Trump Panics and Strikes Iran as War Spirals

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0:27Ben Meiselas:The Trump regime has just engaged in military strikes inside Iran. Explosions have now been reported near Surik Port, Kesham Island, and in the Bandar Abbas area, also in Manab, according to Iranian media. ABC News' Jonathan Karl called Donald Trump and Trump told ABC, quote, they shot down a helicopter and we are responding as we speak, adding that the response by the United States military should be very strong and very powerful. War is escalating, folks. The Iranian regime-linked media Tasneem News Agency says Iran will be responding to U.S. attacks. The IRGC spokesperson just put out a message saying, stay away from all American sites in the region immediately.

1:17Ben Meiselas:We will be targeting these assets. Expect a massive Iranian response any moment right now. At least seven U.S. strikes, maybe more, were heard in the Bandar Abbas, Manab, Keshem, Surik, and Southern Iranian area. After the U.S. launched these strikes, the U.S. was saying that it was in response to an Iranian drone striking an Apache helicopter that was loitering over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran denies that it was their Shahid drone that hit this Apache. The U.S. military claims the Iranian Shahi drone hit the Apache intentionally. Previously, Iranian Foreign Minister Aragchi said, stay out of the Strait of Hormuz.

2:03Ben Meiselas:Your country's thousands of miles away when you loiter and hover over our land and our area. Things like this are bound to happen. We're also hearing that the U.S. strike in Surik reportedly hit two water reservoirs in the Bamani district, cutting off that area's drinking water supply, a direct hit to Iranian infrastructure, shutting down the water in the Bhamani district. And Iran said if anything like that ever happened, their retaliation against the neighbors in the region would be extra, extra fierce. And I think that's what we're about to see right now. Here's what Tasneem says. Iran will respond to U.S.

2:45Ben Meiselas:aggression. Iran, as it warned a few hours ago, will give a decisive response to the U.S. aggression carried out during the pretext of the downing of the Apache helicopter. Iran is saying it was not a Shahi drone that took down the Apache, that Trump and Netanyahu are using that as a pretext to strike Iran. And Iran is saying, we're not going to hold back. We're about to unleash hell is what Iran is saying. More of what Jonathan Karl said, I was on the phone with Trump as CENTCOM announced U.S. retaliatory strikes against Iran. Here's what he said. I think it's very important to respond. They shot down a helicopter.

3:24Ben Meiselas:We're responding as we speak. This is a response to what they did. They did with our helicopter last night. And I believe this response should be very strong, very powerful. And that's what this one is. United States Central Command And CENTCOM said the following, CENTCOM forces began launching self-defense, that's what they refer to as self-defense strikes against Iran at 5 p.m. Eastern time today at the commander in chief's direction in response to yesterday's downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter. The mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression. Well, you're flying an Apache over their area to enforce an American blockade that Iran has previously said is an act of war.

4:09Ben Meiselas:We would all agree blockades are act of wars. Here's what Foreign Minister Aragchi posted just moments ago. Despite its defeats on the battlefield, the U.S. opted to test our determination. Our powerful armed forces will leave no attack or threat unanswered. Leave our region if you want to be safe. History of the Persian Gulf has many chapters on dire fates of intruding outsiders. CNN reporting that tonight's U.S. strikes against military targets in southern Iran are intended as a, quote, quote, warning shot and are not expected to hinder peace negotiations between Iran and the United States. Clownish U.S.

4:55Ben Meiselas:officials told CNN. Really, you don't think this is going to hinder the peace discussions? Really? You think that this is going to be productive? What, is a deal going to happen any day now? Is a deal going to happen tomorrow now? Yeah, I'm sure this helps out the peace discussions. Meanwhile, MAGA Mike Johnson just held a press conference moments ago. Maga Mike says that he was in the White House Situation Room with Trump when the United States launched these strikes. As my friend Adam Kinziger says, though, how are there still radar missile and command and control systems, Maga Mike, when you and Donald Trump said all of the Iranian military was previously obliterated and destroyed?

5:35Ben Meiselas:Watch what Maga Mike has to say. Play this clip. Yeah, it was announced just as we were walking in here, there is a defensive strike that has been taken. It is proportional and limited. The White House and the Pentagon have announced and said it's against unjustified Iranian aggression. They did notify me as the leader of the House before this began. And it's targeted strikes to the radar, missile and command and control sites. And it is defensive in nature. We lament that that has become necessary. And the reason it did, as you all know, is because Iran struck U.S. assets and personnel. We can't allow that.

