
In this bonus episode, we dive into the latest on Israel vs. Iran. Plus, Mark Levin and Mark Dubowitz stop by to discuss. - - - Today’s Sponsor: Perplexity is an AI-powered answer engine that searches the internet to deliver fast, unbiased, high-quality answers, with sources and in-line citations. Ask Perplexity anything here: https://pplx.ai/benshapiro IFCJ - Bring comfort and relief to Israel and her people by donating at https://BenForTheFellowship.org - - - Socials: Follow on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3cXUn53 Follow on Instagram: https://bit.ly/3QtuibJ Follow on Facebook: https://bit.ly/3TTirqd Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3RPyBiB - - - Privacy Policy: https://www.dailywire.com/privacy
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Ben Shapiro
Folks, this is why we're here, to report what matters when it matters. Don't miss out. Join DailyWire plus today with 40% off new annual memberships for a limited time at DailyWire Plus.com well, we are here this evening bringing you a special episode of the Ben Shapiro show, giving you updates as the conflagration between Israel and Iran unfolds. Israel, of course, on Thursday night struck white barrage of Iranian targets, including nuclear facilities, including top nuclear scientists. Members of the regime flew 200 airplanes over Iran and was flying sorties all throughout the day for upward of 12 hours. And then this afternoon Eastern time, the Iranians began firing back missile barrages. About 100 missiles were fired into Israel directed at civilian areas. Unlike Israel's targets, which were military in nature, the Iranians obviously are simply attempting to kill as many Israelis as possible with their missile barrage. The United States did aid Israel as well as other allies in knocking down as many of the missiles as possible. Apparently, somewhere between five and seven of those missiles actually ended up evading missile defense and landing inside Israel. So let's begin at the beginning. Obviously over the course of this morning there were more attacks by Israel on top Iranian nuclear scientists. Here is some video. Nuclear scientists killed in the Israeli strike on a Tehran apartment building. You can see here in this video the after effects of an Israeli strike on an apartment building targeting an Iranian nuclear scientist. You can also see here in the background, there it is. You can see it's a targeted strike. Did not take down the entire building, took down a specific area of the building. About as targeted as the strike can get. But if you would like to see an even more targeted strike, an astonishing picture here of a hole in the wall, a precision strike against an Iranian military leader that apparently hit him directly in the bedroom. It went only through the side of the building, leaving the rest of the building intact, hitting precisely one bedroom in this Iranian building. That's how targeted Israel was. We have emerging information on the extent of Israel's attack on the Natanz nuclear facility. Israel is also apparently attacking Fordow, that is a heavily bunkered Nuclear facility. Israel has been dropping weaponry on top of munitions. The question is whether they will have the sort of munitions necessary to penetrate the deep bunkers built by the Iranians. According to the Times of Israel, Iran's Natanz facility for uranium enrichment was hit by Israeli airstrikes targeting the Islamic Republic's nuclear program early on Friday, with Israeli defense officials assessing that the damage was significant. According to the military, the IAF strikes destroyed the underground section of the site which housed a multi level enrichment hall held housing centrifuges, electrical rooms and other supporting infrastructure. The strikes also destroyed critical infrastructure, enabling the site's continued operation and advancement of the Iranian regime's nuclear weapons project. Now, Iran tried to claim that it didn't actually damage the bottom bunkers of the facility. They said that the attack did damage several parts of the facility. They then added there was no increase in radiation levels or chemical contamination. However, the IAE chief, Rafael Grossi, said that the other main enrichment center in Iran, Florida, was not hit. But that has changed since. And apparently the IAEA is claiming that there may be some contamination at the Natanz nuclear facility, suggesting of course that the containment has been breached by the Israeli attack. Meanwhile, other explosions in western Tehran as Israel attacks the areas around Tehran, military areas, nuclear areas around Tehran. You can see the footage here in the background. Significant explosions, mushroom clouds rising, smoke rising in the background. Israel's intelligence penetration in Iran is extraordinary. The Iranian regime legitimately does not know who is an Israeli agent and who is not. Okay, well, all of this was lead up to the Islamic Republic's response to Israel. Again, not particularly shocking. But Iran had suggested for hours, days, weeks, that if Israel attacked, they would of course respond. It would be sort of a shock if that had not happened. And of course, Israel was prepared for that. Immediately upon launching these attacks against the Iranian nuclear facilities and the military leaders of the regime, the Israeli officials told Israelis that they would have to stay inside much more than normal. They'd have to essentially hunker down and wait it out. This is a picture of what is called the so far Red Alert Map. The Red Alert map. Everybody in Israel has an app on their phone telling you who is being told to go down into the bunkers. When there are a wide variety of missiles flying in Israel, pretty much everybody in the country goes into a bunker. Or if you are in a private house or an apartment building, what's called a mamad, which is essentially a safe room. If you are in a major apartment building, then you might just go down into the Parking lot which is substantially fortified against the possibility of missile strike. As you can see from this map, the entirety of Israel blanketed in these sort of red alert flags showing the possibility of an Iranian strike. Now this has become part and parcel of living in Israel. It's just a reality. Last time my wife and I and our children were visiting Israel, actually there was a Houthi attack. At about 6:25 on a Saturday morning. The sirens went off in Jerusalem. We immediately hopped out of bed, grabbed our kids, went to the mad in the place that we were staying and waited until the all clear happens, about a 10 minute period from the end of the sirens and then you can leave and it's all clear. It's become kind of a regular part of life. I was talking to friends in Jerusalem a little bit earlier today and they said that last night they simply went to sleep. And I know that the last time the Iranians were attacking Israel, which was several months ago, of course, last year, many of my friends didn't even leave the shower when the sirens were going off because their feeling was the chance of being hit were very, very low. This is a bit different. Everybody did in fact go into the bunkers and as well they should have. Now it's a Friday night in Israel. Friday night is of course the beginning of Sabbath for many Orthodox Jews. And so many of the Israelis were gathering in this parking lot in Mamad to to sing and dance in honor of the Sabbath as the missile alerts were going on. Again, the difference between Israel, how Israel treats its civilians and how Iranian proxies treat their civilians is marked here in Israel, when the sirens go off, the civilians rush to the bomb shelters in places run by Hamas. When the sirens go off, Hamas runs to the bomb shelters and puts these civilians directly on top of them. But you can see this is sort of treated as normal in the State of Israel. Israel is about to change that situation markedly by actively fighting back against Iran. The goal being to eliminate the Iranian nuclear capacity. Okay, While all this was happening, there were interceptors that were fired over Tel Aviv again. Some five to seven missiles actually landed in the center of Israel, mostly in the Tel Aviv area. Central Tel Aviv was impacted by ballistic missiles fired from Iran on Friday after Israel said it had detected dozens of missiles launched from Iran. Apparently that number is actually closer to 100 in a couple of different flights of missiles. It's about nine minutes for a missile to get from Iran to Israel. So all these sort of ordnance that is fired by Iran comes at different rates. Drones may take hours because it is a significant distance. The missiles travel quite quickly. And so you have a nine minute period from when the missile launch is detected till when the missiles actually hit. Here's some missile, here's some footage of interceptions over Tel Aviv. And again, Israel has the world's most sophisticated missile defense system. At this point, President Trump is building golden dome for the United States. But at this point, Israel does have the world's most sophisticated defense system because they are so often targeted by missiles and rockets. Here's what it looks like from the ground in Tel Aviv. Yo, you can see the, the interceptors are the, are the objects that are moving in sort of erratic directions attempting to locate and hit those missiles. Now, of course, the sky over Israel was lit up all of tonight as those missiles were emerging over major cities in Israel. The Iranian ballistic missile attack that actually struck central Tel Aviv was caught on tape by reporters from Fox News. Here's what that looked like.
