Trump Has Psychotic Meltdown as Iran Refuses Demands

Summary

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The MeidasTouch Podcast

Episode: Trump Has Psychotic Meltdown as Iran Refuses Demands
Date: April 12, 2026
Hosts: MeidasTouch Network (Ben, Brett, Jordy Meiselas)
Featured Analyst: Ron Filipkowski

Episode Overview

This episode features an urgent, in-depth discussion of former President Donald Trump’s latest foreign policy meltdown centered on the breakdown of U.S.-Iran negotiations in Islamabad, his threats of a total naval blockade of the Persian Gulf, and the spiraling global consequences. Ron Filipkowski joins to break down the unfolding crisis, analyze Trump’s erratic public statements and behavior, fact-check administration claims, and explore reactions from Iran and around the world. The MeidasTouch Network brings their trademark mix of incisive legal, political, and cultural commentary with bursts of incredulity and humor.

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Key Topics & Insights

1. Breakdown of U.S.-Iran Negotiations

• Background: Trump’s team (J.D. Vance, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner) attempted to re-negotiate terms after agreeing to Iran’s 10-point plan, which undermined credibility and led Iran to walk out of talks.
  • "[The Trump regime] tried to bully and dictate the settlement terms... Iran refused to accept those terms because Iran said we agreed on the ten-point plan. The negotiations fell apart after about 20 hours..." — Ron Filipkowski [01:00]
• Iran’s Diplomacy: Iran bypassed the U.S. by making bilateral deals for access to the Strait of Hormuz with countries such as China, Russia, and India.

2. Trump’s Threat of Naval Blockade

• Escalation: Trump announced a unilateral U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, threatening to intercept all oil tankers, including those from neutral and allied countries.
  • "Trump posted the following message: ...the United States Navy...will begin the process of blockading any and all ships trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz..." — Ron Filipkowski [03:30]
• Global Response: Allies and rivals alike ridicule the threat as reckless and dangerous; Iranian social media openly mocks Trump’s declarations.

3. Unhinged Trump Statements & Media Appearance

• Grandiosity & Confusion: Trump calls for renaming the Persian Gulf the “Gulf of Trump” and waffles incoherently in interviews with Fox’s Maria Bartiromo.
  • "I was thinking about calling it the Gulf of Trump...maybe that one wouldn't have worked out..." — Donald Trump [08:13]
  • Bartiromo (bemused): "You're being facetious. I know that..." [08:34]
• Erratic Performance: Trump appears out-of-touch; pundits and even allies look at him with visible concern.
  • "Maria Bartiromo...was looking at him like, oh my God, this guy is really, like, just totally lost it." — Ron Filipkowski [05:45]

4. The Real Outcome in the Persian Gulf

• Humiliating U.S. Naval Incident:
  • Actual footage surfaces of Iranian ships turning away U.S. Navy destroyers, contradicting official U.S. reports of a “successful mission.”
    • "The Iran Navy stopped it and said, we will fire upon you if you don't turn around. And the once very powerful United States Navy just turned itself around..." — Ron Filipkowski [09:00]
  • Clip: "If you don't obey my order, you will be targeted. Out." — Iranian Navy [10:33]

5. Trump’s Odd Behavior Amid Crisis

• Distracted at UFC Fight: At a critical moment, Trump attends a UFC fight, acts physically frail, and awkwardly compliments a fighter’s looks.
  • Clip: "You’re a beautiful guy. Great fighter...I’ll give you a model. You look so good. You're too good looking to be a fighter..." — Donald Trump [13:05]
  • "Trump was at a UFC fight... hitting on the UFC fighter. I just want you to try to wrap your head around this, right?" — Ron Filipkowski [13:19]

6. Ratcheting Up Rhetoric and Threats

• Threats of Total Destruction:
  • Trump describes plans to destroy Iran’s infrastructure “in half a day,” returning it to the Stone Age.
    • "In one half of a day, they wouldn't have one bridge standing, they wouldn't have one electric generating plant standing..." — Donald Trump [13:37, 20:28]
  • On destroying a civilization: "Yeah, I'm fine with it. That statement brought them to the table..." — Donald Trump [21:34]
• Questionable Claims: Trump refers to American pilots as “captured”—prompting concern about what really happened during failed U.S. operations in Iran.

