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- [00:03]
Yasmin Vesugin
Hey, everybody. Welcome to here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmin Vesugin. Today on the show, what is the Trump administration's endgame in Iran? We're going to talk to NBC News senior White House correspondent Garrett Hake about what the president told him in a phone call last night, plus what the new and revised jobs numbers tell us about the state of the economy and which athletes to watch in the 2026 Paralympics starting this weekend. Up first, though, we have something really special for you. We have seen the bombing and we have seen the destruction from inside of Iran since this war began on Saturday. But we haven't heard from the people on the ground there inside Iran, the Iranians that are experiencing this war right now. There are two reasons for that. The first is it's really hard for them to access anything outside of Iran. There is an Internet blackout. The only way they can access people outside of Iran is either through using a VPN or through using Starlink. And not everybody has that. And now the VPNs aren't even working. The second reason is people are scared. People are scared to talk to journalists and even their relatives outside of the country because they're afraid they're going to be targeted by the current regime. In spite of the fact that the supreme leader has, in fact, been killed, they're still worried because the regime is wanting to make sure that they remain in power. And nobody dissents domestically, internally, inside of Iran. But I've reported on Iran for many years. I have a lot of sources on the ground. And there is one man who has agreed to speak to me because he feels as if this is his purpose now. So I'm going to switch to English now for our listeners. I want to explain to people that we're not using your real name. I'm talking to you and calling you Kourosh because that's what we've decided to call you. We're not hearing your real voice as well. To ensure your safety there in Iran amidst this war, that is upon your own request. Do you mind telling me why it is, Kouros, that you wanted to do this interview in the first place?
- [02:23]
Kourosh (Anonymous Iranian Source)
You had enough? I'm in my 30s, okay? From childhood I've seen that there are billboards of destruction of Israel. In the school every morning we were chanting death to America, Death to Israel, because nothing has to do with us. I want to just live a happy life, good life, be prosperous. But this ideological, how to say, dictators, terrorists, has ruined so many generations in Iran. They have killed so many people. They have killed Iraqis by funding their militias. They have killed Lebanese, Palestinians, Syrians, thousands upon thousands of Iranians. And I think our name as Persians deserves much better because of our culture.
- [03:23]
Yasmin Vesugin
Kurush, you asked me to make you anonymous, right? We're not using your name. I mentioned we're scrambling your voice. I'm not seeing your face. But we know you are in fact in Tehran. What are you so worried about?
- [03:35]
Kourosh (Anonymous Iranian Source)
I'm worried about. We have. This is an open surgery right now. The body is open. Okay. You cannot just leave it like that. It will turn into an infection. I'm afraid if the hope and military action will stop so they can recover and again after stopping, they would come and hunt for us. Hunt people like me.
- [04:02]
Yasmin Vesugin
Are you worried about that right now? That you will be hunted by the Iranian government if they figure out your identity, that you're speaking to me?
- [04:10]
Kourosh (Anonymous Iranian Source)
Of course, of course. If they know that I own a starlink to get connected to you, I don't know, maybe they will kill me right away.
- [04:19]
Yasmin Vesugin
Clarish, these bombings started on Saturday. If you could take us back to that moment on Saturday. Where were you? What did you hear? What did you see around you?
- [04:31]
Kourosh (Anonymous Iranian Source)
It happened at 10am About 10am my friend called me and I just once he told me that this happened. I was exhilarated that finally, finally someone stood to these nasty people, nasty people who just machine gun empty handed protested. I heard Beta Rahdari is hit. The house of leadership, they call it, is hit. And there is continuous, you know, bombing. And to be honest, I was just so happy, so happy. I. I was in all protests, okay. And I feel much safer with US and Israel attacking me than I want. I am in protest. I'm just. It's okay. I'm going everywhere. I hear bombing and I'm. I feel safe somehow.
- [05:29]
Yasmin Vesugin
There are people that are very scared that I've been speaking to as well inside of Iran. Not because they don't support regime change, but because they're afraid of losing their life before they can even see it. Have you spoken to these people? Is there a sense of fear there on the ground right now?
- [05:48]
Kourosh (Anonymous Iranian Source)
Yes, there are. There are fear of change, there are fear of death, there are fear of sound. But this is. We have tried everything, everything. This is the only way that they are going to leave. Okay? I told my parents, even if I. I'm dead, even if I'm. My house is bombed by US or Israel. They are not responsible. Regime is responsible. They have caused this.
