THE WAR ROOM WITH STEPHEN K. BANNON, APRIL 7TH, 2026 (EP.#5279)

Summary

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Episode Summary: War Room with Stephen K. Bannon – April 7, 2026 (#5279)

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode centers on rapidly escalating U.S.-Iran tensions as the world stands on the brink of large-scale conflict. Host Stephen K. Bannon and an array of commentators analyze the potential for decisive U.S. military action, the risk of “civilizational collapse” in Iran, the price spike in global oil markets, and the profound strategic and moral implications of the crisis. The conversation weaves together real-time breaking news, war strategy, economic fallout, and the broader historical stakes.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Escalation: U.S. Strikes and Diplomatic Breakdown

• Breaking News: Early in the episode, reporting confirms U.S. military strikes on Iran's Carg Island—a critical hub handling 90% of Iranian oil exports. Oil prices surge instantly, reflecting market panic ([03:26], [16:42]).
• Presidential Threats: Donald Trump's ultimatum looms over the episode. His social media post is dire: "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will." ([04:07], [11:11], [23:00])
• Diplomatic Channels Closed: Iran reacts by freezing all indirect negotiations, claiming: "All diplomatic channels and indirect talks have been frozen after President Trump's recent threats.” ([11:38])

2. Military and Strategic Analysis

• No Good Military Options: Several guests discuss the limitations of ground operations and the imperative for a diplomatic off-ramp. One military analyst urges: "A ground operation, I think would only get us in deeper, cost American lives, and not solve the problem...a diplomatic off ramp doesn't have to be a formal agreement." ([02:23])
• Shift from Degradation to State Collapse: Bannon and Captain Jim Fennell present the U.S. and Israeli approach as systemic—moving beyond degrading military capability toward collapsing the Iranian state by targeting vital infrastructure and energy sectors. Fennell introduces the "five rings" theory, explaining the methodical approach to strategic targeting ([30:16], [34:09], [35:29]).
• Coordinated U.S.-Israeli Attacks: Fennell: “What happens tonight is kind of fundamentally different. We’re going toward state collapse. … they're going after the basic building blocks of how a nation actually exists.” ([34:09], [35:29])
• Retaliation Expected: Prediction that Iran's leaders—though likely depleted—will respond with a salvo of missiles and drones ([35:29]).

3. Market Turbulence & Economic Fallout

• Oil Market Reaction: Eric Bolling details oil’s spike to $117/barrel, making it one of the highest in U.S. history. "Markets are telling us they heard exactly what Trump said this morning, that he's going to unleash hell on them, and they're believing it." ([16:42], [21:15])
• Iranian Demands Unacceptable: Iran’s 10-point counter-offer, including reparations and maintaining control of Hormuz, is deemed “maximalist” and a nonstarter for the U.S. ([16:42], [18:30])
• Ripple Effects: Higher energy costs anticipated, with downstream impacts on food and equity markets ([25:30]).

4. Moral Imperatives and Political Stakes

• Impeachment Fears & Partisan Framing: Bannon argues Democrats will use this conflict to target Trump, predicting: "They’ll remain bringing hell down to the White House because these guys are Marxist jihadist out of control." ([26:57])
• Moral Framing for Regime Change: Patrick K. O’Donnell invokes the “invisible hand” of Iran’s regime fighting the U.S. for decades; he equates the day’s significance with "World War II, in terms of the moral importance of taking down the Iranian regime and freeing the Iranian people.” ([45:50])
• Historical Stakes: Trump’s post is repeatedly cited as marking “one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the world” ([11:11], [23:00], [42:20]).

5. The Military Targeting Mindset

• Systematic Preparation: Fennell explains that the U.S. strike planning is “calm,” with extensive targeting and contingency work done in advance. He describes the role of AI and real-time battle damage assessments ([39:42]).
• Psychology of the Adversary: Both sides believe they have initiative. Bannon: “Both sides think they're winning… They haven't seen the United States Navy escorting ships in there... They've been bombed with 2,000 pound bombs. But they think they have the initiative, not just they're winning, they think they have the initiatives in this war right now.” ([18:30])

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• Trump’s Threat (Social Media, Read Aloud):
  “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again... One of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the world. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death will finally end.” ([04:07], [11:11])

• Bannon’s Framing:
  “This is the primal scream of a dying regime. Pray for our enemies because we're going medieval on these people.” ([07:49]) “If the action lives up to the rhetoric, this will be a day to remember.” ([08:21])

• On Military Strategy:
  Captain Jim Fennell: "For the last 38 days, the US military... have been going after, predominantly... the fielded military forces... [Now] we're going to expand out into... organic essentials and infrastructure... The plan... is to have regime collapse." ([30:16], [35:29]) "When we go to turn the lights out and we go to shut down their rail and road networks completely, there's not going to be anything left for the regime to do except kill their own citizens... Iran is collapsing in the process of collapsing.” ([35:29])

• Economic Stakes:
  Eric Bolling: “The markets are telling us they heard exactly what Trump said this morning, that he's going to unleash hell on them, and they're believing it. … This is art of war combined with the art of the deal.” ([16:42])