7. Analysis of Economic and Geopolitical Fallout

• Oil Markets: Trump’s rhetoric and blockade threats already risk sending global oil prices soaring above $115-$150/barrel, particularly hurting Asian economies.
  • "This is gonna send crude prices, I think, above 115, $120 a barrel in no time..." — Ron Filipkowski [23:01]
• Regional Escalation: Experts predict Iran may activate proxies (e.g., the Houthis in the Red Sea) to shut down additional maritime chokepoints, dramatically escalating the crisis.

8. Media Landscape and Disinformation

• Propaganda by Administration: Filipkowski highlights how right-wing and official media outlets are distorting events to protect Trump and confuse the public.
  • "This is just...more propaganda...to distract them from what’s really happening..." — Ron Filipkowski [16:10]
• Independent Journalism: The MeidasTouch team and their allies pride themselves on delivering truth ahead of mainstream and corporate outlets.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Trump (on the blockade):
  "We’re putting on a complete blockade. We’re not going to let Iran make money on selling oil to people that they like." [19:36]
• Iranian Social Media:
  "The new move from Trump against our country is so comical that we don’t even have a meme for it." [05:10]
• Filipkowski (on the U.S. Navy incident):
  "Yet another humiliation ritual. We sent our Navy destroyers...the Iranian Navy stopped it and said, 'We will fire upon you if you don't turn around.' And the once very powerful United States Navy just turned itself around..." [09:00]
• Trump (on the Persian Gulf):
  "I was thinking about calling it the Gulf of Trump, and I decided not to do it. I think maybe it was a wise... But I was thinking about it's going to be called the Gulf of Trump. And then I said, you know, that's not gonna play too well." [08:13]
• Filipkowski (on Trump’s state):
  "What has happened to...I mean, this is absolute madness. And again, I don't care what political party you're with, this is madness." [13:19]
• Trump (on Iran):
  "I could take out Iran in one day. I could take down in one, in one hour. I could have their entire energy, everything, every one of their plants, their electric generating plants, which is a big deal." [20:28]
• Iranian Parliament Leader Statement (translated):
  “…my colleagues on the Iranian delegation...raised forward looking initiatives. But the opposing side, the United States, ultimately failed to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation...America has understood our logic and principles and now it's time for it to decide whether it can earn our trust or not.” [17:40]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:00] — Breakdown of U.S.–Iran Islamabad negotiations
• [03:30] — Trump’s announcement of a naval blockade
• [06:20-08:40] — Trump’s Fox interview: “Gulf of Trump” and economic confusion
• [09:00] — Real outcome: Iranian Navy turning back U.S. destroyers
• [13:05] — Trump at UFC fight, physical and verbal oddities
• [13:37, 20:28] — Trump on bombing Iran “back to the Stone Age”
• [21:22, 21:34] — Trump endorses total destruction: “a whole civilization will die tonight... Yeah, I’m fine with it.”
• [22:38] — Bizarre claim: “we captured the two pilots”
• [23:01] — Regional escalation, market impact analysis
• [17:40] — Response from Iranian Parliament leader

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Conclusion

This episode dissects a fraught, globally consequential foreign policy debacle, exposing the divergence between official U.S. rhetoric and on-the-ground realities. The hosts and Ron Filipkowski deliver biting, well-documented skepticism toward Trump’s fitness, intentions, and grip on reality, while contextualizing the broader dangers of his actions for global security and the U.S.’s international standing. Between dark humor and earnest alarm, the MeidasTouch Podcast provides an indispensable, up-to-the-minute breakdown of one of the most pivotal meltdowns of the 2026 geopolitical landscape.

