Top NATO Commander Sounds Alarm on Trump's Iran Strategy

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0:30Ben Meiselas:A top U.S. military general is going public with a dire warning. The United States has run out of military equipment if Donald Trump intends to escalate the catastrophic war in Iran. A general who I've been praising now for the better part of the year, even before the United States invaded Venezuela, he's the one who came out with this publicly. His name is General Alexis Grinkiewicz. His call sign is Grinch. He's currently the allied commander for the United States with NATO. He's a beloved general, and based on him going public, I worry that he will probably be forced out or fired like many of the other top generals and admirals that the Trump regime has pushed out as Hegseth and Trump have pushed out.

1:27Ben Meiselas:But General Alexis Grinkowicz, he went public in the past 24 hours, the top US commander in Europe with NATO. He warned that the Pentagon no longer has enough Navy destroyers to be involved in any escalation of this catastrophic war in Iran, the way Grinkowitz framed it, knowing that Donald Trump is a Netanyahu bootlicker, is Grinkowitz is like, I know Israel's the one dragging us into this escalation again, like Netanyahu dragged us into this catastrophic war with Iran. But let's be clear, Trump and Hegseth and the US regime of war criminals was complicit with the Netanyahu regime of war criminals.

2:13Ben Meiselas:But what Grinkowitz is saying is, all right, well, then you're not going to be able to protect Israel. We're not going to be able. If that's what matters to you, Donald, apparently that's the big deal for you, not the American people, not the Middle East allies, not anybody else, you war criminal. Well, we're not going to be able to protect Israel. So don't be surprised when Iran is able to pierce through the iron, the so-called iron dome in Israel, Iran has already been able to destroy, Grinkowicz explains, and we've been talking about this, the Arab Dome, the dome you promised to protect the Arab nations, Iran is striking all the U.S.

2:50Ben Meiselas:bases there, and you're about to expose that the Iron Dome really isn't able to protect Israel right now, Grinkowicz is basically saying. So these Navy destroyers, which have intercepted missiles targeting Israel and other locations as well are stretched by operations in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and around Iran, while maintenance issues have further reduced availability. I want you to think about that too. Maintenance issues, we've seen that with the aircraft carrier groups as well because Hegseth doesn't know what the hell he's doing. The most basic stuff, keep your equipment operational, keep your ships operational, deal with things like the nuts and bolts.

3:42Ben Meiselas:I know that's boring for Donald Trump and Hegseth. Things like the plumbing, the laundry, food on the ship, stuff like that Hegseth doesn't care about and doesn't think about. And so you have maintenance issues. You have supply chain issues. Iran realizes this. That's one of the reasons the Houthis opened up the Red Sea and shut down the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia's tankers. Saudi Arabia now has to take a longer route around Africa. MBS sent his brother this past week while Netanyahu was in the US, his brothers, the defense minister Khalil bin Salim, to meet with Donald Trump and J.D. Vance. MBS called Donald Trump yesterday, and you had the warning from General Grigowicz in Europe saying, we don't have the ability anymore with Navy destroyers to help you if you escalate this catastrophic war.

4:40Ben Meiselas:We're giving you this warning. So it wasn't surprising that late last night around 11 p.m., Donald Trump posted, despite the fact that we have the capabilities and levels of military terror strength like we've never had before since World War II. We have military terror ready to go. But the perimeter of a deal with Iran is now being discussed, Trump says, the perimeter. So we're not going to strike Iran. Look, it's not just an issue of the Navy destroyers. And by the way, the Navy destroyers carry SM-3 and SM-6 anti-ballistic missile interceptors. We also know that the United States has run out of its stockpile of the THAAD interceptors, like each one of them cost about$12.5 million each, the PAC-3 Patriot interceptors we've run out of.

5:35Ben Meiselas:And in order to replenish the THAAD and the PAC-3s and these SM3s and SM6s takes years. I mean, maybe some PAC3s will be ready to go in 2029 based on what we depleted, but these THADs can potentially be pushed to 2030, maybe even later, for when they will be ready. I mean, it is a real dire situation indeed. And so I want to share with you, I want to share with you if I can, just to remind you what Grinkowicz said back in January of 2026. This is when I began highlighting General Grinkowicz. And one of the things he was talking about then is he's like, pay attention, because while Donald Trump is out there attacking Greenland and attacking all of these countries that Trump is attacking our allies, Grinkowicz is like, I just want you to be aware.

