Episode 5237: War With Iran Enters Fourth Week Cont.

Summary

Podcast Summary: Bannon's War Room – Episode 5237

Title: War With Iran Enters Fourth Week Cont.
Date: March 22, 2026
Host: Stephen K. Bannon (WarRoom.org)
Key Guests: Rabbi Pesach Wolicki (Jerusalem), Scott Bessant, Ben Harnwell (Rome), George Papadopoulos

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Overview of Episode Theme

This episode provides a comprehensive update and analysis of the ongoing U.S.-Iran war as it enters its fourth week. With the conflict intensifying following President Trump’s 48-hour ultimatum to Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Bannon is joined by regional and geopolitical experts to examine military, political, and economic repercussions across Israel, Iran, the Persian Gulf, Europe, and the broader geopolitical chessboard. The show features on-the-ground insights from Jerusalem, perspectives from Europe, and commentary on U.S. domestic and international strategy.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

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I. Status in Israel and Resilience Amidst Attacks

Guest: Rabbi Pesach Wolicki (from Jerusalem)
[02:03 – 03:50]

• Israeli civilians exhibit notable resilience and discipline amid ongoing missile and drone attacks, with a collective routine of moving to bomb shelters during air-raid sirens.
• Attacks are intensifying with increased coordination between Hezbollah and Iran, including use of cluster munitions against civilian targets.
• Despite the barrage, casualties remain low due to high civilian preparedness.
• There’s a paradoxical sense of “relief and satisfaction” in Israel for finally confronting Iran directly—seen as the long-anticipated “big war.”
  • Notable Quote: "There's actually a, a sense of kind of satisfaction and even relief that we're actually doing this war on terms that are beneficial to us. Because... at some point in the future there was going to be a big war with the Iranians." – Rabbi Wolicki [02:56]

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II. Iranian Civilian Response and Prospects for Regime Change

[03:50 – 10:22]

• Bannon presses on whether war has unified Persians behind the regime or if an uprising is possible.
• Rabbi Wolicki: Dismisses idea of mass support for the regime; most Iranians oppose it but have not staged mass protests because opposition groups have wisely chosen to wait until the regime’s security forces (Basij, IRGC) are degraded by Israeli/American strikes.
  • Quote: "So long as the IRGC and the Basij forces are being degraded day by day, and they are, there's no reason for the people to come out." – Rabbi Wolicki [04:41]
• Both agree on massive regime rallies being regime-orchestrated, comprising 10% or less of the population.
• Information blackout: Ongoing internet restrictions mean most information out of Iran is regime-produced, skewing international perceptions.
  • Quote: "With the Internet blackout... almost by definition, if you're seeing stuff coming out from Iran on the Internet, it's coming from people aligned with the regime." – Rabbi Wolicki [09:37]

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III. U.S.-Israeli Tensions and Strategic Coordination

[11:12 – 14:09]

• Bannon voices frustration at Israeli attacks on Iranian oil and gas infrastructure that allegedly go against U.S. orders (President Trump’s “standing order”). Raises questions about alliance coherence.
• Rabbi Wolicki: Cites conflicting reports—initial mainstream media said strikes were coordinated, later walked back. Suggests a "good cop, bad cop" dynamic or tacit U.S. approval.
  • Quote: "It's not out of the question there was a game, good cop, bad cop going on here." – Rabbi Wolicki [12:56]

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IV. The Larger Military Picture: Shifting Center of Gravity

[15:00 – 17:25]

• Commentary on the war now pivoting toward the Persian Gulf, particularly the Strait of Hormuz following the U.S. ultimatum.
• Bannon references historical U.S. escalation logic ("escalate to de-escalate") and major economic risks with oil potentially reaching $200/barrel.
• Both U.S. and Iranian officials signal clear lines in the sand, increasing risk of rapid escalation or a dramatic standoff.

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V. The Lebanon Front: Preparing for a Major Israeli Incursion

[17:25 – 21:03]

• Rabbi Wolicki: Confirms major Israeli reserve call-up and preparations for a ground invasion into southern Lebanon to eliminate Hezbollah’s military infrastructure ("once and for all").
  • Hezbollah is described not as a proxy, but as a direct extension of Iran—its leadership directly appointed in Tehran.
  • The Lebanese political class and public figures (some quietly, some more openly) are allegedly grateful for potential liberation from Hezbollah/Iranian control.
  • Quote: "Hezbollah is Iran ... They're actually Iran. So if Israel's at war with Iran, they're also at war with Hezbollah." – Rabbi Wolicki [17:50]
  • Plan to clear out populations up to the Litani River to create a buffer.

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VI. The Gaza Equation and Arab Diplomatic Dynamics

[21:03 – 23:14]

• Bannon questions the future of American-sponsored frameworks for Gaza involving Qatar and Turkey.
• Rabbi Wolicki: Israel is keeping Gaza at a "low boil" until the outcome with Iran and Hezbollah is clearer. Array of Arab actors (Gulf States, Saudis, Egyptians) are hedging bets and outcomes may reshape entire regional order.
• Hamas is in a bind, caught between Iranian and Qatari patrons, forced into contradictory public statements as their backers are at war with each other.
  • Quote: "Their two patrons, Qatar and Iran, are at war with each other. And they got themselves into a pickle..." – Rabbi Wolicki [22:14]

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VII. European and U.S. Domestic Political Perspectives

[24:52 – 31:18]

• Ben Harnwell (Rome): Oil markets highly volatile. European NATO allies are reluctant to join any offensive or be drawn further into a "third Gulf War," aware of immense political risks at home.
  • Quote: "This is a turning point. It is an inflection point in the war. And whether President Trump decides to follow through…will dictate whether NATO decides to redefine the present situation." – Ben Harnwell [25:56]
• Bannon and Harnwell discuss the significance of U.S. signaling primarily being directed at domestic audiences (esp. MAGA) more than at Iran or Europe.
• President Trump’s comments branding NATO allies as “cowards” seen as domestic political play.

