Chapter 1: What is discussed at the start of this section?
prepared to probably go into battle maybe even this weekend. So the country has to come together for that. There's going to be plenty of time for finger pointing about how we got here. But the question's got to be, what do we find is victory? What does President Trump define as victory? And how do we get this thing done as quickly as possible and get our boys and girls home?
OK, so you posed a critical question.
And really, the only answer that really matters is, what does President Trump view as victory? But how would you define victory? I'm curious. I would find victories that President Trump set out. The military operation to defang and declaw the Iranian settlement.
No nuclear weapons, destroy their industrial base, destroy their ballistic missile and their missile capabilities, those four or five things.
Chapter 2: How does President Trump define victory in the context of Iran?
But you have to make sure that we can guarantee free passage of the Strait of Hormuz. I was there in 1979 and 1980. I was on a destroyer during the Iranian hostage crisis. We were the first
carrier battle group ever to show up what 47 years ago so it's a dangerous place we have to do that if we do that i think i think president trump can call that victory and we can come home my fear is and here's one thing you should notice the iranians who's left of them have picked up the tactics of president trump i mean they're very trumpian in how they respond to him right hey dude
We're fighting to the end. Here's our five things. They're non-negotiable. If you want a meeting, agree to it. They've got an edge to them, and I think that edge is going to be taken off, hopefully by the military in the next 48 hours.
If you want to control the Strait and Karg Island, it's not going to be by the air. You're going to have to go in on the ground.
Well, in the ground, the other thing I think we have to have a conversation is totally destroy the Iranians' ability to go to Dubai and get money. And when we go to Karg Island and those islands and everything, we have to have the UAE, the Saudis, and Qatar military have to be... This has to be all... The Persian Gulf countries have to have troops, okay? We have to have a unified front.
This can't be Americans just going and doing it. We have to have the Arabs with us. If they're not with us, then I think that's another conversation. Steve, the thing that strikes me about your estimation as to what would define victory, you didn't mention leadership.
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Chapter 3: What military strategies are discussed regarding Iran?
You didn't mention a change in leadership or the installment of some sort of Iranian leadership. Does that not factor into you? Well, listen, I think if you look at it, I think President Trump's right. I mean, he took out the Ayatollah. He's taken out all the way down, I think, to the brigade level on the Revolutionary Guard, right? If he finds somebody to negotiate with,
That, to me, by definition, is the leadership. If he finds somebody to negotiate with, he hasn't found it yet, right? We have a path through the Pakistanis. There's some other group that keeps giving, you know, negative feedback.
But once he finds that group, that Witkoff or the vice president or Jared Kushner, whoever's in the room with our people, I would say, by definition, that's the leadership he's comfortable enough with that can... So it's almost... You find out who you can negotiate with that can actually represent the country, as shattered as it is, and then that, to me, is the leadership you deal with.
You wonder if they can find a Delcy Rodriguez over in Iran. You wonder if that can happen. It's whack-a-mole over there, Steve. It's whack-a-mole. I think the Delcy Rodriguez thing, as you know, developed over time. They actually had a side negotiation with her in Qatar, which is very smart.
Chapter 4: What are the implications of Iran's military actions?
It's very tough, I think, to... I think a lot of those guys that they thought they had, a lot of those have been killed. And so that's why you have different... power centers over there, and that one power center that's being most aggressive against President Trump may actually be the leadership you end up dealing with.
But I'm sure President Trump and the intelligence services and joint command know they're looking for somebody that can actually, because remember, to make this deal, you have to live by the terms of it. That's what I think is so important. Absolutely. Well, Steve, always good to see you, my friend. I think we are done. It's 9.04 as I'm looking at my clock. So we're eating into your time anyway.
Okay, great. We're going to do a cold open. By the way, are we ready to go with War Room?
Is this our plot? I think we're about ready. Okay, let's go. I'm looking at my clock.
Let's go. Thank you, Steve. Let's go and do a cold open right now. You guys love cold opens, don't you? Let's do a cold open and we'll be right back.
Stopping our global war coverage from our newsroom, a milestone in the air campaign against Iran. U.S. Central Command tonight reports that American forces have now struck more than 10,000 military targets since the operation began. This is one of them hit earlier today. CENTCOM included no details, but CNN military analyst Cedric Layden tells us it was a weapons storage facility.
Israeli forces were busy as well again today. That is another Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon today. Part of what Israel's defense minister says is the campaign to establish a security zone about 20 miles deep inside Lebanese territory. Israeli forces today also struck in Gaza.
Let's go.
Speaker Johnson today described the conflict as wrapping up, but the 82nd Airborne Division, they're typically deployed at the beginning of conflicts. So does the White House consider this conflict as wrapping up or is it changing shape? As I said at the beginning of my remarks, we are meeting our goals of Operation Epic Fury expeditiously. The president likes to maintain options at his disposal.