• Moral Framing:
  Patrick K. O’Donnell: “This war is up there in terms of World War II, in terms of the moral importance of taking down the Iranian regime and freeing the Iranian people. And that's what it's really all about.” ([45:50])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:26] — Confirmation of U.S. strikes on Carg Island and market panic
• [04:07], [11:11] — Trump's apocalyptic social media post read and discussed
• [16:42] — Bolling explains oil price hike and Iran’s "maximalist" offer
• [30:16] — Captain Jim Fennell describes "five rings" strategy and imminent focus on state infrastructure
• [35:29] — Details of planned U.S. actions described as aiming for "state collapse"
• [42:20] — Bannon links the day’s events to the fate of the petrodollar and BRICS currency strategy
• [45:50] — Patrick K. O’Donnell places events on the scale of WWII in terms of moral and strategic importance

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Flow & Tone

Throughout, the tone oscillates between grave, urgent, and defiant. Bannon acts as a hyper-focused ringmaster, amplifying guests’ dire warnings and military analysis, frequently reiterating the day’s historic weight. Quotations from Trump are delivered with gravity, and commentary often paints the confrontation as a world-historical showdown with existential stakes for both Iran and American power.

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Conclusion

This episode of "War Room with Stephen K. Bannon" presents April 7th, 2026, as a day of unprecedented danger and decision. With U.S. military escalation against Iran already underway, rhetoric on both sides boiling, and signs of a potentially epochal shift in global power and economics, the podcast’s hosts and guests emphasize preparedness, moral clarity, and a systematic approach to war strategy—casting the day as one that may reshape not only the Middle East, but world history.

Transcript

[Podcast Announcer]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Guaranteed human.

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[Anderson Cooper]

Does it make sense to you that the President says Iranians want the US to keep bombing?

[Political Analyst]

No, no. It sounds like lunacy to me. Certainly most Iranian people at this point are not supporters of. They would like a regime change, but they know that this is not the way to go about doing it. There's not going to be a popular uprising in Iran. They tried that in January. 35, 40,000 people were slaughtered as a result. This is not going to bring about regime change in any way.

[Anderson Cooper]

Do you see a reason for Iran to make a deal and open the Strait of Hormuz before the President's deadline tomorrow? And if not, how seriously do you take his threat to destroy their infrastructure?

[Military Expert]

Yes, well, that's a great question, Anderson, and I think it's really, really the question of the day. It's not yet in Iran's interest to make that kind of deal. However, given that their control of the Straits is the principal leverage that they have for any kind of negotiation. And, you know, as I think we talked about last week, their strategy is to survive, to prevent total surrender, to preserve the Islamic regime. And to do that, they have to hang on to the Straits. It is their principal leverage. In terms of the President's threats, I think they have demonstrated an ability to absorb strikes at home while still exacting a cost on the rest of the world. And I think that's what those who make these kinds of decisions in Iran are prepared to do for at least several more weeks. It's not just the rhetoric about the Christian nationalist rhetoric.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

People are believing what they're saying.

[Media Commentator]

The problem, without a doubt. I mean, the reason why Trump is tapping into that is because there's been, you know, there's been a lot of coverage about the fractures within the right wing about over this war. The one thing that has been growing in popularity and support for this war is the evangelical communities, the Christian space, all of that part of their media ecosystem is excited about this. So not only are people believing it, but they are getting impassioned because he's making these very explicit calls to their religion.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Would it be a limited ground invasion

[Interviewer]

considering the box we're already in?

[Stephen K. Bannon]

You're being dropped into the wall right now.

[Interviewer]

What would you Tell them to do. Well, I think it's really difficult given where we are, because the military options at this point are very bad. A ground operation, I think would only get us in deeper, cost American lives, and not solve the problem. I continuing to degrade Iran's military capabilities and targeted operations is fine, but it also is not going to open the strait. And an attempt right now to do an escort operation, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has told the President, basically, that's not a very plausible option. So this is a reason to get a diplomatic off ramp. Now, my view is that a diplomatic off ramp doesn't have to be a formal agreement between the two sides. It could be something a little more informal, a little more implicit. And I think that the President and his team should be looking for that. That because they should be trying to bring this war to an end. And I believe the strait could be reopened on the back of that, and we could send a clear deterrent message to Iran. You mess with the strait, you mess with our neighbors, you mess with anyone else, we retain a lot of capabilities to cause harm to you. But an off ramp right now for the President, I think is by far the best option.

[News Reporter]

All right, the breaking news this morning. We are just learning of new reports of explosions on Carg Island. This handles almost all of Iran's oil exports, about 90% if you look at that map, it's actually. Yeah, you can see it all the way up there at the top of the Persian Gulf there, just off the coast of Iran. President Trump has repeatedly threatened to bomb or seize the island. And there have been strikes before. Oil prices have been spiking over the last few minutes since. The reports have been coming in of these strikes, up about 2 to 3% in the numbers that I've seen again now. Now over 3% there in some cases.

[Social Media Reader]

The President has put out a new message on social media. Can we put it up? Let's read it. Because it's about the deadline tonight. He wrote, a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have complete and total regime change where different, smarter and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily. Yeah, wonderful can happen. Who knows? We will find out tonight. One of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the world. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death will finally end. God bless the great people of Iran.