6:35Ben Meiselas:You've got Iran. He was in Sweden when he was giving this speech and talking about what a model ally Sweden is. He was trying to be nice to other NATO allies, Grinkeridge was. But he was like, look, Iran, China, North Korea, they're working together. They're building up their munitions while Trump is out there basically attacking allies. That's what Grinkeridge was basically saying. Here, play this clip. China continues to fund Putin's war machine. Iran continues to supply technology and weapons. And North Korean combat troops remain in Russia on Ukraine's border. And of course, there's a confluence between Russia, Iran, and Venezuela, and their dark fleet of oil tankers that is helping to fund the war.

7:26In the Arctic and the high north, we see a similar trend. Russian and Chinese vessels are conducting more and more joint patrols. Chinese icebreakers and research vessels are in Arctic waters, and their research is not for peaceful purposes. It's to gain a military advantage. Russia, meanwhile, continues testing advanced capabilities in the Barents Sea. As new shipping routes emerge and new resources are discovered, the Arctic only grows in strategic importance. And all of this comes in the midst of an increasing hybrid threat, airspace violations, GPS and GNSS interference, and the Shadow Fleet in the Baltic Sea threatening underwater infrastructure.

8:17In short, the Arctic and Northern Europe by extension has become a front line for strategic competition.

8:24Ben Meiselas:And then in that same event, again, back in January of 2026, Grinkowitz, who just issued this warning, was talking about trying to do his best to make sure that the U.S. had a readiness posture. And so the fact that he's now saying July 31st, August 1st, August 2nd, that the U.S. no longer has an ability to project a readiness posture. When he said this was his main focus as the Allied Commander Europe of NATO back in January, it shows you how disastrous this all is. Here, play this clip. Well, I won't comment on the political dimensions of recent rhetoric. It's not my place to do that as a military officer.

9:14But I will just observe the readout from the North Atlantic Council where all of our permanent representatives from the 32 nations get together to discuss thorny issues. Those dialogues continue in Brussels. They've been healthy dialogues from what I've heard. And I think that's the most important thing. Members of the alliance who've worked together for so many years are talking together and working through these thorny issues. You have this role for about six months now. Has your priorities in any way changed? Is it only six months? Oh, I'm sorry you feel that way. No, no. It's actually been truly a fantastic six months.

9:51One of the best jobs that exists on the planet, in my view, and I've truly enjoyed it. My priorities have been pretty consistent. I've got several of them. One of us, of course, I'm focused on taking care of our people, your people, that you contribute to the Alliance and to our missions. They are the bread and butter of what we do every single day. And Michael Klaassen and I actually got an opportunity to go see some of the Swedish troops yesterday. Swedish Marines who, I mean, some of the most impressive young women and men that I've seen in uniform throughout my 30, almost 33 years of service.

10:30So you all ought to be incredibly proud of what those young people are doing for your country and for the alliance. So we need to take care of them. We need to focus on them, get them the equipment and the capabilities that they need. My second focus is warfighting readiness. And the alliance is ready to fight tonight, but we need to continue to hone our readiness and be more and more ready every single day. That's headquarters readiness, making sure we have the processes and capabilities in place to do the things we need to do. It's also individual unit level readiness. Yes. Michael's focused on that here in Sweden.

11:03All of the chiefs of defense are, and I am as well. And it's by being ready that we continue to maintain that deterrence.

11:10Ben Meiselas:And again, just to remind you of Grinkowitz as well, back on March 12th, Grinkowitz admitted right away to the war crimes the United States committed in Manab when Trump and Hegseth and the band of war criminals slaughtered the little girls at the Manab Elementary School. Grinkowitz took accountability right away. It's why when he's out there going public and saying we don't have Navy destroyers right now, adding on top of the fact that we don't have THAAD interceptors and PAC-3 interceptors, end, end, end, end, going on to say that the issues also have to deal with maintenance issues and were stretched by operations in the Red Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, in addition to Iran.

