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Attention all vessels. Attention all vessels. Attention all vessels in Persian Gulf and Oman Sea, this is SEPA Navy warning. Transiting in straight or foremost is only possible with SEPA Navy permission and undesignated routes.
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If any vessel attempt to transit in
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the Strait without our permission or AIs off or outside of the designated route, it's responsible for any consequences of any danger.
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This is SEFA Navy out now. We got the following message from Iran's lead negotiator and the leader of their parliament, M.B. golubov. He writes, America falsely claims our unfrozen assets will buy their agriculture. Interesting. The only crop we're harvesting is what you planted. Decades of mistrust. It's organic, abundant and homegrown. But apparently the US Only exports GMO soybeans, broken promises and trash talks. That's what they think of the United States. And that's what the rest of the world thinks of the United States. So you have Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who refused to participate in the Switzerland technical talks regarding the moc you because he didn't want to be associated with it. So he already shows divisions in the negotiating team by him not being there and just having jd, Vance, Kushner and Witkoff at the Switzerland talks. You're the Secretary of State, dude. That's literally your job as the top diplomat to be there. Sorry, if you don't want to do it. That's what your job is. But instead, Rubio's meeting with the Gulf Council cooperation countries this week. He's meeting with Bahrain, uae, Kuwait and others. Notably Saudi Arabia is not on a schedule. Saudi Arabia doesn't want to meet. They're livid. And all these countries are livid. And they're saying the US Security umbrella failed and these GCC countries want to try to figure out how. And I did a video on this this morning as well to do reconciliation commissions and figure out how they can come more closer allied with Iran because they need protection and the US hasn't provided it. All they get from Trump and Rubio is fraud and lies and catastrophic invasions and then fraud about the catastrophic invasions that cause death and destruction to the economy. So Marco Rubio is there in the Middle east and he's meeting with these Gulf countries, these Arab nations. And Rubio's like, no one can charge tolls. Let's just suppose we went crazy and lost our minds and agreed that there could be a tolling mechanism. How would you enforce it the way it's enforced today, Rubio, Iran knocked out a ship. And y' all go silent and y' all go silent and then just say everything's going fantastic to manipulate the markets for your right wing oligarch buds. Here, play this clip to go through the straits.
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And think about it this way, if you have it's not even workable. Let's suppose that we went crazy for and lost our minds completely and decided to agree to have a tolling or a fee mechanism. How would that work? It's not doable because what's the consequence for not paying? Let's say a ship says, well, I'm not going to pay the fee. It's not like a toll on a road. You don't get a ticket in the mail, they get shot at. You shoot at one ship, you sink one ship, no other ship is going to move. So that sort of system is not only unwise, it can't happen. It's not even workable. So you might as well abandon the fantasy now.
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Then Marco Rubio says, and our relationship with Oman is fine because Oman says they're not in favor of a tolling system. Read the damn mou, you idiot. We can see the text. And I know you want to say, oh, there's no algae in the reflecting pool. Don't believe your eyes. No, January 6th wasn't an insurrection. We're not going to talk about the 2020 election. I mean, Covid was caused by Dr. Fauci. I mean, all of your ridiculous life. Could we speak about the truth, please? The MoU says that there's a 60 day period where there won't tolls, there won't be charges, but then after 60 days there can be. It's in the MoU, the document, and it's also in the technical discussions that happened after. Here, let's play this clip. Is the current bilateral relationship with Oman
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now in a good place?
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And are you convinced they're not playing games with respect to that issue?
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I mean, our relationship with Oman is fine. I mean, ultimately there's not going to be any fees or tolls. There's not going to be any. And they've signed. You know, they were there in the meeting today and they said it, that they aren't in favor of a tolling system. So that's good to hear you say that.
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I do have to ask because just a few weeks ago. All right, well, Rubio, what about the $300 billion reconstruction fund that the U.S. has guaranteed Iran? That's in the MOU. True, the MOU doesn't say that that 300 billion has to be paid directly by the U.S. but Trump is a signatory to a guarantee of $300 billion to Iran in the most basic of principles. That's a guarantor. So it's gotta come from somewhere. Rubio, so did you speak with the Arab nations about the $300 billion? Because the Trump regime said that money's gonna come from the Arab nations and not us. So surely that came up, didn't it? Rubio? Here, play this clip.
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Mr. Secretary, in the meeting with the GCC allies, did any of them make any commitments to pay into this $300 billion reconstruction? No, it was not discussed. I mean, that the reconstruction cut, that's way down the road and that's something, you know, that'll be dealt with at the appropriate time in this process. But that was not discussed by any.