[White House Correspondent]

I think if you're reading the tea leaves here, it is Just an incredibly confusing message from President Trump. On one hand, he says that it probably will happen, referring to potential strikes on Iran tonight. And at the same time, he says it's possible that there could still be a diplomatic solution here. So if you're trying to interpret what is going to happen just 12 hours from now, I think it's still incredibly unclear what is clear. We have learned, according to one US Official, that the US has conducted strikes this morning Eastern time on Carg Island. Of course, that is the key fuel hub in the Persian Gulf. It handles most the of of Iran's oil exports. So it's a very significant area and very significant that the Trump administration is telegraphing that they are indeed serious about proceeding with President Trump's threats if they don't reach a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by that 8 o' clock Eastern time deadline. Diplomatic efforts are underway. Vice President J.D. vance, who's currently traveling in Hungary, is leading those efforts, along with special envoy Steve Witt Cough Jared Kushner, the President's son in law. Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey, all acting as key mediators there. But I asked the President just yesterday whether he might be open to extending that 8 o' clock deadline if he felt like those talks were progressing. He said he couldn't say just yet. So that is certainly something to keep an eye out for in this truth social post that we are seeing from the president. Doesn't really add much to, to whether or not definitively we should expect those strikes to happen. The president saying that he will bomb Iran to the stone Ages, attacking their critical infrastructure, things like power plants and

[Anderson Cooper]

bridges, that would obey the war crime that's being directed by the President and the Secretary of Defense would be committing their own war crime. They would be illegal. They would be essentially executing an illegal order. And that's exactly what Senator Kelly and his colleagues talked about, warned us about a couple months ago. You know, we cannot let that happen. It's terrible that it's gotten into the situation. And the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff pushed back a little bit on Donald Trump today, but he needs to push back more because our soldiers that execute these missions that are being directed by the president may one day have to answer to the Hague or some other international tribunal. Think of the Nuremberg trials, okay? 12 senior leaders from the German military were executed, were hung as a result of their actions during World War II. Would we like to see that same thing happen to our American soldiers? Of course not. Senior leaders need to understand that what they're being Directed to do, to execute would be an illegal order and they cannot in good conscience allow their soldiers to execute them.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

This is the primal scream of a dying regime. Pray for our enemies because we're going medieval on these people. You're just not going to free shot all these networks lying about the people. The people have had a belly full of it. I know you don't like hearing that. I know you try to do everything in the world to stop that, but you're not going to stop it. It's going to happen.

[Interviewer]

And where do people like that go

[Eric Bolling]

to share the big lie?

[Stephen K. Bannon]

MAGA MEDIA I wish in my soul,

[Interviewer]

I wish that any of these people had a conscience.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Ask yourself, what is my task and what is my purpose? If that answer is to save my country, this country will be saved. WAR ROOM here's your host, Stephen K. Ban. It's Tuesday the 7th of April in the year of our Lord 2026. I think if the action lives up to the rhetoric, this will be a day to remember. So take your number two prince a lot right now and circle it. Action has already started on Carg island with military targets. Also the idf, the Israelis are hitting, I think already infrastructure targets. Captain Fennell is going to join us in a moment and walk us through systematically how this is going to be taken the enemy as a system and to break it down that way of what's going to happen, what is happening right now. Neal McCabe's the White House Bolling is going to join us. Jim Rickards so we've got for the next couple hours to break all of this down and the how this impacts your life, the community, your community's life and the country's life. Let's go. I want to read first off too, and I think the most pressing I said yesterday on the bowling show before we started the five o' clock that if the president can't find someone to negotiate with and not simply a deal, but someone that could actually commit to a deal and deliver a deal, he's told you what the alternative is. Still with all this happy talk about a deal and not a deal and talk, we're not, there's no face to face, at least my understanding there's no actual face to face communication between anyone really on the American side and the Iranian side. Now there may be some announcements, etc. That come back and say, well this guy was starting that. But right now the president put out and I think of all the true socials he's put out, people should take this very, very seriously. A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now we have a complete and total regime change where different, smarter and less radicalized minds prevail. Maybe something revolutionary, revolutionarily wonderful can happen. Who knows? We will find out. Tonight. One of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the world. Let me repeat that from the President. One of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the world. 47 years of extortion, corruption and death will finally end. God bless the great people of Iran. The Iranians, at least who we think are representing them, one of the ones that the media has been putting up responded to this moments ago. Right, we're coming on air. Iran responds after President Trump says their entire civilization will die tonight. Quote, all diplomatic channels and indirect talks have been frozen after President Trump's recent threats. Iran says so there you have it, at least is the best we can do. And I said last night, unless president's not into games, very specifically yesterday he said he gave him an additional seven days. Then he extended it three days that got to tomorrow. He didn't want this action to take place on Easter Monday so he gave him an additional day. That's 11 days. And I don't think there's been any real movement. Supposedly they got a 10 part counter but I might add none of the points have really been leaked to the media and the 10 point counteroffer has not been given to the media. To see how far the bid in the ask are, which appears to be, at least right now, unbridgeable. The time is 8 o' clock. Real America's voice recovered all day. Let's go to the White House. Neil McCabe, Neal, the White House seems in a very serious mode this morning. It's not a, it's very different than yesterday with the celebration of Easter Monday with all the Monday with all the kids there on the Easter egg hunt. Put us in the room, sir.

