Episode 5241: In Some Form This War Will Continue In Iran

Summary

Podcast Summary: Bannon’s War Room—Episode 5241

Title: "In Some Form This War Will Continue In Iran"
Date: March 24, 2026

---

Episode Overview

This episode delivers an in-depth, real-time analysis of the ongoing Iran War’s military, political, and economic dimensions, focusing especially on the US's evolving strategy, the complexity of negotiations, the energy markets’ chaos, and the potential for continued conflict even in the event of a diplomatic pause. Host Stephen K. Bannon is joined by foreign policy experts, journalists, and market analysts to dissect breaking events, leadership dynamics inside Iran, the implications for global oil supplies, and the conflicting pressures on President Trump’s administration. The conversation weaves in authentic war-room urgency and skepticism about establishment narratives.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Military Moves & Escalation

• US & Israeli Strikes: Ongoing precise military operations targeting Iranian and proxy assets. Notably, US and Israeli forces have struck Iranian military infrastructure and Russian ships suspected of smuggling drones (00:08, 04:16).
• Troop Deployments: Thousands of US Marines—2,500 from Japan and 2,200 from California—en route to the region, with speculation about amphibious assaults on Kharg Island and possibly other islands in the Strait of Hormuz (02:53, 09:48).
• Escalating Risks: Experts emphasize the vulnerability and political risks of US boots on Iranian soil:

  “They’re just a big target...think about all the missiles, all the drones...having American soldiers killed on Iranian sovereign territory...what kind of message that sends.” — General H.R. McMaster [03:15]

2. Political Messaging & Negotiation Uncertainties

• President Trump’s Approach:
  • Trump’s social media ultimatums and subsequent partial walk-backs cause confusion. He threatened to "obliterate" Iranian power plants, then announced "productive conversations" with Iran, which Iran quickly denied (00:08).
  • The US claims a decision to pause strikes for five days—pending ongoing discussions—while Iran’s leadership dismisses such talks as "fake news."
• Lack of Strategy:

  “So many things...made up...by the seat of the President’s pants...hard to get a sense of what the purpose is, what the end goal looks like...no communication that’s consistent.” — Hagar Chemali [01:47]

• Negotiations by Tweet:

  “President clearly thinks you do negotiations by press release or by tweet. That’s not how negotiations are done...this is war.” — General H.R. McMaster [05:12]

• Potential Iranian Partners:
  US officials are considering the Speaker of Iran’s Parliament (a former IRGC commander) as a possible negotiation partner—not exiled figures or outsiders (06:29).

3. Iran’s Asymmetric Warfare and Regime Stability

• Diminished Conventional Military Force:
  Despite airstrikes decimating traditional hardware, Iran’s power lies in asymmetric tactics: drones, sleeper cells, and proxy militias (07:27).
• Regime Survival:

  “If they lose this war, their biggest problem will not be American bombs...it’ll be their own citizens hanging them from lampposts in Tehran.” — Hagar Chemali [08:49]

4. Energy Markets & Economic Fallout

• Force Majeure on Oil/Gas Contracts:
  Gulf states, including Qatar and Iraq, invoke force majeure to halt or renegotiate energy deliveries at far higher prices (31:04, 45:15).

  “They figured out this is a good opportunity...[to] double the price.” — Eric Bolling [31:04]

• Iran’s War Dividend:

  “We’ve handed Iran a war dividend of over $21 billion.” — Eric Bolling [33:10]

• Possible Catastrophic Price Spikes:
  If the conflict continues or energy shipments are blocked, gas prices could spike drastically.

  “A 50% halt would drive prices to $300 a barrel, $10 a gallon of gasoline...they have America’s Achilles by the hand.” — Eric Bolling [45:52]

• Futures Market Signals:
  Markets anticipate elevated oil prices for the next year or more, but not doomsday levels—betting Trump will eventually strike a deal (35:58).

5. Diplomatic Efforts & Regional Dynamics

• Multiple Negotiation Channels:
  Talks or proposals involve regional players (Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE), intermediaries (Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff), and field marshals, but trust is low on all sides (09:48, 22:50, 25:40).
• Iranian Leadership Complexity:
  Power resides in a junta of 8–9 top regime figures—not a single negotiator (24:05).

6. Pressure on Trump & Prospects for Peace

• Calls for Regime Change:

  “When [critics] say finish the job...they want regime change. Whatever it takes.” — Everett J. Wheeler [50:47]

• Skepticism About Endgame:
  Some panelists warn that unless Trump resists Israeli pressure and broader regime-change advocates, the war will drag on in some form (25:53, 39:57, 50:47).

  “This war will not end until President Trump says no to Israel.” — Everett J. Wheeler [25:53]

• Negotiation Red Lines:
  Iran insists on sanctions relief as a necessary component of any deal. The US has already partially relented on sanctions to increase oil on markets, but full relief remains contentious (41:32, 42:05).