Transcript

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[Ron Filipkowski]

Donald Trump is panicking as the full consequences of his failed negotiations with Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan are setting in. As you are now aware, the Trump regime negotiators, J.D. vance, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at Donald Trump's orders tried to change the pre approved negotiating framework that was based on a 10 point plan that Iran made Donald Trump agree to before a cease fire was announced. Donald Trump agreed to the ten point plan, but then the Trump regime tried to bully and dictate the settlement terms at the Islamabad talks. Iran refused to accept those terms because Iran said we agreed on the ten point plan. The negotiations fell apart after about 20 hours of purported negotiations. And now Donald Trump is posting that he will be doing a full united naval blockade of the Persian Gulf, which he says he will block all tankers from every country from going into the Persian Gulf in order to bring back crude oil to their country. So Donald Trump's plan to open up the Strait of Hormuz is to further block the Strait of Hormuz right now by doing a blockade. Because as you may be aware, Iran is conducting bilateral discussions with countries across the world to allow allies or even neutral countries to use the Strait of Hormuz at a cost of about $2 million per tanker. And some countries that are allied with Iran don't have to pay that fee. So for example, China and Russia, they have access to these Strait of Hormuz. India, France, numerous other countries, Pakistan, other countries have been able to utilize the Strait of Hormuz by negotiating specific deals with Iran. And now Donald Trump saying any of ships we will interdict or we will what? We're going to attack those ships because we, the United States, will be doing a full naval blockade of the Persian Gulf. Donald Trump posted the following message. So there you have it. The meeting went well. Most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, nuclear, was not effective immediately, the United States Navy, the finest in the world, will begin the process of blockading any and all ships trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz. At some point, we will reach an all being allowed to go in, all being allowed to go out basis. But Iran has not allowed that to happen by merely saying there may be a mine out there somewhere that nobody knows about but them. This is world extortion, and leaders of countries, especially the United States, will never be extorted. The Trump regime says that as they were imposing extortionate terms on Iran after agreeing to Iran's ten point negotiating framework. And the bad faith that was exhibited in Islamabad by the United States and Donald Trump is similar to what has happened before in late February and then back in June in negotiations with Iran. Donald Trump then posted another message that Iran promised to open the Strait of Hormuz. They knowingly failed to do so. This is causing anxiety, dislocation and pain to many people in countries throughout the world. They say they, they put mines in the water even though all of their navy and most of their mine droppers have been completely blown up. They may have done so, but what ship owner would want to take the chance? There is great dishonor and permanent harm to the reputation of Iran. And then he goes on and just kind of rants and raves like a lunatic. And it's all projection. There's great dishonor right now to the reputation of the United States and other countries are now having bilateral discussions with Iran. And what Donald Trump is in essence threatening a World War three, if you will. If you don't believe we're in one already. I mean, there, there was clearly a war involving the entire world. I don't want to get hyperbolic here, right. But there was a war involving pretty much all countries in the world. And now Donald Trump is saying the United States is going to impose a full naval blockade of the Persian Gulf to not allow Iran to do any types of deals with other countries, whether that country's France or the European Union or India or China. I mean, what's going to happen if a Chinese vessel shows up to enter the Strait of Hormuz? The naval blockade is going to attack the Chinese ships or The Russian ships or the Indian ships? Is that what the plan is? You have Iranian social media mocking this blockade concept. This is what they said. The new move from Trump against our country is so comical that we don't even have a meme for it, or we can't even find a meme for it. There's mocking Donald Trump and how pathetic he looks. Donald Trump then called into state regime media, which calls itself fox. Maria Bartiroma, who was the host of the show that he called into. I mean, she was looking at him, frankly, like he was somebody who was, like, really suffering almost in, like, like hospice care. And she was looking at him like, oh, my God, this guy is really, like, just totally lost it. And she says, is this gonna be enough? The blockade? Is this gonna be enough? Listen to what Donald Trump says. Here, play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

I got it ended because of tariffs. Mr. President, Supreme Court was not nice to me about.

[Maria Bartiromo]

Is this, is this all going to be enough? The blockade in the strait, the capacity in the United States. Is this going to be enough to lower the price of oil and gas?

[Donald Trump]

Well, it's going to be. Eventually it's going to be lower, though it might not happen initially, but it's going to. It's going to go down when this is all over. Look, the stock market, The Dow had 50,000. It was supposed to be in four or five years. They said it won't happen during his term, but It'll be maybe four or five years. It had 50,000 in my first year. You know it better than anybody. You cover it better than anybody. The S and P it.

