20,000 of his own people, 20,000, many of them women, for showing their hair. His helicopter mysteriously crashed in the Albor's mountains. If we go to the next slide, this is all of the women he killed using their hair to pull down his helicopter. Now, in this, in this design here, there's a bible verse, Jeremiah 49, 38. In the Bible, there's a theme, and the theme is God says over and over again, I'm going to put my throne in Jerusalem. I'm going to put my throne in Zion. I'm going to put my throne in Israel. But in Jeremiah 49, 38. God says, I'm going to set my throne in Elam and destroy her king and officials declares the Lord. Well, Elam is the ancient name of Iran. And to fulfill that Bible verse I put in the hand of God, like God is destroying the kings and officials of Iran. Yeah, you go to the next slide.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

So hang on, hang on a second, hang on. Four more slides. Let me just. I want to make sure the audience that we frame this properly. You're actually Persian, correct? I mean your family or your mom left when the Shaw fell?

[Steve Bannon]

Yeah, so yeah, I was born in Iran. My mom escaped with one suitcase, $5,000 three year old boy in 1978, six months before the Shaw fell. That's exactly right.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

As much as this may, you know, confront us as Westerners is there because right now you have not seen any real uprising. I mean, one of the, one of the, I don't call it bets, but one of the premises, I think, of a lot of the initial military action. And you just had Netanyahu on national TV in Israel the other day, although I don't know if his message resonates in Tehran much, but he called for an uprising in the streets. We haven't seen nearly the uprising. We saw a couple about a month ago in late January where 20 or 30,000 were killed. But it is because of the bombing has this become more of a Persian nationalist and that the, all of the obviously crimes against the Iranian people, as you show in your art, and particularly against women, focus a lot of it on women. Is that really moving people right now or are they kind of dug in, in supporting the regime?

[Steve Bannon]

No. So I think one of the things we have to agree upon is in Iran, only the bad guys have guns. And so you have 2 million people with guns holding down 90 million people. This whole idea of the people rising up, it is possible and they can rise up, but the people of Iran need to be armed. If we can show the next slide. Let me show you the mural that I just unveiled in Indiana across the street from where the Indianapolis Colts play. If you have that slide ready. This woman's name is Nika Shakarami. She was killed at 15 years old. I just want you to see what she looks like in real life. Now show the mural the next slide. Here is her holding an AK47 with a flag behind her. And the flag says, President Trump armed the women of Iran. The Americans have armed women in the past. They do it in Syria, right, To, to hold back isis. They, they armed the Kurdish women there and so in here, you see Esther's rise up. This whole idea of the esters rising up. So this whole idea of, yes, the people can rise up, but give them a chance to defend themselves, give them some sort of weapons, because right now it's not a fair fight. And I know you said 20 or 30,000 were killed, but honestly, all of us persians know it's 50,000 plus were killed in three days in Iran. This is a massacre. And the reason is because the bad guys, the Islamic regime of Iran, they all have guns and the people don't. And they're getting slaughtered for protesting peacefully. And what these murals do is they give a voice to the people who have no voice. It lets them see that they are not forgotten. Oh, go ahead, please.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Right, so no, are you calling for now is that the purpose of the, of the murals is to make sure people understand that there are freedom fighters, There are, Let me say, a different way. There are people that adamantly oppose the Islamic theocracy they lived under for 47 years, and they're prepared to act. But you're saying that they need arms, that the somehow, either the Israelis or the Americans somehow have to get a massive amount of arms into Iran so they can.

[Steve Bannon]

I think that would make a huge.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

At least have somewhat near a fair fight.

[Steve Bannon]

Look, I'm not pro war. I'm not. I'm not a guy who wants America. I'm an American. I love this country. I don't want American troops on the ground either. But the only way for. For this to be balanced, for this to be fair is, yeah, give the people, America's armed people throughout history. And so, yeah, give them a chance. Give them a chance to fight and defend themselves. Since this uprising, what have the. The people done? They've burned down mosques. They've said, we don't want this religion in our country anymore. You know, And I'm not advocating for war. I'm not advocating for death, anything like that. But all I'm saying is strength through defense.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Let.

[Steve Bannon]

Let this be the movement. Strength through defense. Give the men and the women a chance to defend themselves, put a gun in their hand so that maybe, just maybe, they themselves can overthrow the Islamic regime. And I just want to say one last.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on. Slow down. Do you see any chance, as you know, people and cousins and other relatives in Tehran, in Persia? Do you see any chance of us just being able to bomb the Revolutionary Guard or the mullahs or the ayatollahs, although we've obviously Pete said we've dramatically injured the replacement, the Sundance you see. And we got about a minute. I'll hold you through the break. Do you see any possibility of this collapsing unless you have either massive arming of the Iranian people to take their fight on or some sort of ground combat that has to take these guys on mano a mano.