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VIII. U.S. Strategy: Economic Warfare, Energy, and the China-Iran Angle

[34:23 – 36:57]

• George Papadopoulos: Warns of "mission creep" and stresses that prolonged war with Iran may damage U.S. strategic positioning against China.
  • Suggests decoupling Iran from China’s sphere (especially in energy and payments) via integrating it into Western-supported corridors, such as the India-Middle East-Europe trade route.
  • Quote: "China will ultimately be the biggest loser, which I think…that’s where all of our focus should really be, on how we compete with China." – George Papadopoulos [36:34]

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IX. Broader Geostrategic and Economic Consequences

[36:57 – 43:17]

• Bannon reviews historic U.S. alliances, current strategic burdens, the duality of Arab Gulf states’ economic windfall from high oil prices, and faint European commitment.
• Papadopoulos explains how U.S. sanctions have driven Russia and Iran into China’s orbit, undermining the Petrodollar, with Iran now selling oil in yuan.
• Argues for the necessity of splitting Russia from Iran and China and concluding Ukraine war to rebalance against China.
  • Quote: “Now it's in the US Interest to separate China from Russia and Russia from Iran so that the United States can have a working relationship with [Russia]….” – George Papadopoulos [44:06]

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X. Military Developments & The Iranian Threat Range

[45:26 – 46:29]

• Ben Harnwell: Cites Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s warning about Iranian missile capabilities, now apparently capable of targeting Diego Garcia (6,500km range), exponentially increasing the threat zone.
  • Iran is using attacks on U.S. allies to avoid direct escalation with the U.S.; “put your gun down or the kid gets it” analogy.
  • Quote: "It's not primarily focusing its targets on striking the United States, but striking the United States allies in the region. It's effective and we'll see who blinks first." – Ben Harnwell [45:54]

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Memorable Quotes and Segments with Timestamps

• “This is the primal scream of a dying regime. Pray for our enemies because we're going medieval on these people.” – Stephen K. Bannon [00:02]
• "There's a real sense that when we get on the other side of this, we will finally…not be living under the threat of this Iranian regime." – Rabbi Wolicki [03:12]
• "When we see these big rallies in the streets, that's all the regime people…If you add up the Basij and the IRGC, just the fighting men, you probably have about 600,000 people…Less than 10% of the population oppresses the rest." – Rabbi Wolicki [08:16]
• "We don't have independent reporting here. We really only have what gets filtered through from what the regime allows out." – Rabbi Wolicki [09:56]
• “The Israelis are absolutely planning for a ground invasion [of Lebanon]…they plan to once and for all rid Lebanon of Hezbollah.” – Rabbi Wolicki [17:29]
• “You could be correct. You could also be dead wrong.” – Stephen K. Bannon to Rabbi Wolicki, challenging assumptions on Iranian popular attitudes [10:22]
• “We need to sit back and wait what happens. This is a turning point. It is an inflection point in the war.” – Ben Harnwell [25:56]
• "It's the economy…If the United States can somehow take Iran out of China's sphere…and integrate them into their own Western projects…then I think this military conflict will actually start to fizzle out." – George Papadopoulos [36:13]
• "Escalation rarely leads to de-escalation and that's why I think it's a pretty dangerous strategy." – Ben Harnwell [33:38]

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Timestamps for Major Segments

| Segment | Participants | Timestamp | | --- | --- | --- | | Israeli civilian status and bomb shelters | Rabbi Wolicki | 02:03–03:50 | | Iranian regime support and civilian sentiment | Bannon, Wolicki | 03:50–10:22 | | U.S./Israeli coordination, gas field strike | Bannon, Wolicki | 11:12–14:09 | | Center of gravity shifts – Persian Gulf | Bannon commentary | 15:00–17:25 | | Israeli preparations for major Lebanon incursion | Rabbi Wolicki | 17:25–21:03 | | Gaza/Arab states reaction | Bannon, Wolicki | 21:03–23:14 | | European/NATO reluctance | Ben Harnwell | 24:52–26:57 | | U.S. economic and China angle | Papadopoulos | 34:23–36:57 | | U.S. alliance burdens & oil | Bannon commentary | 36:57–43:17 | | Russia-China-Iran axis | Papadopoulos | 43:17–44:59 | | Iran’s extended missile range | Ben Harnwell | 45:26–46:29 |

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Closing Thoughts

• The episode underscores a rapidly escalating and increasingly complex conflict with shifting military, political, and economic fronts.
• U.S., Israeli, and allied objectives are not always fully aligned, leading to friction and confusion.
• European reluctance to engage, Arab Gulf states’ mixed incentives, intensifying energy market volatility, and the China/Russia/Iran “axis” all complicate prospects for a quick or clear resolution.
• Warnings are sounded throughout regarding the dangers of "escalating to de-escalate" and the impact on U.S. global strategy—especially against China—as the 2026 midterms approach.

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For more updates:

• Rabbi Wolicki content: [Jerusalem Post Author Page], [Israel365News YouTube], [@rabbipw on X]
• Ben Harnwell: Getter @Harnwell
• George Papadopoulos: X @GeorgePapa19

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Note: Ads, station IDs, and non-content material have been omitted for clarity and focus on the substantive discussion.

Transcript

[Stephen K. Bannon]

This is the primal scream of a dying regime. Pray for our enemies because we're going medieval on these people. Reasons I got a free shot. 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? MAGA MEDIA I wish in my soul,

[Rabbi Wolicki]

I wish that any of these people had a conscience.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Ask yourself, what is my task and what is my purpose? If that answer is to save my country, this country will be saved. WAR ROOM here's your host, Stephen K. Ban. Sunday 22nd March, year of early 2026. Rabbi Wolicki is going to join us from Jerusalem here. And the Jerusalem Post did post a response. It's a little more, it's a little edgier than the first one they gave in response to Trump's and I'm quoting the Jerusalem Post in response to Trump's statements, the central headquarters of the Iranian armed forces said that it will fully close the Strait of Hormuz if, and I quote here, America's threats regarding Iran's power plants are implemented, unquote. President's given them now a little over 24 hours. He put it out on True Social the other day at 4:44, 4:45pm Eastern Daylight Time gave him 48 hours. It's going to be fully open or you're going to pay the price and we're taking down your entire energy and electric infrastructure. You just heard back from I guess the question people have are they a cornered rat or are they a cornered grizzly? Rabbi first off, Israel, Jerusalem taking kind of a pounding every what's, what's the, what's the report? What's the sit rep on how the people in Israel are doing?