[Ron Filipkowski]

Then she asks him, so do you believe that the price of oil and gas will be lower before the midterms? Listen to what he says. Here, play this clip.

[Maria Bartiromo]

So do you believe the price of oil and gas will be lower before the midterm elections?

[Donald Trump]

I hope so. I mean, I think so. It could be. It could be, or the same, or maybe a little bit higher, but it should be around the same. I think this won't be that much longer. They're wiped out. They're wiped out. And you don't get the. You don't get a fair shake. You don't get. You know, we need. We need a free and fair press in this country. And I don't even know why people would do that. Why would they say how wonderful they're doing militarily. They're doing so well. They're totally. The country is wiped out.

[Ron Filipkowski]

And then he said that. I was thinking about calling it the Gulf of Trump, my new plan, maybe I'll call the Persian Gulf the Gulf of Trump. I mean, this is what he's saying right now as he's threatened a naval blockade. And by the way, senior officials say the blockade, they claim that the blockade, blockade is going to be taking place and that Navy sending its assets in the United CentCom will be sending assets to blockade it. But Trump's talking about also changing the name to the Gulf of Trump. Let's play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

I was thinking about calling it the Gulf of Trump, and I decided not to do it. I think maybe it was a wise. I think that one maybe wouldn't have worked out. I'm not so sure. You'll have to tell me. But I was thinking about it's going to be called the Gulf of Trump. And then I said, you know, that's not gonna play too well. I think you're, you know, I'm kidding.

[Maria Bartiromo]

You're being facetious. I know that oil exporters.

[Ron Filipkowski]

So while Donald Trump has these kind of grandiose, you know, views of like, you know, and unlawful views, let's be very clear, war criminal views, let's be even clearer, of changing the name of the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Trump. We're now actually seeing video of what went down When Iran stopped 2 United States Navy destroyers yesterday while the negotiations were taking place in Islamabad, Pakistan, with Iran. Remember, the Trump regime sent two Navy destroyers into the Persian Gulf and they were going to try to send it through the Strait of Hormuz. And then CENTCOM posted, we just did a successful mission. Our Navy destroyers went east and west through the Strait of Hormuz and we were clearing all of the mines. And remember how we reported on the Midas Touch Network and Bloomberg reported and the Wall Street Journal? That didn't happen. What actually happened was quite embarrassing for the United States. I mean, yet another humiliation ritual. We sent our Navy destroyers to the Strait of Hormuz. The Iran Navy stopped it and said, we will fire upon you if you don't turn around. And the once very powerful United States Navy just turned itself around and did not go through the Strait of Hormuz, did not run any missions. Yet. Centcom, which once was centcom, I mean, it had a ton of credibility, just lied and said that a successful mission. Well, now there is video of what went down. Iranian television released footage from yesterday in the Strait of Hormuz where the naval forces, which, yes, they still exist despite Donald Trump claiming they don't. The naval forces of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard warned a US Warship. Stay away from the strait or we will be shooting and blowing you up. And then the US Ship turns around and goes the other way. And yes, Donald Trump and CENTCOM lied about what happened. As we told you they were. Play this clip.

[Iranian Navy]

Navy warship one two one, this is Sepan Avia Station. You must alter course and go back to the Indian Ocean immediately. If you don't obey my order, you will be targeted. Out.

[Donald Trump]

This IS Coalition Warship 121. Engage in transit passage in accordance with international law. No challenges attended to.

[Iranian Navy]

You US Navy worship transiting in the vicinity 4J Airport and Oman Sea. This is Sapah Navy. This is Sapo Navy. Last warning, last warning. Last warning.

[Donald Trump]

Close to High island port.

[Iranian Navy]

Attention all vessels. Attention all vessels. Attention all vessels in Oman Sea. This is Iranian Sepa Navy. If you see any warship in your vicinity, keep a distance more than 10 miles from them because I'm ready to open fire on them without any warning.