---

Memorable Quotes & Notable Moments

• On US Troop Deployment Risks:

  “... sitting 20 miles off the coast of Iran, and they’re just a big target...political implications of having American soldiers...killed on Iranian sovereign territory...these are tough, resilient people. They are not going to take this very, very lightly.” — General H.R. McMaster [03:15]

• On Iranian Regime’s Survival Instinct:

  “…if they lose this war...their biggest problem will...be their own citizens...a lot of resentment built up...they can’t afford to show any weakness.” — Hagar Chemali [08:49]

• Energy Market Cynicism:

  “…these Middle Eastern countries who claim to be our friends...would love to see a $200 price tag for oil. They’re not our friends.” — Eric Bolling [45:52]

• On the Nature of the War:

  “If President Trump doesn’t want his entire legacy to be about nation building...he should declare victory and come home.” — Everett J. Wheeler [51:17]

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Opening—Summary of Escalations & Trump’s Threats: [00:08–01:47]
• Debate Over Military Strategy & US Objectives: [01:47–05:12]
• Analysis of Iranian Regime Dynamics & Asymmetric Warfare: [07:27–09:12]
• Detailed Military Build-up and Negotiation Channels: [09:48–14:59]
• Energy Crisis & Force Majeure in Oil Contracts: [31:04–35:58]
• Global Oil Market Analysis: [35:58–39:02]
• Deep Dive on Who the US Can Negotiate With in Iran: [39:02–41:32]
• Regime Change vs. Containment Debate: [50:47–51:36]
• Closing Thoughts on Pressure Campaigns and War Endgame: [48:29–51:22]

---

Episode Flow & Tone

The War Room delivers the conversation with a palpable sense of urgency and skepticism. Panelists often challenge mainstream narratives and highlight the lack of clear US objectives or trustworthy interlocutors in Tehran. There is a pronounced distrust of both US establishment policy and regional “allies,” as well as open criticism of the financial incentives of ongoing war for Middle Eastern actors. The tone remains urgent, critical, and informed, with repeated warnings about the risk of escalation and the economic boomerang for American interests.

---

Conclusion

Key Takeaway:
While military operations continue and negotiations swirl chaotically behind the scenes, the panel is united in warning that—even if kinetic fighting pauses—strategic, economic, and political interests will keep the conflict “continuing in some form in Iran.” The stakes for global energy, regime stability, and Trump’s presidency remain unpredictable and perilously high.

Final Reflection:

“This war will not end until President Trump says no to Israel...If he’s unwilling...or unable...this war will continue in some form, or at least pause before flaring up again.” — Everett J. Wheeler [25:53]

Transcript

[Stephen K. Bannon]

The bridge was in the town of Tyre. Israel's Defense minister said that Hezbollah, which is the Iranian backed militia, was using it to move fighters and weapons into the southern part of the country. This video was released today by U.S. central Command saying it showed its forces continue to aggressively strike Iranian military targets with precision munitions. Over the weekend, President Trump suddenly issued an ultimat social media threatening Iran with a deadline that would have passed just about 30 minutes ago. Here's what he posted on Saturday at 7:44pm, quote, 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. Iran's military responded on Sunday that if his threats regarding Iran's power plants are carried out, the Strait of Hormuz will be completely closed and that all Israeli energy and communications infrastructure infrastructure will be targeted as well as similar companies in the region with U.S. shareholders. Then this morning the President posted this. I am pleased to report that the United States of America and the country of Iran have had over the last two days very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East. He went on to say, I have instructed the Department of War to postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five day period, subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions. For its part, Iran denied such talks had happened. And the speaker of Iran's Parliament even borrowed a page from the President's own playbook, calling it fake news.

[Hagar Chemali]

Well, the Iraq War as we learned some of it in real time and certainly since then was based on a lie, on an exaggeration. But the Bush administration was very serious about it. They put together an enormous effort worldwide, brought together 40 countries in a global coalition, stayed on message on a single message throughout that was about WMD and about bringing democracy to the Middle east. And they did not vary from those messages. This war is. There's so many things that are made up that seem on the fly by the seat of the President's pants that it's hard to get a sense of what the purpose is, what the end goal looks like. There's been no communication that's consistent. That explains the theory of the the week.

[Natasha Owens]

And 2200 Marines from Japan. Why send 2200 Marines from California?

[General H.R. McMaster]

That's a very good question. I think that they're probably talking about a ground operation at Carg Island. There might also Be a ground operation at one of the islands in the Strait of Hormuz. The problem with Cartager island is a long ways away from the Strait.

[Hagar Chemali]

Not really shaking his head.

[General H.R. McMaster]

I mean, no, I totally agree. It'd be absolutely ludicrous to do this, but because that's what American life. You putting boots on the ground. Sure, they're going to be able to take Cargill in, let's say, fairly easily, probably in about a week or so, something like that. And they have 2200 with an aviation component. So they can probably control that ground and seize that terrain pretty easily. But now they're going to be sitting 20 miles off the coast of Iran and they're just a big target. Think about all the missiles that are going to be fired. All the drones are going to come over. Think about the political implications of having American soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines killed on Iranian sovereign territory. Think about what that would, that kind of message would send to the entire world and to the Iranian people. You know, these are tough, resilient people. They are not going to take this very, very lightly.

[Natasha Owens]

But, General, isn't Iran's potential control of the state of Hormuz, wasn't that the most obvious card they had to play here? Why is it that it seems that the US Was not prepared for this?

[Ambassador Nicholas Burns]

Well, we actually were prepared for it. I don't know where this narrative came out that it was a big surprise. I mean, you know, we do an annual exercise with up to 30 countries and about the closure of the state Strait of Hormuz and how to reopen it. And so what you're seeing in the campaign now, and I think this is really important to understand, is a continuation of, of the joint view of the combined force of the US And Israel prioritizing the missile and the drone capabilities, including their manufacturing capabilities, including their ability to reconstitute their missiles and drones with support from Russia and China. There are a couple of ships sailing right now with solid fuel from China. I don't think they're going to make it to Iran. And you saw the IDF in the last 24, 48 hours striking ships in the Caspian Sea in the far north of Iran because Russia was smuggling drones into, into Iran to reconstitute their capabilities.