[Rabbi Wolicki]

Well, the people in Israel are resilient and everyone is I've never seen so much discipline in terms of going to the bomb shelters, making, you know, we get these pre warnings when there's missiles on the way and then air raid sirens in whatever region they're going to land in and everyone goes to the bomb shelters. And that's why despite all of the rocket attacks and even a lot of hits in the last few days, the casualty numbers have been quite low. In terms of deaths, they're extremely low. I think we had one or two deaths in the last over the weekend and that was the first deaths in A while, although there have been hundreds who've been wounded since. It's now Hezbollah and Iran together with coordinated salvos, all at, you know, all at the same time. And they're also using cluster munitions, which are obviously much more difficult to intercept because. Because they split into so many different rockets. So. And again, let's just remind ourselves again that they specifically are always targeting civilian targets, which. But, you know, we're okay. We get the air raid sirens, go into the, into the safe room, got some snacks in there, wait it out. And it's an interesting atmosphere in Israel because while all that is going on, there's actually a, a sense of kind of satisfaction and even relief that we're actually doing this war on terms that are beneficial to us. Because we've always known for years, decades, that at some point in the future there was going to be a big war with the Iranians. And the only question was, how bad would it be? What would the conditions be? And, you know, so there's a real sense that when we get on the other side of this, we will finally, for the first time in decades, not be living under the threat of this, of this Iranian regime as we have been for so long.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Well, you talk about civilians, correct me if I'm wrong, but two Saturdays ago, there was essentially a firebombing or coiler firebombing of oil facilities, storage facilities in Tehran against a standing order of the commander in chief. And we heard a whole lot of hand waving about that. But civilians have been targeted in Tehran. They've got civilian casualties. They're not putting out the number of civilian casualties to keep down the thing. But do you believe, and Bibi talked about this yesterday, is there actually a belief in Israel right now by any of the citizens in Israel that there's going to be an uprising against this regime by the Persian people? Or have we turned this into, now they're all Persians and it's a nationalist campaign of the Persians vs Israel in the United States and all the West.

[Rabbi Wolicki]

No, not at all. I mean, there will absolutely be an uprising by the Persian people, but they haven't been called back out into the streets yet. Not by Trump, not by Netanyahu, not by anyone else or whatever, the Crown Prince or whoever else they would listen to. They haven't been called back out into the streets yet, and there's no reason for them to come back out into the streets. They've actually been told to hold off. It's simple math. So long as the IRGC and the Basij forces are Being degraded day by day and they are. There's no reason for the people to come out. This isn't. There's no rush for them to come out into the streets. The worst thing that could happen in this war for the Iranian people is for them to come out into the streets before the Basij and the IRGC are weakened. And while they would still have the ability to suppress the protests and to kill more people, that would be the worst case scenario. It would set everything back. So the people are staying in their homes until maximum degradation of the IRGC and the besieged forces. That's what's going on now.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Hang on, but hang on, Admiral Cooper. It couldn't be clearer except for the first couple of days of the war when there was talk of unconditional surrender and one of the war's objectives was no power projection against their own people. It's always been the bullet point above that's always been power degrade their power ability for power projection against entities nations in the region being both Israel and our Arab allies. Our error by lies and quotes that that's Admiral Cooper couldn't be clearer. The last two weeks of present of briefings specifically exclude power projection against their own people. So if that's not an objective on the declawing and defanging and clearly it's not because it's not talked about, how are they supposed to, how are they supposed to think about it? Because when they hear this, how are they supposed to think about it as oh, they're doing against the allies but they're not going to actually get, they can't get by air all these bad hombres and so there's no chance that we're going to have a chance to go into the streets, sir?

[Rabbi Wolicki]

Well, the Israelis have been talking about it. Our officials have been talking about it nonstop. That what the Israelis are focused on now. Well, the Americans are. You know, we really have multiple wars going on. There's what's going on in the Persian Gulf and the Straits of Hormuz, which is much more the American arena. And what the Israelis have been busy with is degrading the besieged and the irgc, hitting their targets and knocking out their command centers, knocking out their bases, knocking out their leadership with these targeted hits and they're just degrading them. And they've also said, the Israeli officials have said that when the time comes for the Iranian people to come out into the streets, they will be hovering with drones protecting them from the Basij and the irgc. They're going to Be there, you know, providing air cover to the protests when the time comes for those things to happen. And anything you're hearing about the Iranian people rallying around the regime is absolute nonsense. There's no basis in reality for that whatsoever. I don't know where. I don't know where that's coming from. That's. I mean, that's just not. That just has no basis in reality. They're waiting.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

I think, I think that. I think. I think that's. I think that's coming from every report you see there in the streets, etc. Have you seen a report. Have you seen a news report that says anything different? Can you cite it?

[Rabbi Wolicki]

I mean, the people aren't in the streets. I don't know what kind of news report would say that the people are rallying. What evidence.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

They just had a huge. They just had a huge. They just had a huge rally. They just had a huge rally the other day.

[Rabbi Wolicki]

For, listen, they have their.

[George Papadopoulos]

For their.