[Ron Filipkowski]

You also have Iranian social media continuing to mock the Trump regime. Their social media accounts are posting things like this. Every gulf has a name like the Gulf of Mexico and of course, the Persian Gulf. Before Islamabad, we made clear zero trust. We are ready for whatever comes next. And they show this photo, and it's Donald Trump with the shadow of Netanyahu in the Oval Office. True peace requires confronting these shadows governing the White House. And by the way, while the critical negotiations were taking place regarding the ceasefire in Islamabad, Pakistan, when Trump sent Wyckoff and J.D. vance and, and. And J.D. vance, Witkoff and Kushner to negotiate with the Iranians, what was Donald Trump doing? You know, Donald Trump was at the UFC fight. I did a video this morning which showed that Dana White had to hold Donald Trump's hand because Trump's physically and mentally deteriorating so quickly. But then Donald Trump went up to one of the UFC fighters during the fight and said how handsome he was. Like, Trump was like, hitting on the UFC fighter. I just want you to try to wrap your head around this, right? While the United States was in this critical negotiation and Trump sent these negotiators to act in bad faith in Islamabad, Pakistan, Trump was at a UFC fight. Like, hitting on, like, does he want to, like, date the fighters? Like, you're so handsome. You're so good. Like, oh, you're so strong and muscular. Here, play this clip. Thank you.

[Donald Trump]

What you're doing. You're a beautiful guy. Great fighter. Thanks, sir.

[Mackenzie]

Thank you.

[Donald Trump]

I'll give you a model. You look so good. You're too good looking to be a fighter. You are Some fighter. Thank you, man. Thank you, sir. Thank you.

[Ron Filipkowski]

I just had to show that to you because what is happening with our country, what has happened to. I mean, this is absolute madness. And again, I don't care what political party you're with, this is madness. Okay, going back to Donald Trump's call to Maria Bartiroma, more talk about bombing Iran to the Stone Age. Let's play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

Well, but in one half of a day, they wouldn't have one bridge standing, they wouldn't have one electric generating plant standing, and they're back in the Stone Ages. I'd rather not do that. But I do believe they're going to come to the table on this because nobody can be so stupid as to say that we want to have nuclear weapons. And they have no cards. They have no cards whatsoever.

[Maria Bartiromo]

So. So if they do not give up that effort. Is that the plan? Will you further destruct Iran?

[Donald Trump]

Yeah, I will. If they don't give that plan up. Yeah. I'm not in you, Jerry. What we want to do is we'll open up the strait, but the ships are coming up to the United States.

[Maria Bartiromo]

Let's talk about that.

[Donald Trump]

I've been inviting everybody. It's pretty good.

[Maria Bartiromo]

Let's talk about that.

[Ron Filipkowski]