John
You need to get ready to pull it off the stick. Get off the sticks. All right, let's go. Time to go. Okay, guys, come on. Everyone move. Everyone move now. Stay with us. Stay with us. Pick up the gear. Let's go.
Ben Shapiro
Debbie. Reporter yings his coverage has been less than stellar but you can see a.
Sandra
Barrage of missiles again, the likes of.
Ben Shapiro
Which the missiles being shot down over center of Tel Aviv.
Sandra
Unknown Sandra is as Iron Dome and David Sling and the arrow system and the terminal high altitude air defense systems are all going off at the same time. It seems here the last time this happened there was a coordinated defense between Israel, the United States and other countries including Jordan to intercept these with aircraft as well. Trey. I mean it's unbelievable to see what we're seeing going on above the, in the skies above Tel Aviv right now.
John
Yeah, John, Sandra, you saw those live images. Israel is under a massive ballistic missile barrage. I have reported here for nearly seven years and never seen such an attack against an Israeli city. The amount of air defense that you saw going off there is, it's unprecedented.
Ben Shapiro
And of course Israel had fully expected that. So now for all of those alarmists who are suggesting that this took Israel by surprise. I mean, that's ridiculous. Israel has been preparing for this for decades at this point. And again immediately upon the first attacks by Israel against the Iranian nuclear facilities, everybody was warned to prepare to stay near their mamad. And a statement went out to the general public to prepare to spend significant hours in their safe rooms and in safe places. Over the course of the next week or so, the most stunning footage of course, is footage of a ballistic missile hitting downtown Tel Aviv. There was one ballistic missile that fell right in the heart of, of Tel Aviv, obviously extraordinary. As you can see, that is the site of the, of the missile falling. Now, worthwhile noting that because Israel's air defense systems are so good and also because Israelis do a good job of getting to safe places, the number of casualties thus far has been extraordinarily minimal. Magen David Adom, which is the Israeli Red Cross, says that the number of casualties these barashas so far is 21 total. 17 of those are in mild condition or a state of anxiety. So that'd be, you know, older people who have asthma and who have a panic attack because of the falling missiles. Two of them in serious condition, two in moderate condition. So by any statistical measure, a small miracle given the fact that you're seeing these missiles fall in again, populated areas. Here's a picture of a residential building, apartment building that was hit. Again, the fact that you're not seeing larger casualty numbers is a testament to both Israeli defense systems and also to the fact that Israelis understand what to do in cases of emergency and they move quickly into safer areas of the buildings that they occupy. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards put out a statement, quote, following the Supreme Leader's directive, we responded precisely and significantly, we attacked dozens of targets, military centers and air bases. The response is part of Operation promise of truth 3:3, which sounds like just an absolutely terrible sequel. I mean, if, if you were going to, you know, label that, that, that's, that's worse than like super babies g Baby Geniuses 2, Operation Promise of Truth 3 or Return to the Blue Lagoon. You know, this one goes on the list of, of worst sequels. Police Academy, Mission to Moscow. Right. In any case, the Iranians also put out a revenge video. This is a video they've distributed before. You will take note of the fact that it makes open reference to the attempted assassination of President Trump. Again, the Iranian regime is not a regime that is rich in peaceful people seeking an off ramp with the United States. Despite the bizarre propaganda of folks who seem to be in league with, with those who love Iran deeply. This is, this is not the activity of a regime that really is ready to make peace, disarm, become a member of the family of nations. Here is a video distributed by Iranian state media. In the middle of all of this. That is the podium, the President of the United States, footage of the near assassination of Donald Trump, footage of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and then pictures of the Iranian people, most of whom in this picture, they're obviously indoctrinated or working for the regime. And the idea, of course, is that they are targeting President Trump as well as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That's goal of all of this. Now, again, it is worth noting here that the Iranian regime, when folks say regional war might break out, it. The regional war did break out on October 7th. It was all of Iran's regional allies versus Israel. That is what happened. And that is going to go down in the history books as one of the worst military moves in the history of mankind. Because on October 7, Iran gave the go ahead to Hamas, one of its proxies, to walk across the border of the Gaza Strip and slaughter as many Jews as possible and take 250 hostage. And the result over the ensuing year and a half has been the complete catastrophic demolition of Hamas to the extent that Hamas no longer exists as a governing entity in the Gaza Strip and the entire Strip is going to have to be rebuilt and made safe. Hezbollah, which was the most threatening arm of the Iranian regime, armed with up to hundreds of thousands of rockets and missiles with targeting technology, was completely destroyed by Israel at minimal loss of life from the Israelis. The Hezbollah infrastructure was hit so hard that it ended up taking down Syria next door because Hezbollah was a supporting pillar for the Assad regime. And after Hezbollah was gone, essentially one shove from the Turkish backed HTS group and the regime was just gone. So all of the Iranian proxies have been brought to heel by the Israelis. And now Iran, of course, has been catastrophically damaged militarily. And that will continue. That will continue without a doubt, because Israel has already said that thanks to this latest round of attacks, there is more to come. According to Channel 12 in Israel, one of the main news channels, quote, any missile fired at Israel will trigger immediate strikes against Iranian national infrastructure. What could that infrastructure be? Well, there's the possibility that that infrastructure is oil related. So far, Israel has only hit military targets, nuclear targets, members of the military echelons. Well, there are a couple of targets they have clearly not hit. One is the Ayatollahs themselves and the other is the oil fields. If Iran's oil fields go up in flames, Iran has no economy. The economy is just gone. A huge percentage of the Iran of the Iranian economy is oil. In fact, asking our sponsors over at Perplexity, what percentage of the Iranian economy is oil exports? And the answer, according to our friends over at Perplexity, oil exports accounted for more than 40% of Iran's total export revenue in 2020. 3. Okay, it represents a quarter of the country's GDP. So taking out the Iranian oil fields would devastate them, especially because that is the only thing that even makes them remotely valuable to places like China, which uses them as a giant gas station. Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz says Israel crossed red lines when it's aired to fire missiles at civilian population centers in Israel. We will continue to protect the citizens of Israel and ensure the Ayatollah's regime pays a very heavy price for its criminal actions. So this is not going to end anytime soon. It was not going to end anytime soon. This is all part of the plan already coming up, the Great One, Mark Levin will join us. We'll also have Mark Dubowitz of the foundation for Defense of Democracies all the informational updates you could possibly want. Plus Democrat Congressman Ro Khanna stops by to disagree first. In these uncertain days, Israel now faces imminent attacks as war with Iran has has already begun. Families across Israel are living in fear, wondering if the next siren will sound in their neighborhood. Israel just launched Operation Rising lion, targeting nuclear and military sites deep inside Iran to prevent an existential threat while bracing for possible retaliation that could endanger millions of innocent lives. But in the midst of crisis, hope endures. The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, IFCJ is on the ground delivering life saving aid where it's needed most. IFCJ provides emergency food, shelter, trauma support and security upgrades, including bomb shelters and fortified hospital units. In the past year alone IFCJ has helped over 2 million people, supplying basic needs to the elderly, Holocaust survivors, new immigrants and children traumatized by war. As Israel's defenders stand ready, IFCJ stands with them, funding bulletproof ambulances, supporting first responders, offering comfort to those in the line of fire. Your support means food for the hungry, safety for the vulnerable and hope for a nation under siege. Now, as the world watches and uncertainty grows, you can make a difference through donations. Together we can bring light to the darkest moment. Visit Benforthefellowship.org to donate today. That's one word. Benforthefellowship.org to donate. And in fact, speaking of the fact that Iran is reliant on its oil exports, the Israeli Air Force apparently has now launched a series of attacks this evening on the oil exporting component of the Iran infrastructure. They've been attacking energy facilities according to a variety of sources. The Raisi power plant in Isfahan, which is close to the nuclear refinement facility in Isfahan, is now being struck. There are also reports of the IAF attacking on the coast of Iran, which would be indicating that they are hitting the energy infrastructure as well. Prime Minister Netanyahu is openly calling for the Iranian people to rise up and overthrow their regime. Again, he has no intention of, quote, unquote, regime change directly. Israel is not going to be sending troops anytime in there to simply take control of the country or Iran is not a neighboring country, nor is he calling on the United States to do so. But the Iranian people hate the regime. And if this is a moment, if ever there is a moment for the regime to be overthrown by the Iranian people, now would be the moment.
