Title: DeProgram Show with Ted Ra
Show: DeProgram Show with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas
Date: 2026-02-28
URL: https://youtu.be/ryefwYfcDVY
Duration: 70:00

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[00:08] Good morning. It's Saturday, February 28th, 2026. I'm Ted Rall. That's John Kiriakou. You're watching a special extra unscheduled edition of the program with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou. As you probably already know this morning, the United States and Israel have launched a war against Iran. The president is calling for the overthrow of the Iranian government, and the casualty figures are already quite high. Bomb blasts have been felt throughout Tehran.

[00:38] John, I'm sorry to see you on Saturday morning under such circumstances, but it's good to see you. Ted, my friend Genie just texted me from Florida to say that the Dish Network has blocked Al Jazeera from broadcasting here in the United States. They don't want us to see what's happening in the Middle East. We know from CNN and from other sources, the New York Times is reporting that that an Israeli missile hit a girl's school in southern Iran this morning

[01:10] killing 57 children. So, get used to that. That's going to be what this war looks like. The Israelis don't give a [ __ ] about human life, about civilians, and we're going to see a lot of civilian casualties. On the flip side, the Iranians said days ago, even as long as a week ago, that if there were going to be attack an attack, they would strike US assets around the Persian Gulf. They have done exactly that. They have hit the US military base in Kuwait.

[01:40] They've hit the center of Manama, Bahrain, the capital of Bahrain. They've hit Abu Dhabi. There was an a missile intercepted over Dubai. This is a real war. This isn't going to be just, you know, a back and forth tete-a-tete over the next 24 hours. This is a conflagration. Yeah, that's how I see it, too. I mean, I don't see it any other way, but the president is is predicting or the administration, I should say, is predicting just a few days of of conflict. I don't see how that's possible. I mean, with the Iranians

[02:11] peace in Ukraine by now, so 24 hours for that. Right. Well, the Iranians are engaged in existential battle for their for their government and for their country and for they don't want to go the way of Venezuela and become a vassal state. They're going to fight back hard with everything they've got and that's inevitably going to cause the United States and Israel to play the victim, even though they started all this. And and they're going to say, you know, well, you know, look at what the dastardly Iranians did. We have to

[02:42] retaliate, even though, you know, they're the ones that should be retaliated against. You know, I'm seeing I'm seeing from Joseph Roy 7021 that Comcast Xfinity is also blocking Al Jazeera. That's up in the Boston area. So, that's they don't do that just on a whim or by accident. They're doing it because the administration asked them to. And Cena, this is going to be an ongoing theme. We should probably talk about this for a minute. This is going to be a theme

[03:13] about about only allowing the American people to get the information that the government wants them to get. I watch Al Jazeera every day. Yeah, it's the only game in town when it comes to you know, video from Gaza. There's no one else. That's it. That's it. So, I mean, already Al Jazeera America was shut down by the Bush administration effectively. You know, not officially, but they leaned on the cable companies so that they couldn't effectively have an outlet.

[03:44] You know, we've seen that over and over here in the US. I mean, you know, we're the land of the free my ass. And you know, if truth is the first casualty of war, the first thing you want to do is is kill the truth or kill any other narrative. Um, John, there's going to be so much to get into and and as usual, even though this is a special edition, please go ahead and post your questions. If you're watching live right now in the 9:00 hour on Saturday morning into the live feed and into the rumble room and we will get to all of those if

[04:16] we can, but we're going to try. Um, Ted, I want to ask you a question. Yeah. Yeah, Donald Trump said last night that this was going to be a massive, his words, a massive and ongoing military [snorts] campaign. And he also called it major combat operations. Now, those those words have very specific meanings in in war. That means troops on the ground. That is what it means. >> mean that or or is he just

[04:48] talking? >> know. I don't know how much he's been briefed on, you know, what the appropriate vocabulary is here. You know, he's not a a man of careful language and parsing language. So, you know, with him, you have to kind of read less into it than you would with a normal president, I think is is fair to say, right? When but it's hard to imagine US troops on the ground in Iran. Like, how do what does that look like? I

[05:18] mean, it's you and I have talked about this many times, John. It is a massive country. It is It's you know, the Iranian people might may or may not like their government. It's not the most popular government, but what's a lot less popular is the idea of a US occupation or invasion. They don't want that, for sure. No one wants that. Um, and so I can't even imagine. I mean, uh, and also, I got to say, this is the part that chilled me to the bones. It's the fact that Israel the United States are now so intertwined in this

[05:51] massive, um, endeavor for lack of a better word. I mean, we're really joined at the hip now. I mean, this is basically telling the entire Muslim world, um, we are one in the same. And what Israel does is what the US does and vice versa. Um, you know, Israel is wildly unpopular even here in the United States, but it's certainly around the world. Um, you know, for the first time yesterday there was a poll that showed that most Americans sympathize with the Palestinian cause more than Israelis. First time in since 1948. Um, this is,

[06:24] you know, we just crawled climbed into bed with, you know, with Bibi Netanyahu who's a [ __ ] monster and everybody thinks is a monster. I don't even know where to begin. I I'm looking at reactions from around the world right now and every one of our of our NATO allies has either expressed condemnation or regret. Uh, the only countries that are condemning Iran's retaliation are the

[06:56] countries that are being hit by Iranian missiles, but Ted, looking at the map that you just put up, these these attacks are literally all over Iran. At least all over the populated part of Iran. Right. >> this this really is massive. This isn't just Tehran and maybe some military bases. It is all over the country. Yeah, it is. And look, for people who haven't been to Tehran, I have. Um, it is a big country. It's bigger than New

[07:26] York, I mean, it's a big city. It's bigger than New York City. Um, it has a population of 9.7 million people in the city proper plus significant, you know, huge sprawling suburbs. Um, it is, you know, this is a densely populated city. Um, the all all major Iranian cities are. They're very modern. Um, you know, it's this is going to be a war against the civilian population as much as it is a war against quote and quote military targets. Look, that's a very important point. Yes. This this really is this

[07:58] this is going to be a war against civilians. And we saw that right off the bat. We know we know how little the Israelis care about civilians because none of us have been blind as we watched the the the genocide in Gaza. But they are perfectly happy to kill as many Iranian civilians as they possibly can. No, that's that's true. You know, look, they've been chomping at the bit. Um, you know, as an American I also second look, my first my first thought is with the people of Iran who do not deserve

[08:30] this, did not and did not provoke this, did not ask for this. And even their government was conned and fooled by a President Trump who you know, engaged the Omanis to you know, to conduct diplomacy to try to bring this in for a soft landing. Um, basically lied and said that the there were several weeks to resolve this and then basically launched a sneaky a dastardly sneak attack. It's kind of similar to what the US accused Japan of when right before Pearl Harbor. It's