Mr. President, by the way, I just find the coverage right now of what's taking place in Islamabad, Pakistan, the war coverage in general, I mean, by corporate media is just so bad. And it's been such an honor here at the Midas Touch Network to be able to report the truth of what's really happening and keeping you multiple steps ahead of everything. So you knew about the 10 point negotiating framework weeks ago, right? That wasn't a shock to you? That's how we have to follow the truth every single day, by bringing the receipts. I just found this so interesting right here. You know, you have, this is the headline. You ready? Trump says empty tankers heading to the US to load up with oil and gas. Right. And Trump is saying that to one, he is clearly unfamiliar with the way oil markets work. And also he's trying to tell whatever remaining base he has that it's all good, everyone's gonna get their oil from the US So we don't need the Strait of Hormuz is basically the point that Donald Trump is making. And so if you just look at the distribution of coverage here, like right wing media was all over this and they were reporting everybody. It's all good. Trump says the empty tankers are heading to the US to load up with oil and gas. Okay. But the way oil works, there's an international market, there's WTI and Brent crude, and what's happening in the Strait of Hormuz impacts prices across the world. And so this is just, you know, more propaganda being fed to kind of the right wing base to distract them from what's really happening and the dire consequences that are unfolding. And I just think sorting through a lot of this coverage that that's out there, it can just be a nightmare sometime because depending on the outlets you're getting your information from, it's just an utter mess. You get different versions of events. All I want is the truth. And that's exactly why I partner with Ground News for this episode. And frankly, I use their news function for all of my episodes because they're the best tool for me to stay objective with my reporting. Ground News is an app and a website that pulls in thousands of articles from around the world and organizes them by story to show you how's the left, how's the center, how's the right. Framing stories different, differently. For every story, there's a color coded layout that makes it easy to see the political bias of each source. I can filter for high factuality sources and see which sources are independently owned or owned by a large media conglomerate with corporate interests. This lets you compare reporting on the same issue in one place so you can come to your own conclusions based on all the facts on this article. For example, you can see the distribution about how right wing was covering this more, which is why Ground News even has a dedicated blind spot feed, a personal favorite of mine which highlights stories being disproportionately covered on either side of the political aisle to help burst through the echo chambers. Because I believe in Ground News so much, we're offering you 40% off the same vantage plan that I use for my research here. Just go click the link in the description or go to Ground News MTN or scan the QR code up here. It's one of the biggest discounts they've ever offered. If you wanna support the channel and get a clearer understanding of the world, try out Ground News. Now back to my reporting right here. Iran's Parliament leader M recently posted the following message. Before the negotiations with the United States, I emphasized that we have the necessary good faith and will. But due to the experiences of two previous wars, we have no trust in the opposing side. My colleagues on the Iranian delegation which was called the Minob 168, it was named after the elementary school that the Trump regime bombed and killed over 165 little girls raised forward looking initiatives. But the opposing side, the United States, ultimately failed to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations. America has understood our logic and principles and now it's time for it to decide whether it can earn our trust or not. We consider every mirror to be another method of authority diplomacy alongside military struggle for upholding the rights of the Iranian nation. And we will not for a moment cease our efforts to consolidate the achievements of the 40 days of Iran's national defense. I am also grateful for the efforts of our friendly brotherly country Pakistan in facilitating the process of these negotiations. And I send my regards to the people of Pakistan. Iran is a body with 90 million souls from all the heroic people of Iran who following the advice of the Supreme Leader and by taking to the streets of, supported their children and sent us on our way with their blessings. For this I am grateful. And to my colleagues in these intense 21 hour negotiations, I say well done. God strengthen you. Long live and enduring be our dear Iran. So that's the message coming out of Iran right now. Contrast that to what Donald Trump continues to say. We're putting on a complete blockade. A complete blockade. Here, play this clip.

[Maria Bartiromo]

Tell us what you're trying to accomplish with this.

[Donald Trump]

All out. Yep. It's called all in and all out. There'll be a time when we'll have them all come in and all come out, but it won't be a percentage. It won't be a friend of yours like a country that's your ally or a country that's your friend. It's all or nothing. And that'll be, that won't be in too long a distance, nowhere, just bringing the ships up. We got a lot of ships that we're bringing them up. We think that numerous countries are going to be helping us with this also. But we're putting on a complete blockade. We're not going to let Iran make money on selling oil to people that they like and not people that they don't like or whatever it is. It's going to be all or none. And that's the way it is. And it'll be, you saw, you saw what we did with Venezuela. It'll be something very similar to that, but at a, at a higher level.

[Maria Bartiromo]

And Mr. President, you say that there

[Ron Filipkowski]

may be a, or Donald Trump saying, I'm going to wipe out Iran in one day. Let's play it.

[Donald Trump]

I could take out Iran in one day. I could take down in one, in one hour. I could have their Entire energy, everything, Every one of their plants, their electric generating plants, which is a big deal. And I hate to do it because if I do it, it takes you 10 years to rebuild. They'll never be able to rebuild it. And the other thing you take out are the bridges. I took out one just to show them, because they went public with a statement that wasn't true. They admitted it. I say, I'm going to take out a bridge. And I took out a bridge. And that was the end of that. Now they've been really behaving quite well, but in one half of a day, they wouldn't have one bridge standing, they wouldn't have one electric generating plant standing, and they're back in the Stone Ages.