Benjamin Netanyahu
Tonight, I wish to speak to you, the proud people of Iran. We're in the midst of one of the greatest military operations in history, Operation Rising Lion. The Islamic regime, which has oppressed you for nearly 50 years, threatens to destroy my country, the State of Israel. The objective of Israel's military operation is to remove this threat, both the nuclear threat and the ballistic missile threat to Israel. And as we achieve our objectives, we're also clearing the path for you to achieve your objective, which is freedom. In the past 24 hours, we've taken out top military commanders, senior nuclear scientists, the Islamic regime's most significant enrichment facility, and a large portion of its ballistic missile arsenal. More is on the way. The regime doesn't know what hit them. They don't know what will hit them. The nation of Iran and the nation of Israel have been true friends since the days of Cyrus the Great. And the time has come for you to unite around your flag and your historic legacy by standing up for your freedom from an evil and oppressive regime. It has never been weaker. This is your opportunity to stand up and let your voices be heard. Woman Life Freedom. Zan Zandegi Azadi, as I said yesterday and many times before, Israel's fight is not with you. It's not with you, the brave people of Iran, whom we respect and admire. Our fight is with our common enemy, a murderous regime that both oppresses you and impoverishes you. Brave people of Iran. Your light will defeat the darkness. I am with you. The people of Israel are with you.
Ben Shapiro
Well, again, this is going to be the next step here is Israel is going to be hitting the energy infrastructure. If Iran continues to escalate, then the ayatollahs may be on the menu. Joining us on the line to discuss all of this is, of course, the great one, Mark Levin. Mark, thanks so much for taking the time. Really appreciate it.
Mark Levin
Great pleasure, Ben.
Ben Shapiro
So, Mark, why don't we start with the obvious, your quick reaction to everything that's been transpiring over the course of the last 24 hours. Israel's attacks on Iran, Iran firing missiles into civilian centers in Israel. And now it appears contemporaneously right now, Israel is attacking the energy infrastructure in Iran, which is what it said it would do if Iran fired missiles into civilian areas.
Mark Levin
Well, Iran's trying to kill the Israelis. That's what they do. That's why they exist, or anyone that gets in their way. They've been trying to kill Americans. They've killed many Americans. They've made many Americans. They've killed many Israelis. They've made many Israelis. I don't know why people are confused by this. There's good and evil. Is that what our faith says and Christianity and all great faith say? And that's what we're facing. This is evil. These are terrorists. And imagine any one of these ballistic missiles having a nuclear warhead on them being fired into Israel. Or when they get intercontinental ballistic missiles, which is what they're also building, they shoot them over to the United States. I mean, you would have such horrendous, monstrous genocide by these absolute Islamist nut job Nazis. What I think is taking place right now is you're seeing a country that is not only fighting for its survival, it's fighting for the west, which has become quite weak. It's fighting for the United States, which is strong and they have the support a strong President Donald Trump. And I don't think they're going to stop until they get this done. And now they're apparently hitting their infrastructure and so forth because they warn the Iranians, you attack our population centers. Notice the Israelis aren't attacking the Iranian population centers because they know the Iranian people hate their government and they wouldn't do it anyway. But it's the first place that the Iranians aim at, the biggest cities in Israel. And so now the Israelis are taking out their infrastructure and they are going to crush that country. Now, one of the things I would tell your audience, Ben, is when you watch tv, you're only seeing one side of the war. You're seeing what's happening to Tel Aviv and Israel and so forth, which is bad enough. But what you're not seeing is what's going on in Iran. And apparently from what we're hearing from the Israelis and the Americans, is that a hell of a lot is going on in Iran. Their military institutions, their nuclear institutions, the top level military, the top level nuclear scientists. And as I said now, now they're hitting the infrastructure. I mean, they're sending 200 jets over there, not all at once. But Ben, can you imagine the sound of hundreds of jets like that? I can't even imagine it. I mean, it is brutal, I'm sure.
Ben Shapiro
You know, Mark, I think that here we should take a moment to acknowledge the extraordinary handling of this by President Trump. So there was a lot of consternation at President Trump by the so called isolationist or restrainer wing inside his own party, some inside his own administration who are very upset with him for standing by Israel. President Trump has been utterly consistent for over a decade about his perspective on this issue. His perspective is clear. The Iranians are the threat in the region. The worst deal in history was the jcpoa. He was never going to sign a new jcpoa. He understood that the Iranians were stalling him for time. He understood that the Iranians were unwilling to make a deal. And as the President himself has said, Israel has the resources to do what it is doing and Israel has the moral capacity to do what it's doing. President Trump deserves enormous credit. America is not directly involved, but it has been involved in shooting down many of the countermeasures that the missiles and the drones that are being shot from Iran toward Israel. He's the most pro Israel president in American history and also, in my opinion, the strongest foreign policy president of my lifetime, bar none.
Mark Levin
100%. And so the isolationists are very upset. They're all over TV and radio and the Internet and so forth saying that Donald Trump has abandoned maga. The biggest of the bunch is this Chatsworth Tarlson, as I call Tucker Carlson, who seems to think he owns the country, who seems to think he was elected president, who seems to think he and a few of his embeds should be running foreign policy. And for Tucker Carlson, there'd be no reason to have a CIA, no reason to have a military of any kind.
Mark Dubowitz
Of.