[Rabbi Wolicki]

They have their. Okay, listen. They have their supporters. The besieging the IRGC together. Together. It's very similar to the Chinese Communist Party. If you add up the Basij and the. And the. And the IRGC, just the fighting men, you probably have about 600,000 people. Add their families together, you're dealing with probably a couple of million people who are the ruling class. That's the regime it's about. You know, it's. It's. It's. Less than 10% of the population oppresses the rest of them. When you see these big rallies in the streets, that's all. That's all the regime people. That's. Those are the people who come out. Who come out there. But that hasn't. But that's, that's all photo ops. That's not the numbers. That's not the people in the street. The Iranian. Look, Steve, over the last few years, and this is the Iranians themselves bemoaning this, out of the 75,000 mosques in Iran, 50,000 of them have closed because no one shows up to them. The Iranian people are not of that Islamic Shiite ideology of the regime. By and large, probably 75, 80% of the people reject the regime outright. They will come out into the streets as they have in the past, but this time there's no reason for them to while this war is still ongoing from the air with the leadership of these forces being degraded. I think there's a lot of misinformation here about what's actually happening in Iran. The truth is, with the Internet blackout The only people who have Internet are either a few people who have Starlink and the regime is targeting them or, or people who are part of the regime. Meaning almost by definition, if you're seeing stuff coming out from Iran on the Internet, it's coming from people aligned with the regime. And that's part of what makes this a strange war. We don't need. There's no. Because there's no ground operation. There's no embedded journalists. We don't have independent reporting here. We really only have what gets filtered through from what the regime allows out. But I don't see any reason to think that the trend.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

But that's still people. But you're not, but you're not dealing, hang on, you're not dealing with information. You're dealing with. You say this missing. You're dealing with supposition that you could be correct. You could be correct. You could also be dead wrong. Right. I mean, why is the history of

[Rabbi Wolicki]

the behavior of the Iran.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Yep. Shows what I'm saying.

[Rabbi Wolicki]

The history, the history of these people shows it. There's no, I mean there's the, all the mass protests we've seen over the years and like I told you, for example, that indicator of the, of mosque attendance, which is a well known indicator. The, the Iranian people by huge percentages are, are against this regime and they're not going to reverse course because the regime is getting pounded. That doesn't make any sense.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

They would only reverse course if you made it. If you brought them to a nationalist movement of Persians. It's us versus Israel and US versus the United States, which Israel with the attack on Tehran two Saturdays ago and then the attack against a standing order of the commander in chief of the United States against this oil field, which is outrageous. And to me, all the issues about, you know, imminent attack and everything like that, that's got to wait for another day because we're in the middle of a shooting war right now. We have American young men and women exposed, but we have a partner and we have a joint, as Dan Sr. Tells us every day on cnn, we have a joint command targeting operation and yet our allies, quote, unquote, our greatest ally, continues to do things against the commands of the president states, which is to attack Iranian oil infrastructure and particularly attack this gas field, which has totally changed the makeup of this war in the last 72 hours. Sir.

[Rabbi Wolicki]

Well, Steve, you know, it depends what we pick and choose to believe. When Axios first reported it, they wrote explicitly behind the scenes two Israeli and US Officials said the strike on the gas facility was coordinated between the Israeli Prime Minister's office and the White House. That's a quote from Axios. When it was first reported, the Wall Street Journal reported the same thing. And then afterwards it was said, no, no, no, no, no, it was just the Israelis and Trump was upset. But unlike, I wouldn't say this is the same thing as what happened in June where Trump was like actually dropped an F bomb and was really upset at the Israelis for continuing after that cease fire. This is not the same thing. You don't, I mean, Trump two days later made a similar threat to them. I don't think it's out of the question that there was a game.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Hang on.

[Rabbi Wolicki]

Good cop, bad cop going on here.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Hang on. Oh, I mean, that's how it was reported, you're saying. So you're saying, actually it was first said it was reported and then the President States came out and said, clearly, I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't approve anything you're saying, hey, look, to think of the reality that that was, that that was a, a don't ask for permission, right? Scold me later that it was actually a wink and a nod from the United States to go hit that.

[Rabbi Wolicki]

I don't know what to believe. I'm saying that, I'm saying that Trump's behavior in the wake of this one was not the same as what we saw in June. We didn't see that kind of rage and F bombs. He said, I told the Israelis not to do it. And then he turned it around into a threat on the Iranians. And the threat he just made the other day, this 48 hour threat, is essentially the same threat again. So I think it's not out of the question that this, especially considering the level of coordination here. The Israelis are not fools. Why would they, in the, at this stage of the war, why would they risk blowing up the relationship with President Trump at a time like that? It makes no sense. I think it is entirely possible. And again, it's very simple. Spoke to people in the Trump administration.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Hang on. It's, it's, it's very simple. Because there are strong elements in the United States and the American government looking for an off ramp. And Israel doesn't want an off ramp. They wanted, they want to stick to the bitter end. Hang on, Rabbi, we're going to get right back to you. We're going to talk about what's happening in Lebanon and also this ultimatum the President of States has thrown down hard. The Iranians have come back and said, okay, brother, if you do it, stand by for every oil asset in the region to be under assault. Short break. Back in the war room in a moment. What about Lake and Riley? It's Charlie too hard to say.

[Scott Bessant]

What about when.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

War room, here's your host, stephen k. Banner. Welcome back. Our own Scott Bessant, secretary of treasury, is over at Meet the Press right now. We're going to pull a clip, think the quote that the engine room just was able to grab and we're going to get it booted up in a second. Sometimes you have to escalate to de escalate. You know, I would hope there were people in the around President Trump that have read the best and the brightest because that certainly sounds like a lot of the discussion with McGeorge Bundy in this crowd around Lyndon Johnson in 1964 and 1965. And we know how that turned out. I think there's got to be some very tough and critical thinking right now, particularly with this ultimatum in the center of gravity of this war has shifted from Tehran to the Persian Gulf and really expanded. And as Pete keeps saying, the war is getting tighter and tighter and more and more concentrated. Just not, it's just not the missile attempt at Diego Garcia. Right. It's what's happening in Lebanon is what's happening at various regions of the Gulf. And, and President Trump's giving a very hard deadline for tomorrow. And I can tell you, I'm sure behind the scenes, I'm sure there's a lot going on and trying to negotiate something, etc, but this is a ultimatum to either open it up. And even the Iranians I think today blinked a little bit, saying, hey, we're going to open it up to everybody that's not an ally to Israel in the United States. Well, basically that would still be, I don't know, 80% of the oil. The only oil that would go to would be the Chinese Communist Party. And I hope that we're not going to let that happen. Rabbi Willicki, look, reasonable men can disagree about what's going on, but I think the targeting situation and I just think there are two sets of objectives here and it's really not working as an alliance. No one could ever convince me of that. But talk to us about Lebanon, talk to us about what's happening now, is that going to be a major incursion? Is that strategic? My understanding from reports of a major bombing campaign early this morning in Lebanon by the idf and it appears like preparations for a ground invasion, oh, a