[09:02] like, guys, why did you attack? We were negotiating. >> That's right. And you know, and look at the reporting. It's only early now, but reporting on you know, this was supposed to be apparently a decapitation strike where we take out Ayatollah Khamenei with the administration not understanding that taking out Ayatollah Khamenei >> does nothing. isn't going to do anything. No. Nothing, literally nothing. I mean, no, it really it really won't. I mean, it's it's not Iran is not a dictatorship. And you know, it's like over

[09:32] you they and also trying to kill him. It's like, well, there's no coming back from that. You bombed the guy's compound. You tried to kill him. Um you know, I mean, you guys already, you know, did that to Soleimani. I mean, you know, the Iranians know exactly where they stand. And Trump also brought up Soleimani uh last night uh reiterating how good it was that he had killed him, how important it was that he killed him, and and that we were going to we were going to cut the head off the uh the Iranian leadership. That's just not the case. The Iranians are incredibly resilient. Yeah, they

[10:02] are. And not to mention, they have this unique series of overlapping governmental structures, right? That is uniquely Persian/Iranian, right? Where they have um a lot of redundancy built into the system, which can cause like, you know, bureaucratic inefficiency, and it's hard to make decisions. But, in a situation like this, when you're being attacked by um a foreign adversary, it's incredibly useful. They have redundant governmental structures throughout the system. I mean, you know, they can they you can take out big swaths of the

[10:34] Iranian government. It's not going to make any difference. No, it's not. DH Frank has a great question. Wartime presidents typically get major bumps in approval. I think this war will do the opposite. Agreed. What do you What do you say? I totally agree. We talked yesterday or day before yesterday, we talked about a split within the Republican Party between the America First Anti-War MAGA right, and you know, the John McCain wing of the party, which is rearing its ugly head again. And um I think this is going to be different. I think this is going to seriously hurt

[11:05] Donald Trump. I'm going to I would bet money that that officials inside the White House, inside the Executive Office of the President, are wringing their hands today saying that Donald Trump just threw away any last hope of uh of stemming Republican losses in the midterm elections. John, I'm 100% sure you're right about that. And and and mainly for two main reasons that come to mind while my coffee, uh you know, sets in. Number one, uh we have um

[11:35] the the the the MAGA wing of the GOP is very clear in the polls that they feel that the president has taken his eye off the ball on immigration and on the economy. Um this is only going to confirm that, right? Um and also, they're not pro-Israel. Then there's the um and then there's the uh the domestic side of this, which is the United States is um you know, just hold on. Let me Let me I'm I need to like get into some of these questions here. Um Uh How

[12:06] Trump, the master of distraction and the most fickle leader in history, I'm truly worried. How long will this go on? Do you think Iran will need to bow down for it to end? I think they're in it for to the death. That's what I think, too. I think this is like Iraq. It's uh Yeah. Yeah, it it it it's really bad. Um look, in terms of Trump's popularity, John, um this is only going to hurt for one big reason. There's been no run-up to this war, right? There's been no lube before he stuck it in. That which is part of the reason that he snuck it in on a on a

[12:37] Friday night news dump. I mean, the American people have not been told that Iran threatens them, has WMDs, is going to kill them or their friends or anything like that. I mean, there's been no prep at all. Yeah. >> So, this isn't at all like the the Bush administration started scheming on 9/12 for an invasion that came a year and a half later against Iraq. That And you know, Afghanistan was easier because again, the people forget that the groundwork for invading Afghanistan had

[13:07] already been laid from propaganda point of view a year or two earlier because of all the reports of the Taliban blowing up the Bamiyan statues and all that and like the the treatment of women. Um they were all There was already the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000, the embassy bombings in in uh in in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. So, the American people already thought of Afghanistan as a bet noir. They don't think of Iran as a bet noir. They used to after the hostage crisis, Sure. but that was half a century ago.

[13:39] >> Generations ago. Yeah. >> Yeah. Yeah, it's just not true anymore. No, it's not not true anymore. Uh, let's let's do some more questions. Pipsqueak is asking, do we think any NATO country will back this? Mhm. You know what? I think I'm I'm ashamed I'm ashamed to even say these words. Greece is going to back Really? >> Israel and the US. Yeah, because the Greeks are broke. The Greeks are weak. Cyprus is sitting on an ocean of natural

[14:09] gas of which the Greeks have a portion. They're lifting that gas with the Israelis. And I think the Greeks will do anything the Israelis tell them to do. Now, that is exactly the opposite of Greek public opinion, which is solidly strongly with the Palestinians on the Gaza issue, and will likely be with the Iranians on on this issue because of the Greek people's opposition to to war in general. That is insane. Um, well, I mean, that's yeah. Well, that that's a we'll have repercussions uh,

[14:39] throughout the world, right? With US allies and Gulf states and all that. Um, talk about unpopular governments, how about Trump's popularity, right? Which is currently, depending on how you look at it, between 36 and 38% the lowest of his entire including his first term in office, right? So, um, look, this is going to look for MAGA world Oh, yeah, I wanted to say this too, John. This is going to look for some people in MAGA world as a huge distract Epstein distraction machine. You bet it will. You bet it will. It's funny, you look at

[15:10] the Washington Post today, and of course the banner is US and Israel attack Iran as Trump calls for regime change, and just underneath it's Musk asked Epstein for quote the wildest party, now he says he stands up for victims. So without this this war this this attack, you know what the headline was going to be. Yes, that's true. Yeah. It was Yeah. No, I mean yeah. And you know, I mean look, obviously

[15:40] this was planned. John, you called it weeks ago. You said, you know, you you quoted the guy who um you know, who who trained you originally at this at the agency and said, you know, you don't send carrier battle groups in if you don't plan to use them, right? Am I paraphrasing correctly? There's one of our viewers very generously um uh emailed me last week to say that there was a there was a podcaster talking [ __ ] about me. And maybe I should uh respond. So I

[16:11] looked at it and he was really talking a lot of [ __ ] about me. Um but it was about what I said a week ago a week and a half ago that a friend of mine at the White House said that a decision had been made to attack Iran, that it would come this past Monday or Tuesday. Obviously it was delayed a few days, but that the decision had been made. And then he was like, how the [ __ ] does this guy know? He's been out of the CIA for 20 years. What are we supposed to believe that people who have access to the information just call him and offer it

[16:42] up? Yeah. They do. Because they're opposed to war. So yeah. There's a major serious split in the American government over this. One of the things that surprised me when I woke up this morning, Ted, was to see how many US senators of both parties are condemning this action. Donald Trump didn't go to Congress and asked and asked to invoke the uh the uh what do you call it act the uh Oh my god, I'm blanking. I'm so mad right now.

