Title: Is War with Iran Imminent? / Ted Rall & John Kiriakou
Show: DeProgram Show with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas
Date: 2026-02-25
URL: https://youtu.be/sdltAgkEcrM
Duration: 9:00

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[00:00] I guess we probably should talk about Iran. Um, look, uh, I'll just I'll just let me just frame what's going on. So, at the latest point, we know that the US has at least 150 planes, uh, near or over Iran right now. A dozen military ships in the Middle East. Um, US embassy in Beirut just evacuated what they called non-essential personnel. >> I was going to mention that. >> Uh, the we have the two carrier groups are already there. um joint chairman of the joint chiefs of staff who's

[00:31] currently uh Dan Kaine or Raisin Kane is his uh apparently his his his nickname. Um he's been publicly telling the press everything's going to be cool if we decide to go after Iran. There's nothing that they can do about it. But privately warning President Trump that there could be there's a risk of high casualties if the US does this. I don't know. >> Did you see Did you see the reason for that? >> I was I was going to ask you that. What is the reason for that? None of our allies are helping us. Not a single one

[01:01] of them. >> Well, why would they? I mean, this is a this is a gratuitous attack just like Iraq was. >> You know, a war of choice is one thing, but this is gratuitous. You're right. >> And I mean, there's not even been any attempt to jin up a uh you know, a casus ballet, right? Um and then I thought this part I really wanted to pick your brain about this part, John. So, um, he was also privately worried about depletion of stockpiles. Now, John, you

[01:32] and I are both in our six, our low 60s. I've never heard of the US government being in danger of running out of munitions before. Uh, I mean, is this because we gave so much [ __ ] to the Israelis? >> To the Israelis? Yes, it is. And we just haven't had a chance to to to manufacture and and refill the supply. So literally we literally not only uh participated in uh financing and arming uh a genocide against the people of Gaza

[02:03] on behalf of Netanyahu and his bloodthirsty regime. We also imperiled American national security and our ability to project power and to protect ourselves. Is that basically the story? >> Yeah. We put ourselves in danger. >> That's [ __ ] insane. >> Yes, it is. Yes, it is. So, um, look, >> let me May I interrupt you for one second, >> please? I I I gotta say something about Israel. I've been obsessed with the clips that Tucker Carlson has been putting out on social media about his um

[02:36] about his trip to Israel. You know, he um he met with with Mike Huckabe at the airport. Huckabe wouldn't have him into the embassy. Uh and and Tucker was, you know, allowed to enter Israel. He interviewed the Greek Orthodox patriarch Theophilos III. He interviewed the uh Catholic Archbishop of uh of Jerusalem. Huckabe would not have him in the uh in the embassy. Huckabe had the traitor Jonathan Pard into the embassy, but not

[03:09] Tucker. And then as they were leaving Israel, the Israelis grabbed two of Tucker's uh producers, a man and a woman. The woman they let go. The man they were asking him like things like who did you meet with? What did they say? What questions did you ask? Let me see your phone. I want to download your phone. Uh who do you talk to on a daily basis? What's Tucker's position on XYZ? And the guy wouldn't answer any of the questions. So

[03:39] the Israelis came out and told Tucker, "Just get on your plane and go. We'll put him on the plane when we're done with him." And Tucker's like, "Absolutely not. You're not kidnapping my producer." And this kid is like 24 years old, 25 years old, panicked. The Israelis were intimidating. Um, and Tucker refused to leave. And finally, they they kicked him out and kicked him loose and said, "Okay, the kid's free to go." But the Israelis, you know, either we're at the point now where you're either

[04:09] with them, and when I say with them, I mean 1,000% with them or you're an enemy of of uh of Zionism and you're anti-Semitic. And I think that we are just about at a tipping point where the is where the Israelis will have done themselves irreparable damage politically in the United States. Because there are people who consider themselves or have always considered themselves to be, you know, pro- Israel, if not Zionist, pro-Israel.

[04:42] >> Mhm. >> And now it's because they never really paid very close attention to the issue, >> right? >> And now they are. >> And they don't like what they see. >> Yeah. John, I think I think we we're past that point already, do you? >> I don't see I don't think there's there's coming any coming back. Um the Israelis are I mean those n the Apac lobby in this country is so desperate and and it reeks you know you following their socials and following the socials of their allies in Congress you know you

[05:13] can just you they're they're scared you know they they know um you know it's they are one administration away from really just not having the same relationship with the US as they always had. Um, I don't know how that's going to look. I don't know if that would be a Buddha Judge or a or a Newsome or someone else, but or even a Republican maybe. >> You know, a friend of mine said, I'm sorry to interrupt you. A friend of mine said something interesting on on social media yesterday and he said, you know, we're all up in arms about about

[05:45] Netanyahu and the way he's manhandling the US government and and you know, Donald Trump is falling into into place and just doing as he's told. Newsome has said nothing. >> No. >> Shapiro has said nothing. Kamla Harris has said nothing. Bernie Sanders has said nothing. AOC has said nothing. Hakeem Jeff has said nothing. The Democrats are completely implicated. It's as simple as that. >> No, I mean that is true. And you know the progressive base of the Democratic

[06:17] party, they're watching. They're paying attention. Well, and did you happen to see the the afteraction report the that the DNC uh wrote? Why did we lose the election in 2024? Uh it was it was kept from the American people. Of course, these things usually are released. This time it was not released. And finally yesterday, somebody leaked it. And the reason why the Democrats lost the election to Donald Trump is because they would not take a position on Israel standing up to

[06:48] the Israelis. And so Democratic voters stayed home. >> Yep. That's exactly what happened. People sat on their hands. >> Yeah. They they should have voted for uh Jill Stein in my opinion, but I agree. >> Um John, last week you said that you talked to someone who um in a position to not saying that the attack on Iran, I mean, I think more it's definitely more likely than not to happen, right? I mean, I think at this point we're at, you know, war fever is at a high pitch. Today, Monday, today is like kind of

[07:20] like roughly when we were thinking it might happen. >> Yes. >> Um, do you think it'll you you think it could be like so do you think Trump is so theatrical that he might announce like sort of Greg Stillson like at the speech tonight, the missiles are flying, allelujah, allelujah. God, you know, I just rewatched that movie not three weeks ago. >> The Dead Zone. >> The Dead Zone. The book was even better than the movie. >> The movie's great though. >> The movie's great.

[07:50] >> One of Christopher Watkins's best performances, >> you know, which which proves that he can do anything. >> Yeah. >> Comedy, drama, he can do anything. Lead actor, supporting actor, makes no difference. >> True. >> Um, sure it's possible. But somebody said something to me yesterday that kind of bothered me and they said, "You got your information from somebody in the White House." And I said, "Yes." Maybe the White House was using you

[08:22] knowing that you would say something publicly just to see what the public reaction to it would be. >> Maybe. >> And I said, "Yeah, I could have been used." Sure. >> I mean, yeah, there's no way to know that. By by all the most recent accounts, uh Trump is going to wait for the next round of talks on Saturday. The likelihood is that he'll say the talks failed, the Iranians won't concede, and then we hit him on the weekend. >> Well, the but the Iranians can't concede. I mean, not what we're asking

[08:52] is just not possible for them to agree to. So, I mean, I don't think any Iranian government could. >> Want to support the show with style? Go to dprogram.live live and check out our merch. That's dprogram.live or check out the description below. Thanks for watching. [music]