[Ron Filipkowski]

Or Donald Trump saying, yeah, I'm good with destroying the whole civilization of Iran. This is what he said this morning. Let's play it.

[Maria Bartiromo]

Mr. President, you were criticized for this tweet because you said, a whole civilization will die tonight. What do you want to say about that and what can you tell us about next steps here? Are you planning further destruction?

[Donald Trump]

Yeah, I'm fine with it. That statement brought them to the table with the exception of the one thing which I believe that they're going to give up on. I believe they're going to give up on that pretty soon, to be honest, because it's not going to work. We were, we actually thought we had them, and then all of a sudden they said, no, we want so, you know, but.

[Ron Filipkowski]

And then Donald Trump referred to the F15E pilots who were purportedly recovered by the United States. Although I think this entire story raises lots of question marks. Who are these F15E pilots? Why were there 100 special forces involved? Why do we lose two C130s, multiple helicopters, multiple MQ9 Reaper drones? Why was it right next to the Isfahan facility? Why did we build an entire airstrip over there? Lots of questions. I mean, was this a failed mission to extract uranium from the Isfahan facility? And the F15E pilot story was pretext and subterfuge and cover up for that. But Donald Trump now says we captured the pilots, referring to our own pilots as capturing our own pilots. Anyway, here, let's play this clip right here.

[Donald Trump]

You don't get a fair shake. You don't get, you know, we need, we need a free and fair press in this country. And I don't even know why people would do that. Why would they say how wonderful they're doing militarily? They're doing so well. They're totally the country is wiped out. We lost one airplane and we captured the two pilots. How about we saved those two pilots?

[Maria Bartiromo]

Unbelievable.

[Donald Trump]

Which no other country has the capability.

[Ron Filipkowski]

It's a very bizarre phrase. Also, everybody should pay attention right now to the strait that's in the Red Sea, right? We've been talking about the Strait of Hormuz. Focus on the strait in the Red Sea. Because if this blockade is a real thing that Donald Trump is going to do, by the way, which is gonna send crude prices, I think, above 115, $120 a barrel in no time, Iran's next logical move is activate the Houthis to basically shut down the Red Sea, and then that'll take the $115 per barrel up to $150 per barrel. And, you know, as this crisis escalates, this guy by the name of Danny Citroenitz, he was a intelligence officer, by the way, from Israel, regarding Iran and regarding the Middle East. He's actually had spot on analysis about the folly and the damage and danger and fatal errors being made by the Trump regime in Iran. And here's what he basically notes about all of this. The escalation now appears increasingly unavoidable, especially as Trump significantly raises the stakes with the blockade. Iran is unlikely to back down. It will likely test U.S. resolve by targeting American naval assets while also attempting to disrupt commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz or deter tankers from transiting altogether. Such developments almost certainly trigger a sharp spike in global oil prices, with cascading second and third order effects, particularly across Asian economies that rely heavily on Gulf energy energy flows. At the same time, Iran will aim to project resilience and avoid appearing to capitulate under pressure. Further escalation would increase the likelihood of Houthi action in the Bab El Mandib Strait in the Red Sea, potentially threatening another critical maritime chokepoint. It would also raise the risk of Iranian strikes against infrastructure designed to bypass Hormuz, including pipelines such as the East West Corridor. While Iran would sustain significant damage, it will attempt to maintain oil exports through alternative routes like the Jask terminal circuit. Calculating the Gulf states may ultimately suffer greater economic harm. In any case, this is not a scenario with a clear winner, only varying degrees of losers. Although I would argue that Iran, China and Russia are winners in all of this. China being the biggest, Russia being the second, the US And NATO being the big losers in all of this. We'll keep you posted every step of the way, but that's what's happening this morning. Hit subscribe let's get to 7 million subscribers. Want to stay plugged in? Become a subscriber to our [e-mail] you'll get daily recaps from Ron Filipkowski ad free episodes of our podcast and more exclusive content Only [e-mail]. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile with a message for everyone Paying Big Wireless Way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop with Mint. You can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying. No judgments.

[Donald Trump]

But that's weird.

[Ron Filipkowski]

Okay, one judgment anyway. Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment

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