Iran Strikes Back at U.S. Forces as War Suddenly Escalates

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2:13Ben Meiselas:Things are escalating very quickly. After the United States targeted Iranian infrastructure and violated the ceasefire, Iran has struck back. Iran has targeted American military infrastructure as well. Things are escalating. This MOU is clearly falling apart, if you even wanted to say it was in place at all. Here's what we are learning. The IRGC, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, says that its navy has now responded to the United States' strikes on Syriq. The IRGC says that it has struck U.S. military positions in the region after it accused Washington and Trump of violating the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding by carrying out military strikes on Iran's coast.

3:04Ben Meiselas:CENTCOM moments ago, or slightly earlier, announced that it conducted powerful strikes against Iran. The Iranian statement notes that the U.S. attack followed an Iranian response to the passage of a ship through what Iran called an unauthorized route in the Strait of Hormuz and of Israel's violation of the Lebanon ceasefire. The IRGC cites to Clause 5 of the Memorandum of Understanding, which says Iran has full responsibility for controlling the passage through the Strait of Hormuz, and the IRGC is charging the U.S. of attempting to undermine the MOU, which clearly says Iran is in charge of those arrangements.

3:49Ben Meiselas:The IRGC warned that it would further escalate against the United States military if the United States continued to strike Iran. And Iran says they are not backing down. If there are ships that use the unauthorized route by Oman and do not coordinate with the IRGC. The IRGC will blow up those ships. Iran says, we're ready for war. Y 'all were the ones who were begging us to enter into this memorandum of understanding. And of course, earlier today, the Wall Street Journal confirmed some of our reporting that we were doing weeks ago. And my interview with Congress member Himes, who's the Democratic ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, where we all talked about how these U.S.

4:38Ben Meiselas:bases in Bahrain, in Kuwait, in Saudi Arabia, in the UAE were obliterated by Iran. And that total obliteration was covered up by CENTCOM, which didn't want to admit just how bad the damage was to these U.S. military bases. Iran says, we're ready. We'll shut down the Strait of Ramos again. We're ready to go. We're ready for war. IRGC Public Relations just put out the following statement in full. Following the violation of the ceasefire by the Zionist regime in southern Lebanon a few hours ago, the treaty-breaking U.S. regime, as always, violated its commitments and under the pretext of preventing the passage of a violating ship through an unauthorized route in the Strait of Hormuz, launched an air attack on the coast of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

5:25Ben Meiselas:So the IRGC Saifa Navy responded to this aggression by striking the positions of the U.S. terrorist army in the region. According to Clause 5 of the Islamabad Memorandum, arrangements for controlling the passage in the Strait of Hormuz are with the Islamic Republic. Now, pull back for a second. Whether you like that passage of the Memorandum of Understanding or you don't like that passage, it really doesn't matter what your feelings are because the undisputed fact is that Iran is correct, that that's what clause five of the MOU says that Donald Trump signed in Versailles. If you don't like that clause, then don't sign it.

6:07If you believe that you destroyed the Iranian Navy and their military and their infrastructure and that Iran begged for this and you had the upper hand in the negotiation, then negotiate a different term, but you signed it. The memorandum of understanding is binding. The final agreement is a long form version to implement the terms of the MOU, the memorandum of understanding, which is a short form agreement, but the MOU is a binding agreement. And truly it pains me as an American to see our government under the Trump regime enter into a clear and unambiguous agreement breach the agreement and then behave like buffoons and say, but you are the ones who breach.

6:56No, I can read the MOU. I know what the MOU says and you signed it. You don't like it. You don't sign it. But Donald Trump, his whole life and others in his regime are deal breakers. They're frauds. That's what they've been their whole life. And so that's what they're doing. They're frauds and they're predators.

7:13Ben Meiselas:Now you have an Iranian parliament member responsible for national security, Abraham Azizi, he writes the following, the U.S. attacked Iran in the middle of negotiations once again. The failed U.S. president has shown he has no commitment to the principles of negotiations or a ceasefire. This reckless violation of the ceasefire will, as always, lead to retreat and regret on their part. The blame game does not work anymore. Now, Dolphin Iran, this account which is very close and linked with M.B. Galabaf, Iran's parliament leader, so much so people say this is like the unofficial account of Galabaf, writes the following moments ago.