[17:13] The to send forces to the Middle East. Oh, the War Powers Act. >> War Powers Act, thank you. Just had force in the Middle East and there certainly has been no congressional declaration of war. So, this is a war crime. It's illegal. It's an illegal attack. And it's completely unprovoked. I mean, there's no approach. There's no attack by the Iranians. There was no threat of of imminent attack. There's no threat of not imminent attack. The Iranians already, you know, the main demand of the United States was don't don't develop nuclear weapons. The um the

[17:44] Iranians said, "No worries. We don't want to develop nuclear weapons." They've been consistent about this since the Islamic Revolution. They voluntarily kept the um their membership in the nuclear non-proliferation pact that the Shah had signed. They didn't have to. They could have said, "We just had a revolution. We don't have to keep this old treaty obligation." But, they did. It Day before yesterday, I was on a Lebanese network called Al Mayadeen. I love this station. It is such an in-depth

[18:16] I mean, it's in Arabic, of course, but it's such an in-depth news analysis station. I always say yes when they ask me to go on. So, uh usually they have me sort of uh you know, as a point-counterpoint with a professor. And they have fantastic uh professors, especially on American politics. And um and uh day before yesterday, they had me debating the lead nego- the lead nuclear negotiator from Iran. I was shocked when

[18:46] he came on the screen and that's who I was supposed to debate. But, he said the same things that you just said. That the Iranians are signatories to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. They allow nuclear um inspections. It's the Israelis who have nukes, who won't sign the NPT, and who have forbidden any and all inspections. The Iranians have always been willing to play along with international law on these issues and I made a I made a point

[19:16] that at first he he rejected outright and then finally came around and was like, well, okay. I said, look, what what the two sides are negotiating right now is the JCPOA. True. >> That's what it is. It's all the same tenets that were in the JCPOA. >> That Trump scrapped. That Trump scrapped unilaterally. Those points being that Iran couldn't um couldn't uh enrich uranium to weapons grade. That the uranium that they were enriching as well as Iranian nuclear

[19:47] sites had to be open to inspection by the IAEA, which is the United Nations body. And that uh if they were going to enrich uranium, they had to store the uranium in a third country with the three countries being considered being Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. And the Iranians were agreeing to all that. Because they had agreed to it 15 years ago with Barack Obama. Yeah, the only thing the Iranians did not agree to was scrapping their uh medium-range

[20:19] standard conventional missiles. And no country in its right mind would ever agree to something >> No, they wouldn't. And the United States, all that would be doing is putting what happened uh last night and this morning uh off uh uh for another couple of years. That's all it would do, maybe. Um so >> Tariq, I'm sorry to interrupt you. Tariq says Tariq, thanks for the buck. You say something that that I say all the time. It Is the US just a war economy? Yes. If if we were not at war somewhere in the world, our economy would slip into

[20:49] recession. And this has been the case since the 9/11 attacks. That's how everybody in Washington got rich. It's been off of our constant full-time war economy. Um Robbie, our producer, has a question. I'm putting him on. Hi, Robbie. Hey, no, I just have a quick question and I've been wrestling with this for a couple of days and I'm really hoping that the two of you can can answer it. Mark Levin keeps going out calling Tucker Carlson a traitor Yeah. for opposing the strike on Iran.

[21:20] My question is is how can you be a traitor if you oppose an action perpetrated by another country? To be a traitor means I'd be I would be actively working against my country, not opposing the geopolitics of another one. So then by then by that nature by that by that logic, am I a traitor? Right. And someone can someone explain to me >> It's like when they called Julian Assange a traitor. Like a traitor, he's Australian. What are you talking about? Yeah, it's it's insane. I I don't get it.

[21:50] I I despise Trump. I I hate the man with a burning I hate him. When you've lost Robbie West, you're done. Seriously. Um okay. Well, thanks Robbie for that. Um let's do um let's do some more questions here. You Yanks are in a civil another civil war and the fascists are winning. Better get your [ __ ] together or your democracy is dead. I'm sorry, I think our democracy is on the way out and I don't think there's any way to save it. I agree. Uh could this war expose US and Israeli

[22:21] military weaknesses while driving America's main rivals, Russia and China, closer? Those are Absolutely yes. And may I add something about that? Please. >> Um when Iran sent the 600 drones last October Mhm. and the the vaunted Iron Dome shot all of them out of the sky except for seven. The fact that seven slow-motion drones got through the Iron Dome was very

[22:52] valuable military intelligence. It was a probing attack basically. >> attack and so the Iranians >> was they gave and then the Israelis knew it was coming, too. That's right. What so what what do the Israelis do if the Iranians launch a hypersonic against them? Which they probably will. I would if I were Iran. I would. Why not? >> [snorts] >> There's no reason. I mean, not to mention I wouldn't feel terribly guilty. The Israeli people are behind Netanyahu. Yeah. I mean, the stat- the statistics are are, you know, the polling is very clear on that point.

[23:23] I'm really sorry about to hear that. Um will Russia and China be closer? Look, Russia and China were getting closer anyway. This is I I think this is part of a This is on a continuum, right, of US behavior that is forcing other countries Um right now, if I'm uh if I'm Modi in India, I'm kind of like holding my dick out in the wind. Like I just I just came back from, you know, hanging out with Bibi, and it's like I'm not feeling too good this morning. No.

[23:53] I agree. And, you know, this this Russia-China >> million Muslims in his country. Exactly right. Yeah, it's That's exactly right. Uh we should uh we should keep a close eye on the on the Chinese-Russian relationship, too. It Iran is a BRICS country, as are China and Russia. As that organization becomes stronger, more fulsome, more inclusive, um we should expect to see a formal alliance between the Russians, the Chinese, and the um

[24:24] and the uh uh Iranians. And then what do we do? We're going to fight the Russians and Chinese for Israel? That. And John, I have a question for you. Do you think um what's the calculus here for Donald Trump and the US government and his administration? I mean, why is he doing Netanyahu's bidding so slavishly? You know, I I'm I think that deep down Donald Trump is an authoritarian. I think that I think that he enjoys the

[24:57] he enjoys looking like a military strongman. And I think that he doesn't actually believe in anything. I don't think he believes in MAGA, you know, no war. I don't think he has any core beliefs. And I think that he thought that a quick decapitation strike the Iranians would be dancing in the streets thanking him and thanking God, and he would go down in history as, you know, as as Teddy Roosevelt. And that's just simply not going to happen. It was never going to happen. No. But he

[25:28] was the only one that thought that it would. Scott Ritter said this morning, Stephen says uh that we failed to kill the Ayatollah in the strike. What information do we have on this? Um the Israelis are claiming that they think that the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Khamenei was uh injured. I think they're just talking [ __ ] and they don't have any idea. Um if you're the I mean if you're the Iranians, obviously they have they knew that this was coming. They knew there

[25:58] was a strong possibility this was coming. I mean, they're not stupid. I would have thought that he would be in a in another location, no? Yeah. I and I'm sure that he was. They're not stupid. No. Uh I So, I guess Donald does not does not want the video of him [ __ ] a child released, so he'll continue to obey the orders of his Zionist masters. Netanyahu released a statement saying he's backing the Iranian people to overthrow the regime. Oh, I'm sure