[Neal McCabe]

Yeah. I'll tell you this, Steve. The President is basically in executive time all day except for a 3pm signing. But as you said that two social posts this morning basically said it is on. I would also refer you back to two last night there were two attacks on US facilities, diplomatic facilities in Iraq by Iranian backed militia. And that may have been the trigger where President Trump said all right, that's it, we're just going to do it.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

So right now people are hunkered down. There is, I want you to stick around there. We're going to go to break here in a moment. There is a 1pm press conference unrelated to the war. We're going to cover that because it's quite important. It's going to be over at DOJ with the new acting Attorney general Todd Blanche. And it's specifically going to be about this massive effort they're going to have on anti fraud to make sure that we can get not just the Somalian situation, Minnesota, but across the nation, particularly in these blue states that's out of control as their new initiative. But and the new head of the anti fraud division there. But I'm sure the media are going to ask questions regarding everything. So we're going to be there at 1pm Real America's voice will cover it. Hopefully Neal McKay will be over there to cover this also. Neil, just stick around at the White House. We're going to come back to you. We're going to take a short commercial break. We're stacked this morning as we're going to break down. I think it's look from the Iranians position they're digging in. I said yesterday they feel they have the initiative and as brutally as they're getting taken down and I think now we're moving to the mode of state collapse, they think they're winning. This is why they're being so arrogant and so tough. They're just blowing off President Trump. To be brutally frank about it, there's not really a negotiation going on. So President Trump's giving him a deadline. We're about 10 hours away from that deadline. We will cover this wall to wall. As President Trump said, this may be one of the most important days in world history, the complex history of the world. Let's take President Trump for his word. I know people are working nonstop to see if there's an off ramp. But as of right now, as the Brits used to say in the Second World War. The party is on short commercial break. Back in the Worm in a moment.

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[Eric Bolling]

War room.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Here's your host, stephen k. Ban. Okay, welcome back. We'll get back to McCabe at the White House. Patrick K. O' Donnell is going to join us in the second hour with Jim Rickards. I've asked Patrick to come on to talk about major presidential decisions because at least if this lives up to the rhetoric, this is a pretty big decision. Let's get bowling in Eric. The I think the markets, it was quite, it was quiet yesterday as in they were in disbelief. But I think people are becoming believers. Particularly we hit at least has been reported additional military targets on Carg Island. I think Jim Fennell, Captain Fennell is going to tell us that the Israelis have already started their efforts on the infrastructure side, it looks like. So what are the markets telling us?

[Eric Bolling]

Yeah, markets are telling us they heard exactly what Trump said this morning, that he's going to unleash hell on them. And, and they're believing it. I'll just tell you, the WTI crude, the West Texas Intermediate, our crude benchmark to many, many crudes around the world, just hit $117 a barrel, the highest price. It's only been higher twice in our history. Biden had it at 139 for a brief moment. And George Bush during his late, his second term, $150 a barrel. It's a record high there. So this is the third highest ever. And if things proceed as they look like they're going to, you may see the same types of numbers or maybe even higher. The problem is, Steve, one of the things that the Iranians in that 10 point, I guess, reconciliation package, one of them I think was a big non starter. First of all, a Trump administration official who saw it told Axios it was a maximalist plan, not a minimalist. But one of the things that I think would be a deal breaker is that they were asking for also having some sort of remain in control of the, the Strait of Hormuz. They wanted reparations. They want to be paid for the damage that was inflicted on their country. And Steve, that could be hundreds of billions of dollars. And I think that would be a complete nonstarter for the American people and Donald Trump. So a lot going on higher, higher, higher oil prices, equities are obviously drifting lower. I tell you though, just hold out because Trump has a way of unleashing hell, showing them he means business. And then somehow, like I said yesterday, this is the art of war combined with the art of the deal. And I have hope that there's an off ramp somewhere that he's holding a trump card, so to speak, in his pocket.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Let's go back to that maximalist strategy. President Trump put out a true social, clearly he had thought about. Right. It was very tight, wasn't loose, it was tight about this is going to be the End of your civilization. And on this stage, when you're talking about things like this, you can't bluff, right? You can't bluff. So President Trump, when he says I'm taking down your civilization and these guys come back and we don't know all the 10 points, but it's been referred to as a maximalist. Right. I think one of the reasons not releasing it, they did the even administration doesn't want to show how big the gap is. Although we're not in, in a room negotiating this. When you have two maximalist positions. One of the reasons you have it, Eric, is both sides think they're winning. Both sides think they've got, as President Trump said, they have no cards. I hold all the cards. And I think we're going and I think Captain Fennell will support this in his analysis. We're going from the declawing, defanging, degradation of their military now to something I've been talked about and what even the Israelis were talking about initially, which is total state collapse, that's we're going after the infrastructure. And the Iranians, whether they're correct or not is not the point in their mind. They think they've shifted the center of gravity of this war to the Gulf. They think they control the Straits of Hormuz. They haven't seen the United States Navy escorting ships in there. They haven't seen Special Forces raids yet to try to beat them back. They've been bombed with 2,000 pound bombs. But they think they have the initiative, not just they're winning, they think they have the initiatives in this war right now. That is not a great set of facts to actually get into a table and try to negotiate a deal. The sides are just too far apart. Not just far apart on what they're asking, on what their mentality is the United States of America and the Commander in chief and the military are absolutely convinced that the plan has worked to date. Now they're going to drop the hammer even harder. And the enemy believes they've gone asymmetric. I don't think they're debating that they've degraded their military, but they're going asymmetric. And one of the tells there is West Texas. I mean, why would West Texas Intermediate, which is the price of the oil here, be at $117? I think it's higher than Brent crude. Right. Why are people panicking and at least bidding that up right now when that's not directly related to what's coming out of the Strait of Hormuz?

