Trump Panics as Iran takes Victory Lap

Summary

Podcast Summary: The MeidasTouch Podcast

Episode: Trump Panics as Iran Takes Victory Lap
Date: June 18, 2026
Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas (MeidasTouch Network)

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Episode Overview

In this episode, the Meiselas brothers dissect the aftermath of the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the United States and Iran following a war in the Persian Gulf region. The focus is on Iran’s jubilant reaction, President Trump’s visible panic, and the geopolitical and economic consequences of the agreement—particularly Iran and Oman’s new control over the Strait of Hormuz. The episode highlights Iranian triumphalism, Trump's defensive rhetoric, and the sense of American loss embodied in the symbolism of Versailles, where Trump signed the MoU.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Memorandum of Understanding: Substance and Symbolism

• [02:00] The hosts explain that Iran is publicly celebrating the MoU, portraying it as a resounding victory:
  • “MB Golubov, the lead negotiator for Iran, is saying, had we not entered this deal, we were prepared to continue fighting, and we believe we would have won. But we've achieved hundreds of times more what we could have won in war. In this Memorandum of Understanding.”
• Trump’s signing ceremony took place at Versailles—a pointed contrast to the American people's struggles at home.
  • "He's in, like, a golden palace while the American people are suffering, while he signs terms of surrender." ([04:43])

2. The Mood in Iran vs. the United States

• [03:30] The hosts play and discuss scenes from Iran:

  • Street celebrations, televised interviews with negotiators, and pilots involved in military actions.
  • Golubov’s rhetoric: “God seems to have created Iran’s enemies from among the foolish. Their actions have turned Iran’s potential capacity in the Strait of Hormuz into an actualized one.”
  • The Iranian narrative: victory belongs to diplomacy, backed by battlefield success.

• By contrast, Trump administration officials in the U.S. downplay or dispute details of the agreement:

  • Stephen Chung, Trump’s communications director, attacks CNN for posting the MoU's text, despite it being accurate. ([03:52])

3. Terms of the MoU and Control of the Strait of Hormuz

• [08:48] The MoU grants Iran and Oman the ability to administer and charge tolls for the passage of commercial ships through the Strait after 60 days:
  • “Upon the signing of this MoU, the Islamic Republic of Iran will make arrangements, using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days... The traffic of commercial vessels will immediately start... [after] 60 days... they can do charges.”
• The hosts emphasize the long-term impact:
  • “Before the war, there was no charge. After the war, there is now a charge.”

4. Iran’s Strategic Messaging and Critique of International Dynamics

• Golubov, Iran’s lead negotiator, emphasizes that Iran’s power—not international trust—guarantees compliance with the agreement:
  • “Our guarantee will be Iran’s power.” ([11:45])
  • He scornfully addresses Europe’s shifting stance: “You call us terrorists, so what do you want from the terrorists? Now that we stood up to the United States, you want to do deals with us?”
• Defensive capability is not up for negotiation:
  • “Our missiles are meant to be fired, not negotiated over. Our missiles don't even like being talked about.” ([12:30])

5. Trump’s Response and Shifting Rhetoric

• The brothers play a montage of Trump’s statements from early 2026, calling out contradictions:

  • Earlier: “We’re so energy independent, we don’t need the Strait of Hormuz.”
  • Now: Admits U.S. oil reserves would be depleted in four weeks without access.

• Trump’s self-pitying tone:

  • “No, there's nothing I can do. But what this does is it allows the ships to go. If we, if we keep bombing, those ships won't be going. And you're talking about 500, 600, $700 million a day. It’s a lot of money. A lot of money. That's why the world is okay.” ([14:43])

• The hosts contextualize this as evidence of Trump’s incompetence and narcissism:

  • “Trump failed to see. He got us involved in a catastrophic and unlawful war that we shouldn’t have been involved in. This is a document of surrender.” ([13:39])
  • “A real, real menace to the world. One of, perhaps, the biggest menaces in the history of humankind.” ([13:50])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [04:44] "He's in, like, a golden palace while the American people are suffering, while he signs terms of surrender after losing a war that he and Netanyahu should never have gotten involved in at all." — MeidasTouch Host
• [07:11] “God seems to have created Iran’s enemies from among the foolish. Their actions have turned Iran’s potential capacity in the Strait of Hormuz into an actualized one.” — MB Golubov, Iranian lead negotiator
• [11:45] “Our guarantee will be Iran’s power.” — MB Golubov
• [12:30] "Our missiles are meant to be fired, not negotiated over. Our missiles don't even like being talked about. Iran's defensive capabilities will not be discussed in any process with any party." — Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson
• [14:22] "We have tremendous oil and gas, much more than we need. We're now totally independent of the Middle East and yet we are there to help. ... If we keep bombing, those ships won’t be going. ... You want to see bedlam." — Donald Trump
• [13:50] “A real, real menace to the world. One of, perhaps, the biggest menaces in the history of humankind.” — MeidasTouch Host

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [01:39] - Opening: Iran takes public victory lap and MoU details emerge.
• [03:30] - Contrasts between Iranian jubilation and American confusion.
• [08:48] - Article 5 of the MoU: Iran/Oman’s new authority over the Strait of Hormuz.
• [11:45] - Golubov on Iran's guarantee being its power, not international trust.
• [12:30] - Iran's red line on missile negotiations.
• [13:38] - Hosts' analysis: U.S. loss and reverberations.
• [14:22] - Trump’s evolving public statements and shifting rationale.

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Language and Tone

The episode maintains the MeidasTouch signature style: punchy, unapologetically critical of Donald Trump, sprinkled with sarcasm and brotherly banter, but underpinned by serious geopolitical analysis.

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Takeaways

• Iran, post-war, is emboldened—gaining hard-won economic and strategic wins through the MoU.
• The U.S. is forced into an embarrassing diplomatic retreat, symbolized by Trump’s Versailles signing.
• Changes to the Strait of Hormuz’s administration could have enduring global effects on trade and energy.
• The episode underscores the profound costs—both tangible and reputational—of reckless foreign policy, with the hosts pointedly critiquing the Trump regime’s decision-making and its impact on ordinary Americans.
• The MeidasTouch brothers frame the episode as a wake-up call about democratic accountability and the importance of informed, engaged citizenship in the face of international crisis.

Transcript

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[Ron Filipkowski]