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Oh, so that wasn't discussed. So that's just a fraudulent provision that's what Donald Trump has done his whole life. He never honors a contract. He views negotiation as a way to sucker punch. He believes that the good faith that's supposed to occur is for sucker and losers. And by the way, Iran realizes that. That's why they've built a tiered system in this agreement where they get the benefits first, they get funds unfrozen, they get the blockade removed, they get the sanctions waivers, and those things have happened. So, Rubio, another question for you, buddy. The MOU did not include a specific number of years during which Iran cannot develop a nuclear weapon. So what's it going to be, Rubio? You got some specifics? And Rubio says the MOU is not even really a deal. It's just a framework of an outline to negotiate. No, no, no, Rubio, I hate to break it to you. The MOU has binding provisions. It is a short form, but it is binding. And yes, it creates obligations for future negotiations. But there are binding provisions in the MoU that then get implemented, not changed, implemented through a longer agreement. That's why these Trump regime people are all such freaking frauds. Watch what Rubio says. Let's play this clip.
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Mr. Secretary, the MOU did not include a specific number of years during which Iran could not develop nuclear weapons. Should a final agreement have a specific number?
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And is the US Pushing for that?
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Why would MOU would not have that? Because the MOU is not a final agreement. An MOU just creates the construct and the outlines for an agreement negotiation. And there's no doubt that as part of that negotiation, very specific terms like years and limits will be discussed. And that includes the mechanisms by which it's verified and enforced.
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All right, well, Rubio, are you aware of any of the frozen money that Qatar holds being transferred already to Iran? We know that that happened. It's undisputed that happened. What does the lying Rubio say? Because these people lie about everything. Everything. They. Everything is a lie. I'm not aware. I'm not familiar. I'm not aware about that. Well, it happened, Rubio. I'm aware about it. The rest of the world is aware about it. The Arab nations you're meeting with are aware about it. So when you say stupid, when you say stupid stuff like that, people are like, okay, you have no credibility. You have no credibility at all here. Sorry, I cursed here, played this clip.
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Are you aware, has any, or are you aware of any of the frozen money that Qatar holds being transferred. Transferred already to Iran? Well, I'm not aware of that. I don't think anyone in our system has said that. So I, I don't know if you're responding to some news or anything that's out there, but as of right now, we're not aware of any money, nor have we agreed for any money to be transferred.
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Okay.
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So that all that money is still there as far as we. That's our understanding. And there's no agreement on that point, so there better be.
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And then you bring in Michael Boulos, Tiffany Trump's husband, Donald Trump's other son in law. It's like a family affair. You've got Kushner in Switzerland, Michael Boulos, Tiffany's husband, sitting next to you in the meeting in UAE with mbz, the president of the UAE and the head of Abu Dhabi. Really? That's what you do. Do you also realize that makes you look pathetic? You just have Bulow sitting there. What is this? An internship? A nepotistic internship. What are you doing? And Rubio was asked about it. Can you Clarify why Tiffany T.R. trump's husband was sitting next to you at the meeting in Abu Dhabi? Doesn't that make the US look stupid? He was there to see his brother who lives here. He was just there to like, hang out and catch up. By the way, I'm going to show you that Rubio said that he's there to hang out and catch up. That's great, everybody. That's great. The American economy right now is in the trash. The American people are suffering. But guess what? Tiffany's husband, he's just there hanging. He's chilling with the crew. What in the hell is going on here? Play this clip of Rubio so you can hear for yourself.
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Mike was just. Michael Bulos. Oh, he was there to see. His brother lives here. He was just there to see me and catch up. No, no, no.
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There was a working lunch.
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Right? So there was, but he wasn't. But the conversations around him had to do with. He was just here because his brother lives here. And I'm a good friend of mine, Michaels. So we had a chance to catch up. Thank you.