[General H.R. McMaster]

President clearly thinks you do negotiations by press release or by tweet. That's not how negotiations are done. They can't be done as a drive by. This is very serious. This is war. I do hope that there are talks that take place. I don't think there's any chance at all that 15 points of agreement have come to pass at this point. The very most one could get in five days are very, very broad parameters. This is a highly technical negotiation. And one of the things we've seen time and time again is that this administration doesn't really recognize expertise or respect expertise. And they're going to need some people at the table, even if it's Vice President Vance who actually know what they're talking about.

[Natasha Owens]

Let me bring you into the White House thinking in this moment and how they are viewing this to Hagar's point. They are not looking at opposition backed transition right now. They are not looking to bring in an outsider. In fact, officials I spoke to told me, Reza Pahlavi, the exiled prince that some people are looking to as a potential leader that is not on the table for somebody that the US Would back. Instead, they are looking right now at the speaker of Parliament as a potential partner for the United States and possibly a leader that the United States could work with. Now, he is, you talked about the irgc, the Revolutionary Guard, he's a former IRGC commander, he is a power broker. And he is not a moderate necessarily, again, to Hagar's point. But this is somebody that the United States believes might be someone on the inside that could potentially have a pragmatic streak and be willing to make a deal with the United States.

[Hagar Chemali]

Let's not, let's not understate the fact that the conventional Iranian military strength has been greatly weakened. Their planes are, have been blown up, their ships have been blown up. But conventional military strength has not been the core of the menace that Iran represents in the region. And to the wider world, it's always been about unexpected asymmetric capabilities. Those drones that do so much damage, sleeper cells all over the world, their proxy militias, the Houthis, the Hezbollah and people like that. And these are only the ones we know about. This is a regime that for 50 years, every day, this regime, the people at the highest levels of this regime have been absolutely convinced that sooner or later America is going to come for them. So they've been preparing for 50 years. They've always known that they were never going to be able to stand up against the greatest military in the world. And so they've been making plans precisely for that. So to say that we've blown up every one of their ships, those ships are not the real threat. Without any ships, they've still managed to block the Straits of Hormuz and essentially put a chokehold on the global economy. That's the nature of the regime we are dealing with. These are very serious people. They're seriously bad people, but they are

[Kurt Mills]

very serious people and they're fighting for their lives.

[Hagar Chemali]

They're fighting for their. Yeah, they know that if they, if they lose this war, their biggest problem will not be American bombs from the air. Their biggest problem will be their own citizens will be hanging them from lampposts in Tehran. You know, they've done so much damage to their own country and their own people for so long that there's a lot of resentment built up there. They can't afford to show any weakness.

[Natasha Owens]

Back to tonight's breaking news. The Wall Street Journal reporting thousands of U.S. marines are slated to arrive in the Middle east on Friday, according to two U.S. officials. The day president set as the deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as the US Builds up its presence in the region. Donald Trump has been sending mixed messages over his war of choice. That included a vow to obliterate Iran's power plants. To later insisting without providing any details that productive conversations to end the war were underway, something that Iran has denied.

[Kurt Mills]

It's Tuesday, the 24th of March, year of our Lord 2026. What President Trump committed to yesterday when we talked about having various conversations where people were actually conversation one, they were going down a punch list to get 15 items agreed to. He did not, as we mentioned on the show, he said he would not, he would hold off on the bombing of the energy and infrastructure. He did not say the CENTCOM war of defanging decline, the methodical takedown of the conventional military forces of the Iranian government would, would stop. And of course overnight, another horrific night of giving as good as they got. They actually got. They shelled Tel Aviv. There's and of course the Israelis hit them hard. The Americans hit them hard. On the conventional military side. There are the White House talking about having discussions. There are a couple of different, I think streams on this one is with potentially through Pakistan's field Marshal. I think it's Murin who is very close to the President Trump. He's been in the Oval Office. He's had lunch with the president. President Trump thinks very highly of him. This is one of the ones they're talking about doing it with the speaker of the House, which is still part of the junta of the, of the, of the kind of the Mola Ayatollah Islamic theocrat clique. There's other discussions about Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff might be discussing with people Erdogan the Turks may be involved in that. Let's say this. There's also a collection of foreign ministers of Egypt and Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and Bahrain in uae they're also having discussions. A lot of people are trying to figure out how this war winds down. But the, the underlying military aspect of this continues on overnight. CENTCOM going through, like I said, their methodical defanging declawing program. Also two Marine amphibious ready groups or Marine Expeditionary units. One on the USS Tripoli coming for about 2,500 Marines coming from Japan, I think a couple of days away. Also the USS Boxer from San Diego, about 2,200 Marines. That would give us about approximately, I don't know, 5,000 marine amphibious assault forces with complete helicopter and the other the Osprey aircraft that can be both helicopter and also conventional in addition to all the assets we have in there. My understanding is a tremendous amount of support aircraft. 82nd Airborne may be on alert. So other as negotiations going on, President Trump is not giving up any of his military leverage. In fact I would say that that leverage and the applicability, the sharp end of the spear actually from a non air aspect is coming to around the North Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman. That would either take Carg island and or you know, some of the right around the Strait Hormuz where they've had this £5,000 bunker busting bomb b2 runs might even do an amphibious assault there to take and hold, hold that and make sure those missiles and drones, et cetera, are taken care of. So an increasingly complex military operation continues on with more aspects coming at the same time various discussions, I mean the president's been pretty clear his military objectives. He's also said hey, the Strait of Horz Moose has got to be open. I think it's becoming more and more evident every day that our quote unquote allies, particularly in Europe and NATO are just not up to the task. It's more, it's, this is kind of more happy talk than they gave in Ukraine about what type of military and naval assets they would give to keep the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf open for free navigation. Also don't forget the gate of tears down at the Red Sea right off of Yemen where the Houthis essentially control or if they get involved, which they have not, they've held back would, would be another aspect that you would have to keep that open to make sure you get to the, to the Suez Canal. Increasingly complex, geopolitically complex militarily. President Trump, the ultimate dealmaker, thinking through his options. Keeping a lot of irons in the fire. Also, I think he may be keeping the Iranian, the Iranian establishment of the Iran, the IRGC on their back foot. Of course, the Iranians, I think they look at the Americans, hey, these guys are bringing in the Marines. Can we really cut a deal here? Are they just buying time? All the complexity? We got Kurt Mills, American, conservative. We also have Eric Bollen is going to talk about some markets. We're also going to pivot to get some political news here in the good old United States of America. Some, some good news out there and a big battle down in Georgia. Also, is America driving off a fiscal cliff? We'll talk all about that. First Lady.