[Steve Bannon]

I've heard analysts even on your show say this is a battle of attrition and so it is possible through bombing and blowing up the horrible people at the checkpoints. Yes, but it will take a long time. If you arm the people of Iran and you give them a chance to fight back and defend themselves, this could go a lot faster. I don't think America is going to run out of bullets or, or military power or food or supplies. But I understand from watching your show Trump likes to have quick wars. He doesn't want anything drawn out. And so yes, it can happen through, you know, bombing and shooting. But you know, us Persians are hoping let's not kill the patient while we remove the cancer. Let's keep the patient alive and remove the cancer at the same time.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Hunan, can you hang on for one second? I know you got to bounce for the airport. No, I have to the break. I just want to. Okay, cool. What's it going to take? A short commercial break. Take your phone out. Now more than ever. You might want to know why gold is a hedge. A lot of talk about. In fact a report I think was in Reuters that the regime is saying that any oil that passes through the straits or moves because Scott Besna said they are allowing some through has to be has to be paid for in the Chinese currency, not US Dollars. Fellow patriots, the Federal Reserve has betrayed America for over a century. Printing fiat, inflating away your savings, serving globalist masters. But President Trump is ending it. President Trump is wielding a 12 year old law to reclaim control over the rogue Federal Reserve. He's replacing Jerome Powell. Slashing rates and igniting America's re industrialization. This isn't theory. Government backed industry plus low rates unleashes super cycles. History repeats. Gold's already exploding. Miners are up 400% in the last year. What Rickards is calling Trump's gift is wealth for American patriots, not global handouts. Now it's America's turn. Gold to 27,000 in the coming years. Jim Rickards, CIA and Pentagon veteran says act now. Go to insider2026com that's insider2026.com to get Jim Rickards Strategic Intelligence Newsletter today. War Room.

[Steve Bannon]

Here's your host, Stephen K. Band.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Hunan Kalali is an artist. He's going to be at cpac. He's going to unfurl some of these banners so people can see you get to meet him and see his work. Here's the question. They have been in Israel and they've been unfurling them there. You've been putting up there. Do the Persian people, the people in Tehran would. Is that helping your cause of the. Getting the message out to. And really get it back to people in Tehran, particularly women, that there are people on your side or is doing in Israel look like you're. You're collaborating with one of their tormentors. Sir.

[Steve Bannon]

Right. So I tried to get these murals up in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Qatar, and they said, absolutely not. You cannot put up a mural with a woman's hair showing. So Israel is the only country that welcomed me. This has nothing to do with collaborating with whoever's terrorizing them. This has to do with letting the people know that they're not forgotten their sacrifices is not for nothing. And putting a person's face who's been murdered in Jerusalem or Nazareth or the Sea of Galilee, I mean, it warms their heart. It gives them a hope and a joy that they wouldn't have if that mural wasn't there. The Islamic regime is really upset with these murals. I sent you one last slide. After I did my fourth mural, and I was number 50 or 60 to the game. The Islamic regime unveiled their own mural. And this is in direct response to the murals I made in Israel. And this is a picture of an atomic bomb. And on the atomic bomb, the Islamic regime wrote 400 seconds to Tel Aviv in Hebrew. Now, they hadn't done anything like this until four murals went up in Israel. And so these murals provoke a response out of them. And, you know, look, none of us are want a war, but unless you root out what's happening with the Islamic regime of Iran, they're going to come back and they're gonna come back even stronger. And I want to say sincere thank you to, to the fine people at Patriot Mobile, especially the CEO Jenny, because she sees what the women of Iran are dealing with and she's empathizing with them. And she's saying, we at our company stand with those women. We do not want what's happening there to come here. And none of us Persians do. One of the things you have seen on social media is every Iranian who didn't vote for Trump coming online and saying thank you Donald Trump, thank you for freeing our people. Thank you for killing the Ayatollah. You have more Republican Persians as a result of this and they are using their platforms to amplify their joy and their thanks of Donald Trump.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Let me ask you, I just want to make sure I got this. You went to our great allies UAE and Qatar, and both of those turn you down for putting up any banners that showed women having, showing their hair.

[Steve Bannon]

That's exactly right. And if you can look, if you have access to these places and you say, hey, I want this kid to put a woman life freedom mural in your country, I will do it because my goal right now is college campuses. I want these murals on all the, I got one up at Rice University. I wanted up at Columbia, Harvard, mit, Penn, Stanford, you know, I want to cover this country. If you, if I have access to the federal land and I can get a mural in Dearborn, Michigan, I will go to Dearborn, Michigan and say these are the modern day real life superheroes, these women of Iran who have the guts to show their hair, even though they're going to get their eyes shot out, even though they're going to get raped in prison and even though they're going to get shot in the head.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Who, where do people go to find out more about your art, more about you, more about your crusade Here to make sure that this is shown all over the world, sir.

