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Brian Kilmeade Show
"Iran Can Still Continue This Fight": Trey Yingst On US Staging Forces in Europe
00:18:36
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- [00:00]
A
Trey Yinks joins us now from Tel Aviv. Of course, his book is still available, Black Saturday. And Trey, welcome back. I appreciate you joining me on your day off.
- [00:11]
B
Absolutely. Thanks for having me.
- [00:12]
A
Prime Minister Netanyahu is going to be coming to town next week to salute Lindsey Graham, who's done such a great job on our foreign policy through various administrations over the years. It makes sense, especially a big supporter of Israel. I understand after talking to General Jack Keen, if there's going to be a massive upgrade in our attack on Iran, the IDF will play a role. I was wondering what your sources say.
- [00:33]
B
Yeah, absolutely. I've been talking with a number of Israeli sources over the past several days to get an understanding of how Israel is preparing both offensively and defensively for the possibility that this kicks off on a much larger level. And on the offensive front, the Israelis are waiting to go. They have basically been given orders that they will either attack Iran if Iran attacks first or if President Trump orders the Israelis to get involved. And we remember the outcome at the first round of strikes during Operation epic fury when 40 leaders were taken out in a matter of minutes in Tehran. And that was a result of the joint effort from the US And Israeli fighter jets over the skies of Tehran and other areas. Defensively, the Israelis are also starting to prepare. They are starting to tell the population there are no changes in the home front command guidelines, but they have started to open public bomb shelters a number of cities across Israel. And this is an indication they are bracing for the possibility of incoming Iranian missile fire. Defensively, they have a three tiered system. They have the Iron Dome, they have the system in the middle called David's Sling. And then they have the arrow 2 and 3 system. They also have US systems, the patriot and Thaad missile interceptors that would work to shoot down the incoming Iranian fire. And so the assessment here in Israel is that they will certainly play a role in if this does expand in the days ahead. But they do have to be prepared for the possibility that Iran will strike back.
- [01:56]
A
The Houthis have opened up the new front, trying to shut down the Red Sea. Attack two Saudi ships. Where's that at? What is the latest you've heard from there?
- [02:05]
B
Yeah, this week the Houthis in Yemen, one of Iran's largest proxies, attacked two Saudi owned oil tankers and they have threatened to close the Baba La Mandab Strait, which translates to the Gateway of Tears, this entrance into the Red Sea and it's another critical international shipping lane. And the President issued a very clear warning to the Houthis just yesterday saying if they continue to attack vessels, not only will the Houthis pay a military price, but also the Iranian regime. And so the President has now drawn two red lines in the sand. One having to do with the Strait of Hormuz and the exit from the Persian Gulf and two, with the entrance to the Red Sea. And so if the Iranians try to close the strait and if the Houthis try to attack vessels in the Red Sea, both the Iranians and the Houthis, if the Red Sea is targeted, will pay a price. And so these are very tense days in the region. And there is an understanding that this will likely escalate before it de escalates.
- [02:57]
A
I understand that the Saudis have reported that the Iranians planes have landed in, they have landed in Yemen. And out are commanders to help out as well as resources to do just this.
- [03:12]
B
Absolutely. And remember, during Operation Epic Fury, the Houthis largely stayed out of the fight. And that was not a calculation that Israel expected. They anticipated it was going to be a full front, multi proxy conflict whenever the big war with Iran erupted earlier this year. And it wasn't. And part of the Iranian calculation may have been to keep one of their proxies on the sideline in case this dragged on as it has so far. Because remember, Hezbollah, their proxy in southern Lebanon, was decimated and remains in a very weak position. Hassan Nasrallah was killed by Israeli forces about two years. The missile capabilities of Hezbollah have been largely degraded and Israeli ground forces still remain in southern Lebanon. And so they don't have that strongest proxy at the level they had it three years ago when October 7th happened. And so now they have to make a new calculation.
- [04:00]
A
So what the President put out yesterday says if Yemen, excuse me, if the Houthis continue to attack, he said, let this statement serve until further notice that from this point on, any and all damages done to ships, cargo or anything related, therefore will be paid by Iranian money that, that the United States has in its possession and controls. These damages may be very substantial, but nevertheless this is fair and equitable. The thing to do. The Foreign Minister came out and said, those assets, you got to keep those assets safe. Ensuing chaos will not be pretty or peaceful. So he's warning them not to do that. But praying for restitution to the families of the who have been killed at the hands of the Iranians is something that has been brought up. And now the President says we're going to use your money to pay for damages. And so that's an interesting twist.
- [04:50]
B
Absolutely. Not only have most of the diplomatic options been exhausted, but now the president is using what leverage he can use without the broader military option to see at the last minute if the Iranians will change their behavior. But at this point, it doesn't appear like they are willing to do so. And reports from the region indicate that after President Trump met with the Iraqi prime minister at the White House, he delivered a written proposal to the Iranians. And that message was actually delivered in person in Tehran when the Iraqi prime minister traveled there. And according to reports, the Iranians rejected that offer. And again, this is President Trump trying to exhaust as many possibilities as possible without returning to a full scale war. But at this moment, we're starting to see signs in the region that this conflict will likely escalate in the days ahead.