11:59Ben Meiselas:He's saying how dire it is. Listen to what he said about the Manab war crimes. Here play this clip. Over the course of my career, as a fighter pilot, I've always done everything I can to avoid civilian harm and civilian casualties. And I would tell you, I'm absolutely committed to that. I know the department is committed to that. And that when tragedies like this happen, it causes us all to reflect and try to improve our processes. I've been involved in the targeting process, both at the tactical and the operational levels throughout my career. And I would tell you, we do have a number of safeguards in the system.

12:31You know, every single time that at the tactical level, I was going to release a weapon on a target, I was personally making an assessment as to whether there was any chance of civilian harm. And if there was, was that proportional to the military necessity of striking the target. At the operational level, both from my time in U.S. Central Command previously, and then now at U.S. European Command, And I can assure you that we have robust standards that we go through and look to see and update the imagery and update our understanding of the target and refresh the intelligence on a recurring basis to determine the chances of civilian harm and to address any collateral concerns that might be there.

13:10So you just know I'm absolutely committed to trying to mitigate that risk. I appreciate your testimony. I'm highly concerned, however, that Secretary Hegseth does not agree with you. Secretary Hegseth has criticized rules of engagement designed to adhere to the laws of armed conflict and support civilian harm mitigation. Secretary Hegseth has also cut the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence by about 90 percent.

13:37Ben Meiselas:Now, at the same time he's giving these warnings, the Pentagon also is further attacking Ukraine and attacking the U.S. leadership in NATO to help Ukraine. As you know, Donald Trump did the ultimate rug pull to Zelensky, promising Zelensky Patriot Interceptor licenses and Patriot Interceptors, but definitely licenses back during the NATO summit in Turkey. and then this past 48 hours, Trump's like, nah, I'm not gonna give it to you anymore. So Trump tapped Zelensky along for a full month, let Putin build up his ballistics. Zelensky was promised these interceptors are the licenses. He needed him heading into the winter and now Donald Trump's like, gotcha, screwed you over.

14:24Ben Meiselas:I believe that was all part of it. I'm giving you my opinion of Trump's plans with Putin. But the Pentagon is now handing leadership of NATO's Ukraine Military Aid Coordination Group to a European ally. They're going to move it away from Grinkovic as well, marking another step in the Trump administration's effort to reduce the U.S. military role in Europe. This also comes at the same time that the Wall Street Journal reports China is rapidly closing the satellite gap with the U.S., expanding its surveillance, navigation, and military space capabilities. Its growing satellite network improves intelligence gathering, precision targeting, and tracking of U.S.

15:03Ben Meiselas:forces, while advances in GPS alternatives, AI analysis, and anti-satellite weapons are raising concerns that Beijing could increasingly challenge U.S. military dominance in space. And you've got people like Grinkowitz warning about all of this. Meanwhile, you even have state regime media saying the Pentagon is confronting a growing reality. This is from Fox. This is Fox. The Pentagon is confronting a growing reality after months of fighting in Iran. America's stockpile of missile defense interceptors is shrinking so much that military planners are weighing whether they can continue the current cycle of limited retaliation.

15:48Ben Meiselas:strikes. Iran's strategy appears to be targeting U.S. bases, forcing the U.S. to deplete its advanced missile defense interceptors, such as Patriot and THAAD systems, and compelling the Pentagon to accept greater risk in defending U.S. troops as the conflict drags on. Iran appears to believe this is its best hope about lasting the U.S. military. So Iran, over the past several days, while Donald Trump's saying, I'm going to blow the effing S out of them. Iran's like, do it, blow the effing S out of us, deplete more of your interceptors. And Iran will shoot at various U.S. bases, often the Mufak Salty base in Jordan, but also the bases in Kuwait, areas in Kuwait as well, make the U.S.