[Rabbi Wolicki]

significant one there's been a fairly significant reserve call up, and a lot of ground forces have moved up there. The Israelis are absolutely planning for a ground invasion. And you're absolutely right to refer to it as another front in this same war. It very literally is, because Hezbollah is Iran. They're not even. We call them a proxy the same way we call the Houthis a proxy or the Iraqi militias a proxy. But Hezbollah actually has a different relationship to Tehran. They're actually an arm of Iran, meaning when Hassan Nasrallah was killed, his replacement was appointed in Tehran. They're actually like when the beepers blew up. One of the beepers was on the ambassador of Iran in Beirut. So they're actually Iran. And that's an important point here. So if Israel's at war with Iran, they're also at war with Hezbollah. And Hezbollah made a massive mistake a couple days into the war where they started firing rockets at Israel. And as. As part of the. As part of this war, they. They started it here. And the Israelis, I said this to you last time I was on your show. It was a mistake that I. That the Israelis were actually kind of hoping they'd make, because this goes back to the ceasefire with Hezbollah going back more than a year, where the Lebanese government committed itself to disarm Hezbollah by the end of 2025. And of course, they did nothing of the sort. They don't even have the ability to do it. But the Israelis sat back and said, okay, we'll give you a chance. Go for it, to see if you can do it. And they never did. And the Israelis are once and for all going to go in there and get rid of this threat on our northern border. And quietly, behind the scenes, the Lebanese, and some of them not so quietly, there's more public figures who are saying this. They're grateful to the Israelis to finally liberate the country of Lebanon from this Iranian occupation it's been under for the last four decades. So the Israelis are planning a real invasion. They're already clearing out the populations from the southern part of Lebanon and looking to recreate a kind of buffer zone up to the Litany river, which is about 18 miles from the Israeli border, which that entire area has been a kind of hornet's nest of Hezbollah tunnels and weapons depots and. And towns that are basically Hezbollah operatives with their families. So Israel, Israel means business this time and plans to once and for all rid Lebanon of Hezbollah. And that's what's happening.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Rabbi, you and I are friends, but as you know, and people know, we disagree on a lot, but we're still friends. One thing I've said is the Greater Israel project brought on this disaster in Gaza and particularly what I call the two state solution of Qatar financing in Turkey being the security guarantee with President Trump's board of peace. And he's kind of signed off on it. Last night a helicopter was shot down, it looks like, or had mechanical problems. I think it was actually taken out with a number of Qatar and Turkish military officials together. Is the whole situation in Gaza, that whole framework of peace, is that just really by the board? Is that not going to happen now given the expanding intensity of this, particularly if there's going to actually be ground troops in Lebanon, you know, the Arab nations and the, and the Persians are going to dig in even harder. Do you think the whole thing in Gaza is just over and finished with? And we'll have to go back and think some about the border peace, the Qataris as financiers and the Turks as the security guarantors on the soil of Israel ain't going to happen.

[Rabbi Wolicki]

Well, that's a great question. What's going to happen in Gaza? I think from the Israeli's perspective, they're trying to kind of keep it in a holding pattern, keep it on a low boil until we see which way things go with the war in Iran. Because dealing with the Gaza situation where there's in a reality where there's no longer an Iranian regime, which is not a done deal yet, but dealing with, dealing with it where there's no longer an Iranian regime and no longer a Hezbollah on our northern border is very different than dealing with it where there is. And we also don't know where the Gulf states, Saudis and even, and you know, where they're all going to fall out in terms of relations with Israel and relations with the United States after this is all said and done, we don't know what's going to happen if Lebanon is, is actually rid of Hezbollah and normalizes relations with Israel. There's a lot of different pieces of the puzzle, including the Egyptians. How are the Egyptians going to respond? They're, they're always hedging and playing and playing all sides of everything. A big question is always the Saudis. The Saudis are always also waffling, not waffling. They're always playing both sides of everything. And where that all shakes down is going to have a lot of impact on how we move forward with Gaza. And I think from the Israeli perspective, we'd rather not deal with that head on. And I think that that's why Hamas, no one's noticed this because there's been other headlines in the Middle east, but Hamas has been scrambling to restart negotiations just in the last, just since this war has started because they're in a tight spot. Their two patrons, Qatar and Iran, are at war with each other. And they got themselves into a pickle where they praised Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war and said, you know, and we're cheering for Iran. And the Qataris looked at them and said, you better walk that back or we're gonna cut you off. So they walked it back and told and condemned Iran for bombing its Arab neighbors. And then Hezbollah turned to, to Hamas and said, what are you doing? We've been standing with you for years and now you're condemning Iran. So they, they're stuck. But in terms of what's going to happen in Gaza, it's just going to have to wait until, until the Iran war is over because we don't know what the Middle east is going to be.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Rabbi, where do people get your content, particularly your videos are always, I think, great to give people the perspective of what's happening in Israel in a very accessible and clear minded way. Although everybody may not agree with it, you at least get it.

[Ben Harnwell]

That's fine.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

It's accessible. Where do people go? And for your columns?

[Rabbi Wolicki]

Oh, thank you very much. So for my columns you can go to the Jerusalem Post, you can find my author page there. And for the videos go to Israel365News on YouTube. We're uploading videos multiple times a week, almost every day now. And israel365action.com that's the website you see up on your screen now. Just sign up there for our newsletter and you'll get news and information from Israel and won't cost you anything. And you'll get our updates. You'll get all the videos too. They're all up on that website. Or you could follow me on X at rabbipw

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Rabbi, thank you so much for joining us on a Sunday. Appreciate it.