[Commercial Announcer (Bannon Ads)]

Think about this. In 2006, $20,000 equaled roughly 33 ounces of gold at spot prices. At today's prices, those 33 ounces of gold will be worth 100. Smart Americans diversify a portion of their savings into precious metals. And that's why you need to consider buying gold from my friends at Birch Gold Group. For thousands of years, gold has been a store of wealth and today it is a crucial part of any balance strategy. Even better, Birch Gold can help you convert an existing IRA or 401k into a tax sheltered retirement account in gold. Just text my name, Bannon B A N N Owen, to the number 98989 to receive your free info kit on gold. There's no obligation, just useful information with an A plus rating with the Better Business Bureau and tens of thousands of happy customers. Let Birch Gold help you diversify with gold. Now that's peace of mind. Text Bannon to 989-898. Again, my name, Bannon B A N N O N to the number 989-898. Do it today.

[First Lady of the United States]

Good morning, Ambassador Crowley, Ambassador Waltz, Secretary McMahon, Deputy Secretary Landau, Director, Chairman Ferguson, Special Envoy for the best future generations, Charles Harder. Thank you all for being champions, for fostering the future together. It is wonderful to receive such an impressive delegation of world leaders, first spouses and be best in class tech companies, companies, all with a shared purpose to empower our next generation's advancement in technology and education. Welcome Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bangladesh, Belize and Bolivia. It is my distinct honor to have Burundi, Cabo Verde, Congo, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, France, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana and Guatemala here in Washington D.C. greetings. Israel, Kenya, Kosovo, Lithuania, Malta, Malawi, Montenegro, Morocco, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Palau, Panama and of course, Paraguay. Hello. Poland, Romania, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, St. Keats and Neeves Ukraine and uae. As people we dream, as leaders we progress. As nations we will build. Beginning today, let's accelerate our new global alliance this bond to positively impact the progress of our children. Welcome members to the inaugural meeting of Fostering the Future Together. Our coalition's mission is to empower children by providing greater access to technology and education. This is a historic moment in time. Our key driver to cultivate the skills young people need to be successful in this rapidly evolving world. Fostering the Future Together will achieve these by creating innovative learning programs, advocating for supportive education policies, sponsoring new tech focused legislation, and building strong partnerships between the public and private sectors. Each of you has a vital role to play in shaping the tech ed opportunities for the next generation. Fostering the Future Together's collaborative platform will serve as a capability multiplier for members. This added benefit is derived directly from our coalition's foundational elements, AI education and global leadership. Our shared vision Prioritize children about political philosophy, geographical borders and local prejudices. To turn this vision into action, I invite each of you to participate. Commit to hosting a regional meeting, conduct a research study, advance new partnerships, collaborate with another member nation in your region of the world. Magic happens in our nation's capital, particularly when the private and public sectors join forces. Today's meeting is unprecedented. I commend America's leading companies for convening with us today. Never before have so many tech visionaries stood before such a large global audience of leaders in the State Department and the White House over the two day period. Nowhere else could such a concentration of excellent be assembled. From AI pioneers like OpenAI, Palantir and Xai to tech platforms like Google and Meta Creative engines like Adobe and Microsoft, plus human connectivity through Zoom Communications. This room is filled with extraordinary human capital leaders. Harness it to elevate your children, to empower your people and to accelerate your economies. Our Coalition for Leaders will improve our future, but only by supporting concrete initiatives that equip young people with the skills and knowledge they need. Together, let's invest, expand success and create opportunities for education and technology. I wish everyone great success during Fostering the Future Together's Global Coalition Summit. There is much to accomplish over the this two day period and this is only the beginning. Thank you.

[Kurt Mills]

First lady of the United States at the State Department this morning. Just moments ago, Kurt Mills I laid out after the cold open by the way, another brilliant job by the War Room production team and our Real America Voice team in Denver. Want to thank everybody for doing that. I think I'm gonna string all those together on every day of the war and kind of just lay it out. Think it lays out the entire war. Just incredible, Kurt. Multiple streams of negotiation. Right? You've got foreign ministers meeting in Riyadh of the major Arab nations. You've got some sort of path, maybe with Turkey and with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, although they're being accused of being Israeli agents by certain members of the Iranian regime. You've got the field marshal in Pakistan who's quite close to President Trump. And there you may have the. There you may have their speaker of the House. Looks like a lot of irons in the fire. But as I said yesterday, when President Trump said, hey, we're not going to hit the energy in the. In the oil infrastructure, he did. He specifically didn't say, I'm a call off centcom. Another big night last night on the. On the actual kinetic side. Put this in perspective. Sorcerer, where are we this morning?