7:56Ben Meiselas:The United States is attempting to attack Iran's monitoring and protection infrastructure for the Strait of Hormuz. Repeated attacks on fixed facilities in southern Iran indicate that previous attacks have been unsuccessful. Hits have been reported in Syriq and Qesham over the past 24 hours. The United States has tried to establish a new route in the Strait of Hormuz, but failed due to Iran's swift response. The strait is now effectively blockaded and passage is only occurring with Iran's coordination. Until the United States fulfills all of its commitments, traffic through the strait will not return to normal.

8:34Ben Meiselas:The main indicator for Iran is the situation in Lebanon. Iran is on the verge of a reciprocal response and more reciprocal responses we're hearing from others in the IRGC to follow. And so what that post is alluding to as well is that these strikes by CENTCOM, by the United States military, are actually aimed at disabling SEPA Navy outposts and radar that it uses to control the Strait of Hormuz with its IRGC SEPA Navy that the United States claims doesn't exist and is in the bottom of the sea. And so Iran says, we see the targets that you're hitting, and we know its intention is for you to open up alternative routes to try to get cargo ships and other VLCCs out of the Strait of Hormuz using non-IRGC controlled routes.

9:30Ben Meiselas:But we're not going to allow that to happen. Recall that yesterday, Foreign Minister Arag Chiavara called his counterpart the Foreign Minister of Oman after Rubio and the Trump regime tried to force Oman to say that they will not enforce any tolls or fees in the Strait of Hormuz. And earlier today, Oman came out with a statement or was leaked to Bloomberg and others through what Oman had said to European Union countries and other countries it does business with. No, we will be charging fees with Iran. We have a joint venture with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz.

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11:50Ben Meiselas:based on Clause 5 of the Islamabad Agreement, the arrangements for controlling passage through the Strait of Hormuz are with the Islamic Republic of Iran. However, America, by inciting various parties, sought to violate this commitment to which the necessary response was given, and it shall be so henceforth. In the event of repeated aggression, our response will be more extensive than this. And again, Iran's making it clear. If a VLCC, those are those very long cargo container ships, right? If the vessels don't use Iran, Iran doesn't care. Iran is not scared. Donald Trump has admitted that we're on the verge of global depression and the U.S.

12:31is about to tank bottom. Trump's already tanked the economy. Iran knows how desperate he is. They're not backing off. And they've further cemented their relationships now with Middle East countries. And they feel that they're ready to take on the U.S. They know Donald Trump's not going to commit ground forces. And they know that Donald Trump at this point has lost and he's scared. and he shouldn't have launched this unlawful and catastrophic war in the first place with Netanyahu. We reported earlier, of course, when the U.S. launched these attacks on Syriq, CENTCOM then bragged about it in a social media post.

13:07CENTCOM forces conducted a powerful response, they say. U.S. aircraft struck the Iranian missile and drone storage locations on coastal radar sites. And they say how this was a powerful response to yesterday's attack on a commercial ship. And they said the unwarranted aggression by Iran violates the ceasefire. It doesn't. It doesn't. It doesn't. And it pains me to say that CENCOM and the United States are lying, but the CENCOM and the United States are lying. Just go and read paragraph five of the MOU. It It says the strait is under the control of Iran and Oman and that Iran makes the arrangements.

13:49It's clear. It's unambiguous. It's undisputed. J.D. Vance posts, Iran signed a ceasefire agreement. We have honored it. If they have disagreements of how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone. But violence will be met with violence. Now, you and Trump and the Trump regime are violating the ceasefire. You don't ever do what you say you're going to do under deals. And like with everything Donald Trump does, he never wants to do a deal to begin with. It's why he wants to have oral understandings, which he manipulates, which aren't understandings at all. If he can't do that, he'll do a framework, but it'll be vague and ambiguous so he can breach.