[Rabbi Wolicki]

Thank you. Steve.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Ben Harnwell. Ben Harnwell, the View from Rome and Europe. But you know, our Arab allies, they're not totally unhappy. The G, The United Airlines CEO said he thinks oil's going to $180 a barrel. He thinks at least $100 a barrel is going to stay through 2027. They're doing some cuts. Remember Saudi Arabia and Qatar? Qatar doesn't mind having force majeure to redo those contracts. Now they'd like to have an oil field that can still provide liquid natural gas, liquefied natural gas. Your sense of all this sitting in Rome, sir, bluntly. You can be as blunt as you want.

[Ben Harnwell]

Good morning, Steve. Well, I saw something in the last hour on the news suggesting that oil was going to hit $200 per barrel. And this is just, I think the market's trying to give a price on the uncertainty that exists right now. Really what I want to talk about, if I may, is the situation with regards to your NATO allies here in Europe. With regards to the to the 48 hour deadline the president has given. I would suggest that that situation, the NATO position, the alliance position, can be defined by not taking a position at all, which is somewhat interesting. The most that NATO seems to be doing, and this is on a nation by nation basis, is saying, like the UK which is your most reliable NATO ally in Europe right now, we do not want to get involved with any offensive actions. And that's like, that's even from the UK Germany is doing something, I think, with Japan to try to ease up the international trade routes. But it's somewhat symbolic. I think, as you said at the beginning of the show, we need to sit back and wait what happens. This is a turning point. It is an inflection point in the war. And whether President Trump decides to follow through with his ultimatum will dictate, I think, whether NATO decides to redefine the present situation with regards to NATO as being fundamentally not of the alliance's interest right now or whether NATO will fall in line and support the U.S. i don't see any indication of that from the chances across Europe right now. Steve, most European leaders seem to realize that a third Gulf War in as many decades is politically toxic.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Hang on for one second, Ben. We're going to come back to you. And George Papadopoulos is also with a short break back in the worm on Sunday. In a moment.

[Kristen]

He said says if Iran doesn't fully open without threat the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various power plants, starting with the biggest one first. Has the president changed his mind about winding down the war, as he said a day earlier, and instead plans to escalate?

[Scott Bessant]

I think he said he could wind the war down anytime he wants and this is the only language the Iranians understand.

[Kristen]

But this seems to be an escalation, a threat of escalation. And it seems to run counter to his statement that he in Fact wants

[Scott Bessant]

to wind down the war again. Kristen, the president's been very clear from the beginning that the goals are destroy the Iranian air force in the navy to the completely demolished their missile capabilities, demolish their ability to replenish those capabilities, make sure the Iranians cannot have a nuclear weapon and stop their ability to project power internationally. And the President will take whatever steps it takes to achieve those goals. What we have done there has been a campaign to be using military assets to soften up the Iranian front fortifications along the strait. That's going to continue until they are completely demolished. And Kristen, let me tell you, whether it's this network or the mainstream press, the American people do not have good framing what is going on here. If you were to read what is happening and I'm sure when Senator Murphy is on, you know, he has come out and said we are losing the war. That is wrong. We have demolished the Iranian capabilities. Their air force is completely destroyed, Navy destroyed. And every day we are taking out their missiles, their missile systems and the factories that build those missiles. And now our the General Kaine, Secretary Hegseth are leading a campaign to destroy all the fortifications along the Straits of Hormuk.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

That's Scott Bessant. And I might say that, you know, you would assume Marco Rubio, who's remember, he's not just Secretary of State, he's National Security Advisor. So he's really the senior advisor to the President in addition to General Kaine. It really falls to the National Security Advisor. Obviously the Secretary of War is in there also, but it's National Security Advisor. And the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I think are the two senior military advisors, obviously Pete and the Secretary of War. But I think Marco, it's great with Scott, but he's Secretary of the treasury and he's a brilliant guy. I think we got to roll. Marco is. I don't know if Marco is in the witness protection program or not, but he ought to be out and he ought to be explaining this to the American people. This has to be sold. When I say sold, it has to be explained to the American people exactly what's going on here. Because the center gravity of the war, as we have said and been correct for the last two weeks since the firebombing of our allies in Israel have shifted now to the Persian Gulf. And to wit, if you don't believe that within the Commander in chief of the United States your military forces given the Iranians an ultimatum, that's pretty tough. Either Strait of Hormuz is open for Free navigation or I'm going to take down all your energy and electricity for your country. And they just came back in a sense, basically bring it. So we're at a pretty big standoff here. Ben Harnwell, how's that going to go down with the President? United States refer to our NATO allies as cowards, quote, unquote. How is this going to play play with that group? And do you see any true participation, even as feeble as they are, because the Houthis, once the Houthis get involved in this, and they may be the ace in the hole for the Iranians, once you get the Red Sea, that's all about Europe. This whole thing's about Europe and Asia. And the president said to the American people a couple times, he said, hey, look, maybe we just, maybe we just do some more defanging and decline this week and we head out and toss it to you and you go on escort duty, sir.