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And as Steve Ratner explains, the Trump administration has already authorized $20 billion for Iran before the final long form deal. It's in the mou. Iran's got it. If a deal is reached, Iran could receive nearly $500 billion. And by the way, probably more than that as well. That's the reality. While the American people are the ones who suffer. We got new PCE, the Fed's preferred inflation data. Today, PCE inflation jumped to 4.1% year over year in May. It's the highest inflation in three years, and it's due largely to the war and Iran's impact. Core PCE inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose to 3.4%, the highest since fall of 2023. Donald Trump's promise when he ran for office is that he would bring down prices. They are increasing and they are increasing at a very, very quick rate. So it's the exact opposite of what he promised. But it's not only that. As Heather Long notes, Americans are getting squeezed right now in other ways. They're not able to save anything at all. The personal savings rate for Americans has dipped below 3%, one of the lowest readings in the past 15 years. People are dipping into their savings in order to survive. Personal Savings rates for May 2025, 4.9%. Personal savings rate for May 2026, 3%. And there's been this downward trend, and you saw, you may have heard about this, that Apple has announced that all of its, all of its products will be having massive price hikes. Macworld reports Apple is implementing significant price hikes across Macs and iPads, at least $100 to $200. The Mac mini rising to 799 from 599. The iPod Air increasing by $150. Some of its other MacBook Pros increasing significant amounts, hundreds of dollars. Why? Because of massive inflation. The price of chips are increasing as well. That's AI Inflation Data center inflation. While these companies try to make record profits and the consumers are the ones who are getting screwed right now. U.S. petroleum inventories, you know what they have in we keeping them in Oklahoma. And the international inventories continues to deplete. US petroleum inventories depleted by another 10% million barrels and have fallen a total of 151 million barrels since the US and Israel attacked Iran at the end of February. This is still happening because what Trump and Rubio is saying happening in this trade of Hormuz is not happening. So when you see the price of Brent $72.53, it's B.S. it's market manipulation. It's pure and simple market manipulation. And then when the oligarchs have somebody in office who wants to hold them accountable, they manipulate the markets and they say, well, the market expectations are gonna make it so that we now have to jack up our prices, then we'll take the record prices. So they figure that someone like Trump gives them massive tax breaks, massive other benefits, massive other kind of subsidies for them, and so they'll Go, okay, we'll lower it. We'll lower it. Then when it's someone who holds them accountable, then they raise the prices and then they blame it on. It's the market expectations of instability, really. Market expectations of instability. Because it seems like the expectation should be pretty high right now of instability based on a catastrophic war in the current condition of the Strait of Hormuz. I'll note a few other things as well on the instability. Netanyahu giving a speech earlier. There are still tasks we must carry out. There is still much more we must do against Iran. There is still much more we must do against Hamas. There is still much more we must do us do in Lebanon. It's his speech. He ain't going anywhere. He ain't going anywhere. They have demanded in these Lebanese ceasefire talks more land in Lebanon. They go in the south. That is our security zone. But we need to go even more. We need pilot zones, pilot zones and security zones. So we're gonna basically take it all over now. That's what they're asking. And the Lebanese are like, we thought we were here to discuss a ceasefire. Now you want more land in Lebanon, you want pilot zones and security zones. What do we even. That's what's happening with those discussions. Israel's Defense minister, his name is Israel Katz, his first name is Israel says we are not allowing civilian populations to return to Lebanon. More than that, the first line of villages inside the security zone has been completely destroyed. We completed it. 100% destruction. That's what you're bragging about? You're bragging about genocide, you're bragging about annihilation. Really? I mean, that's what they said this Morning. You have J.D. vance out there. This was from Unherd. And Sohrab Amari did a great job reporting on this. This is what he quoted J.D. vance as telling him after leaving Switzerland. The Emiratis, by far the most hawkish, by far the most pro Israel country in the Gulf. They're having conversations with Iranians that have never happened before, including with the irgc. Yeah, because they don't trust you anymore. They need to reconcile with Iran because the US Security umbrella is over. And maybe it's also Statements like this, J.D. this is what J.D. told Sarah. The Iranians were like, fine, fine. We'll send somebody from the IRGC to hang out in Doha with someone from centcom. And that's how we're gonna settle a lot of these disputes, J.D. van said aboard Air Force Two. Fine, we'll send our IRG. If you really want them to hang out with Centcom, we'll send it. Fine. That's how J.D. vance, who says he's not really familiar with the whole diplomatic thing, while Rubio refuses to show up as well. And that's how things are going right now. While we have Tiffany Trump's husband or boyfriend or whatever hanging out at our diplomatic meetings. And Kushner and the while Kushner is trying to raise $5 billion from his fund. That's what's going on this morning. That's the facts, that's the data. Do with it what you want, but those are that's what's called facts. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 7 million. Thanks for watching. Want to stay plugged in? Become a subscriber to our substack@midasplus.com you'll get daily recaps from Ron Filipkowski, ad free episodes of our podcast, and more exclusive content only available@midasplus.com.
Episode: Trump Goes Silent as Iran Strikes Ship
Date: June 25, 2026
Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas
This episode delivers an urgent and assertive analysis of the escalating crisis involving Iran’s recent attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, highlighting the U.S. administration's (especially Donald Trump’s) lack of response and the perceived manipulation of global markets. With a tone blending political incredulity, brotherly banter, and humor, the Meiselas brothers break down the dangerous instability in the Middle East, critique the Trump administration’s diplomatic failures, and dissect ongoing economic turmoil affecting everyday Americans.
Incident Recap:
Market Instability & Manipulation:
60-Day Tolerance Window:
OSINT (Open-Source Intelligence) Evidence:
Trump and Rubio's Responses:
U.S. Guarantor Risks and the $300 Billion Quandary:
Frozen Assets Unfrozen:
Nepotism in Negotiations:
Immediate U.S. Economic Effects:
Netanyahu’s Aggression:
Gulf Allies' Shifting Loyalties:
Diplomatic Dysfunction:
This episode offers a pointed, data-driven, and sometimes acerbic critique of current U.S. foreign policy, international market manipulation, and the real-time consequences for both global security and the American public. Despite the seriousness, the Meiselas brothers’ style injects levity and sharp satire, making complex geopolitics palatable and engaging.