[Everett J. Wheeler]

Yeah. So obviously, the starting gun on the week was shot, so to speak, by the President's attempt to calm the markets by saying that he was not going to basically see through his ultimatum to the Iranians. And from there, it's sort of a guessing game. It's very clear that the White House wants to talk with Iran. What's less clear is if it's going on and with whom they are speaking. The reality of the Iranian government at this point is that they have effectively a junta around Moshtabahenei, the new supreme leader. Whatever Moshtab Alhamenei's status and health. It's. There's rumors, a flurry about potentially lost a leg, et cetera, et cetera. What matters is that there are eight to nine decision makers within Tehran that. That DC Would have to deal with. And so if Trump wants to deal, he's got to figure out who to extend it to. There's also reports, again, South Asian reports, so not exactly the, let's say, Anglo American commitment to the truth in that

[Eric Bolling]

part of the world.

[Everett J. Wheeler]

Journalistically, there are reports of a potential VP meeting with the speaker of the Iranian Parliament. Gallopaif. I think that actually would be a very generative idea, something that I think that would be a useful maneuver by the administration. I think, frankly, at this point, at this juncture, it could change. Kushner, Wyckoff are seen as agents of Israel, effectively, as you. As you allude to, for better or worse.

[Kurt Mills]

That's because Steve and Jared were working on the main negotiation when it was broken off and the attack took place. So the Iranians are sitting there going, we can't trust those guys because we didn't get a heads up. We thought we were in negotiations with this.

[Everett J. Wheeler]

Look, it's going on on both sides. I mean, I saw over the weekend in Axios and Barack Ravid, you know, the Americans are on back background calling the Iranian foreign Minister Arachi a fax machine. So everybody's angry at everybody about who to talk to. I think the reality though is that Wyckoff has handled this portfolio for over a year and we don't have a deal. And Kushner is obviously seen as very tight with Netanyahu. The reality here is that this war is not going to end until President Trump says no to Israel. If he's unwilling to do that or unable to do that, this war will continue in some, in some form or at least at worst there will be a pause and we'll have to go back in, in the summer. And I think that's a catastrophe.

[Kurt Mills]

Look, there's a breaking news that the Pakistanis have offered to host some sort of talks. You've got the foreign ministers all meeting in Saudi Arabia of Kuwait and uae, Saudi and Egypt. You've got the Turks. Erdogan is making moves to say he wants to be helpful. Somehow the entire region, it looks like Kurt says, hey, we've had enough of this already. And as bad as these guys are, somehow we'll figure this out. I mean, that is part of the pressure that's coming to the White House. Also, remember, we're going to bowling on here joint. Kurt, in a moment. Even with the Iranians and we've done some back of the envelope math. Everybody in that region is incentivized, at least to date to get the price of oil and gas up. They're calling force majeure. The Qataris, the Iraqis, force majeure on these contracts. The Iranians. You know, oil at 140 bucks is a lot better than President Trump's full spectrum energy dominance where it's got a four handle in front of it. Right. That's not when they're lifting costs. I think 20 bucks now they want to. They want a five bagger every time they pull a barrel out anyway. Kurt, hang on for one second. Birch Gold. Take your phone at text Bannon B A N N O N 989-898. The ultimate guide for investing in gold and precious metals in the age of Trump. And this gets you contact with Philip Patrick. Talk to him. Talk about turbulent markets. Gold's gotten hammered last week. Little uptick this morning, then down. It ain't the daily price, it's the process of dries value. Talk to the experts at Birch Gold, Philip Patrick and his team. Short commercial break Kurt Mills going to join Eric Bowling and the other the side.

[Commercial Announcer (Bannon Ads)]

I've got a question for you.

[Kurt Mills]

How do you usually get your medication?

[Commercial Announcer (Bannon Ads)]

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.

[Kurt Mills]

That's not convenient.

[Commercial Announcer (Bannon Ads)]

That's a system that doesn't work.

[Kurt Mills]

There's a better way.

[Commercial Announcer (Bannon Ads)]

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 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.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Or here's your host, Stephen K. Bannon.

[Kurt Mills]

I'm gonna get back to Kurt in a second about these negotiations. Eric Bolling, two reports that just kind of popped the theoretical force majeure of the Qataris, I understand. Now I'm reading that they have actually invoked force majeure, which means kind of act of war of act of God on LNG long term contracts for LNG supplies, disrupting deliveries to Italy, Belgium, South Korea and China. Also breaking news from the Financial Times of London that says $580 million of all trades happen moments before minutes before President Trump made his announcement on the talks yesterday. Let's take the first event first. The Iraqis have already called force majeure on some of their contracts. Here's one of the issues is that everybody over there, including the Iranians, the Saudis, the Kuwaitis, the Qataris, they're all incentivized to have these higher prices call force majeure, negate the contracts they sold when President Trump was full on with full spectrum energy dominance and reap a massive reward for this war that America's underwriting with our taxpayer money in our, in our troops, sir.

[Eric Bolling]

So, yeah, Steve, remember we, we talked about these force measures that would likely be popping up because you don't want to make a commitment. You've made a commitment of 55 or $60 a barrel or the equivalent if it's LNG. And then the legal loophole that you can work your way through is force majeure, which is act of God, act of nature or war. And so they figured out this is a good opportunity. You know, some of the people that we don't maybe respect as much that they're doing business with, they'll, they'll declare forest majeure and double the price that they're gonna, they're going to get for it. No question about that. I, we, Qatar had already insinuated they may do it. Now they've looks like they have done it. We knew the Kuwaitis did it with refined products about a week ago, but when they did that, Steve, we were on air, I think when it happened. I said, look, expect a lot more of this. And I think you will see a lot more of it because whether it. This doesn't look like it's ending anytime soon. So this all clear that we kind of felt was. Or people were saying was happening yesterday. You know, you and I talked about it on Rav, my show into yours, it likely wasn't over yet. The Conoco CEO, CEO, Chevron CEO, I'm sorry. Said we got a lot more upside here and people aren't realizing how dangerous this is. You know, you can call this a, a war dividend for these Middle Eastern countries. All right, so yes, Iran is going to get hit. They're going to get hit hard. They'll continue to get hit hard. But do the math. They produce 3 million barrels per day. They're probably going to push oil prices around $120 a barrel. That, Steve, it lasts 60 days only. I mean, this could last a lot longer. 60 days only. And we've handed Iran a war dividend of over 21 billion. So this, everyone looks at it into like counterintuitively. You have to look at it because everyone looks at war in Iran. We're hitting them, we're degrading them, but we're also handing them, you know, a bank account to rebuild and rebuild the way they want. That's why I believe the deal, A deal needs to be made, needs to be made fairly quickly with, with tight parameters as far as the.