[Ben Harnwell]

Steve, so much to wrap up here, I have to say, if you'll forgive me, the analogy, much of, you know, they talk about defanging, degradation and all the rest of it. I can't help but think that the US Israeli campaign so far, if that's what it leads to, you're going to say bye now. Over to you guys. It's much like the opening five minutes of Team America and the liberation of Paris from the terrorists. Look, you know, let's tie all this together. What was I saying just before the break? That the reason Europeans don't want anything to do with this, it's because politically they realize that a protracted third Gulf War in as many decades is political suicide. It's political. It's politically toxic. That's why they want nothing to do with it. And that's why Marco Rubio is in the witness protection program, because anyone with 2028ambitions doesn't want to be on this side of the microphone, this side of the television, defending a war which if it is still somehow going by the time of the midterms, by the time of 2028, this is it. It's kryptonite. So let's look at what Scott Besant was saying, again, using these words which we heard to justify the Ukraine war that escalate, to de escalate. What is that signaling? And what is President Trump's indication that his European NATO allies are cowards are signaling? I think, Steve, and this is somewhat a communication strategy asymmetry between the US Side and the Iranian side. When the Iranian side is signaling something, they're signaling it to Washington D.C. almost 100%, of course, because there's very little Internet in Iran right now. When the US is signaling things, I'd say 75% of that signaling is to the US domestic or audience, specifically to Magus. And that's where I would put the the President's truth social verbal bomb on the Europeans that call in the cowards. That's meant for the US domestic audience, that's meant for Maga Edem Scott Besant saying let's escalate to deescalate. Because of course the key word that everyone is going to look at there isn't so much the escalation, it's the de escalation because there is this instinctive view, I would suggest in the administration that the toleration for this war, whilst it's been high so far, is going to taper off very, very quickly. And that's what people want, that's what people are going to home in on it and breed that sigh of relief. It's the de escalation side of it. Of course the problem is that de escalation rarely leads. Escalation really leads to de escalation and that's why I think it's a pretty dangerous strategy. As I was saying though, let's wait for these 48 hour ultimatum to pass and then see what kind of territory we're going to be in then.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Hang on. George Papadopoulos joins us. George, you've got a great geostrategic sense, particularly when it comes to that part of Eastern Europe, Russia, the NATO allies. You've also got some thoughts about pipelines, how we get around this. But what are your thoughts on what you're seeing, particularly this deadline that the President has now thrown down hard and the Iranians have come back and said, okay, let's roll.

[George Papadopoulos]

Yeah, no, I think you're absolutely right that the President has to start selling this to the American public because we're entering the fourth week of this conflict and the last thing we want with the midterms right around the corner is mission creep or a war of attrition or this to metastasize across various borders. So it's time to start really thinking outside the box. And I think we have to start looking at the situation in terms of clearing systems, currency settlements and reserve diversification and how we could actually attack our preeminent military, political and security threat, which is China, which is basically utilizing Iran as a junior partner to wage not only this hot war against the United States, but there's also a silent war against the US Dollar and its status as a global reserve currency that many people aren't really talking about, which they should, because it's the economy. It's all about the economy, and it's about oil prices. And if the United States can somehow take Iran out of China's sphere of influence and integrate them into their own Western projects, including this new finance and trade and pipeline design called the India Middle East Europe Corridor, and similarly, the way that they've attempted to remove Russia from Iran, from China's sphere of influence, then I think this military conflict will actually start to fizzle out. Iran and the United States and the world will actually have something to work constructively towards instead of ballistic missiles, drones, and blockades. And China will ultimately be the biggest loser, which I think, at the end of the day, Steve, and you've been talking about this for years, that's where all of our focus should really be, on how we compete with China. And the longer this war with Iran continues, the weaker our position against China ultimately is. And that's something that we have to really recalibrate and rethink moving forward, especially with the election right around the corner.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

How do you. How do you, if. If you get a strategic overview of that and you said, hey, that's my sunlit uplands and I can get there. You've got. Unfortunately, you've got a pretty stark reality in front of you. You've got this situation, Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. And remember, I keep telling people this, the guys are supposed to be your allies. You know, the Israelis have a whole different geostrategic outlook on this. This is why they're like. They're like in the last scene of the first Godfather. They're trying to take it all down. Every enemy they got at the same time. That's why I asked Wlicky about Gaza. They've got a very distinct plan to do that. And while they've got an administration that's open to these types of things, or at least listening, they're full on. But you also got our other allies in the Persian Gulf that at one hand, they're sitting there going, this is horrible. They're attacking us, they're attacking our desalination plants, they're attacking our oil capacity. We may not be up online in five years, and they're gonna have cash problems. But they're loving the fact. Cause under Trump's. The core and the underpinnings of the Trump economic plan, folks, is what that we've said over and over again, full spectrum Energy dominance leading with oil and gas or oil down at, you know, below $50 a barrel, maybe with a four handle in front of it. Now you're talking, you know, Ben saying some guy's talking 200 bucks. The CEO United is talking 170 bucks. All of them talking 100 bucks to 20, 27. The Arabs are loving this because they got a problem. They've got an asset that's depleting that at 40 bucks with their lifting costs at about 20, makes a certain amount of cash flow with lifting costs at 20 and selling for 120. That's nirvana. And so, and then you've got the European allies who don't want to do anything. The Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz are 100% and Trump's right for them. And they have put social welfare programs out there to help their workers. And they're having the American working class and middle class paying for a navy of which obviously the former naval officer, I love our Navy and naval forces and the great sailors and officers that have done this. But we have multiple carry battle groups and now amphibious ready groups pouring over there to keep the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz open for them. So every ally we have is actually looking after themselves and the United States is left with the burden of doing this. And yes, that may be, as you know, we're totally against the ccp, but I got the Secretary of Treasury is a smart guy who's sitting there going, the 140 million barrels that is restricted on the high seas for the Iranians, we're going to let them sell it. I think most of that's going to the. Wait for it. Chinese Communist Party. Give me a minute of that. I'm going to have you through the break. So I, I see the overall strategic of where it could go, but it's so many, it's so many difficult things we have to go through, including going back to 324 BC to Alexander the Great, who had the same logistics problem. He decided to march half his army and put the other on boats. And they still had to contend with the Persian Gulf and the guys on the coast, because the guys on the coast today are exactly like the guys on the coast there in 324. I might also add as a side note that when he got to Babylon, he either got a disease or they poisoned him. But Alexander the Great didn't get any farther past Babylon. There he died. And that should be a lesson to everyone. George Papadopoulos, Ben Harnwell from Rome, on the other side in the war room. 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 four week emergency supply food kit comes with an additional week of free food. That's you 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 satisfied customers. Make sure you're one of them. War Room, here's your host, Stephen K. Band. Thank you, George. Real quickly, you were, you joined us, you were in Russia a couple weeks ago. You said there may be a possibility of a big rapprochement around sorting out this Ukrainian mess. Now we got information that, and the President does, that the Russians are helping the Iranians target American forces. There's also the Russians then came back and talked to the President and said, hey look, you stop having your CIA and DIA target us from Ukraine or from Germany from V Spot and we'll stop this. And there's all sorts of negotiating going on. Give me a minute or two on the Russian element in this. Strategically, sir.