Mark Levin
He's. He seems to be a special pleader with, to the biggest, most evil genocidal maniacs on the face of the earth. Why that is is something a psychiatrist will have to figure out. I can't. But to lash out and to say those of us who want to defend America, defend the state of Israel, defend our allies against this evil regime that keeps talking about trying to destroy us and destroy Israel and on and on and on, is, is his issue, is his problem. He's a paper tiger, that's what he is. He means nothing. And now he's broken from the President publicly because he says the President is broken from MAGA. Let me ask you, Ben. 77 million people are MAGA. 77 million people voted for Donald Trump. 77 million people voted for Donald Trump, many of whom don't know who Tucker Carlson is or despised him and still voted for Donald Trump. Donald Trump has never been an isolationist. He wasn't in his first term and he's not now. No, he's not an interventionist either. You know, he's not a John McCain or anything like that. He gave this regime, what, a thousand opportunities to surrender their nuclear arms and, excuse me, their nuclear development, but they wouldn't do it because they don't want to do it. And so he put his foot down. His job is as commander in chief, not as a cheap, you know, subscriber based platform grifter who's out there going on and on about how America really, World War II, how Americans really are at fault. You know, how he attacks Churchill and praises Chamberlain, how his friend Tulsi Cavart basically slimes and smears the brave men and women who destroyed Imperial Japan. These people are crazy.
Ben Shapiro
You know, Mark, when I look at the lay of the land right now, the transformative action that Israel just took really does lay the groundwork for a better region. Again, President Trump deserves enormous credit here by really bucking all prevailing foreign policy wisdom for both his first term and his second. In his first term, he was told that if he killed Qasem Soleimani by people like Tucker Carlson that it would lead to a regional war. It, of course, did not. He was also told by many of those same folks on both the right and the left that if he moved the American Embassy to Jerusalem, that would lead to a regional war. It, of course, did not. And President Trump was the only president in my lifetime who's been able to broker actual serious peace between Israel and her neighbors in the form of the Abraham Accords. Now, with his support and his. His willingness to stand side by side with Israel, Israel actually does the dirty work in Iran. The President has set the stage for what could be a complete transformation of the region. Iran is completely isolated. Iran has no allies of any serious import in the region or outside the region. And so the ground is now clear for the possibility of expanding things like the Abraham Accords to include Saudi Arabia and some of the other countries in the region.
Mark Levin
Your point is so important. Donald Trump is doing something that no president has done for 47 years with Iran. He is a transformative president. He is a historic, iconic figure in so many ways. Whether it comes to immigration, whether it comes to taxes and so forth and so on, and whether it comes to foreign policy. He's not a war hawk. You're not a war hawk. I'm not a war hawk. We're all peace lovers. Why would we be war hawks? The fact of the matter is he tried over, over, over and over again that what he wasn't going to do was going to surrender to this Islamist regime the way Obama did. He wasn't going to subsidize them the way Biden did. And so he comes in, he says, okay, I want peace. Let's try and reason with these people. Let's make some offers to these people. But they cannot spin centrifuges. And they would, not only wouldn't stop spinning centrifuges while we're talking to them, they're speeding up the process. They're buying fuel material from the communist Chinese to build more missiles, long range missiles. In other words, rather than respect the United States, respect the process, respect the President of the United States, they took the opportunity to use that 60 day period to prove to the whole world that they have no intention of signing an agreement, certainly not an agreement that holds their feet to the fire. So I agree with you. Donald Trump has done something no president did in half a century.
Ben Shapiro
You know, Mark, I think another leader who deserves enormous credit here is the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu. He's been under consistent fire from an enormous number of people inside his own country, people on the left who've been protesting outside his home continuously for a year and a half, calling for something he doesn't have the power to do, compel Hamas to give up the hostages. And they've been attempting to attack him in court on a series of charges that I consider to be spurious. And he's been obviously at the center of a wide variety of conflicts, ranging from Yemen to Lebanon to Syria to the Gaza Strip over the course of the last year and a half. And yet he stood tall and made a very difficult call here to actually do the hard thing. And the Israeli public is in fact unified behind him on this particular issue, no matter how divided they are on a wide variety of other issues. Israel knows what was coming. The Israelis knew full well that they're going to have to spend the next week and a half inside their safe rooms and inside their mamas or parking lots waiting to see what Iran does. But this was a necessary move. And it did take an extraordinary amount of political courage for, for Prime Minister Netanyahu to actually go about doing it.
Mark Levin
He's a remarkable man. He's a great leader. He's being undermined at home, or at least was and still is, actually, in many respects. He's defeated every enemy that they're facing, whether it's Hamas and Hezbollah, the Houthis, and now it's the mothership of terrorism, Iran. I don't think any of us would have imagined anything like this. But he did. And he decided in some cases, against the advice of some very weak generals and very weak members of his cabinet, to pursue a course to put an end to this. No more halfway deals, no more Oslos, no more paper deals with Hamas and all the rest of it. Not after October 7th. And that's where he threw the gauntlet down and said this isn't going to happen. He's an enormously intelligent man. He's an enormously brave man. You know, we're very lucky, Ben, to have these two great leaders in the world right now, Trump and Netanyahu. And I can tell you from my own knowledge, all these reports in Axios and elsewhere, the isolationist embeds, leaking against the president, leaking against Netanyahu and undermining and disloyal to the president, as a matter of fact, that they were far apart, that Israel and the United States were far apart, that Netanyahu is a warmonger and Trump's not a war. No, these guys were together. They are close. There was no space between them. This decision that was made, the Israelis did in fact inform the United States, based on what I'm reading here now, why wouldn't they? Of course they would. And I just think what people should be watching here is it's like Reagan, Thatcher, Cole, John Paul ii. But in this case, you have President Trump and you have Netanyahu. This doesn't happen all the time. In fact, it happens rarely when great men and women, in some cases, they line up as leaders of countries at a time when they're needed. And this is one of those times. I mean, Trump and Netanyahu are absolutely fantastic.
Ben Shapiro
Well, that is Mark Levin. You can check out and should check out his show on Fox News, Life, Liberty, and Levin every weekend. Of course, you should check out his radio show and podcast as well, the Mark Levin Show. Mark, thanks so much for the time. Great to speak to you as always.
Mark Levin
You. And thanks for everything, brother. Take care.
Ben Shapiro
Well, again, as we speak, Israeli kinetic action is ongoing in Iran. Here to discuss the strategy of the Israelis. What they're trying to do is Mark Dubwitz of the foundation for Defense of democracy. Mark, thanks so much for joining the show.
Mark Dubowitz
Thanks so much for having me, Ben.
Ben Shapiro
So, Mark, looking at the progression of the Israeli attacks, the Iranian response, what do you make of the state of play in the Middle east right now? Obviously Israel's original strikes are sort of shocking in their success. The Iranian counterattack, some of the missiles escaped the missile defense systems. So far I believe there are 41 injuries, a couple of people, critical condition in Israel. What do you think of what's happened so far?