[Eric Bolling]

Well, a couple things Price of west Texas is 117, approaching a record. But the Brent crude that we see on cnbc, et cetera, is for a June delivery. What you're looking at West Texas is for a May delivery. Apples to apples with the Brent will be a spot price Brent and that's roughly 150, almost $140 a barrel. But they don't trade it actively like that. That's immediate use right now. Why is West Texas going up? Because yes, it is more benchmarked in North America and maybe some European countries, but it's still oil. Like money is fungible. It's not perfectly fungible like money, but it's fungible in that if brent goes to $200 a barrel, let's say, and West Texas stays at 120, there'll be a lot of people who are switching their refineries over and stays there and they believe it will stay time. They'll switch the refineries over because the transportation cost makes it economic to do so. So it's tough to do. You need a lot. But that's why a dislocation in one area in the global oil market brings all oil prices up. Because at some point the dislocation and price differential makes sense to pay the extra money to transport it around this Horn of Africa or wherever it may have to go. But the one thing I think on what your first point was, people aren't going to like this and this is really bad for me and for stock accounts everywhere. But at this point, Steve. Yeah, I think both sides, I don't know if Iran thinks they're winning. They like to thought of being martyrs and fight to the death and they may be on that mentality right now, but at this point a 45 day ceasefire doesn't make a lot of sense. Markets would take a breather, oil will go down, stock market will go up, but it doesn't fix any of the problems. And I don't think the Iranians are ever going to come around to where Trump needs them or wants them to be. So at this point, unless they come hat in hand in next eight hours or so, nine hours, I think the best move is just unleash hell on them and follow through with it.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

When you say unleash hell, the President has bifurcated this as infrastructure, electrical grid, what they need for their day to day and oil infrastructure in the oil industry. Carg island hit this morning, at least as I can parse it. Focus additional on military targets. I clearly sent a message that Carg island is on the punch list, but they hit military targets. What do you think happens if this goes broader than just the electoral infrastructure and he actually starts to hit the Iranian infrastructure of all the complexity of their oil and gas industry, Sir, I

[Eric Bolling]

think he's well on his way. When you take out the power, you need power and energy to transport oil. It's our only commodity. That's our only economic input. So he'll effectively create a situation and take the bridges out so they can't transport it via truck or train anymore. Without the bridges, he's going to cripple them. He's going to bring the country to their knees and maybe that's what it's going to take to get them to the bargaining table, but they're going to feel hell for quite a while with just this. If he escalates it to media, which I have recommended in the past, but I was hoping to do it without a five or six hour ultimatum. I think they could have systemically done this thing where the Iranians say, okay, enough is enough, but he wants to hit him hard and hit him fast and again. I'm old enough to have learned that. And it's not wise to doubt Trump's plan because sometimes you don't see what the ultimate plan is, but he seems to always have one that works. This may be painful first, though.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Eric, any closing observations? We'll let you get back to work. See you on the four o' clock show. We'll do a handover if I'm organized enough on the five. I love doing the handover with you, but this could be one of those days. Any closing thoughts before you bounce?

[Eric Bolling]

I think today is a day of hold your breath, so to speak. Certainly in the oil market, the financial markets, in the humanitarian markets as well, all eyes are looking straight at 8 o'. Clock. I just hope it's not another delay because it's like let's rip the, rip the freaking band aid off already and do it and deal with the fallout now or don't do it and deal with backtracking. Trump doesn't seem the type to want to do that. And at this point I don't think it's a smart way to do it either. That would give the Iranians, emboldened the Iranians to think that they can do this again and again. So I'm bracing for some higher prices and some lower equity prices, lower valuations on assets and a lot higher prices on food and everything that's gonna happen. And then hopefully again, Steve, I've said this a long time. Hopefully he gets this over real fast and then just really, really pumps the crap out of oil and gets that price back down to a level that it doesn't hurt us in the midterms. Midterms. I keep circling it. It's going to be a thing people are saying, oh, this is bigger than midterms. Tell me that. November 7th, when if there's a sweep, a blue wave and we're going back to days of w, you know, nothing getting done in D.C. and the liberal progressives just have their way in this country. Not pretty for me.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

It'll be so much worse than that. It'll be, it'll be the moral equivalent what President Trump is warning the, the Iranians about right now. The Democrats will immediately impeach him, but that won't come for a year and a half. And every day will be hell. They'll remain bringing hell down to the White House because these guys are Marxist jihadist out of control. Eric, thank you so much. Appreciate you, sir. Take your phone and text Bannon ba thank see at 450 or so. Thank you, sir. Bannon at 989-898 get the ultimate guide for investing in gold and precious metals in the Age of Trump. You don't think it's an age of Trump? Read his True Social Post this morning. The president of the United States has one of the most important days in the history of the world.