[Steve Bannon]

Yes. So I have a website, it's Human tv. I'm also on Instagram. It's Human tv. My name with the television at the end. I'll even give you my email tv [e-mail] and like Steve said, I will be at CPAC, hopefully right next to his booth with a new banner. And you know, I'm going to have a camera crew there and I'm going to interview you fine folks and say, what do you think? Should, should we be arming the women of Iran? Should we give them a chance to defend themselves?

[Stephen K. Bannon]

We really want to thank Patriot Mobile, particularly Jenny Story for getting it back of this and making it available to us. So really appreciate it. Human. And we look forward to seeing you pack in a couple weeks.

[Steve Bannon]

Thanks so much, Steve.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Thank you. Let's play, do we have time? Let's play the, let's play the. I want to play the clip from Pete Hegseth. I want to bring Reagan back in.

[Steve Bannon]

It's like this whole idea of the war widening, that's what the press wants

[Stephen K. Bannon]

to make it look like, like it's

[Steve Bannon]

widening and chaos is ensuing. No, we're actually closing in on grabbing hold of and controlling what, what objectives

[Stephen K. Bannon]

we want to achieve and how we

[Steve Bannon]

want to achieve them.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Shape.

[Steve Bannon]

It's called shaping operations and setting the conditions.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

But when you shape the environment, you

[Steve Bannon]

don't always tell, I mean foolish political leaders and foolish military leaders of the

[Stephen K. Bannon]

past will hang an exact deadline on

[Steve Bannon]

it or here's exactly when we'll do what we're going to do or here's how long it's going to take us. And then if you meet that, maybe you meet it but if you don't, you fail. And if you're far beyond we know

[Stephen K. Bannon]

exactly what we're shaping and why we're sending those signals. Working across the inter agency the Strait

[Steve Bannon]

of Hormuz is something we've paid attention

[Stephen K. Bannon]

to to from the beginning and the American people can rest assured we will

[Steve Bannon]

ensure that our interests are advanced. No doubt.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Reagan, I'm going to ask you, I know you got to bounce but I'm going to ask you just hold through this next break too because about a minute away but in covering it, Pete comes out and says hey, we're concentrating this and doing it. And then, you know, afterwards they announce an amphibious ready group is heading towards the Middle east probably for some sort of potential combat operations with these fleet Marines. You have a massive bombing of Carg island last night and the Israelis announced that they're planning on the biggest ground invasion of Lebanon since the conflict back in 2006. We got a minute here. We'll hold you to the break. How do you balance that?

[Reagan Reese]

I don't know if you can. And also I think contradicts what the President is saying. The president keeps saying that the war is about to wrap up, that the United States is winning. And one thing I've noticed in all of these Pentagon briefings is that even each day and the President has put these out on Truth Social too, they've said that the war that they are going to launch the biggest attack that has yet to come in this war on Iran. And that has perplexed me because if we're so close to ending the war, if we've almost reached all of our objectives, why is every day an escalation and seems to be getting larger and larger and so I don't know how you balance those two things. I don't think they, they go together. I think they contradict.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Hang on for one second. I'll hold you through a quick break. The second hour is about to start. We are absolutely packed. You think you got a problem? You think the women of Persia got a problem with the Islamic republic in Tehran. Well, guess what? I think there's a couple of three big problems, problems in the state of Texas. Julie Pickering is going to be here. We got Jenny Beth Martin, we are going to talk about the Save America act. As Reagan Reese asked that question, we're going to ask it of the Tea Party leader, Ginny. Beth Martin, next in the war room. Do you owe back taxes or you haven't filed your taxes in years? Now is the time to resolve your tax matters. With the national conversation around abolishing the income tax, the IRS is fighting back and proving it's here to stay by becoming more aggressive than ever before. They're sending out more collection notices, filing more tax liens and collecting billions more in recent years. If you owe, the IRS can garnish your wages, levy your bank accounts, seize your retirement and even your home if you owe or haven't filed. It's not a question of if the IRS will act, it's a question of when it will act. Right now, Tax Network USA is offering a completely free IRS research and discovery call to show you exactly where you stand and what they can stop before it's too late. Their powerful programs and strategies can save you thousands or even eliminate your debt entirely if you qualify. Don't make a costly mistake representing yourself or calling the IRS on your own waves your rights and cost you more money. They are not, and let me repeat, the IRS is not on your side. Get protected the right way with Tax Network USA and start the process of settling your tax matters once and for all today. Call 1-800-958-1000. That's 1-800-958-10000 or visit tnusa.com Bannon for your free discovery call with Tax Network USA. Let me repeat, 800-958-1000. Tell them Bannon sent you. Don't let the IRS be the first to act. Take advantage of first mover advantage. You move.