Mark Dubowitz
Well, I think it's been an extraordinary 24 hours certainly for the Israelis. And I think they've exceeded once again their expectations. I always said to people that if the Israelis don't surprise you, they lose. If they surprise you, then they really are doing something extraordinary. And like they did against Hezbollah with the beepers and against Nasrallah and against the whole leadership of Hezbollah and Hamas, I think they've once again really surprised us with remarkable capabilities, training and intelligence dominance. And so far, so good.
Ben Shapiro
So looking at the amount of damage that Israel has done, we've seen some mixed reports about the damage to the nuclear reactor in Natanz. Obviously there's been bombing of Ford out. There were serious questions that were raised about the Israeli capacity to seriously damage these institutions. Obviously we've only seen day one. Israel is planning at least a seven day barrage here. You would imagine maybe up to 14 days is what they've announced. And what do you make of the Israeli capability to do serious damage to some of these underground facilities?
Mark Dubowitz
Yeah, I mean it looks like they've destroyed Natanz. They've begun to start bombing Fordeaux. Much more difficult. Buried underground 60, 70 meters, hardened with concrete, they can do some damage. Obviously they need 30,000 pound massive orange penetrators, which is what the United States has. And we have B2 bombers and they don't. So I think it's going to be more difficult operation. They started bombing Isfahan, which is an important conversion facility. But Ben, what's the really important story that I think a lot of people are missing is that they went after 12 nuclear weapons scientists. I mean basically the Robert Oppenheimer and the key physicists of the nuclear weapons program. They've killed nine of them. And we're waiting to see the sort of battle damage assessment on the other three. But that is really remarkable because that is the key missing part of a deliverable nuclear weapon.
Mark Levin
Right.
Mark Dubowitz
The Iranians have enriched material, they have missiles, but they haven't yet been able to build a warhead or even a crude nuclear device. Well, this is the team of the top 12 most important nuclear weapons scientists who would build that warhead. And if nine of the 12 are dead or 11 of the 12 are dead, that's a devastating blow to Iran's nuclear weapons program.
Ben Shapiro
Now, Mark, the Iranians obviously fired about 100 missiles at Israel over the course of the last few hours. The vast majority of them were shot down. I believe 93 out of 100 were shot down. Seven landed again. There are some dozens of injuries inside Israel. What do you make of the Iranian responsive capacity? What do you expect from Iran? How much are they going to escalate, and what are the risks for them in escalation? Because obviously, Israel has not yet touched the ayatollahs or the oil fields in Iran.
Mark Dubowitz
Yeah, I mean, it does worry me. They've got a massive inventory of ballistic missiles, 2,000 to 3,000 ballistic missiles. So they have pretty extraordinary firepower. And then they've got cruise missiles and drones. They could do a lot of damage to Israel. Now, obviously, the Israeli Air Force went in there with Mossad, and. And it started to do significant damage to both the inventory and the production capability. They also have to be very careful, as you acknowledge, that if they're going to do damage to Israel, Israel can start to really escalate and go after significant leadership assets, including Khamenei himself. Also, this is where the US Role becomes really important, because President Trump needs to message to Khamenei that he will not tolerate a response above a certain threshold against Israel and also against the United States. And if he does, that could trigger a devastating US Response. And it's the credibility of a US Response that's more important than if Trump actually does it. It's the more credible it is, the more likely that Khamenei will be very careful, because he knows the only force on God's earth that can bring down his regime is the United States military.
Ben Shapiro
So, Mark, what do you think at this point is the possibility that the Iranian regime actually falls? We've seen unexpected things happening in the Middle east, including, of course, the fall of the Assad regime after decades in power, thanks to the complete hollowing out of Hezbollah. There's a lot of speculation the Iranian people do not like the Iranian regime at all. The. The Iranians have shut down their Internet internally, so they do not want people obviously coordinating across Iran in the face of these Israeli attacks. How real is the possibility that the Iranian regime collapses or that the Iranian people do something about it? Because it does not look like a regime Change is going to be forced from the outside?
Mark Dubowitz
Well, I think it can be both. I mean, I certainly think that the Israelis taking out leadership assets, starting to go after the security apparatus of the regime, which, by the way, has two purposes. One is for external aggression and one is for internal repression. So you start to remove or to weaken or distract or undermine that internal repression apparatus, do you give space for Iranians to come back to the streets? And Ben, as you know, they've been on the streets since 2009. Millions of Iranians, multiple rounds, yelling, death to the dictator. President Biden, Obama, Trump, are you with us or the dictator? Well, the Israelis have now made weakening the regime, undermining the regime, and potentially toppening the regime a central pillar of their Iran strategy. So pressure from the outside, maximum support for Iranians on the inside. This is the Reagan strategy. This is what Reagan did successfully against the Soviet Union. I'm not going to predict the collapse of the Islamic Republic anytime soon, but I am old enough to have lived through the Cold War and the Reagan strategy. And it was, it was a matter of seven, eight years under Reagan where that strategy led to the collapse of the ussr.
Ben Shapiro
So, Mark, obviously you see some people who I would consider to be foreign policy either ignoramuses or alarmists who are suggesting this is going to escalate into a much larger, broader regional war or Indeed World War 3. I have a hard time seeing exactly how that would happen. And the fact is that the Iranian regime is at an all time low in terms of its capacity, its military capacity, its. Its ability to project force. Its. Its octopus tentacles have been essentially severed by the Israelis over the course of the last year and a half. There are no, there's no cavalry coming for the Iranians. The Russians are not going to step in and help the Iranians. The Chinese are not gonna step in and help the Iranians. They're essentially on their own here. So what do you make of. Of people who are claiming that this is going to spiral out into a broader regional war that will, quote, unquote, suck in the United States or that it will turn into World War three?
Mark Dubowitz
I actually think those people are making war more likely, not less likely, because what they're trying to do is undercut U.S. military credibility. If they undercut U.S. military credibility, that means the Iranians think they can escalate without paying a price. If they think they can escalate without paying a price, they're more likely to do things that are going to actually create a broader regional conflict. They may engage in attacks against US Forces, against our Gulf allies, terrorist attacks not only in the region, but maybe in the United States. Again, it's so important that Khamenei understands that he cannot go above a certain threshold. And if he does, he's going the wrath of Donald Trump and the US Military will come upon him. But those that crowd is making the argument is really trying to weaken Trump, weaken his leverage and weaken American military credibility. And in doing so, making that war more likely, not less likely.
Ben Shapiro
Now, Mark, there's been a lot of speculation about the possibility that perhaps the Americans might join in for a couple of rounds, that B2s might be flown from Diego Garcia to drop a couple of bombs on Ford Al, for example, in an attempt to essentially destroy that remaining nuclear facility that, as you say, is deep underground and requires ordinance that the Israelis simply don't have. What do you think are the chances of that? Is that something the United States should actually consider?