[26:28] they're taking lots of cues from him. At the same time, he's sending cruise missiles into schools, apartment buildings, and hospitals. Yeah, they love him. Um what would the purpose of extended boots on the ground campaign be to uh for extending war powers for the president? Well, he would have to go to Congress. I mean, he has to go to Congress. >> He has to go to Congress. If he if there's any respect left whatsoever for the Constitution. Yeah. Which there may not be. >> And and Congress isn't going to give him

[26:59] authorization to put boots on the ground. Um >> No way. And remember what we said last week, George W. Bush in the in the weeks and months before the attack on Iraq, he crisscrossed the country to swing public opinion. Donald Trump has done literally nothing to swing public opinion. Nothing. >> Yeah. That's why That's why this will not work. You can't fight a war that causes Americans to come home in body bags and and cost the taxpayer billions

[27:29] of dollars and provokes future terrorist attacks without getting the American people behind you. Um even if you do, that support may not last as people like uh you know, LBJ and Richard Nixon and and George W. Bush are well aware. But at least you have to start with it and you know you're going to like that support's going to blow out like a like a like a like a tide ebbing, right? But that's not He's not starting with that. Nobody wants this war. There's literally no contin- There's no constituency for

[28:00] it. No, there's no constituency for it. Thank you very much for the uh 200 uh I guess those are um Emirati uh uh Dirhams. Dirhams, yeah. I always want to say dinars. Um thank you very much for that. Um thanks for the fiver. I thought I sent him, I guess Trump, campaign money because I thought he was scummy enough to double-cross Israel. Boy, was I wrong. Um We've had that conversation with Robbie. We did. To what extent George Tenet 421 wants to know, uh does it seem

[28:31] that Israeli special ops and assets have been expended in a 12-day war and protests already? And by the way, John, that's a good question, right? I mean, the United States um is running low on materiel because it gave to so many bombs, especially dumb bombs, but also big bunker busters to Israel to destroy Gaza with. That's right. So, that indicates to me that they have other weapons in mind. Yeah, I have to agree. It's It's been no secret that we're short of munitions.

[29:03] And the Israelis were short of munitions. That's why there was no attack on Iran a month ago or 2 months ago. They were short of munitions. >> Iran's going to obviously be subject to They're going to go after their infrastructure. They're going to It's like massive cyber attacks already underway, an Israeli specialty. Um That's They're going to They're They're going to try to bring them to their knees that way. I don't think it's going to work, but I I agree with you. We'll see. >> I I don't think it is going to work. Uh Cutter airspace is closed. I was about to fly to Europe tomorrow with a

[29:34] stopover in Cutter. Yeah, the airports in um in Kuwait, Dhahran, Bahrain, Cutter, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai are all closed. No flights in or out. I was just there a week ago. I just can't can't believe it. Robbie's asking do we think Russia and China will assist Iran militarily or are they on their own? They're on their own. Yeah. Unfortunately. >> I think so, too. I will I mean, look, here's the thing. I'm sure that Vladimir Putin would

[30:04] less so President Xi. I think Vladimir Putin in his heart thinks it's an atrocity and would like to help his ally, but knows that it would be World War III. And that's the calculus for him. I I I will say that um I would expect the Russians and Chinese to continue supplying the Iranians with um air defense systems. If But of course, they have to get them there. >> I mean, obviously there's going to be a naval blockade. Yeah, definitely. Definitely. Um Yeah.

[30:37] Another war of choice and for Israel at that, says DH Frank. Way to go, DJT, Donald J. Trump. Your subservience to Israel on as that country's slim is a disgrace. Do you think Iran did a huge mistake at striking other countries like Qatar, the UAE, and others? Prantik Amire says. You know, it's an interesting That is a good question, right? Cuz you can see that you can you can argue it either way. >> [snorts] >> Yeah. I mean, I think the I think the advantage of it I think there is some advantage to it though. I mean,

[31:08] tactically, if you take out like airfields in those Gulf states, that's those are facilities that are no longer available for the US or the Israelis to use for like refueling and resupplying and stuff like that. You're not losing any allies that you had before. These are These were not your friends to begin with. It's for domestic consumption, too. Like, we're not just taking it and you know, we're we're going to we're striking back against all the [ __ ] I guess the the counter the the counter is of course you are

[31:39] making new enemies in the population that you might not have had before. I don't know. What do you think? Yeah, I think that's that's right. I want to add to Al Jazeera now is reporting that one person was killed in Abu Dhabi after several missiles launched from Iran were intercepted. Uh I would assume he was killed by falling debris, which would not be unusual. Bahrain said a missile attack targeted the US Fifth Fleet headquarters, which is right there

[32:10] on the water in the capital city of Manama. And Kuwait's defense minister said that the US airbase, the Ali Al Salem airbase, is currently under attack. But so far all of the Iranian missiles have been intercepted by Kuwaiti air defenses. Mhm. Oh, and and the Saudi foreign ministry is saying that that Riyadh was targeted. I didn't realize that the Iranians were going that far inland. I thought they were keeping it to the East Coast of Saudi Arabia. So, the capital city of Riyadh was was

[32:42] targeted. Trump says it's >> another thing we should be we should be looking for, Ted, um is uh is the continuing use of drones. One thing that the Iranians are very good at is [snorts] they build their own suicide drones right there in Iran using Iranian parts, and they can build lots of them. Remember all these drones that they sent against against Israel back in October, these were all homemade drones. And when I call them suicide drones, it means that they have explosives strapped to

[33:12] them, and they are remotely flown directly into a target where they explode. They're not meant to launch a missile and then return to their base. So, they're they they commit suicide, um so to speak. So, Al Jazeera says that Erbil Airport in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq was targeted twice overnight, and specifically Erbil International Airport was targeted, but air defenses

[33:43] intercepted and shot down a drone there. The reason that's important is because the Iraqi government has said repeatedly that it would not participate in any American attack on Iran. Obviously, it's close to the Iranian government. The Kurds have autonomy in the north. And what we could be seeing here is the Kurds independently supporting US action actions against Iran and allowing the US military, and by extent the Israeli

[34:14] military, to use their base in Erbil to attack Iran. That's an added little twist here. I could see that. Um Senator Mark Warner, who's the top Democrat on the even though they're they're a minority right now in the Senate Intelligence Committee, says that the Gang of Eight, which is sort of the traditional elite group of senators who are briefed ahead of of actions like this, were briefed by Marco Rubio, but only a few of them, and that they

[34:45] weren't given any or at least not a full accounting of the legal justification for the attack. John, there is no legal justification, so I guess there's no that part. There's no legal justification. There's no They don't even The administration pretended that there is a legal justification. We're doing this because the Israelis told us to. Yeah. That's it. >> I mean I mean I've always been hesitant when people have said, "Oh, we're just Israel's bitch." Mhm. We're Israel's [ __ ] >> There it is. Uh Chris Kahie, 1999, thanks for the

[35:17] donation. Thanks for standing against this war, John and Ted. Will Russia and China wage a proxy war against us? What's the likelihood of World War III? Also, I'm dying to know what was William F. Buckley's relationship to the CIA? A lot of stuff there. Um will Russia and China wage a proxy war against us? Well, I mean we kind of are in in one in Ukraine right now, and we could be in one in Taiwan. I mean certainly [snorts] one of the assessments John, you know, we always hear this at the agency, did you ever Did you guys

