Ben Rhodes
๐ค SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
And there were air defense systems there, too.
I mean, these things, we've seen them on the battlefield in Ukraine have a huge amount of damage that they can cause.
So this is the point about the law.
This keeps dragging on.
And it's going to be impossible to eliminate all their drones.
These are like toy airplanes, essentially, but can do a lot of damage.
And so, yes, their ballistic missiles are a tool that is going to run out at some point, but I'm not sure that these drones will.
No, I don't, Tommy.
And actually, the Iran nuclear deal has never looked better, which may be why Trump is trashing it.
I think most Americans, almost all Americans, would rather that we be in year 10 of the JCPOA than we be in this kind of incoherent war with Iran that is costing us tens of billions of dollars, has already killed American service members, and is wreaking havoc on the global economy.
And the whole deal would have sunsetted.
The strictest provisions would have sunsetted.
But, you know, I mean, frankly, Trump could have negotiated it two days ago.
I mean, it is worth just saying they are completely full of shit about the need to do this now.
There was no imminent threat from the nuclear program.
There was no distinct threat from the ballistic missile program that was any different than the, you know,
How many ever many years Iran has had busing missiles, you know, 20 years.
This happened now because Bibi Netanyahu wanted it to happen now.
I mean, there's no really other explanation.