- [06:20]
Yasmin Vesugin
What did Your parents say to that?
- [06:21]
Kourosh (Anonymous Iranian Source)
They agree.
- [06:22]
Yasmin Vesugin
They agree. What has life been like since the war began?
- [06:26]
Kourosh (Anonymous Iranian Source)
It feels like earliest stage of COVID 19. You know, just like that. Food and water is just. It's okay. Electricity sometimes goes out, but mainly a majority of times is up and running. Regime called for one week of closeness. It's like they shut down the whole country for one week so they can mourn, as they say, for the supreme leader. But we know that they did it because they wanted people to get out of the major cities so people are not revolting. And they cut the whole Internet just because they don't want us to speak up.
- [07:15]
Yasmin Vesugin
The president has said we'll do the bombing and then Iranians do the overthrow. Do Iranians have the capacity to change the regime? Do they have the tools that they need?
- [07:27]
Kourosh (Anonymous Iranian Source)
We don't have the tools. What? We have the capacity and we have the experience. But there are factors. One is we need to be armed, but there needs to be air support because they will shoot us. There needs to be weapon drop inside Tehran. That's how it will happen. Because they are armed to teeth. They are having 50 caliber machine gun on top of the cars. We cannot do it with fists. I wish this wasn't just like this. I wish we could just go out, protest. They would resign, go, and we can just, you know, make a better country. But that's not how it is, unfortunately.
- [08:14]
Yasmin Vesugin
Khuras, you said you're in your early 30s. You've never seen a free Iran. You were born after the Iranian revolution. Before the revolution, there was a monarchy. It has been a very long time since there was a democratic election inside of Iran. Do you think Iran has the ability to sustain democracy? Is that what you want once this war ends?
- [08:42]
Kourosh (Anonymous Iranian Source)
Yes. Yes. Iran has the capacity to just, you know, have the full democracy. Why I'm saying this because in the last 47 years, somehow, because of all the damage we have endured, all the, you know, pain this regime caused was we have somehow became, you know, political, you know, scientists, everyone with taxi driver, supermarket owner. It's like we know the scarcity of freedom, democracy, secularism. Okay? Everyone is talking about it. You talk to a, you know, cleaner on the street. They know it. They know it.
- [09:22]
Yasmin Vesugin
You seem to get emotional in talking about this, the future of your country and where it may or may not go, because this is not assured,
- [09:33]
Kourosh (Anonymous Iranian Source)
stressed. And if there is no stress, then it doesn't matter. But I know for a fact that so many people love this country. We are. We have tremendous amount of patriots inside Outside, we are a proud nation. We are culturally rich. We care about art. We care about living, laughing, dancing, listening to music. You know, everything that any human needs to just, you know, create meaning in their life. But they have, you know, made us just suppress those feelings. Everything when we dance, they suppress. We want to just, you know, sing a song. They suppress. So it's enough is enough. Either, you know, freedom or death.
- [10:26]
Yasmin Vesugin
Are you afraid of dying?
- [10:29]
Kourosh (Anonymous Iranian Source)
Not anymore. Not anymore.
- [10:33]
Yasmin Vesugin
Why?
- [10:38]
Kourosh (Anonymous Iranian Source)
I'm about 30 years old. Okay. I have experienced this regime. I have lost money, financial issue. I have seen people suffering. For me, it's like I don't care anymore that much about my life as long as it's meaningful. And this is one of the ways that, like, now I'm talking to you. This is one of the ways that I can make it meaningful.
- [11:05]
Yasmin Vesugin
Kodesh, I thank you for talking to us. I know that you are risking a lot to do this interview. And so I am thankful that you took the time and I certainly pray and hope that you and your family and everybody around you remain safe. Thank you.
- [11:27]
Kourosh (Anonymous Iranian Source)
Thank you so much. God bless Iran, God bless United States of America and God bless Israel. We will be united once again.
- [11:36]
Yasmin Vesugin
Kourosh is just one of many voices of the people that I've spoken to inside of this country. Inside of Iran, there are also others who still support this regime who are out in the streets now mourning the death of the supreme leader. This is an incredibly tense time in this country. And while Kourosh's voice is very important, there are many opinions and many voices inside of Iran as we continue to cover this conflict. Moving on now we are going to head to the White House where the president is weighing in on his next moves in the war. It's after a very quick break.