[Kurt Mills]

Just hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on. Slow Down. Just quickly walk people through math on that with the now Iran's got cash flow problems, they can't get their stuff out. People talking about sending the Marines into to secure Kharg island, which would cut them off from the world, at least their ability to get it out, get it and monetize it, but just walk through the basic math of what they reserve. One of the issues in the Middle east, particularly with President Trump's full spectrum energy dominance, is that they look at this as a wasting asset and, you know, they hate selling it when they're lifting costs. I don't know, around 20. It used to be five. I think somebody said it's 20 bucks a barrel. Let's assume that that was me.

[Eric Bolling]

That was me. It was five. It was $5 a barrel. It was $5 a barrel. To lift it, you know, 30, 40 years ago, sand just pull it right out. It pushes $30 a barrel now maybe even a little bit higher. So at 55, they're not making a massive. Well, they're making good profit, not making a massive profit to fund their economy because this really is petrodollars that fund most of those Middle Eastern countries economies at $120 a barrel. You're talking insane number here. I'll do the math for you. Three million barrels a day Iran produces right now, and that's down from seven or eight, which they have in the past, which means if they want to ramp it up, it could be a lot more. So just 3 million barrels a day, which they were producing prior to the war. $120 a barrel, that's $360 million petrodollars per day. Give it 60 days and you're talking 21.6 billion petrodollars right into the Iranian coffers.

[Kurt Mills]

Talk to us about the futures market. The Chevron CEO came out yesterday and said, hey, I can see it going to 170 bucks. But he says, I don't think this goes below $100 until 2027. What's the futures market telling us right now? Of what? Because the oil and gas market is one that's got a lot of information out there. Clearly that somebody had some information before President Trump came out and made that statement. I'm sure that's going to be investigated. $580 million of trades minutes before that. Quite frankly, the kind of shock announcement that said, hey, we're looking to, looking to talk to somebody because we've degraded their military so much, it's time to move on. What are the future markets telling us right now about what they think about the possibility of these negotiations because Kurt said, hey, look, this is not particularly easy. They don't really trust us. They're backed into a corner. They're either a rabid dog or rabid rat or a grizzly. Right. They know that if their people turn on them, they're done. So they're going to fight to the end. It's not easy. President Trump's a master dealmaker, but it ain't easy when you really don't have anybody totally in charge to negotiate with. So does that incorporate into the markets right now?

[Eric Bolling]

It is. The way the futures market works in oil is you can take delivery, you can buy delivery going forward. And I looked at it yesterday, or I'll look again, but it's within striking range of an 80 a barrel about 10 months down the road. So into 2027. Right. At 2027, you're looking at $80 a barrel if everything stayed the same. Right now we're talking 92, $93 a barrel. Now, if it goes higher, those back months, those future delivery months will continue to raise with it. But right now, the futures aren't saying it's going to last, you know, six, eight, 10 months. And they've priced in a lower oil price going forward. So the belief right now is this is a now event, and that Trump could ramp up production, ramp up ways to bring oil prices down. And he can and he will when he's done. But, Steve, we've been saying this, like I hate to say we've been saying, but we have. It depends how high it goes and how long it stays there, how quickly.

[Kurt Mills]

These very sophisticated. Yeah, but. Yeah, but these very sophisticated markets with tons of trading about, people trying to hedge the future, not just speculators. They're telling us that they believe right now President Trump will not just get some military accomplishment, but will bring some sort of peace or get some sort of deal that will get back to normal, that it won't be 120, won't be 150, it'll be 80, which is obviously a lot higher than the 55 I think, that we had when BB went to Mar a Lago in December. Right, but it's. It's not the end of the world. Correct, correct.

[Eric Bolling]

Correct. And then that will adjust itself. Well, it's based a lot on front month as well. But the point is, it's not $200 a barrel a year from now. They're believing $80 a barrel a year from now. These are Traders and, and when I say traders, I don't mean speculators. Everyone love heat. I'm talking about the people like the ConocoPhillips head trader that I spoke to who had similar assessment of the situation that the Chevron CEO who came out yesterday saying. So they're looking for higher prices going forward which will pull up that 10, 11, 12 month oil price will pull it up higher as well. Again, that's why I keep saying it matters how high it goes, how long it stays there. Because it people are smart enough to realize it takes time to ramp up production, to get deliveries, to get deliveries flowing quickly and to ramp up your own, let's call it, counter high prices policy here in the United States. I'm sure Trump will throw everything, including the kitchen sink at it, but that takes time. Unfortunately, the worst fallout of all of this is Middle Eastern countries who frankly hate us, even though they pretend to be our allies, their coffers, their war coffers, their anti west coffers are getting filled the longer we play this game and it really has become a game because you can get in, get out, make your deal and cut a strong deal going forward a lot quicker than we're doing it right now.