[35:48] actually believe the this idea that like when the US is tied up and in something like this, that our adversaries think, "Oh, this might be a good chance for me to get away with something I might not otherwise have been able to away with?" Yes. That calculation is always always in the mix. Yes. I was never sure if that was just you know, something they said or whether that's something they really thought was true. Um Iran can't meet the United States in open battle, so that means irregular warfare. John, what are the chances that

[36:18] Iran will start terrorist attacks in Israel and the West? I think quite good. I I the chances are high enough that we should expect that to be to to be the case. >> won't be next week, you know, it could be a year. >> No, no, no, no, this is a long-term thing. It could be 5 years from now. Sure. I mean and I and it's not necessarily directly ordered from Tehran. It's like this could just be self-inspired people who are ideologically pissed off at what we're doing and decide that, you know,

[36:49] we need to be punched in the nose. Yeah. I think that's right. >> hey guys, glad I caught you just a Constitution still exists seems like it's turned into an objective object. It's um it's you know what it's like, John? It's sort of like how on the New Jersey Turnpike the speed limit is 55 but no one drives under 80. It's a suggestion but it's not really enforced. You're not going to get a speeding ticket unless you're going well over 90. That's what the Constitution has become. Yep. Um Yep, yep. >> have time and time

[37:20] Ted Koba. You guys have time and time again praised Trump but now you're mad? Now that the loose cannon that everyone has has warned you will blow up, you're mad? I actually very appreciate that criticism. Seriously, I'm not kidding. Um I we have I I don't think it's fair to say that we have been lickspittles of the of this president. Um I think we both First of all, I didn't vote for him. I voted for Jill Stein to the left of Kamala Harris. Um I but I mean we're not Trumpies but we're also willing to

[37:52] give this president his due when he does something right. Um and I don't think that that makes us, you know, ass lickers of the administration. I don't know. Others may disagree. Yeah. I mean the other day I said nice things about Hillary Clinton for the way she handled herself when she was disrespected by the House Intelligence by the House Oversight Committee. I hate Hillary Clinton. That does not make Saying that she did something right or that she was a victim here does not make me a Hillary Clinton acolyte. I don't

[38:23] >> Exactly. We I I'm proud to say that both of us just call it as we see it. I don't have any um I don't have any uh loyalty to to anybody on either side. I know you don't either. Nope. And so, you know, we're human. Sometimes we're wrong, but we we call it as we see it. Totally. Totally. But, I do appreciate seriously don't hesitate if you if you think we're we're full of [ __ ] to tell us. We we'll we'll engage you. >> Okay. Tariq master That guy. Thanks for the dollars. The US Okay, you already answered that. Thanks for the emergency

[38:54] pod and thank you for the 999 DH let's see. Sorry. Uh that's Shawn WP. Thank you. Um Is the Strait of Hormuz closed? Roguebot wants to know. >> That's a great question. Let's look that up. >> I I don't think that it's formally closed, but I would guess that >> I wouldn't send my ship I wouldn't send my ship full of explosives through there. >> through there, would you? No. And I'll tell you what normally happens in a case like this is Lloyd's of London will make a blanket

[39:27] announcement that everybody's shipping insurance is temporarily suspended. Right. Right. Right. Right. They're they're the ones who who do all major maritime shipping. >> Yeah. So, get ready for the whole Rudy says if you criticize these illegal strikes you're for Iran propaganda. Bring it. I want I want Iran to win. Yeah. Okay. Okay. >> I want Iran to win. I want them to survive. Okay. The War Powers Resolution requires the president that the president communicate to Congress the

[39:57] committal of troops within 48 hours. It's immoral, not illegal. Sorry, y'all. Um there's more to The War Powers Act is >> it that's not the only thing at play here, though, right? I mean, there's no legal justification on The United States has treaty obligations under international law that we're violating here. Yes. And as a member as a UN Charter member state, right? The UN was our idea. Yeah, it was our idea. That's why it's in New York. Uh do you think Israel will nuke Iran

[40:29] and blame the Iranian nuclear program for the blast? Charlie, God forbid. Um I wouldn't put anything past the Israelis. >> No, I wouldn't either. If the Israelis really believe that they are under threat, that their existence is under threat, yeah, they'll do it. And the winds don't go toward them, so they wouldn't care. >> That's right, they don't care. Um you know, at that point I would have to say, well, I'm already at the point where I feel like Israel has lost its right to exist,

[40:59] but um anyway, uh three birds, one stone. I could be misremembering things. Thanks for the donation, but didn't John say one time that Iran is under Russia's nuclear umbrella? Is Russia in that move the Russians right now? No, what I said was that there were there were discussions between the Iranians and the Russians about bringing Iran under its nuclear umbrella. Uh Putin stepped back from that a couple of days after the statement was first made. And then everybody just assumed, including me, that what it would mean at

[41:30] the end of the day was uh was that it was the message that was supposed to frighten the West away from from making this attack. Which didn't turn out to be the case. Dangerous person 666, thanks for the five. Um I'm disappointed and surprised that Albanese and Wong from Australia refuse to condemn crimes the US or the or Israel commit. Today supporting this BS. Why does our actual left-wing government capitulate? We hate this. I don't know enough about Australia. Do you, John?

[42:01] Uh I I doubt that I know any more than you do. Okay. Um do we think terrorists are Christians or Jews? >> sorry. Let me let me add one thing. Um Albanese, for all his opposition credentials uh is pro-American. And the the Australians recognize that they're the junior partner in that relationship. And so when push comes to shove, the Australians are going to do what the Americans tell them to do. No doubt. Um potassium 3502, do you think any terrorist sleeper cells will get activated in the US?

[42:32] This is your expertise, but I'd be No. No. I The When I was when I was still inside, and granted my information's old, there there were no sleeper cells in the US. There are most definitely sleeper cells in places like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia. They're out there. They're just not here. Um Thanks guys for doing Thanks for the Evil Robot RB. Thanks for the 10 bucks. Thanks for doing a Saturday night Saturday morning broadcast. Uh what could Trump possibly be hiding in the from in the Epstein files that he's

[43:02] pulling every distraction lever available? Aliens, ice, Iran, etc. etc. >> Right? >> It looks like that. Yeah, it does. Um uh I I I Who knows? I mean, I got to say, I was You know, John, I've said it over and over. I just didn't think it was you know, pedophilia was Trump's bag. Uh you know, I know he likes sex, but I just never And um the the reluctance to turn over half of the of the of of the Epstein files it well, it's re- refusal, I should say

[43:34] coupled with all this distraction and Marjorie Taylor Greene uh being furious about what she's not telling us everything I'm starting to reconsider that. Hey, Al Jazeera's just just now in the last minute and a half is quoting the Iranian foreign minister about Zarqawi as saying, and listen to this odd quote Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is alive as far as I know. What are we supposed to take from that?