My relationship with my family and with my boyfriend and with myself were suffering. I really needed help. I was ruminating a lot. Really getting those thoughts out to a therapist and getting feedback was just life changing. Discover what BetterHelp online therapy can do for you. Visit betterhelp.com today Donald Trump is panicking as Iran is taking a victory lap following the official signing of the Memorandum of Understanding. Despite Donald Trump and the Trump regime saying that the MOU was signed over the weekend. Apparently that signature was non binding. So Donald Trump went to Versailles where he officially signed the the Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of the United States. On the other hand, you had President Possession of Iran sign on behalf of Iran. Now Iran's Foreign Ministry and Iran's lead negotiator MB Golubov are celebrating publicly, declaring this as a major Victory. MB Golubov, the lead negotiator for Iran, is saying, had we not entered this deal, we were prepared to continue fighting, and we believe we would have won. But we've achieved hundreds of times more what we could have won in war. In this Memorandum of Understanding, and when you read the terms, as well as how Iran, with advisement from Oman, now controls the Strait of Hormuz, and starting 60 days per paragraph 5 of the MoU, into this memorandum of Understanding coming into effect, which is the effective date today, Iran and Oman will be charging tolls. And that's built into this Memorandum of Understanding. Let me show you the celebration that's taking place in Iran, and let me contrast it, of course, to what's going on in the United States. I mean, you've obviously seen that horrific and disturbing press conference that Donald Trump had at the G7 and on the tarmac in France. We brought you that. But earlier in the day, you had Donald Trump's communication director, Stephen Chung, attacking se cnn. When CNN posted verbatim the Memorandum of Understanding, Elena treen posted the MoU, to which Stephen Chung said the following. The supposed text of the MoU that was obtained by CNN does not reflect the language of the actual mou. And this just goes to show you, the Trump regime lies about literally everything. It was verbatim what the MOU said. And when we said what the MOU said, it's verbatim what went down. So moments ago, Donald Trump personally signed a copy of the agreement during his visit to Versailles. I mean, if that's not the symbolism, I don't know what else is. He's in, like, a golden palace while the American people are suffering, while he signs terms of surrender after losing a war that he and Netanyahu should never have gotten involved in at all. Then you have Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Sam, sending out the following message right now as I'm speaking with you. The text of the Islamabad memorandum has probably reached the presidents of Iran and the United States for signature. It has been agreed that the Iran US Memorandum will be signed digitally once the memorandum reaches the presidents of both countries for signature. Any violation of it will carry a higher cost. Up to this moment, there had been plans for the negotiating teams to attend in Geneva or Brussels. But the signing of the memorandum will be done digitally and no signing ceremony will be be held in Switzerland. That was from Tasnim, Iran's media agency. Then Iran's M.B. golubov said the following gave an interview. Victory lap celebrations taking place in Iran. God seems to have created Iran's enemies from among the foolish. Their actions have turned Iran's potential capacity in the Strait of Hormuz into an actualized one. Iran has sovereign rights in the Strait of Hormuz, and naturally we will charge fees in return for the service we provide. Notice his language right there that America was so foolish, our adversaries are so dumb, Their actions turned a potential capacity into a real one. We now control the Strait of Hormuz. What a victory for us, he's saying. He goes on to say, the steadfastness of the Iranian people brought the world's most powerful armies to their knees. If there had been no negotiations, we would not have achieved our objectives. We gain through negotiations, negotiations many times more than what we sought to achieve through military action. So much more that the two are not even comparable. We got so much more in the negotiations than what we could have got in war. We still would have won the war, but we got so much more in this deal. The difference between the current negotiations and previous rounds is that today the knowledge and achievements of victory on the battlefield serve as the backing for diplomacy. In negotiations conducted as a form of struggle, there is neither surrender nor empty sloganeering during the war. I posted on Twitter that the Strait of Hormuz would never return to its previous conditions, and that remains true today. However, this does not mean that we intend to act in the Strait of Hormuz contrary to international law or maritime regulations. Never. We will act within the framework of international law. Then, while that interview was taking place, Iranian TV were airing the F5 jet pilots from Iran who hit a United States military base in Kuwait on March 1. They flew in total radio silence, bypassed other targets. When the Kuwaiti army went to go after the F5, they mistook the they were mistaken and they hit the US F15E. And that's when there was the friendly fire incident at the very beginning of the war. You remember that? That's what went down. Meanwhile, Golubov goes on to say, once the ceasefire came into effect, you saw that the enemy carried out actions in the Persian Gulf, and we immediately responded. The latest example was the incident involving the American helicopter. In addition, two enemy warships that were attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz were struck and suffered extensive fires, a matter that satellite imagery also confirmed. On the other hand, any airport in any country from which enemy fighter jets took off was targeted. All of these events occurred while we were simultaneously engaged in negotiations. And Lebanon is part of the resistance front under the agreement. Iran supports the resistance front, while the United States is a supporter and ally of the Israeli regime. Therefore, it is natural that when a ceasefire is established, it must be respected on all fronts, especially in Lebanon. I must thank the dear people of Lebanon, particularly the Shiites and Hezbollah, who stood up during the US and Israeli aggression against Iran and sacrificed nearly 4,000 martyrs. While we were under a ceasefire, they continued fighting and continued to suffer casualties. When the Israeli regime targeted Daiya, we threatened the United States and issued an ultimatum that our demands had to be accepted otherwise we would respond. Trump was compelled to post on social media and tell Netanyahu that the attacks had to stop and that DIA can no longer be targeted. Not only by the way though did I not volunteer to join the negotiating team, Gallo Bob says, but I was actually reluctant to do so before accepting responsibility for the negotiations. I did everything I could to avoid having this responsibility assigned to me. One of the reasons I did not want to accept this responsibility responsibility was that Donald Trump was the planner, commander and overseer of the assassination of Qasem Soleimani. General Soleimani was dear to the entire Islamic world, but he was certainly different for me on a personal level. Do you think it is easy for me to sit down and finalize text with such a person? However, when I saw that none of the officials proposed anyone else and that my own suggestions were not accepted, I had to carry out the duty that had been assigned to me. We are not meant to do only that which we like. Rather, we must do what our duty requires of us. My pessimism and distrust towards the United States is greater than anyone else. As a result, even if there is this final agreement and it's approved by the United Nations Security Council, it is still not trustworthy. Our guarantee will be Iran's power. Meanwhile, Golubov claims that payment for maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz it's embedded in the MoU. His argument is that the coastal states possess sovereign rights and responsibilities under international law and that Iran will naturally collect fees for services provided in the strait. If implemented, this would represent one of the most consequential long term out terms of the crisis. And he also argued that the same European countries that breached the JCPOA pushed for sanctions and supported listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization that all of the European countries are now seeking negotiations with with Iran over sanctions relief. Second, he claimed that security officials from some of those countries traveled by car to Tehran requesting talks. According to Gallaba, Iran's answer was simple. You call us terrorists, so what do you want from the terrorists. Now, the broader message he projects is that Iran's ultimate guarantee lies in its power, not in international agreements. He's saying all the European countries, their foreign ministers are lined up to cut deals with Iran. He's like, all right, we were your terrorists yesterday, and now that we stood up to the United States, you want to do deals with us? Tell me, what should the terrorists do to help you right now? And then, folks, just so you can see for yourself what Article 5 of the MOU says, and that it allows Iran and Oman to shut down the Strait of Hormuz after 60 days in charge fees. Here's what it says. Upon the signing of this MoU, the Islamic Republic of Iran will make arrangements, using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days only from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa for 60 days only. The traffic of commercial vessels will immediately start. And considering the need for removing the technical and military obstacles and demining by the Islamic Republic of Iran will be instated within 30 days. The Islamic Republic of Iran will conduct dialogue with the Sultanate of Oman to define the future administration and maritime services of the Strait of Hormuz in discussion with other Persian Gulf states in line with the applicable international law and the sovereign rights of coastal states of the Strait of Hormuz. So it's just no charge for 60 days and then they can do charges. I'm just reading you the language. So there's no dispute about what happened. Before the war, there was no charge. After the war, there is now a charge. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the following as well. Our missiles are meant to be fired, not negotiated over. Our missiles don't even like being talked about. Iran's defensive capabilities will not be discussed in any process with any party. Now, I'll leave you with this. We made this video at the Midas Touch Network showing what Donald Trump said on March 9, 2026, April 1, 2026, and then June 17, 2026, before, he was saying, we're so energy independent, we don't need the Strait of Hormuz. But now Donald Trump is saying, had we not entered into this deal in the next four weeks, so what we've been saying on the Midas Touch Network, this is what we've been warning about, all of the oil reserves would be depleted and we would be in a massive economic great depression. And I know for most American people, you're like, wait a minute, I'm in one now because of this regime.