16:38Ben Meiselas:launch a few of its interceptors. The U.S. basically has depleted its interceptors, exposed that the U.S. Arab Dome has been eliminated. And now Iran knows that the Navy destroyer capabilities are gone as well. And by the way, we've been saying this for a long time, and now Fox is finally reporting it. But let's remember, what did Hegsett say March 5th, 2026? And you know when Hegsett says something? He's lying. How do you know he's lying? He opens up his mouth. Here's what Hegseth said March 5th, 2026. Let's play it. We've got no shortage of munitions. Our stockpiles of defensive and offensive weapons allow us to sustain this campaign as long as we need to.

17:26Again, our munition status only increases as our advantage increases.

17:33Ben Meiselas:But then February 5th of 2025, Hegseth was bragging how he was giving these interceptor capabilities to Israel while sitting across from Netanyahu. Let's play it. We've supplied munitions that were previously not supplied that are useful in eradicating radical enemies, and we are committed to continue to do so. March 4th, 2026, you had General Dan Kane, the three-star general who's now the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, who was not qualified to become the chairman of the Joint Chiefs because he was not a four-star with the requisite combat experience. But because Hegseth is a racist and Trump is a racist, they fired CQ Brown Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, who, by the way, Trump elevated to a top position back in Trump's first administration.

18:26Ben Meiselas:Biden elevated him to the position of chairman of the Joint Chiefs. He was a qualified four-star. And then they fired him, pushed him out to have the unqualified Dan Cain because he had a nickname Raisin and he's white and they had to give him a waiver because he wasn't qualified. Let's play this clip. The throttle is coming up, as the secretary said, as opposed to ramping down. This will allow us to maintain consistent pressure on the adversary over the coming days, disrupt their launch timelines, and impose cost every day around the clock. I know there have been a lot of questions about munitions.

19:06We have sufficient precision munitions for the task at hand, both on the offense and defense. But I want to tell you, teammates, as a matter of practice, I don't want to be talking about quantities. And I know there's been a great debate about that, and I appreciate the interest, but just know that we consider that an operational security matter.

19:25Ben Meiselas:And to remind you as well, when Senator Mark Kelly questioned Hegseth back on April 30th, 2026, this was April of 2026. Okay. Now we're post-MOU. We've had the re-escalation of the catastrophic war. And so as bad and dire as things were, when Mark Kelly, Senator Kelly was questioning Hegseth here. Imagine this scenario times 10 times worse where we are right now. And we've literally run out of weapons. And you have a top general saying we've run out of weapons. Let's play this clip. Okay. How many years to replenish? That's the question. I think that's exactly the right question too, Senator, because the timeframe we were existing under was unacceptable.

20:14And what this budget does, I mean, months and years, fast. I mean, we're building new plants in real time. So just to replace what we have extended. I said months. And then you said years. It depends on the weapon system. But two to three, four X of what we have today. So yes, we're dealing with a reality under the previous administration of what they sent to Ukraine and what they allocated elsewhere. I got it. So we fired years worth of munitions. And it is clear that these are being expended to try to achieve some objectives. That was the plan. But Mr.

20:51Ben Meiselas:Secretary, this war is stuck. And so again, as a result of the U.S. running out of these interceptors, Iran's been able to strike these U.S. bases in the region with impunity. They're able to hit it hard. And we've been following with the surveillance for the satellite footage, all of the areas that they've been able to hit. You had, again, MBS and MBS's brother calling Trump, you're out of missiles. What are you doing? You've exposed all of our nations. There's no Arab dome. All of the security interceptors and all of the security benefits you promised us for our quid pro quos have been thrown out the window.

21:27Ben Meiselas:You look like a loser. And now Iran has its ballistic missiles and Shahids. They're going to strike our energy infrastructure if you start to bomb their energy infrastructure. And you can't protect us anymore, Donald. You're utterly pathetic. By the way, China's moving in now and going to offer a security umbrella to the Middle East in the absence of the United States. And then Donald Trump announced, I've agreed for the future benefit of the world and likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran that we're going to do. We've come up with the perimeters of a deal. He goes, Did he mean the parameters?

22:02Ben Meiselas:The perimeter of a deal, he says. So I'm not going to bomb Iran and blow the effing S out of them as he's previously threatened. Serious developments, folks. We'll keep you posted every step of the way. Let me know what you think. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 7 million subscribers. Thanks for watching.

22:31Thank you.