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[Eric Bolling]

War room.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Here's your host, STEPHEN K. Welcome back. The Iranians are ratcheting up the rhetoric also. They just breaking news Iran and I've given this to Jim Fennell will talk about it. Camp Funnell joins us. They have threatened, they said they're going to close. As I've warned about, the Red Sea is just as important here as the, as the Strait of Hormuz. They have threatened to basically shut down the entire Saudi Arabian peninsula and particularly the strait that leads into the Red Sea from I guess it's from the North Arabian Sea, not the North Arabian Sea, I guess the Arabian Sea, which has always been a choke point with their partners, the Houthis. Captain Fanow, I want to step back before we get into the details of going back and forth in this rhetoric and what's happening now I think it's very instructive because you've been, hey, this is the plan. This is what we're doing. This is how we're taking it down. Every day they get degraded more. This whole concept of the enemy as a system, the enemy as a system, because this is the way military planners, targeteers like yourself, others are looking at this. I think it's quite important today for us to separate out the rhetoric from the reality. And right now you have two very serious sets of people, one in CENTCOM and the joint command under, under General Kane, that are moving towards a potentially major escalation tonight. But you also have an enemy who I think believes they're winning. They've gone asymmetric and they're got, you know, they feel they've got cards to play. Let's start with that concept. First off, the enemy is a system. I know you've got a graph, but walk the audience through. I want to get this construct in people's minds as they see all this activity and what appears to be chaos coming through the next couple of days, potentially, that we help folks look through the fog of war. Sir?

[Captain Jim Fennell]

Yes, Steve, I think I would. You know, obviously we're all following this and I've been talking with colleagues of mine and retired navy admiral who was involved with the war against Kosovo said after the conflict he talked to the Slovenian director of intelligence and asked him, why did Milosevic give up? And the Soviet trained general said, well, you finally started impacting those forces that supported Milosevic, the army and is against his policy, and you started cutting off his access to funds. So this is just a reflection of this debate that you've just highlighted, which is can air power alone? And this is really the canard is it's not ever argued alone, but what is the value of systematic approach to targeting an adversary. So if you go to the graphic that I provided Cameron there, please. Back in 1995, Colonel John Warden, United States Air Force, who had served from 1965 until 1995, was a Ford air controller flying Broncos in the Vietnam war, came up with this system analysis of how you would go after a look at your opponent. And it's called the five rings. And a nice article that just came out this last week in the army war College Press by Dr. Jacob Stoyle, says that he talks about this being applied to Iran. And so what you see there are these rings and in the center ring is the leadership and then it's outer ring next. Outer ring is organic essentials, then infrastructure, then population and then field and military forces. So for the last 38 days, the US military, the Pentagon and CENTCOM and the Joint Force have been going after, predominantly on the US Side, the fielded military forces. We've been using asymmetric capabilities against their, you know, lots of different Iranian capabilities. We've gone after their proxies, regional proxies, conventional military forces, and likewise the Israelis have been focusing on the leadership. And the leadership. There's some charts out there even today that show the, you know, the scores of IRGC leadership that has been decimated, along with the religious leaders and the Supreme Leader and his family and whatnot. And we haven't really struck and touched the organic essentials, which is the energy sector. We've gone after missile industrial complex, those missile cities where they produce the ballistic missiles and drones and things of that nature. And we've gone, we hit one bridge. It was very publicized this last week, but we haven't really gone after it too much. So what's happened this morning already is that you're seeing Israel, IDF going after road and rail bridge networks in Tehran, Isfahan, Qomqu, and in western Iran, along with the United States, attacking military, finishing off, or, I don't know if finishing is not the right word, but continuing to attack military facilities on Carg island, which as everyone knows, is about 90% of Iran's output for oil. That's the center point. That's the key point in the, in the Gulf. So what's happened is, is that we have for 38 days attacked that outer ring and now and the inner ring, and now we're going to expand it out into those two blue rings, organic essentials and infrastructure. And as you said, the plan and the structure is to have regime collapse. And you know, the regime leaders, whoever they are at this point several rungs down the ladder, they may or may

[Stephen K. Bannon]

not think that they're winning. Hang on, I want to get terminology right here because President Trump said, and you see from the chart, he believes that's regime change. You've gone down, I think on the IRGC level, it's even to the brigade level. We've killed a lot of people. And the Israelis have, as they are, want to do, really target this for leadership and some say, where they also target who the negotiators are. Be that as it may, they've taken care of that, haven't we? Look at the systems analysis. This is what I want to get across to the audience. What happens tonight is kind of fundamentally different. We're going towards state collapse. I think if you're getting back of President Trump's rhetoric, is that this is not simply about the regime anymore. They're going to take down. This is why he's warning the Iranian people that, hey, your life is going to be very different after this. I'm looking at civilizational collapse or state collapse. They're going after the basic building blocks of how a nation actually exists. Is that a way to look at it, that this is kind of fundamentally different? As you get closer into that inner circle of where you're going to take this apart systematically, take the system apart systematically,