[Donald Trump]

Yeah.

[Ron Filipkowski]

And that's what Trump failed to see. He got us involved in a catastrophic and unlawful war that we shouldn't have been involved in. And now when you break things, you have to fix it. This is a document of surrender. Because the United States lost. Donald Trump got involved in a catastrophic and unlawful war. The American people are the one who have to suffer right now as a result of having someone like Donald Trump who is incapable and such a malignant narcissist of doing the most basic, basic things. A real menace, A real, real menace to the world. One of the, perhaps the biggest menaces in the history, history of humankind. Here's what Trump said. Let's play.

[Donald Trump]

It doesn't really affect us. We have so much oil. We have tremendous oil and gas, much more than we need. We're now totally independent of the Middle east and yet we are there to help. We don't have to be there. We don't need their oil. We don't need anything they have. I'm going to get bad press. I know that now. If I did the opposite, if I went out and continued to bomb them for another four, just bomb the hell out of them. I get bad press on that. No, there's nothing I can do. But what this does is it allows the ships to go. If we, if we keep bombing, those ships won't be going. And you're talking about 500, 600, $700 million a day. It's a lot of money. A lot of money. That's why the world is okay. It's liquid, it's fine. Also, we run out of reserves in about four weeks. You know, there are reserves all over the world and we would really run out and there'll be a time when you wouldn't be able to get it. And you want to see bedlam. So for all those so called geniuses that want to show me how smart

[Ron Filipkowski]

they are, well, there you have it, folks. Let me know what you think. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 7 million subscribers. Want to stay plugged in? Become a subscriber to our substack at midasplus.

[Donald Trump]

Com.

[Ron Filipkowski]

You'll get daily recaps from Ron Filipkowski ad free episodes of our podcast and more exclusive content only available at midasplus.

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