[44:04] As far as I know. >> about as far as he know. That that would tend to tell me that either communications are down or that they've got they're on, you know, radio silence because they don't want their their um That could be It could be the radio silence. He It's It says here he added that two commanders were killed, but most officials remain alive. Most officials remain alive. And then oddly enough, it says he also added that

[44:35] there is a possibility to reach a deal with the Americans which can guarantee that Iran's nuclear program is peaceful. What? Uh we have some we have some statements from foreigner from uh various countries around the world. Russia, unsurprisingly, condemned the uh the war against Iran as a reckless step and a deliberate, premeditated, and unprovoked act of armed um aggression. Zelenskyy is all about it. He said it's important that the US is acting decisively.

[45:06] Uh this understanding must also come to the Russians. In the end, he said the Middle East region will become safer and more stable. Man, you got to go back to your comedy show, Zelenskyy, if you think that. Um the uh president of Finland, Alexander Stubb, said recent events are very deeply worrying. Ensuring nuclear safety and long-term security is of the utmost importance. We condemn all actions to escalate the conflict in the region. Ireland said he's deeply concerned and also is concerned about escalation.

[45:36] Viktor Orbán of Hungary said the strikes on Iran have doubled the importance of the friendship oil pipeline uh that runs through Ukraine and supplies Russian oil to Slovakia and Hungary. Albania uh Prime Minister Edi Rama says he stands firm with Israel and supports the US. The E3, France, Germany, and the UK said they're in close contact with their partners um and condemned Iran's retaliatory attacks. Mike Johnson, the speaker of

[46:06] the House of Representatives, and without a doubt the biggest lickspittle to Donald Trump in the world, said that that Trump and the administration have made every effort to pursue peaceful and diplomatic solutions in response to the Iranian regime's sustained nuclear ambition, support for terrorism, and the murder of Americans and even their own people. [ __ ] Um Dinky 33, thank you very, very much for 1,800 UAE dirhams.

[46:37] Thank you for that very much. And and Taty Marie um please pray for the sailors in the region. Such senseless loss of life for a war of choice. We deserve better leaders. Hope your Lent is going well. Thank you for that. And and same to you, and I couldn't agree agree more with your statement. Ted, may I add one thing? Please. Um this also just in from Al Jazeera. One of the targeted is one of the targeted sites in Tehran is Narmak to the east, believed to be the residence of former populist president

[47:08] Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Now, listen. >> He's the former president. He's not in any position of authority. He's retired. He was a moderate, too. >> Targeting him is simply an act of murder. >> That's it. It's gratuitous. It's gratuitous. It would be like going to war against Afghanistan and and killing Hamid Karzai. Exactly. Who is still living in Kabul. Um Yes. Um John, how would most of the CIA be reacting to all this? Scared, excited, genuinely curious?

[47:39] That's a great question. It was my experience um during the Iraq war that people put their heads down and did as they were told. I remember my boss telling a an assembled group, "We're not here to take a political position one way or another, because we all opposed the Iraq war." He said, "We're not here to take a political position one way or another. We are not a policy organization. We're a policy support organization. And so, we are going to do what we are told by the White House to do." And my guess is they've had the same

[48:10] conversation today. Rudy, if this call if this goes poorly, which there's a chance it will, oh, higher higher better than 50/50, I'd say, this all but destroys J.D. Vance's 2028 presidential hopes. You know, that's a great That's a great point. I agree with that. Because J.D. Vance, first of all, he's to quote Christopher Moltisanti, he's the heir apparent, number one. Number two, number two, what makes it really hard for a vice president, the sitting vice president, to run for president at the

[48:41] end of his president's term is the very first question from reporters is, "When did you disagree with the president?" Tell us give us an example of when you disagreed with the president. He's not going to be able to see say he ever disagreed with Donald Trump. That would be political suicide. Right. >> Well, this is a That was a Kamala Harris question that she couldn't answer. >> Exactly. And And it's a question that's asked of of every of every sitting vice president who's running for president. And so, he's not going to be able to answer. If anything, this gives

[49:12] this gives Marco Rubio an opening. And Rubio said something very interesting two days ago. He said that um he will not run for president uh if it looks like J.D. Vance is going to be the nominee. Well, you don't know if J.D. Vince Vance is going to be the nominee until you run against him. And so, I think that Rubio's lying to us. I think that he will run for president. I think that J.D. Vance is young and inexperienced, and I think that he will get swallowed up in a national campaign.

[49:44] I think that the the John McCain wing of the Republican Party is ascendant again, that MAGA was was a blip, and it was tied more to Donald Trump's personality than it was to any any wave of political change. And so, it's straight back to the not even back. It's a continuation of the bad old days. If you're just joining us, we're covering the US and Israeli attack against Iran. By the way, a new statement from the Iranian government. The governor of Mindab County, where

[50:14] that strike against the girl's school in southern Iran took place, now says the death toll has risen to at least 63 students with a further 92 injured. This was during daylight when the school was in session when it was packed with students. According to the foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, posting on X. Asked about the strike, CENTCOM did not deny it. They said that they were aware of these reports and are looking into them. Um, that's horrible. >> Looking into them. Does that tell you that they're just

[50:48] offering up lip service, or does that tell you that it was an Israeli missile that did it? It's an Israeli missile. I thought so, too. >> 100%. >> The Israelis specifically target civilians. Yeah, no, that's that's they Yeah, they're into total war as they used to call it during World War II. DH Rank 999, president, senators, and congressmen are habitual short-term thinkers. I think this has disastrous long-term geopolitical implications. Yes, I agree with that. Can you briefly discuss the geopolitical implications of this war? Well,

[51:18] I mean, first of all, this is going to put a lot of Do you tell me? I think this is going to put a lot of Sunni governments kind of like on their backs on their back heel, where they're going to have more of a division with their citizens over Israel and the United States and their relationships with them than they did in the past, right? I mean, I think this is going to have >> [clears throat] >> This is also going to you know, attach us, like I said at the beginning of this of this edition. It It joins us at the hip to to Israel. I mean, we are now, you know, we're not

[51:50] like their allies supporting them in their attack against the people next door in Gaza and the West Bank. We're now joining them in attacking the biggest, most powerful country in the Middle East. Hey, you want to hear something crazy? While we're talking about this, while Israel is hunkering down and waiting for the Iranian response, the Israeli military is bombing Southern Lebanon right now. Always the devil is always busy, as Robbie

[52:20] likes to say. Uh, Phil Pentagious, thank you very much for joining the the show. Much appreciate your membership you getting becoming a member. Um, uh, we are, by the way, number six in the nation on Rumble right now, John. Um, I believe this operation was one in which Russia was well aware of, and this will grow draw global interest to the Mideast, and I believe Trump is on the same page as Putin. What? Russia de- defeats UK, >> US and Russia. No. I totally disagree with that.