Mark Dubowitz
Look, I think it really depends on President Trump. I mean, if there's continued Israeli success as there has been over the past 24 hours, I think he already is trying to own that success. I mean, I think in his post today, you could see already him putting his arms around that success. You know, I'm part of that success. It was U.S. military equipment. It was my support for Bibi. These are the things that he's now starting to really embrace this despite the fact that the isolationists in his party are starting to get very, very upset with the President. I think at some point President Trump could probably appreciate that once the Israelis have done multiple rounds and have destroyed as much as they can, this would be an historic opportunity for him to really set back Iran's nuclear weapon program. Not by months or years, but maybe decades. And I think that may be the opportunity where he comes in with B2 bombers, destroys Fordeau and gets rid of whatever remaining infrastructure the Iranians have. The other potential option, and I think this is Khamenei's smartest play, is after this humiliation, wait a week, but then actually send lead Iranian negotiator Iraqi to Oman to start negotiating with the Americans again. Trump has already signaled he's prepared for a deal and he'll sit down with the Iranians and do this peacefully. He's been warning about that for months. We'll do this peacefully or we'll do this militarily. And I think Trump was heavily engaged with Bibi in running a very well oiled deception operation that lulled the Iranians into a false sense that the President wasn't prepared to greenlight Israeli military power. And they were literally caught, both figuratively and literally in their beds when the Israelis launched a preemptive attack and took out dozens of IRC commanders and army chiefs and nuclear scientists. So Khamenei's best play? Go back to the negotiations and see if he can get an offer that he can live with. Trump, I think actually now is in a much more powerful position both at the negotiating table and in terms of his military option to strip Iran once and for all of the capabilities it needs to build nuclear weapons.
Ben Shapiro
Mark Dubowitz, chief executive of the foundation for Defense of Democracies, really appreciate the time and the insight.
Mark Dubowitz
Thanks so much, Ben. Appreciate it.
Ben Shapiro
Alrighty folks. Well, meanwhile this weekend you can expect the protesters out en masse, not against the Iranians who are firing missiles into the center of Israeli cities or against Hamas who are still holding hostages and shooting aid workers, nor indeed against criminal, illegal immigrants or anyone else. No, the protests are going to be against President Trump because no Kings or something. According to democracy docket.com millions of people are set to rally across the nation in opposition to President Trump's extreme agenda and to counter program the military parade in Washington, D.C. dub no Kings Day. The over 2,000 planned demonstrations are set to kick off Saturday morning, June 14th. And as I've mentioned on the show before, this does not mean a lot of people are going to show up at each demonstration. You can declare yourself a demonstration in Chappaqua, New York and it'll be you and a buddy and hey cool, you're one of the 2000 demonstrations. The protests have been organized by exactly the same organizations who are always there. They just switch the signs and they're ready to go. Professionals, people who are bored, have nothing to do, no jobs, don't need to prep for Father's Day since they don't have families, you know, really great people. The aclu, Public Citizen, Planned Parenthood, the rogues gallery of terrible left wing groups. Deirdre Shifling, the ACLU's chief political and advocacy officer, said, quote, no, King's Day is about standing up for our democracy, standing up for our rights, our liberties, making sure we are sending a strong message that we are going to have a free and fair democracy. Wow, that sounds like a a real message to resonate around. Very inspiring. I still don't know what you're rallying for and against. What is it aside from Orange man bad, what is this precisely? Shifling said, we've had this democracy for 250 years, as imperfect as it has been, we are going to keep that democracy. Question, wasn't Donald Trump elected president of the United States? Oh, yeah, he was. Weren't the Republicans in Congress elected? Yes, they were. Shifling said we didn't want to be a conflict or an excuse to have conflict with peaceful protesters in this military parade, which is why they are not doing an event near the actual army parade. They also, I would assume, understand the optics of protesting the United States military looks pretty unpatriotic and unpleasant. Many Republican governors and law enforcement officials are saying that protesters obstruct traffic. Well, things are going to happen. A Florida sheriff named Wayne Ivy said in a warning to demonstrators, if you throw a brick, a firebomb, or point a gun at one of our deputies, we will be notifying your family where to collect your remains because we will kill you graveyard dead. And that sounds about right. And I love the, the characterization by some of the no Kings people. He's saying he's going to shoot protesters. Nope, you don't speak English. If you throw a brick or a firebomb or you point a gun at a deputy, then that is a deadly threat. That is assault with a deadly weapon. And so at that point, you being dead is a likely outcome. Governor Ron DeSantis also suggested that the law in the state of Florida, my wonderful home state, where we don't tolerate none of this crap, that if you obstruct drivers, if you, if, if you surround a car in threatening manner, the driver does not have to stop and allow you to trap them, that the, the driver can continue to drive. You're not allowed to surround cars and threaten the people inside the cars. That is because we do this thing called rule of law in, in Florida, a thing we, we didn't do back in my old hometown of Los Angeles. Well, speaking of events in California and speaking of the unfolding events in Iran and Israel, joining us online is California Democrat Ro Khanna. Thanks so much for taking the time, Congressman.
Ro Khanna
Thank you, Ben. Appreciate your having me back.
Ben Shapiro
So why don't we start with obviously, the news of the day. Huge geopolitical news. Israel has launched a series of devastating strikes against the Iranian nuclear facilities. They've taken out an enormous number of the top members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran had been making very clear for years that they had an intention to develop a nuclear weapon. What's your take on the situation?
Ro Khanna
Well, respectfully, Ben, I disagree with you on this one. My concern is that Iran is going to move their nuclear development underground. That they're going to get rid of monitoring. I don't think this is like Syria or Iraq where you could just through strikes, eliminate all the nuclear capability. I also think it runs the risk of a regional war. We've already seen oil prices go up. That's going to hurt Americans in the pocketbook. Any regional confrontation could put American troops at risk. And I really had supported President Trump's diplomatic efforts, the type that Tucker Carlson, Marjorie Taylor Greene were encouraging.
Ben Shapiro
Okay, so I want to get into that briefly. So first of all, the idea that Iran was only now going to start fortifying its nuclear facilities, that obviously is untrue. The IAEA itself found this week that that is untrue, that they have been violating all sorts of, of, of regulations and agreements they had made in the past to rush toward a nuclear weapon. The idea that Iran needs a civilian nuclear program in the first place is an absurdity considering it's one of the most oil rich nations on planet Earth and its economy has been totally shut off to exports of oil. So it's not like they're, they're somehow in some sort of energy shortage that requires nuclear energy. And I don't believe the Ayatollahs are wildly environmentalist in their, in their pursuit of green energy. And then beyond that, the idea of a regional war spreading outward. The fact is that the situation has changed rather markedly in the Middle east. Given the fact that Israel has, has done such a remarkable job destroying so many of the Iranian proxies in the area. Who precisely would come to Iran's defense? What would a regional war look like? Iran's worst move ever would be to strike at the United States. Given the fact that right now Israel has been flying sorties literally in the middle of the day, unfettered, over Iranian airspace, refueling over Iranian airspace. Right now the Iranian government is in the weakest military position that it has been certainly over the course of my lifetime. And so I don't even understand how you get from point A to point B with the idea of a regional war on the horizon. The Saudis are quietly celebrating. So are the uae. So are Bahrain. Pretty much everybody who's not Qatar is celebrating this morning in the Middle East.