[Captain Jim Fennell]

I think the rhetoric will be used that way, and the president's used that rhetoric to say that exactly that to the Iranian regime, this will be the end for you. What in fact will actually happen likely tonight, is that he's going to take out all their ability to produce power and produce electricity and their ability to export oil, which means they will have no money to come in. They will have no power to move and, you know, build missiles, build drones. They will not have any bridges, rail or road. So they won't be able to get supplies in from Russia or anything flown in or maybe flying in. Still could be some, but there won't be anything coming in from external sources. They will be cut off. And so the regime will have to do something. And what can they do? Well, most likely they'll respond with a gasp, a salvo of ballistic missiles and drones. It'll probably be quite large over the next day or two. But they're running out of those systems. Regardless of analysis from some, I think the fact of the matter is that they're being depleted after 38 days. And the idea that they can just go on and do this indefinitely, it doesn't match the assessments that are coming out of CENTCOM or the Pentagon or other sources. Now, there's some that still say they have so much there. But the idea that we were able to fly two rescue missions on two different days and fly American aircraft, you know, MC130s and helicopters and A10s and fly for seven hours over 200 miles into Iran to rescue two aviators is a demonstration. And I love Sam Fadis, but for me, what I heard yesterday from the President's press conference was the Iranians are really incapable of stopping us when we want to do something. Sure, they fired up some missiles or some of these Project 358 loitering surface air missiles, but in 13,500 combat sorties, that's maybe the only one that they've actually successfully hit. Anything with. So I think the evidence is, from what we're seeing is we're operating at will over Iran. And when we go to turn the lights out and we go to shut down their rail and road networks completely, there's not going to be anything left for the regime to do except kill their own citizens. And maybe the President has some plan there as well that he hasn't told us about, and those people will be able to do something against this regime. But right now, the regime is not what it was 38 days ago. There is no Supreme Leader. Even in the last three or four hours, we've seen some reporting where the Iranians are saying we can't have a negotiation because our Supreme Leader isn't really capable. So, you know, two days ago, a week ago, we were told he's in control. Now we're hearing other backpedaling. So I think the facts on the ground are that Iran is collapsing in the process of collapsing. And tonight is going to really be dramatic. And I think the precursor actions which seem to be coordinated between Israel and the United States this morning are indicators again from the President. As Eric Bolling just said, the President is a master at manipulation, not manipulating, but pressing and getting his point across to say, listen, you really need to come and make a deal and bend a knee. Bend the knee and this will all end. And they may or may not do that. Expect not based on what Sam's told us about their regime. So it's going to get ugly before it gets better.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

I don't think they're. Maybe they do, but I think their mentality is, hey, we're winning here. We have the initiative, whether it's reality or not. Their reality. Hang on for a second as we go to break at a couple minutes. Put us in the room. You're basically nine hours away, nine or ten hours away from what could be a massive assault. What are the targeteers? What's happening at centcom's core group as they talk to Admiral Cooper and they go through? What's the work process flow right now?

[Captain Jim Fennell]

Well, in the targeting world, all that work has been done earlier. So right now, as a targeteer, right before these combat operations actually start this level, this next phase of it, if you will, there's probably some calm because now all the homework's been done. They know where all these facilities are. They've been paired up with, you know, what platforms and what munitions. They've done all the, you know, munitions effectiveness assessments. They contingency planned. As the president talked about contingencies last night. So the planning is basically done. It's now down to the execution. So the stress will be out in the forward areas, in our forward airfields where the pilots are working with you, the ammunition loaders, and making sure that everything's right and prepared on their aircraft. Same on our carriers. So if I'm a strike planner on board the Lincoln, you know, I'm still humping and making sure everything's right, that I'm ready to go, locked and loaded in my mission. But back at centcom, everybody's like, okay, we picked all this. They're working on the next phase. So they're preparing the next phase of what else has to be done and as well as preparing the battle damage assessment teams. So that battle damage assessment process is no longer just as manual as it was when I did it in Desert Storm. It's highly, highly integrated today with AI and tools from Palantir and, and overhead national systems, collections and all of the capabilities that we have to be able to get rapid, immediate feedback on how if we start this tonight, oh, we missed something or let's put more pressure here. So that's what we'll be going through. And as always, the priority will be on the safety of our air crewmen and aviators that are flying over the territory of Iran to make sure that we don't get hurt as well as making sure that we're defending for the salvos that are likely to come from Iran. Back at us.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Hang on one second. I'm holding to the break. Captain Jim Finnell, the steely resolve of the United States military on full display for the world to see in the next 24 hours. Short

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[Stephen K. Bannon]