- [05:37]
A
So what is your take on why the Iranians are still able to send so many drones across to our bases, especially in Jordan and Bahrain and Kuwait, and they haven't been more decimated?
- [05:51]
B
It's a great question. And I think it's really important to look at many of the press conferences that we saw from the Department of War and Central Command officials at the beginning of Operation Epic Fury. We saw U.S. officials come out and say that 90% of the capability was taken out and that the Iranians don't have enough missiles and drones to continue the fight. I think it's really important for the American people to look at the reality of the situation. And the reality is that Iran can continue this fight. They are certainly weakened. The supreme leader was killed. Other top officials were taken out. But this is a country of 90 million people. It is a mountainous country where they can hide many of their missile launchers deep in mountain terrain, and it's very difficult to get to them. And they can move assets around very quickly. And so the bottom line here is that Iran is not totally destroyed and their military capability is not destroy. It was this wouldn't be continuing. They still have the ability to threaten US Forces and allies in the region. And that is why we continue to ask these questions of the administration, of how many missiles does Iran actually have left? And I posed this question to President Trump last week during our interview at the White House, and he said they have some left. And I asked hundreds, thousands, and he didn't want to get into the details. But we know just based on what's taken place over the past 13 days, these consecutive nights of US strikes against Iran, they're not going unanswered. Certainly the Iranians are not firing massive volleys of missiles like they were doing previously, but they still have the ability to attack U.S. forces. And as we saw last weekend, four U.S. soldiers killed, three of them by an Iranian ballistic missile and one during the operation to defuse an Iranian drone.
- [07:25]
A
And by the way, Wall Street Journal has this story today that Iran has quickly rebuilt their infrastructure damaged during the US Initial bombing from missile bases faster than expected. And it worries some Israeli officials as help explain they say Iran's continued resilience despite an air campaign that involved 20,000 strikes. They have an official who says the Air and Missile Defense Forces says the rapid recovery is consistent with the skills Iran has demonstrated in rebuilding its infrastructure and missile stockpile after 12 days of bombing. So if we, let's say end this, to think that they're going to be decimated for years probably won't be the case if they're able to rebuild during, within the 60 days that never happened of the MOU. So either they did a good job burying or they still have, they still have a lot of manufacturing ability, Trey?
- [08:16]
B
Absolutely. And I think that's why it's really important to get to the reality of what the Iranians have left and understanding that in war, both sides will say they are successful in their strikes. But we have to look at the objectives of the United States from the beginning. And the main objective for President Trump was to ensure that Iran never has a nuclear weapon. And the major nuclear sites in Iran were hit last summer during Operation Midnight Hammer, Isfahan, Bordeaux and the Tanz. But you have this issue of Pickaxe Mountain, where reports indicate, according to Western intelligence officials, that some of the centrifuges and possibly even some of the highly enriched uranium was moved into the tunnels of this site. Now, weapons experts say some of the conventional weapons that the United States has, even when it comes to bunker buster bombs, may not be able to penetrate deep enough into this granite to actually destroy these facilities. And so the question remains, how will they handle this? And we know there are a variety of options on the table for the president. He could use more advanced weaponry, even possibly tactical weapons that the United States has in its arsenal but have not used so far. You mean tactical nukes to this facility?
- [09:19]
A
You mean tactical nukes?
- [09:21]
B
Yes, and certainly this has been discussed and it's an option for the president. There are other options as well, and some of them would include special forces. There was talk before of sending in special forces, building a Runway next to one of Iran's nuclear facilities and actually sending forces in to secure the site, setting up air defense around the area. The reality is that's very dangerous for US Forces. It's very dangerous for US Forces to seize any of the islands, including Carg Island. But this is all part of the calculation that the United States will have to make and internally determine what their objectives are. Because when we look at the reality of the situation with a country so large and mountainous, we're not looking at a full scale invasion that is not being discussed whatsoever. The forces don't exist in the region to do that. But there are options that would involve more tactical units, more of these special forces that, according to the Wall Street Journal, have been sent to the region. And I think something else from that Wall Street Journal report yesterday is very important to note. There were indications that 150 medics were sent to a US base in Germany. These are the types of staging operations that indicate the U.S. is preparing to escalate the situation on the ground and be prepared to treat casualties. And so again, this is all staging to give the president a variety of options, but ultimately it will be his to move forward and determine what are the objectives in this conflict and how do you get in and ultimately how do you get out. Cheers to America's 250th birthday. Get 20% off your first purchase at foxnewswineshop.com with code FNRADIO20 20% discount excludes wine club offers and cannot be combined with any other promotion. Expires July 31, 2026. Must be 21 or older to order. Please drink responsibly.