14:33And then if he actually has to put his name on something like an MOU, he'll always find ways to breach it and say, oh, well, you're the one who breached it. I mean, this is a guy who's saying that there are ninja vandals who have dove into the reflecting pool with box cutters, and that's why it's filled with algae and growth. I mean, we're literally dealing with a psychopath here. Now, it should also be noted as well that there is a cyber war going on as well. Just days after the MOU was signed and funds were unlocked and sent to Iran, billions of dollars,

15:14Ben Meiselas:Iran's banking sector was hit by two waves of cyber attacks that disrupted services at several major banks and temporarily suspended nationwide card transactions, Amwaj Media reported. British media and cybersecurity analysts said the attacks bore the hallmarks of Predatory Sparrow, a hacking group widely viewed as linked to Israeli's cyber operations. The attacks targeted major state banks, including the Mali, Sadarat, Tijarat. And the report says the timing has fueled speculation that the attacks were intended to undermine the U.S. and Iran agreement. Amwad reports the attacks fit a broader pattern of Israeli cyber operations against Iranian infrastructure.

16:03Another thing to note is that earlier today, US, that there was a purported Israel-Lebanon framework that was entered into. Rubio announced, not an agreement, not a deal, announced a framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon at the State Department on Friday, signed by the two countries that this would be a first step forward toward ending months of war. Didn't y 'all announce though like 10 other ceasefires? Those weren't the first step forwards. Those were all just fake market manipulation tactics. Got it, got it, got it. But Hezbollah,

16:39Ben Meiselas:which holds the weapons at the center of the conflict, was not a party to this deal and were not invited. Israel says its forces will remain in their security zones in southern Lebanon, meaning Israel will occupy southern Lebanon. Netanyahu said this was a major achievement and tied any withdrawal to Hezbollah's full disarmament, though Hezbollah wasn't at these negotiations. Then the deal creates pilot zones in addition to security zones where the Lebanese army would take exclusive control as Israeli troops redeploy, one south of the Latani River and one north, but it requires Israel to first advance into the pilot zones.

17:21Ben Meiselas:But Israel says it keeps the security zones. It just creates new zones. Okay, we'll go out of the zones, not the security zone, but these two new zones that we create. And Israel's ambassador declared, Iran is out. Hezbollah is out. Now Hezbollah rejects the agreement. The Hezbollah member of parliament in Lebanon says that we are not going to agree to this. We're not supportive of this. More than 4 ,000 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes since March. Israel continued striking the South this week as recently as yesterday, despite the MOU saying that that can't happen. Now, I'll leave you with this right here.

18:01Ben Meiselas:Just again, I just want to give you the data right here. Rubio, when he was in the Middle East, he was asked about the MOU. And basically, Rubio's like, the MOU is not even real. It's just a framework to negotiate in the future. This is the perspective of the Trump regime on everything. Here, play this clip. 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? And is the U.S. pushing for that. No, that's why would an MOU would not have that because the MOU is not a final agreement.

18:35An MOU just creates the construct and the outlines for a 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.

18:49Ben Meiselas:And then here's what Rubio had to say after meeting with the Gulf Council, cooperation countries, the GCC countries. Did you talk to them about the$300 billion fund, which is in the MOU, which you and others said that they're on the hook for, not the United States taxpayers? No, we're not talking about that. We'll deal with it. Do you see how bad faith this is? I mean, it's just, again, it's in the MOU. So if you thought you had all the negotiating leverage and you didn't want that in the MOU and you said, we can never offer this to Iran. We'll never do it. How dare them? Fair position. Then don't put it in the MOU and don't sign your name on a document that says you owe them$300 billion or you're a guarantor and then tell us it's the Arab nations.

19:38Then don't talk to the Arab nations. It just demonstrates that everything you do is like, everything you do is bad faith. And it pains me to have to like make that announcement as I report. I mean, but that's just the truth. Here's what Rubio says. Play this clip. 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, 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.

20:10And of course, Donald Trump, at his last speaking engagement earlier, said Iran is dying to make a deal. They're just dying to make a deal. What does it even mean they're dying to make a deal? No one's dying. The MOU is done. It's done. Okay? You can negotiate the technical details in a long form and just shut up. Here, play this clip. They're dying to make a deal. They're giving us a lot. They should have been done over the 47-year period that they've reigned with terror. And that's what they did. They reigned with terror.

20:44Ben Meiselas:There you have it, everybody. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 7 million subscribers. Thanks for watching. Seriously, let's try to get to 7 million. Can you please try to subscribe? Let's get there.