6:17And so we're going to have to take care of this business. So I was at the White House today. I think it was a couple hours in the Situation Room this morning. And the vice president was there, Secretary of State, Secretary of War, CIA director and others. We were with the president and we talked about, you know, Iran and a number of other matters.

6:34Ben Meiselas:A very sheepish and weak looking propagandist Jesse Waters was on Fox before. And here's what he had to say while this was all going down. Play this clip. Does this set us back, Jesse, or not in terms of trying to get a deal with the Iranians? I don't know. I do know that the ceasefire is slowly collapsing after what we saw with the Israelis in Lebanon and them exchanging fire with the Iranians, us telling them to stop, quit. And then the Houthis launching a missile into Israel. So, yeah, I mean, it's it's kind of deteriorating. It's not shattered. So they're still negotiating and they're negotiating pretty seriously.

7:09Witkoff was talking to the president the other day. I think we just received an offer. I'm hearing from Washington that we like what we're seeing, but I don't know how much closer it means to getting to that final deal.

7:22Ben Meiselas:Then they had J.D. Vance, who had the audacity to go on CBS, and he said the U.S. is close to a deal with Iran. It could come in the next week or it could come months from now. Oh, thank you, JD Vance. The deal is right around the corner or right around the corners, corners, corners, corners, corner, and never going to happen. What a weak and pathetic regime this is. Here, play this clip. You say very close. How soon could the deal happen before the midterm elections? Oh, absolutely. No, I think we're going to know a lot before the midterm elections. Look, I think that the deal could happen in the next week, but the deal could also happen months from now.

8:00Ben Meiselas:Now, earlier today, Donald Trump also called the Wall Street Journal. And Donald Trump told the Wall Street Journal before these strikes that the Iranians striking down the Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz was not a big deal. Here's what the Wall Street Journal reported. In a phone call with the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, Trump said the blockade was making Iran very poor and said he would keep it in place as long as necessary. He sought to play down the helicopter incident, saying that it wasn't a big deal and stressing the pilots are fine. The Apache crew spent two hours in the water as darkness fell, according to Captain Tim Hawkins, spokesperson at Central Command.

8:38Ben Meiselas:One senior U.S. official described the crew's escape from the down aircraft as a hand of God moment right there. And do you remember our reporting here in the Midas Touch Network where I was saying that Trump is trying to create some pretext for an American soldier to die or to be injured so he can say, oops, I guess we've got to invade again. That seems to be what they are doing right now. A U.S. official told Fox News, state regime media, airstrikes targeting Iran are ongoing. The targets include air defense and radar installations. That's what Jennifer Griffin, she's actually a good reporter, one of the few good reporters over at Fox.

9:17Ben Meiselas:Now, Danny Citrinitz, he was a former Israeli intelligence official who operated in the region that was covered, obviously, that covered Iran. He's been very critical of the way this war has been handled by Trump and Netanyahu. Here's what he posted, his analysis, and take a listen. It is increasingly clear that Washington is trying to frame what just took place, its recent action, as limited, defensive, and retaliatory, rather than as the opening phase of a broader military campaign. The challenge, however, is that Iran has historically shown little willingness to absorb attacks on its territory without responding, regardless of whether the strike originated from Israel or the United States.

9:59Ben Meiselas:Given the public threats made by Iranian officials and the regime's longstanding emphasis on deterrence, it is reasonable to assume that Tehran is considering some form of response against U.S. interests in the Gulf, including military facilities and regional partners. More broadly, this episode serves as another reminder that the current status quo is inherently unstable. In the absence of a diplomatic agreement, even actions intended to be limited and contained can generate dynamics that neither side originally seeks. For that reason, it would be premature to assume that Tehran views the latest exchange as the final chapter.

10:36Ben Meiselas:The risk of further escalation remains significant, even if neither Washington nor Tehran is actively seeking a wider conflict. Donald Trump escalating. Iran is going to respond. Let's not forget where this all started with Israel striking in the Daya district in Beirut and Tyre over the weekend, pushing into Lebanon when a material point of the ceasefire between the United States and Iran was security guarantees in Lebanon for Hezbollah. Whether you like that or not, that was in the framework that Trump agreed to when he posted the Iranian foreign minister Aragchi's framework and said the U.S.

11:14Ben Meiselas:agreed to this back in early April. Today, we also saw more IDF Israeli strikes in Tyre, or Arabic they say Sir, Lebanon, intensifying, expanding into new Western neighborhoods by this kind of crystal clear water in this beautiful area of Tyre. We'll keep you posted as we learn more here on the Midas Touch Network. Hit subscribe. Don't go anywhere. We're going to have updates all night. Make sure you hit subscribe right now. Thanks for watching.