[Kurt Mills]

Hang on one second, Kurt. Let's go back to the negotiations. I mean one of the issues is who's actually got that stroke over there? Who can you actually make it, who can you actually negotiate with that can deliver it? Like I said, there's a lot of different things going on. A lot of Arab nations are jumping in this. They're all volunteering to host something. President Trump, in the search for alternatives wants to make sure this is meaningful. He's saying the guys and it looks like that was the Pakistani with the, with the speaker of the House. He already said, hey, we've got General Agreement on a 15, at least 15 points of, you know, 20 or 25. Your thoughts about that? Because it's pretty obvious, I think a lot of the Iranians say, hey look, the Americans and the Israelis just got another, you know, this, another delay tactic until they get the Marines in so they can bring combat troops in to seize our, our ability to monetize anything, sir.

[Everett J. Wheeler]

Yeah, I suppose. I mean my basic cut is that they're going to have to deal with the Iranians the way that the Iranians are going to insist on dealing with it. I mean the raw reality is not that much has changed. And so some of the circulated proposals from the administration that have been leaked to places like Axios are the same Set of demands, zero enrichment, no ballistic missiles. These are things that the regime would rather fight and die over than concede. If they have an actual olive branch to the Iranians, that will be a better deal than Obama. Jcpoa, they can end this war, but it involves saying no to the Israelis, as opposed as far as who they should deal with. I mean, look, they're going to send out Arachi, the foreign minister. Arachi is an ambitious figure. I think he wants to be the next president of Iran, as has been reported this week in the Journal by Lawrence Norman and others. You know, that's who you have to deal with it as opposed to trying to find someone in the junta to deal with. I mean, the reality is a lot of these people don't speak English. You know, I don't think the administration should try to circumvent the Iranian process, frankly. If they have a serious offer to end this war, they should extend it. If they don't, they should come home. I mean, to an extent, negotiations themselves may be provocative. If the, if President Trump just declares victory, we took out the Supreme Leader and announces that we are withdrawing, I think that can cool tensions. It won't satisfy our partners, quote, unquote in Israel. But this war is not ending until the President says no to Netanyahu.

[Kurt Mills]

The. Another aspect, and this is what Trita keeps saying on it when he's posting on Twitter, that the, the Iranians also, besides all those kind of military aspects, they're insisting upon sanctions relief. And the reason is they've got to get sanctions relief. Without sanctions relief. Without sanctions relief, they are absolutely no cash. Is that a going to be a central part of this negotiation? Because I don't see how President Trump gives him relief on sanctions. Right. Because sanctions brought him to their knees and made him as weak as possible. Go ahead, sir.

[Everett J. Wheeler]

They've already given them sanctions relief. Right. To get more oil onto the, to the market for loosening the sanctions in order to bomb them. Right. I mean, it's, it's. Yes, Dr. Strangelove.

[Kurt Mills]

Yeah.

[Everett J. Wheeler]

Right. Yeah. So, I mean, I think we've already created the precedent. Yes, Sorry. We've already created the precedent. Right. So. So I think I, I think that crossed. Yeah.

[Kurt Mills]

How, sir, is President said, I can get this done in five days.

[Commercial Announcer (Bannon Ads)]

Is the Iran.

[Kurt Mills]

Are the Iranians sitting there going, Trump is as smart as they get. What he wants is his two Marine amphibious, his two Marine expeditionary units to show up. Then he's got 5,000 combat troops, the 82nd Airborne, he can take the coast down by Hormuz. He can get rid of the those are kind of Arabs, not even Persians down there. He can get rid of those guys and take our island, cut us off from everything, and then we're toast.

[Commercial Announcer (Bannon Ads)]

Do you think that's going through their

[Kurt Mills]

mind, that they understand that? I tell you what, stick to the break. I want to get to this on the other side now more than ever. I think it's important for you to talk to the folks at Birch Gold. We're in a world of turbulence.

[Commercial Announcer (Bannon Ads)]

The Qatari energy minister just said moments

[Kurt Mills]

ago that if this war is not wrapped up by the end of the week, all exports out of the Persian Gulf of energy in all of its forms will cease. Of course, the Qataris are great at playing both sides against the metal. Some of the treacherous aspects of this war in the Gulf. Short commercial break

[Commercial Announcer (Bannon Ads)]

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?

[Kurt Mills]

If it's anything less than a month,

[Commercial Announcer (Bannon Ads)]

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 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. Company, my patriot supply with over 3 million satisfied customers.

[Kurt Mills]

Make sure you're one of them.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Here's your host, Stephen K. Ban.

[Kurt Mills]

Okay, guys, thank you for doing this this morning again to keep this audience ahead of the curve, as you guys do. Days ahead of the curve. Eric, I'm gonna let you go. But, but like I said, Qatar energy minister just warned that this war will force all Gulf nations to stop energy exports within days. Now, I assume he's even Talking about the 5 million barrels a day going from Saudi Arabia through the pipeline into the Red Sea outlet. But it's kind of general. But that's a pretty stark warning for President Trump to deal with.

[Eric Bolling]

Indeed. And because we know that the Iranians will do whatever it takes to keep, keep it going. I mean they're getting a war dividend based on these what's happening so far. We're seeing oil prices double, more than double now, of course. And, and like we said, Steve, the, these Middle Eastern countries who claim to be our friends, Saudi, Qatar, I mean really, Qatar has been all over the board with as far as terrorism and friendly to the United States all over the board. They're not, they're not our friends. They're interested in the, they would love to see a $200 price tag for oil. Any force majeures they can do and any online production that they can pull offline because of some sort of attack on an infrastructure somewhere, they'll do it and they'll be slow to pull it back up. I'm not sure 100% halt is possible, but a 50% halt would drive prices to $300 a barrel, $10 a gallon of gasoline that they have. They have, they've got America's Achilles by in their hand right now. And I've seen it, you've seen it and I'm just not sure why anyone else isn't seeing it right now that let's get the hell out of there. Let's cut up an international deal that's, that's got teeth and let's get the hell out of the Middle east and let them, let them blow each other up instead of like they used to do instead of us.