[52:50] >> so. Um, what is it that former CIA like Sarah Adams see that John doesn't? I think Sarah Adams is nuts, to tell you the truth. Sarah Adams never had access to classified information. She was She was an open-source analyst analyzing press, and she's made quite a handsome living for herself by predicting imminent disaster. That's why people flock to her. They're like, "Oh my god, she's from CIA, and she's saying that the terrorist cells are going to be destroy us." That's how she makes a living. She never had access to classified documents.

[53:23] Um, Iran might be waiting Two Thanks Huck's Lex for the two bucks. Iran might be waiting for nightfall to unleash. It's possible. I mean, yeah, it's it's currently what? It's about a 7-hour time difference, something like that? >> No, it's a How How What's the time difference with Iran? 8 hours. Okay, so it's So, that means it's currently 6:00 in the evening in Tehran. Um Yeah, I mean it night night's not going to fall for another 2 hours. Uh we'll see.

[53:53] Um Peachy Pie, I think you're full of [ __ ] half the time hahaha, but I still like watching you guys. Okay, thanks that you know, just keep just keep watching. Uh super tell for 999 do we think that the CIA is prepping the um Kurds and the Taliban to proxy invade Iran in place of ground troops or the US is the US prepping Delta to perform a similar operation in Venezuela. Certainly not the Taliban. I'll I'll weigh in on that. No. Alex Pierce, thank you very much for

[54:25] the uh the $50. Very grateful. Thank you. Um Iran winning means more Americans will die. I don't support this military action in any form. Fuggy says, but now that it's happened, I don't think it's appropriate that you say you want Iran to be victorious. You know, I don't think it's quote-unquote appropriate, but when your government is the aggressor uh in a war of choice and there's only going to be this I kind of feel like the people who say there's only two political parties you have to vote for one, but there's only two there's only

[54:55] well, there's only two sides here. Yeah. One's going to win and one's going to lose. I don't want the aggressor who's acting illegally to win. So, you know, I mean I do feel I love my country. I don't love my government. I want my government to fail in this endeavor. I don't want any Americans to lose their lives in this endeavor. I don't want any Iranians to lose their lives in this endeavor or for that many any Israelis to lose their lives in this endeavor. This is all it's just really pointless and hopeless, but I understand what you're saying, but I'm

[55:26] I just respectfully disagree. Um Susan, I wonder if this will ultimately drive the US economy into the ground. Well, you war can do that. Yeah. Um, can we make a distinction between Iran and the Iranian regime? Putting Iranians in the same box is like putting Americans in the same box as the far left party present here. Yeah, well, that's it's shorthand, right? When we say the Iranians in in the in the context of a war, we're talking about the government. We're not talking about the people.

[55:58] That's right. Uh, Al Jazeera is on the side of the US and Israel against Iran, so I wouldn't really trust them right now, says long-time listener. Not true. Why would you think Al Jazeera is reliable information? Aris wants to know. Because they have people on the ground. And they've they've proven to be solid reporters. It Al Jazeera has a very long history. It's been around a long time, decades. And uh you know, three and a half decades, and they have they have proven uh that they have good reporters, good analysis, and

[56:31] they have people on the ground in these war zones. Cameron, it says Iran's retaliation hit US bases across multiple Gulf states, even striking the US fifth fleet service center in Bahrain. What does it tell you about Iran's escalation ladder and its confidence? I I do think that the Iranians uh have the ability, at least for the time being, to retaliate. Uh they they can't retaliate over the long term, of course, because their resources are finite. But, you know, they said they would inflict

[57:01] as much pain as they could in the event that they were attacked, and that's >> That's what we're seeing today. They kind of have to, otherwise what's the point of having a military? >> That's right. Uh Tripti, thanks for the five bucks. Um Uh Good morning, a non-war question for you, John, from Sir Bikes-A-Lot. Thanks for the donation. Can you explain the AI that you use and why? I have a friend who pays for ChatGPT. Yeah, uh sure. I use Perplexity. I find it to be far superior to ChatGPT. ChatGPT lies about me. It just makes

[57:35] stuff up. And um Yeah, and I don't like it. And it's been my experience that Perplexity for whatever reason, reasons I don't fully understand, Perplexity offers much deeper analysis when I ask it to look at things. Yeah, I think Perplexity is trained on a lot of academic uh white papers and stuff. >> That that would make perfect sense because that's what I've used it for. Feral dogs, these guys love Kamala Harris for 2028. I don't know who these guys are, but it ain't John and I. Not a chance, man. Um Yikur Huskav, uh

[58:07] John, uh thanks for the fiver. Do you think the Iranians can utilize maritime drones uh to defeat defeat US ships in the same way the US the Ukrainians disabled the Russian fleet in the Black Sea? >> [snorts] >> You know, that's a good question, and it's a hard question to answer. If they have enough drones, yeah, they can make an impact. Uh you know, ships are are notoriously um excellent at defending themselves from incoming uh threats. But a ship has only so many

[58:40] defensive missiles on it. If if you send a drone against a ship as the Iranians did a week ago, we're going to shoot it down. If you send 500 drones against a ship, you can't shoot all of them down. It's uh so basically these are like yeah, these are like remote-controlled uh well, they're torpedoes, basically. >> Yeah, they're essentially slow-motion torpedoes. That's right. Um I like this question, Cameron. John, if you still inside the the CIA, what would be the single most alarming indicator you'd be watching right now? Uh the movement of ground forces.

[59:12] You know, we we only have, I'm going to say, 50,000 troops in the region. You can't invade a country of 92 million people with 50 with 50,000 troops. If we started moving hundreds of thousands of troops to bases in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, I would be genuinely worried. And there's also talk of of taking the the only other active um aircraft carrier strike force battle group that we have and moving it to the

[59:44] region. That would frighten me. John, I'm I'm I'm able to continue a little bit if you are, but it's up to you. Yeah, you mind I I've got to drive to New York, but let's let's do another 10 minutes. Okay, and thank you everyone for watching this special edition of Deep Program with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou for Saturday, February 28th covering the US and Israeli attack against Iran. Um so, uh I like this question a lot, Ali. I have a more abstract question. How much does Israel truly gain from provoking Iran like this? I understand the goal of a

[1:00:16] coup and how that benefits, I mean, that won't happen, but is that really what this is? Full-on war? You know, that's a great question. The from the Israeli side, the only thing that the Israelis could call a victory is the complete overthrow and removal of the Iranian government. Anything less and the Israelis lose. Which brings us to this comment from Joseph. Iran needs to survive, not win. That's right. >> Exactly right. That is exactly right.