- [12:19]
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- [12:49]
Yasmin Vesugin
Courage. I learned it from my adoptive mom. Hold my hand. You hold my hand. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care@adoptuskids.org you can't imagine the reward brought to you by Adopt Us Kids, the U.S. department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. And we are back with here's the scoop from NBC News. We just heard a firsthand account of what life is like inside Iran right now. US And Israel have both said their war campaigns will not stop until there are significant changes inside of Iran, including in the leadership. But it's not clear what the end game actually looks like. At the same time, President Trump has shaken up leadership at the Department of Homeland Security, the very agency that is tasked with protecting Americans from terrorist threats. So I want to bring in NBC News senior White House correspondent Garrett Hake, who spoke to the president late Thursday. Hey, Garrett.
- [13:44]
Garrett Hake
Howdy.
- [13:45]
Yasmin Vesugin
Let me ask you, what time do you actually call the president? Is this a late night phone call? Is it a dinner phone call?
- [13:51]
Garrett Hake
It was 8 o' clock last night as we were in the process of putting our kids to bed in the Hake household and as the president was winding down his day. I had a three and a half year old editorial assistant eating a banana sitting next to me while I was on the phone with the President. It was a little bit unusual.
- [14:08]
Yasmin Vesugin
There is nothing better for me than picturing that very moment. So with that all in mind, if we're picturing this phone call, I want to start with Iran. There has been reporting that the president wants to be involved in picking the country's next leader. What did he tell you about potential succession plans and how involved he wants to be?
- [14:29]
Garrett Hake
Yeah, I think that's pretty clear from our conversation that he wants to be involved. I think his model is still what he did in Venezuela where they were able to essentially tap another leader already in the country who has a popular base who can be, if not a puppet, at least more acquiescent to the way America wants to see that country governed. So he wouldn't give me names, he wouldn't give me numbers, but he did tell me there is a short list. And I think the most interesting thing he told me is I asked him, I said, okay, what are you doing to make sure these people end this conflict still alive? And he said that we're watching them. So that means, you know, this isn't a theoretical exercise. They do have specific people who they're trying to make sure are not targeted or killed accidentally during the course of this war. Because there are folks in Iran likely somewhere in that power structure who the US Thinks could be pro American or at least not anti American. Future leaders of Iran.
- [15:26]
Yasmin Vesugin
You asked the president about the comments that were made by Iran's foreign minister yesterday in an interview with Tom Yamas on NBC News and how he suggested that, in fact, they are, quote, unquote, ready for a ground invasion inside of Iran. What did he tell you? And what are potential next steps when it comes to this war with Iran?
- [15:54]
Garrett Hake
Well, first of all, I thought that was one of the most interesting back and forths from Tom's interview because I almost got the sense from the foreign minister's side of it that they were daring the United States to take that step down. Daring the United States to invade. I mean, if you're Iran and you wanna make this a bloody, costly war for America, you need more Americans around that you can hit. And that was the way I read the foreign minister's comment. That was kind of the way I presented it to the president. What do you think of this idea? And he rejected it so directly that I almost thought he was gonna hang up the phone on me. He said, that's a wasted comment from him and a wasted question from me that he rejected entirely. Idea of a ground invasion, saying, we've already destroyed their navy, we're destroying everything. Basically, it's necessary that the air campaign and sea campaign thus far have been so successful that a ground invasion is not something that he's considering. That said, you know, we didn't get into the specifics of, what about a smaller. What about boots on the ground? What about intelligence? What about arming the Kurds, for example, in the north of Iran? Is that something that would involve the US More? So I think there's still wiggle room here because I know we also across NBC have. We have our own reporting. We've picked up on reporting from other outlets about the president kind of going back and forth on this idea of boots on the ground. And other folks at the White House have been much less willing to take that off the table. So all that's to say invasion seems out smaller, US Presidents on the ground in some capacity I don't think is something we can rule out. What he did say is that the bombing pace will continue and, in fact, could accelerate over the next couple of days, which is in line with what we've heard from the Pentagon, that as Iran's air defenses have been more and more taken out, the US can go after other targets more aggressively.
- [17:36]
Yasmin Vesugin
It feels as if as we're watching this war play out, that the line keeps moving, right? This thing will be over in a couple weeks. Then maybe it'll be more than a couple weeks. In a briefing yesterday, US Central Command said that since day one of this war, ballistic missile attacks from Iran have decreased by 90% and drone attacks have decreased by 83%. The President indicated to you that the pace and as you mentioned, the intensity of these strikes are going to continue. What do we know from the administration as to how long they think this thing is going to go on and how long Iran can last within this war?