Ro Khanna
Well, we respond to a few points. First, you're absolutely right that Iran was cheating on the nuclear civilian development. I'm not defending the idea that they were being transparent, but the main point remains that they still had a long way to go to actually put nuclear energy on a missile as a transport of actually having a strike land. That's different than developing nuclear energy. Second, it's unclear that these strikes are going to achieve anything because many experts believe they're just going to move the program underground. They're just going to now totally stop monitoring. That's why President Trump was trying to pursue a deal that would have actually stopped the nuclear development and made sure that they didn't get nuclear weapons. Third, the fact that the oil prices have shot through the roof suggests that people believe there's going to be instability. First of all, they could hit Israel, which they should not do. They should not be retaliating. Secondly, they could hit American assets. I, I'm glad Secretary Rubio made it very clear that there would be a major consequence if they did that. Third, this is going to inflame other countries that in the region didn't want Iranian sovereignty to be hit, whether maybe not Saudi Arabia, but there's certainly other countries in the Middle East. Look, the president ran on saying that he was going to de escalate in Ukraine, de escalate in Gaza, de escalate with Iran. All three of the situations arguably are more inflamed than when he took office.
Ben Shapiro
So, final question on this, and then we'll move on to the situation in California. If it were to be found that Israel had significantly hampered or destroyed nuclear facilities, including Natanz, which apparently no longer exists this morning, and if this does not spiral into some sort of regional conflict, would you acknowledge that this was exactly the right move by the Israeli government and that in fact, Iran had been essentially stalling for time in these negotiations? It appears that that was the conclusion that was come to, not just by the Israelis, but it seems like that was the conclusion that the Trump administration was pretty clearly moving toward.
Ro Khanna
Anyway, Look, I'm always open to assessing based on the facts. When they took out Nasrallah and when they took out Hamas as leader, I said obviously that was effective and I've been a critic of Netanyahu. So if the facts on the ground were to show that it was effective, of course I would look at the facts. But my view is that the diplomatic solution would have been better, wouldn't have caused the kind of inflammation we see and is the one that President Trump was pursuing and should have pursued. But look, I'll evaluate it based on the facts that come out and whether this actually does make any difference in Iran's nuclear development.
Ben Shapiro
Alrighty. Meanwhile, over in California, there was a fraud situation yesterday when Senator Alex Padilla sort of crashed a press conference by Senator Kristi Noem, sort of conflicting views over. Over how to interpret the events that. That happened right there. What was your interpretation of the events? Because, you know, the video can be read a couple of ways. I mean, my, my. The truth is I probably would not know Alex Padilla if I ran into him on the street. And it seems to me that one of the things that happened here is that Alex Padilla walked in, that the security didn't recognize him, he wasn't wearing a senatorial pin, and he started shouting or at least asking very loudly questions of Kristi Noem when he was not invited, and they sort of muscled him out of the room. You read it differently. What was your read?
Ro Khanna
Well, look, I sometimes wander into the Capitol, I may not have my pin. And I get people at the Capitol Police saying, sir, sir, what are you doing? And right away I show them my id, I say, I'm. I'm Ro Khanna. I'm a congressperson here. The problem was that when Alex Padilla kept saying, I'm a senator. I'm Alex Padilla. It's on the video. I am a senator. Someone should have said, okay, sir, can you show us your id? They didn't do that. They pushed him out of the room, they threw him down to the floor, manhandled him, and then handcuffed him. So regardless of one's view, certainly we could agree that that use of force and not asking him for his ID was way, way over the top.
Ben Shapiro
Well, I mean, I think that you can make a security based assessment that, you know, he, he is pushing back against them. At this point, he probably should have just walked out of the room. I assume that if you were confronted by security at the Capitol building and they said, sir, we need you to step aside, you would actually step aside as opposed to trying to kind of continue to move your force into the room before you're pushed out of the room. What are you calling for, for these officers? Do you think they ought to be fired or something?
Ro Khanna
I think there ought to be an investigation about whether they should have manhandled Alex Padilla, pushed him down to the ground and handcuffed him. When he's saying, I'm a US Senator, I'm Alex Padilla, I guess the first question I'd ask them is, did you really not know who he was under oath, or did some of these people know that he was Alex Padilla, a US Senator? Because there were six, seven people around them. I find it hard to believe then no one there, including Secretary Noem, knew who he was. I mean, someone Secretary Noem could have said he's Alex PDF senator. Now, do I think Secretary Noem knows all 100 senators or all 435 members of Congress? Probably not, but that should be the first question of the investigation. And then they should look at the video because a number of times he says, I'm Alex Padilla. Senator. Did anyone say, okay, sir, can you please show us your id? Because he was led in that building legitimately. He had a meeting with someone else in the building. He showed his id. He, he's in the building. So can you see from Senator Padilla's perspective? He's in that building. He's legitimately there as a senator. It's not like he snuck in and then there's a press conference across the hall and he goes in and okay, yes, he's slightly disruptive. But Ben, you're a huge, huge defender of the First Amendment and free speech. This he was not engaged in violent protest. He was engaged in speech, political speech. The response to that can't be the overbearing handcuffing and manhandling of a U.S. senator.
Ben Shapiro
Now, on a scale of 1 to 10, Congressman, this is being treated as like a 10 level crisis by some in Congress. We've seen some very impassioned floor speeches from Senator Cory Booker and the like suggesting this is the beginning of authoritarianism in the United States. On a scale of 1 to 10, how grave is the situation do you believe with, with Senator Padilla?
Ro Khanna
I think it's a pattern and I put it at, at a segment. Look, I've appreciated some of your criticisms of the Trump administration. You call from your ideology balls and strikes. But I think you see an administration and that has gone after universities, that is going after local governments and states saying we want to be sending in National Guard and we want to be sending in the Marines, that is going after private corporations. Whatever your view of dei, the state is now telling private corporations, here's what you need to do and not do. And now has a use of force if someone is being, is interrupting them and engaged in protest speech, even if they're an elected official. And I think the totality of that says, well, this is not constitutional limited government and we've got to stand up for that. Now I believe we will stand up for that. And you know, Donald Trump is basically going to be a lame duck in a year and a half and we're going to have the American people stand up for constitutional government. But I imagine you have concerns about the response of the state, given your views of limited constitutional government.
Ben Shapiro
I mean, listen, I think they're interesting discussions to be had on a wide variety of the topics that you've just mentioned. I will say that when I watch that video and then see Senator Padilla filming videos a little while later talking about it and having seen how many other actual authoritarian countries work, I'm not gonna put it at 7. I'm putting more like a 1.2. This ranks pretty low on the scale of authoritarian moves by government that I've seen in my lifetime. But we can agree to disagree. Congressman Khanna, really appreciate the time.
Ro Khanna
Thank you. You're always fair, always enjoy chatting.
Ben Shapiro
Also, it's Friday. We made another episode and no one stopped us. It's Ben After Dark, 7:30pm Eastern, only on Daily Wire. Plus, tonight I hit send on a bunch of thoughts I probably should have drafted. Glenn Beck meets a3,900, goblin plush and his friends. Dr. Phil assigns me homework. I get ambushed by a license plate guessing game. And for some reason, we're talking about Kristin Chenoweth's dog. It's uncensored, unfiltered and undeniably being paid for by Aaron Neville's molecule. Join me and my sidekick, producer Savvy, as we bring chaos to your screens and therapy bills to your inbox. It's been after dark tonight, 7:30pm Eastern only for members only on DW. Alrighty, folks, we reached the end of today's show. Obviously it's gonna be a busy weekend. So we'll be back here Monday with, I am sure, a lot more. I'm Ben Shapiro. This is the Ben Shapiro show. This is Dr. Jordan B. Peterson. Watch Parenting, available exclusively on Daily Wire.