- [10:56]
A
Have we heard the Saudis respond to the blockade yet?
- [11:01]
B
We haven't. And it was interesting yesterday to see the back and forth of what the president posted on True Social because he talked about interesting things. We talked about the Red Sea and his threat against the Houthis, which of course was met well in Riyadh. And Saudi officials, that's exactly what they want to hear, that the United States will be drawing a red line when it comes to Houthi forces who have routinely been at conflict with Saudi Arabia. But the other thing that he noted was that this nuclear deal that was signed between the United States and Saudi Arabia to give Saudi Arabia a civilian nuclear program ultimately would have to be contingent on Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords. And so what the president is doing here is he's connecting a lot of these different issues. And Saudi officials have routinely tied their participation in the Abraham Accords to the recognition of a Palestinian state. Now the president is tying it to their ability to have A civilian nuclear program that would not include domestic enrichment. We have not yet heard from Saudi officials about a possible response to this. But it's quite interesting because this all ties together. When we look at what happened during Operation Epic Fury, there were these reports that indicated that the Saudis didn't want US Planes to use their bases or airspace out of concern about the Iranians responding. President is tying all of this together, understanding that if a broader conflict erupts, Saudi Arabia will play a role in that conflict.
- [12:17]
A
Right. What about the fact that, and I asked you this once before, I'm just wondering what you think. Now. The UAE was, was the only one targeted for a long time. And it's because people have speculated that their, their tolch to multiculturalism and banking and free enterprise is the exact opposite of what they're trying to get across in Iran. And they looked at them as maybe their, their chief rival and enemy. And while we thought they were vulnerable, now they're being totally let let left out of this. What changed?
- [12:48]
B
It's a really interesting question and I think when we look at the uae, the Emiratis have done what some in the region don't want to see happen. They have normalized ties with Israel. When I first came to the region, you couldn't fly directly from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi or Dubai. Now there are multiple direct flights every day. There's trade happening there, a lot of economic activity. Behind the scenes, this tourism that is taking place. But importantly during the conflict, according to reports, the Israelis actually sent air defense systems to the UAE to help them shoot down the incoming Iranian fire. So they are what you could describe as the model ally for the Abraham Accords. They are reaping the benefits of normalizing ties with Israel. And the question as to why they're not being targeted right now, we don't know exactly behind the scenes, but we do know that they were participating in a limited capacity in some of the strikes against many of these coastal areas. They may have cut some sort of deal behind the scenes to say, look, we're not going to get directly involved right now unless there's incoming fire, but if there is, then we will retaliate. And so that could have taken them off the table. The reality is that these Gulf countries are walking an interesting line here because of their proximity to Iran. When you think about just 25 miles across the Persian Gulf, when you get to Iranian territory, it places them right in the neighborhood of Iranian attacks. And while the Israelis deal with things like these long range and medium range ballistic missiles, Drones and cruise missiles can attack countries like the uae, Bahrain and Kuwait. And so it changes their equation and how they deal with the Iranian regime.
- [14:18]
A
And lastly, here's President Trump to Axios. I'm considering a massive attack, bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We're all set for it. There's a meeting today in the Oval Office with all the main players and I'm sure the people that just say, let's talk about it. I fear that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner said I'm close to a deal, not because I think a deal is bad. It's because I think a deal that they would cut is bad, because I've seen what they've done in the past. The MOU is terrible. And we, in so many ways, in my view, not bringing you into that. But if there was to be a massive attack, just a hunch, when would you think it would be?
- [14:57]
B
It could be in the coming days. The Israelis believe a large scale attack could come as early as this weekend. There are reports now that indicate Israel's prime minister will travel, as you mentioned, for Lindsey Graham's memorial and funeral. But we've seen this before and we have seen plans for the prime minister to travel only to watch a large scale military operation unfold in that time. And so it's difficult to predict what's actually happening behind the scenes. But the groundwork is being laid. The fighter jets are deployed, the refuelers are deployed. And ultimately, if this takes place, we're looking at a scenario where things will unravel quite quickly and the president likely will come out and explain to the world what is taking place. It could happen any day. And that's the short answer. And so the region remains on alert for possible escalation with Iran. And the question will be how the Iranians respond to that. And that is part of the reason that you've actually seen some of these Gulf countries advocating against a return to full scale conflict, because they're concerned that if the Trump administration orders strikes against, let's say, for example, energy infrastructure inside of Iran, the Iranians will retaliate against the liquefied natural gas and oil fields in the Persian Gulf. And they're worried that it's going to affect their economies and they're going to pay a very heavy price. The reality is the president has to calculate all of this and understand what price is willing to be paid, because conflict in the Middle east is not free. But as the president has said, neither is Iran having a nuclear program. And so that is the calculation that is taking place right now at the White House.
- [16:29]
A
Trey Yings, you're the best chief foreign correspondent coming to us from Israel. Thanks so much, Trey.
- [16:35]
B
Thank you.