- [18:16]
Garrett Hake
The administration has tried very hard to avoid timelines. It's more like the war will end when the objectives are accomplished. And here's a checklist. Even when the President throws out these four or five week timelines, he also says, but we're ahead of schedule, so what does that really mean? This morning he posted on Truth Social that the war will only end when Iran surrenders. That wasn't what we heard from the military goals here. So I think it's fair to say that it's. We have a pretty incomplete picture of what the timeline would be if we want to take the White House and the Pentagon at their word here. The goals that need to be accomplished here are the functional dismantling of their nuclear program, the dismantling or destruction of their ballistic missiles that exist, and their ability to manufacture them. So going after the Iranian manufacturing base, which could potentially be the kind of thing that takes a long time in a country that's, you know, more than twice the size of Texas, and eliminating the Iranian Navy, which the administration has put on quite a public show of, you know, blowing up ships and releasing those videos. So, you know, that's what they say they want to do. But how long it's going to take and what other assets might be needed to accomplish it, I think are an open question. And maybe by design, you know, if you never fully outline the very specifics of your, of your goals, then it's easier to declare victory and decide you're done when you decide you're done, which is a tool the President uses politically all the time.
- [19:41]
Yasmin Vesugin
Let's switch to something that's happening domestically as well. I'm talking about DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, the President announcing on Thursday that she will no longer be in that job and that he is replacing her with Senator Mark Wayne Mullen. DHS was founded to protect Americans from terrorist attacks. The agency is also in the midst of a partial government shutdown, some of it still being funded by the big beautiful bill. From your conversation with the President, what did he say about the timing of her firing and what he is pointing to directly?
- [20:15]
Garrett Hake
Well, this was interesting because I feel like what the President wanted my takeaway to be from the conversation was that this was done because of how much he likes Mark Wayne Mullen and that he thought Mark Wayne Mullen would be the right person to sort of take over the next phase of the DHS mission. He thanked Kristi Noem in public and in private. To me, it was only when I pressed him a little bit about this Senate hearing from earlier in the week where she got grilled about this ad campaign, this $200 million plus ad campaign for DHS, which basically starred her and whether or not the president knew about it. The president tipped his hand a little bit and said, yeah, he wasn't happy about that. And he kind of made a joke that running for president cost him less than that and that he didn't know about the ad campaign until that grilling had happened. I'll tell you from our own reporting, Yasmin, it was pretty clear Thursday morning, like, when all of us got to work, that something was up. We were hearing all these rumors about Noem and the president being angry. And in fact, we were getting people confirming that the president had been calling around, asking people, what do you think about the job that she's doing? And if there's one thing that's been consistent with him across these two terms, it's like that's the death knell. Once the president starts polling people about you, you know, if the results, you're toast.
- [21:29]
Yasmin Vesugin
Any safety concerns in this handover? Did the president allude to that?
- [21:32]
Garrett Hake
Well, in theory, it's gonna be like a Olympic track handover where they're both running at full speed before they pass the baton. Technically, Noem is still on the job until the end of the month, which should be enough time for Mark Wade Mullen, who's a popular Republican senator. People think he's a bright guy and that he's fully capable of doing this job, at least among other senators, to complete a handoff that doesn't have anybody not in charge for any period of time. Now, whether or not Kristi Noem is really doing the job in the next couple of weeks I think is an open question and also kind of what might fall through the cracks with an administration or with an organization that's already partially shut down, I think are good questions. But at least on paper, this is designed to lessen the risk of something falling through the cracks in this moment.
- [22:19]
Yasmin Vesugin
Garret Hake. Enjoy your weekend. It's been a long week.
- [22:24]
Garrett Hake
I will. Thanks. Yes.
- [22:27]
Yasmin Vesugin
We are going to take a very quick break. And when we are back, the DOJ just released unseen documents from the Epstein files. What they say about President Trump. Stay with us for the headlines. Also, while you're waiting, why don't you go ahead and subscribe to here's the scoop. Wherever you listen to your podcast, we just want you to make sure that we're in your feed as soon as we're up.
- [22:49]
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- [23:19]
Kourosh (Anonymous Iranian Source)
America, America. You used to be so fun but now you go to to bed at night scrolling on your phone. Well, listen up, America. Carnival is here.
- [23:35]
Garrett Hake
There's comedy and snorkeling and dining like
- [23:38]
Kourosh (Anonymous Iranian Source)
everything from sea to shining sea.