[1:00:47] >> famous conversation between Dulles and Ho Chi Minh, right? Like, you know, you will you will win you Americans will win every battle and we will win the war. Um Um A6 killer, my brother's work at Shannon Airport in Ireland, which is used as a refueling base for American troops on their way to the Middle East. I'll ask him to keep an eye out for an uptick. That's important and I'm I'm glad to read that because I'm reminded of a conversation I had yesterday with a friend in Cyprus. And she told me that something's going

[1:01:19] on at the British Air Force base there, Akrotiri. She said they don't release any information, of course, and the the British, you know, have had it for 100 years. They've never They've never ceded any control to the to the Cypriots, but she said something's going on. I said, "Oh, I can tell you what's going on. We're getting ready to bomb Iran." And there it is. Um speaking of which, Conspiracy Podcast says, "John, have you watched Bustamante's last video about calling you wrong on the timing of the

[1:01:50] bombings? Plus, love your content." Yeah, Bustamante's a clown. And uh >> [laughter] >> All I can do is laugh and shake my head. Bustamante, he's probably already volunteered to go back and fight Iran. Young Lock, thanks for the dollar. Sending you this message from Ireland. I hope these strikes These strikes are wrong. Sorry, not I hope. These strikes are wrong and wholly indefensible. I hope the American people have the good sense to vote against this in November and in 2028 because this is awful. Um my

[1:02:20] problem, John, is who would they vote for? I mean, the Democratic Party is not going to say anything sizable against this. They're not against the war or attacking Iran. They're just a They're against the fact that they haven't been brought into the briefings. Yeah, that's exactly right. That's it right there. It's just they didn't invite us to the war party. And and Newsom is pro-Israel and Shapiro, not only is pro-Israel, but but served in the Israeli military. There There's not a single Democrat

[1:02:53] Yeah, exactly. There's not a single Democrat running for president who is not pro-Israel. And you can say exactly the same thing about the Republicans. Yeah, there's there's no one to vote for. And it's very depressing. Not to mention, as we've talked about it other contexts, I mean, there is definitely an assault on the idea of even having a midterm election this year. And you know, as we the Washington Post reported late late last week, um you know, the administration is considering nationalizing the elections. I think as

[1:03:24] a sort of first step to declaring a national emergency to possibly not even hold them at all. Um you know, uh non-war question for you, John. I've recently become fascinated with by Kazakhstan. I never realized how beautiful of a country it is. What's your knowledge and experience like there? Well, Ted's actually the expert on Kazakhstan, but uh to tell you the truth, we're hoping to get there this summer. We are. That's right. Um so uh yeah, Kazakhstan is a uh is is a stunning country. I've been there many,

[1:03:55] many times. Um and uh yeah, it's uh I look forward to going back. Uh it is one of the big secrets is that it's one of the biggest new oil uh oil-rich countries in the world. Starting in 1999, um and it is a fascinating country with a a rich history, but uh you know, that's that's for another topic. Hey, I want to thank want to thank Sergeant Potato, too, for the 80 Australian dollars. Thank you very much. He says, "John, I'm a big fan. Started listening to your podcast in 2024 and your stories are incredible.

[1:04:26] The way you tell them makes me feel like I'm right there in the room." That's exactly what my goal is. Wishing you all the success. Thank you very much for that. And um there was something uh John, do you have an official TikTok account? There are quite a few people impersonating you there. Robbie, do I have an official TikTok account? Let me put Robbie on. Hold on. You do. It's going to be going live tomorrow. So, you do have an official TikTok account and you are all you also have an official Rumble account. All of your shorts are going to be blasting

[1:04:57] across on Instagram, TikTok, and here on Rumble, as well as YouTube. Awesome. Thank you, Robbie. Okay, uh some some just some updates. Um British planes, according to US UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, says the British planes are in the sky and over the Middle East to participate in coordinated defense efforts to protect British interests and allies. Um, the Senate Majority Leader Tom John Thune praised Trump for his attack

[1:05:28] against Iran. Um, and he said that he's looking forward to a briefing for all of the US senators. Um, and finally uh, maybe not finally, but um, Iran is believed now to have thousands of missiles and drones uh, in its stockpile ready to strike throughout the entire region according according to CNN analysis. Yeah, this is not going to be short. I've got breaking news coming in. It looks like that there has there been a

[1:05:59] drone or a missile strike in the Palma district of Dubai. [ __ ] Uh, it looks like a hotel is gone. Wow. Or at least a building next to next to a hotel. And [snorts] the Kuwait International Airport is currently under attack. So, um, Iran is definitely fighting back. Well, I guess you have nothing to lose. Yeah, and they're fighting >> should um, you go um, hell is what I would do. If you're going to kill me, I'm going to do as much damage as I possibly can. Oh my god. I'm going to I'm I'm going to

[1:06:31] text a friend of mine in Dubai right right now. Oh my god. Yeah, it looks like it's it it is actively happening as we speak. And you know Sorry, go ahead. Sorry, the Telegraph, the UK paper, is reporting that uh, missiles are being seen flying to and fro over Dubai. Oh my god almighty. Let's see. Just looking for some more stuff here. Uh, looks like the Kuwaiti Airport was

[1:07:02] actually hit. I just flew in and out of Kuwait 3 weeks ago. Flew in and out of Dubai a week ago. Uh launches near I'm going to butcher this name Qom, Q O M. Qom, the holy city of Iran. Yeah, Qom. Uh looks like it's a it is a swarm of ballistic missiles that uh people are recording taking off. So, I don't know where they're going, but they're going somewhere. Qom is uh is the most important city in Iran for

[1:07:34] the study of uh of Islam and uh it it's also something of an industrial city. To me, there's no reason to hit a city like Qom. There are no Iranian air force bases there, for example. Um unless you're trying to destroy civilian infrastructure. Uh oil refinery in Saudi Arabia just went up. Oh my god, this is What are you looking at? Uh I am looking at Middle East Spectator over on Telegram. And I'm also looking

[1:08:06] at the here I will send you I will forward this over to you right now. And I'm also looking at some Russian Telegram channels and they are just uh they're sending stuff as we speak. >> [sighs] >> Uh there's uh footage online right now of people celebrating and dancing in Tel Aviv. I bet they are. [ __ ] them. That's that's that's my message to you. If you're an Israeli, [ __ ] you.

[1:08:38] From America. This is your war, not mine. Yeah. Yeah. Ro Khanna, 2028. Man. Well, it is as bad as we thought it was going to be. Yeah. Yeah. Well, totally. So, I guess we're going to watch this genre you traveling today or Yeah, I'm going to jump in the car now. All right. So, maybe we can do this tomorrow. We'll

[1:09:09] see. This is no promises. This was a spontaneous thing. We saw what was going on and we thought we needed to hop on. So, thank you everyone for watching. Best of our our thoughts and prayers as they say to the people of Iran and we I apologize on behalf of our country, really. And you know, it's going to be a rough few days at least. Guys, thanks so much for watching and supporting DProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou.

[1:09:40] We will be back as scheduled on Monday at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time. That's when we air Monday through Friday 9:00 o'clock Eastern time. John, safe travels. Robbie, talk to you later and we'll if there's more to bring you and we're able to do it, we will pipe in like we did just now and otherwise have a great weekend. Bye. Bye, everybody. >> [music]

[1:10:11] [music]