[Kurt Mills]

Where do people go to get your, to get all your content, sir?

[Eric Bolling]

Well, at Eric Bowling on Cross Social Media, the edge on, on YouTube is new show that we're doing. But Steve, you guys, your audience is amazing. Jump on every time we come on. But the, the biggest plus for me is when we do the 4 o' clock at RAV into your 5 o' clock show. That's where you're really going to get, you're getting a lot of, getting a lot of opinion, a lot of markets. You're going to understand a lot about the oil markets and the effect on the economy for and then you just get the geopolitics like nobody's business at 5. So I think people are pretty, pretty well serviced between 4 and 6pm every day on RAV.

[Kurt Mills]

Thank you. Thank you brother. Thank you for coming on during the morning show. I know you guys are busy. Thank you, sir. Kurt, you've done a good job of framing this so people can understand how things develop. So give us your best shot here. President Trump, day two of his, trying to look through various alternatives where you have a cornered enemy that is experts in asymmetric warfare, and they're sitting there going, hey, the Marines are heading here. And once he's got the Marines, you know, maybe the 82nd Airborne, he's got another error in the quiver in addition to how we're getting hammered every night. Your thoughts, sir?

[Everett J. Wheeler]

He is going to be the subject of a pressure campaign led by the Israelis and their allies in the United States to, quote, finish the job. These are the same people that would say that the US didn't stay in Vietnam long enough and that the only problem with the Iraq war is that we didn't stay longer. The only problem of Afghanistan is that we didn't stay longer. You see it playing out in the op ed pages of the Wall Street Journal. You see it on Fox News. You see it in anything that's part of the Rupert Murdoch empire. They are going to drive Trump to try to do a larger war.

[Kurt Mills]

Okay, Everett, but hang on. When, hang on. When they, when they say finish the job, right? Because you've seen what the President said, and he's been very vocal in the last 24 hours while he's going to Memphis on the tarmac. I mean, that is Trump in deal mode. When you say finish the. When they come to him and say finish the job, put some substance on that. What are, what do they mean? What are they telling him to finish the job? Because there's got to be some specifics there for him. He goes back and says, hey, look, I laid out and remember the White House made a big pivot yesterday. They said we no longer refer to this as a war. We've always referred to this as a military operation. The centcom Admiral Cooper and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, his senior military advisor, been very specific about the military objectives of the military operation. And if you talk to President Trump right now, you call him, he said, hey, look, Navy's gone. Air Force is gone. Air defense is essentially gone. I'm taking care of the industrial capacity. I'm not touching, as they told him, I'm not going to touch the energy infrastructure. I'm not going to touch the grid as much as we can avoid it. So when others come to him, and clearly the Israelis have a broader war that they're fighting, we just heard McMaster say they took out a couple of Russian ships or hit Russian ships in the Caspian Sea that were supposedly bringing drones in to help the, to help the Revolutionary Guard. And they're, and they're now, you know, commencing looks like a major combined arms, both air and land campaign in against the proxies of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. But when somebody calls him up and says, hey, look, you, you don't, don't listen all this stuff, don't listen to oil market. Finish the job. What does finish the job mean?

[Everett J. Wheeler]

They want regime change. Whatever it takes. I mean, and the, the allies who support this and Trump's allies who support this can call whatever they want. I saw that Hugh Hewitt with Tom Cotton yesterday called the Iraq war a battle. He called the Gulf War a battle. So I'm not really sure he's being served by the advice he's getting. The American people are going to conclude rightly that this is a war. And I think that if President Trump doesn't want his entire legacy to be about nation building and cleaning up the, the mess that the Israelis want in Iran, he should declare victory and come home.

[Kurt Mills]

Kurt Mills, where do people go? You're the, you're, you're in the lineage of Pat Buchanan. You're the editor in chief of his beloved newspaper magazine website, American Conservative. Where they go?

[Everett J. Wheeler]

American conservative dot com. As mentioned, it was founded by Pat and others in 2002 against the Iraq war. We are covering this wire to wire and we are doing our best to contain the damage of this Iran war. Thank you.

[Kurt Mills]

Okay, listen up, Kirk. Hugh Hewitt said it's the Iraq battle. I don't know if I tell the, I don't know if I'd tell the veterans of that 10 year conflict or 11 year conflict or 9 year conflict, which were still there, by the way.

[Everett J. Wheeler]

No, they called the, that it was about great battles. What they called it, that's what that's in the 20s. They were calling it the great battle. The Hemingway generation.

[Kurt Mills]

Yeah, the great battle, sir. Thank you so much, Kurt Mills. Look forward to having you back. We're going to take, Natasha Owens is going to take us out. When we come back, is America driving

[Commercial Announcer (Bannon Ads)]

off a physical cliff?

[Kurt Mills]

I think we've talked about that, that a couple, three times on this show. The stark reality that the political class of Washington D.C. just wants to avoid over and over and over again. How long can we actually avoid it? Until tough changes, tough calls, tough decisions have to be made. Neil Irwin from Axios next in the war room. You know, you still need help.

[Hagar Chemali]

Help from the boss.

[Ambassador Nicholas Burns]

We need help from the boss.

[Commercial Announcer (Bannon Ads)]

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, improving. 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 waives 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.

[Kurt Mills]

You move.