- [23:41]
Yasmin Vesugin
Find your fun again today.
- [23:43]
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- [23:46]
Garrett Hake
Plastic cruise fair only restricted supply.
- [23:47]
Kourosh (Anonymous Iranian Source)
Visit carnival.com for details. Ships registry, the Bahamas in Panama.
- [23:49]
Yasmin Vesugin
Courage. I learned it from my adoptive mom. Hold my hand. You hold my hand. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care@adoptuskids.org you can't imagine the reward brought to you by Adopt Us Kids, the U.S. department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. And we are back with here's the scoop from NBC News. Let's get to some headlines. The jobs report out today shows the labor market may be even weaker than we thought. The US economy shed 92,000 jobs in February, far worse than expected. And the Bureau of Labor Statistics also revised down previous job gains. Here's NBC News senior business correspondent Christine
- [24:29]
Christine Romance
Romance, a big surprise both for February, but also the last two months were revised down. Look at December. You had a job loss in December. All this means the economy in 2025 barely budged in terms of job creation. I mean, hardly any jobs. Net new jobs created last year. And it doesn't look very much better at the beginning part of this year. Health care has been a really good part of the story. It's been a big driver of jobs, but not in February because of some strikes and some bad weather and maybe some other factors. So we want to see if that bounces back next month. Wages growing faster than inflation. Okay, that's good. 3.8% wage growth. That on paper is, you know, a kind of a better situation for many American family budgets. But they've got oil prices rising, gas prices rising. So that's a new shock for people to contend with.
- [25:21]
Yasmin Vesugin
Unemployment ticked up to 4.4%. Texas Representative Tony Gonzalez says he will not seek reelection following pressure from House Republican leadership over an affair that he had with a staffer who later died by suicide. The announcement comes the day after the House Ethics Committee launched an investigation into whether Gonzalez violated the House Code of Official Conduct with respect to sexual misconduct or favoritism. Gonzalez says he plans to serve out his current term. The Justice Department has released previously unseen documents from the Epstein files, including some related to a woman in South Carolina who alleged that Donald Trump abused her in the 1980s when she was between 13 and 15 years of age, according to an NBC News analysis. In a series of FBI interviews in 2019, she also accused the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein of sexual assault. The DOJ says the FBI summaries and interview notes had been, quote, incorrectly coded as duplicative and left out of earlier public releases. The documents do not indicate whether investigators found the woman's claims against President Trump and Epstein credible. The release comes as scrutiny grows over the files. Earlier this week, the House oversight committee voted 24 to 19 to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi over the Justice Department's handling of the Epstein documents. The White House is calling the allegations, quote, completely baseless and says Trump has been, quote, totally exonerated. And finally, if you have been missing the action from the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Cortina, well, round two is officially here. The 2026 Winter Paralympics open today in Verona, Italy, with about 611 athletes from around the world set to compete over the next nine days. NBC News correspondent Emily Ikeda is there for us in Italy.
- [27:17]
Emily Ikeda
Cortina is buzzing with excitement and a whole lot of red, white and blue, myself included. You may hear some background noise. That's because I'm inside a watch party right now. As the opening ceremony marks the start of a historic 50th anniversary of the Winter Paralympics. I've been catching up with a few of the athletes that they've been knocking out training runs on the the slopes. Paris snowboarder Noah Elliott told me this is his redemption year, as he called it, after a disappointing finish in Beijing, where he competed, mind you, on a compound fracture. And Brenna Huckabee could become the most decorated Paris snowboarder in history. By the way, her board, you gotta check it out, covered in photos of her cat. It's really quite funny. And keep an eye out for sled hockey. Gunning for their fifth goal gold in a row as Team USA is ready to go for round two. After bringing home 33 medals from the
- [28:10]
Yasmin Vesugin
Olympics, that is going to do it for us. It here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmin Bisugin. We'll be back on Monday with whatever the weekend may bring. And by the way, do not forget, Daylight Savings time begins on Sunday. So get ready to spring forward. Set your clocks forward because summer is almost here and if you like what you heard, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can also subscribe to our daily newsletter, the Inside Scoop. It is a deeper dive on the main stories of the day that comes out every weeknight straight to your inbox. You can sign up for the Inside Scoop as part of our paid subscription@nbcnews.com we'll see you Monday. One hour earlier one hour later one hour earlier who knows?
- [29:08]
Christine Romance
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