[George Papadopoulos]

Well, strategically, what sanctions have overwhelmingly done against Russia, and I would even add Iran has made both Iran and Russia junior partners to China. And as a result, there is now a war that China is waging against not only the US Dollar as a global reserve currency, but the Strait of Hormuz is exemplifying the war against the Petrodollar. That's exactly why Iran now is attempting to sell oil in the yuan. And Russia and China have been selling their own oil in yuan and Obviously, China has invested hundreds of billions of dollars in both of these countries. So at the very large strategic level, we have to understand what China is really doing with both of those countries and how U.S. foreign policy follies have created this very disturbing situation for US interests now related to Iran and Russia. Now it's in the US Interest to separate China from Russia and Russia from Iran so that the United States can have a working relationship with the world's largest nuclear power, a European country and one of the largest oil and natural gas reserves in the entire world. Russia has demonstrated that they are willing to negotiate a ceasefire and some sort of territorial agreement in Ukraine in exchange for normalizing relations not only with Europe, but the United States. And it's not simply Russia and the United States that have been saying this. European countries, including Finland, Switzerland, have come out openly over the last month and have stated that Russia is a European country. We must negotiate with Russia, and we need to open the door once again to Russia. So there's no longer a reason for the United States to share intelligence, to send money or weapons to Ukraine to continue an interminable conflict against Russia at a moment when we have China to worry about.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Steve, George, where do people go to get your content?

[George Papadopoulos]

Sir, you could find me on X at. George, Papa 19.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

George, great work. Always look forward to insights. Thank you, sir. Ben, we got about a minute or so. Give me your closing thoughts. We're going to have you back on during the week course. You're doing the Wednesday and Friday show, which are extraordinary. Your thoughts as you leave us on a Sunday, sir, from rome.

[Ben Harnwell]

Yeah. Okay, 60 seconds. Steve. I think Bibi had absolutely right in the cold open that the Iranian strike at Diego Garcia was an indication to the world, to America, that it has longer than was understood. Missile range, it was considered to be about 2,000 kilometers, but now, you know, it's possibly in the upper reaches around six and a half thousand kilometers, which massively widens the amount of damage that the Iranians can do. And he's not going to go down in the annals of fighting war with honor, what they're doing, but it's certainly effective. It's pretty much what the bad guy does in any film that's ever been made. Put your gun down or the kid gets it. And that's what Iran is basically doing right now. It's not primarily focusing its targets on striking the United States, but striking the United States allies in the region. It's effective and we'll. We'll see who blinks first.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

I think it's not just who blinks first. I think we're going to find out over the next couple of days do we have a cornered rat or do we have a cornered grizzly? That intelligence is, you know, is going to be quite important and we'll find out how good these intelligence agencies are in DIA and all of it. Ben, what's your social media sir, till we get you back on here, my

[Ben Harnwell]

social media platform of choice, Getter Harnwell is my surname. Tap in at Harnwell there. I am pushing out my daily provocations on Getter. Thanks, Steve. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. God bless.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Thank you, brother. Okay, Grace and Mo are going to have up we're going to stream all day this debate in the in the Senate. Yesterday, Tuberville's Tuberville's amendment for no men and women's sports went down to defeat. I think they're going to regroup, going to have some other things. Mike Lee is and kudos to him. He's fighting a great fight to actually make this more take it from messaging to legislative. Jenny Beth and Cleta were getting updates all the time and we'll update you on Getter as you watch it today on our live streaming. Real America's Voice may jump in and out of that also, but we'll also be covering it full full stop tomorrow. I want to thank Rev and everybody for helping us with this Sunday show because so much goes on as you can see overnight on Saturday. Saturday night is all right for fighting. Is that what the song said? Mike Lindell, let's leave this morning with an upbeat MyPillow report, sir, as only you can give it.

[Rabbi Wolicki]

Yes.

[Mike Lindell]

Thanks everybody. I just got back from Georgia and they're all supportive in my governor run in Minnesota. That's Mike Lindellgov.com it was amazing down there in Fulton county. But I'm getting back here to Minnesota where we have the last couple days of our factory sale. The last couple days we're moving. We saved all of the stuff for you guys, the mattress toppers and the mattresses to sell them with free shipping so we don't have to move them twice. You guys, these are the best, our best specials in history. We the math shop as low as 99.99 and you get free shipping right to your front door. And they actually work. Remember they give you the best sleep ever. Six month money back guarantee, 10 year warranty. If you go to mypillow.com war room you're gonna see all the other products we're closing out up to 80% off our clothing line, our kitchen towels, our dog, our pet beds. We have all kinds of stuff that we're not moving over. And you guys get that there's a war room exclusive. And then plus we have our mega two sale that's still going on. You get our flagship products, our Giza dream sheets. Lowest $29.98. There, you see are my pillows. 14.98 for the standard my pillow. And then you have the. The 6 Pete bath towel set for 20 or 34.98. That's a war room exclusive. And then don't forget, we have. We have bathrobes. We have all over 200 and some products using that Probosco war room. You guys, we don't want to move it twice. We've got the new factory set up. Let's get these out in the next couple days. Free shipping right to your front door. 800-873-1062. My operator standing by. My employer employees. They love the war room posse. You guys have made this happen. It's been a great move. It took us four weeks. What they said couldn't be done in three months.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Wow. Mike Lindell, the most powerful promo code in the business. MyPillow.com promo code, war. And we'll see you tomorrow, Mike. Have a great Sunday. And you have a great Sunday War. And the rumor of wars on the Sunday morning edition of the War. We're gonna see you back back here tomorrow. We putting stuff up on getter all night. See you tomorrow.