Mark Levin
Plus, we're dealing with misbehaviors with our son.
Ben Shapiro
Our 13 year old throws tantrums.
Benjamin Netanyahu
Our son turned to some substance abuse.
Ben Shapiro
Go to dailywireplus.com today.
Summary of "Bonus Episode: THE REVENGE" from The Ben Shapiro Show
Release Date: June 13, 2025
In this special Ben Shapiro Show episode titled "THE REVENGE," host Ben Shapiro delves into the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. The episode provides a detailed analysis of recent military actions, strategic implications, and the broader geopolitical landscape, featuring insights from guest experts Mark Levin and Mark Dubowitz, as well as an interview with Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna.
Ben Shapiro opens the discussion by outlining Israel's recent aggressive military campaign against Iran, highlighting the precision and strategic intent behind these actions.
Precision Strikes: Shapiro emphasizes the targeted nature of Israeli airstrikes, noting, "[...] the Israeli strike on an apartment building targeting an Iranian nuclear scientist [...] was about as targeted as the strike can get" (02:10).
Impact on Nuclear Facilities: The Israeli Air Force (IAF) has attacked critical Iranian nuclear sites:
In retaliation, Iran launched a substantial missile barrage targeting Israeli civilian areas, with a significant portion breaching Israel's missile defense systems.
Missile Details: Approximately 100 missiles were fired, with Israel intercepting 93 (08:58). Seven missiles penetrated defenses, striking central Tel Aviv and causing minimal casualties.
Casualties: Israeli Red Cross (Magen David Adom) reported 21 casualties:
Shapiro highlights Israel's sophisticated missile defense capabilities and the population's preparedness.
Defense Systems: Systems such as Iron Dome, David's Sling, and Arrow are actively intercepting incoming threats (09:08).
Civilian Preparedness: Israelis are accustomed to missile alerts, utilizing apps and designated safe areas like "mamad" (safe rooms) and fortified parking lots.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed both Israeli citizens and the Iranian populace, framing the military actions as a path to liberation for Iranians oppressed by their regime.
Call to Iranians: Netanyahu declared, “Woman Life Freedom. Zan Zandegi Azadi” (18:47), urging Iranians to rise against their government.
Operation Rising Lion: He outlined the objectives of Operation Rising Lion, emphasizing the elimination of Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities while hinting at the potential overthrow of the oppressive regime.
Guest: Mark Levin, political commentator and radio show host
Levin lauds President Donald Trump's consistent support for Israel, contrasting it with isolationist elements within the party.
Trump’s Foreign Policy: Levin states, “President Trump deserves enormous credit [...] He was the most pro-Israel president in American history” (21:30).
Critique of Isolationists: He criticizes figures like Tucker Carlson, describing them as undermining Trump’s pro-Israel stance and military credibility.
Levin commends Netanyahu for his decisive actions against Iran, likening the partnership between Trump and Netanyahu to legendary alliances like Reagan-Thatcher.
Guest: Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Dubowitz underscores the effectiveness of Israeli strikes in crippling Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure.
Targeted Eliminations: Highlighting the elimination of "nine out of twelve top nuclear scientists," Dubowitz notes, “That's a devastating blow to Iran's nuclear weapons program” (35:31).
Challenges in Attacking Fordow: He acknowledges the difficulty in damaging deeply buried facilities but remains optimistic about ongoing operations.
Dubowitz discusses the potential collapse of the Iranian regime, drawing parallels to the Reagan strategy against the Soviet Union.
Regime Weakening: “Pressure from the outside, maximum support for Iranians on the inside” is likened to the strategy that led to the USSR’s collapse (37:56).
U.S. Role: Emphasizes the importance of credible U.S. military responses to deter further Iranian aggression (36:16).
Shapiro shifts to the upcoming protests against President Trump, characterized by skepticism towards their significance and scale.
Protest Critique: Describes the "No Kings Day" rallies as largely symbolic with minimal actual participation (43:14).
Government Stance: Highlights aggressive law enforcement responses, including threats from Florida Sheriff Wayne Ivy regarding violent protests (53:25).
Guest: Ro Khanna, Democratic Congressman from California
Khanna expresses worries about the potential for the Israel-Iran conflict to spiral into a broader regional war.
Nuclear Development: Concerns that Iran may move nuclear activities underground, evading monitoring (47:58).
Economic Impact: Notes rising oil prices and instability as immediate consequences of the conflict (49:02).
Shapiro counters Khanna’s concerns by arguing that Iran is militarily isolated with no substantial regional allies, minimizing the risk of widespread conflict.
Regional Alliances: Points out that key Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE are quietly supportive of Israel (48:15).
Iran’s Isolation: Emphasizes Iran's weakened military position and lack of support from major powers like Russia and China (39:46).
Discussion centers on the potential for increased U.S. military involvement, with Dubowitz suggesting that President Trump might escalate actions to include B2 bomber strikes on critical Iranian infrastructure.
Ben Shapiro wraps up the episode by reiterating his stance on the Israel-Iran conflict, praising the leadership of both President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu. He dismisses the likelihood of a broader regional war, emphasizing the strategic advantages Israel and the U.S. hold over Iran. Additionally, Shapiro criticizes domestic protests against Trump as unsubstantiated and overblown, maintaining focus on international stability and security.
Ben Shapiro on Israeli Strikes:
"About as targeted as the strike can get." (02:10)
Netanyahu’s Call to Iranians:
"Woman Life Freedom. Zan Zandegi Azadi." (18:47)
Mark Levin on Isolationists:
"Tucker Carlson [...] is a paper tiger." (25:19)
Mark Dubowitz on Nuclear Scientists:
"That's a devastating blow to Iran's nuclear weapons program." (35:31)
Ro Khanna on Regime Collapse:
"The Reagan strategy [...] led to the collapse of the USSR." (37:56)
Shapiro’s Counter to Escalation Fears:
"The Saudis are quietly celebrating. So are the UAE. So are Bahrain." (48:15)
Israel's Strategic Offensive: Precision strikes targeting Iran's nuclear and military infrastructure aim to curtail Iran's capabilities and destabilize its regime.
Iranian Retaliation: Despite advanced defense systems, Iran succeeded in hitting central Tel Aviv, though casualties remain low.
Leadership Praise: Both President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu receive commendations for their roles in advancing Israel's strategic objectives.
Domestic Distraction: The episode criticizes domestic protests against Trump as minor and unimpactful compared to pressing international conflicts.
Future Implications: The potential for further escalation is discussed, with emphasis on the need for credible military deterrence to prevent broader regional or global conflict.
This comprehensive summary encapsulates the critical discussions and analyses presented in the episode, providing listeners with a clear understanding of the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict, its implications, and the domestic political landscape surrounding President Trump.