Here's your host, Stephen K. Ban. Now more than ever, we've come out with, with the West Texas intermediate. It's now 117 bucks. Markets are all over the place and of course whatever happens tonight in the next nine, eight or nine hours will drive that even more day by day. We came out with the eighth free installment of the End of the Dollar Empire. It's about the pressure being put on the US dollar. Part of that is this massive spending. Proposed Pentagon budget is, wait for it, $1.5 trillion. I don't think that includes the 200 billion that they're asking for this war effort right here and that does not include what's going on here in the last couple of days. So the pressure on that also, whoever is controlling the strait or Hormuz, I'm not so sure it's a Revolutionary Guard as a group of pirates down in, down in southern Iran, right on the cliffs there that have had a good run for centuries of kind of living there and screwing with shipping all the time. But they're taking it in Chinese currency. And as Captain Fennell has ground into us over a long period of time, keep the main thing, the main thing. And so the BRICS nations which we kind of had on the ropes a little bit after the Rio reset, particularly with President Trump coming back into office now looks like this BRICS thing is back on fire and the Chinese Communist Party are doing everything they could possibly do to destroy the US Dollar. So make sure you get the end of the dollar empire. Five years now. We've been putting this out now the eighth free installment. Make sure you got it. And sometime this week, given time, we're trying to break down this budget proposal and also at the same time talk to you about what the meaning of this about. They're trying to go to, they're trying to go to break the petrodollar but learn all about it and talk to Philip Patrick and team. That's the key thing. Get to Philip Patrick in the team today as gold bounces all around. Patrick K. O' Donnell asks you to join us because of major presidential decisions. The president of the United States, the commander in chief of the most powerful military in the history in world history, said today on a true social this is one of the most important days in the complex history of the world with the decisions that will be made approximately or be executed upon. Around 8pm Eastern Daylight Time today, the Iranians came back and said, hey yo, put it where the sun doesn't shine. We're breaking off any communications. And then they came out afterwards and said, don't even worry. You think Hormuz is a problem. We're going to shut off the Red Sea. Talk to me about the scale of presidential decisions. You're someone that's a great combat historian. You've written so many books about war in America being in war, of which every president, I think all the major presidents are captured in your writing. What's your sense of this? How big a day do you put this in? At least the military history of the United States.

[Patrick K. O'Donnell]

This is a massive and consequential day. This is an incredibly important decision. And I think that this war is up there in terms of World War II, in terms of the moral importance of. Of taking down the Iranian regime and freeing the Iranian people. And that's what it's really all about. And now the question is, how do you go about that? It's complex. It's hard, but the absence of the resistance.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Let me ask you a premise. Let me ask you. Hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on. Let me ask you about your premise. You were assigned as a combat historian in the Iraq war. It's one of the most. And you gave a very powerful talk when we played the last 600 meters. You guys were there. You were with a Marine rifle unit. You came under fire as a combat historian because you embedded with these guys right at the tip of the spear. That was, I think, in 2006, roughly 20 years later. Why do we give it. What more for? Why do. Why do we. What is the moral imperative of freeing the Iranian people? Why do we give a damn? There are people all over the world that are imperiled like this. Why do we give a damn about the Iranian people? The Iranian people. Let me just remind you, the Iranian people brought on this theocratic regime when they kicked us out unceremoniously. And I realized that a lot of them had buyer's remorse. But it sounds to me like a personal problem. Why is this now a high moral cause, sir?

[Patrick K. O'Donnell]

It's the invisible hand that's been fighting the United States for 47 years, killing many of the men that I was in battle with in Fallujah, you know, destroying the efforts in Iraq that, you know, many of these soldiers and Marines, airmen, you know, gave their lives for. This is a regime that is bent on destroying the United States as well. And it's now, you know, we can debate about, you know, how this occurred for a long time, and I'm sure that's going to happen. But now it's about winning. And we have to win, Steve. And we win by taking away their oil revenue. And it will collapse. They are a dead man walking at this stage. And now what they are trying to do is distract us with the straight of Hormuz. It's a big distraction. It's an important distraction. It is not the center of gravity. The center of gravity needs to be destroying the Iranian regime.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Why do you say the center of gravity is regime? They've been. We bombed them. As you know, these sorties have been. These sorties have been just brutal for the last, what, 38, 39 days they've shifted the center of gravity to the Persian Gulf. And in their mind, I'm not saying they're right, but in their mind they have the initiative, sir.

[Patrick K. O'Donnell]

Washington said do not be drove. In other words, never cede the initiative to the enemy. And that's why the Strait of Hormuz is an incredibly important lifeline to the world's economy. But it's a distraction. The key is freeing the Iranian people at this point and removing the regime. Can any kind of deal is going to be a situation where it's not worth the paper it's written on. They're just going to lie, cheat and steal and do what they always do. And there's a real possibility if they're not removed, that they will get stronger and much stronger and they'll be stronger with their partners of the Chinese and the Russians.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

I tell you what. Patrick K. O', Donnell, hang on for a minute. I want to get more of your import. Jim Rickards is out and about, but he's going to call in. We want to get the strategic framing of Jim Rickards. We got Captain Fennell with us. Patrick K. O', Donnell, top combat historian of his generation. We're going to have much, much more in the second hours. President Trump says one of the most consequential days in the history of the world. We're going to take a short commercial break. The right stuff's going to take us out. We back the moment.

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