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Chapter 5: What key points were made about Iran's nuclear negotiations?
However, it became quite clear during these meetings with the Iranian negotiating team that we could not make a deal that fulfilled your objectives of the following. No enrichment whatsoever. No chance of weaponizing whatsoever. Decommissioning of Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan, which you destroyed in Operation Midnight Hammer. No stockpiling of any material, which they flagrantly had violated.
Turning all enriched material over to us and a cutback in Iran's missile inventory and range capability of those same missiles. Throughout our meetings with the Iranians, we heard the following from them. The Iranians have the inalienable right to enrich. Then we heard they possessed enough 60 percent enriched material, 460 kilograms, to make 11 atomic bombs.
Finally, we heard the following statement. They would not give up diplomatically what we could not win militarily. In other words, they were again miscalculating the success of Midnight Hammer, which was a total success. These are incontrovertible signs, among many other signs, sir, that their regime had not given their negotiating team authority to make a deal required by you.
We conferred with you and all the other members of your foreign policy team, Susie Wiles, Pete Hegseth, the chairman, Marco Rubio, JD, Scott Besant, Chris Wright, John Ratcliffe, throughout all of these negotiations, and we were repeatedly rebuffed on everything we asked for. I have no doubt that we exhausted all efforts on behalf of a peaceful resolution, as you directed.
Jared and I both agreed that the Iranians were there to buy time until a weaker president arrived. This was a flawed strategy, as your clear direction was to never allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon today or any time in the future. Against that backdrop, and our compelling military successes in Epic Fury.
We have had multiple reach-outs from the region and others who want to play a role in ending this conflict peacefully. I can report to you today that we have, along with your foreign policy team, presented a 15-point action list that forms the framework for a peace deal. This has been circulated through the Pakistani government.
acting as the mediator, and this has resulted in strong and positive messaging and talks, as you just indicated to the press. But these are sensitive diplomatic discussions, and you have directed us to maintain confidentiality on the specific terms and not negotiate through the news media, as others do.
I can say this, we will see where things lead and if we can convince Iran that this is the inflection point with no good alternatives for them, other than more death and destruction. We have strong signs that this is a possibility and if a deal happens, it will be great for the country of Iran, for the entire region and the world at large.
Your policy of peace through strength is the most effective tool for a diplomatic resolution here, just as this policy was an effective tool in each and every one of all of the other conflicts you settled in your first year. Iran is looking for an off-ramp following your powerful threat on Saturday. Your indications that you are willing to listen to peace proposals have been well received.
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Chapter 6: How has military action influenced Iran's capabilities?
You have instructed us that your preference is always peace and that we should make that our priority. We have delivered that message, sir, along with the 15 points for peace. Finally, we have told Iran one last thing. Don't miscalculate again. The President Thank you very much. You're doing a great job. Everybody around this table is doing a great job. Pete Hegseth, please.
Mr. President, I'll start kind of where you left off, Mr. President.
Thank you for doing the work of the free world and having the courage to step up and stop the Iranian terror regime from holding the world hostage. That's really what it is. And 27 days ago, Iran had a modern military. Never in recorded history has a nation's military been so quickly and effectively neutralized. Operation Epic Fury is not an endless war.
It's a decisive campaign with clear objectives to destroy Iran's offensive military capabilities and ensure
They never obtain a nuclear weapon. This is stuff for the history books.
This is stuff for legacy. Mr. President, you are acting now to ensure future generations do not have to live under the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. However, you wouldn't know it if you listened to the dishonest hate Trump media, as you referenced. The folks here in the room, these cameras, they have a choice. You're either informing the American people of the truth or you're not.
Because I hear it from my people every day. Behind every headline you write, there's a helicopter crew in the air. And behind every news banner you write, there's a battalion on the move.
And behind every fake news story, there's an F-35 pilot executing a dangerous mission. My message to the media is get it right. This actually isn't something new to me. I may be a young guy, Mr. President, but I'm not a rookie in this realm. In 2007, I helped lead the surge, the public fight for the Iraq surge.
Stood and watched people stand in the Senate and declare the war is lost before it even started. Who was that? It was Harry Reid. That was the Democrats and the media working hand in glove. Back then it was three years into a war. Now we're three weeks. into an operation. But see, unlike Iraq, this isn't a tie. This is not parody. This is not chaos.
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Chapter 7: What are the implications of the U.S. relationship with Venezuela?
IRGC's Navy commander was killed overnight in operation. So no Navy, no Navy leader. Now that he's, here's the thing about the media, though.
If President Trump had not acted, you'd be screaming, why not? And now that he has taken decisive action, you're asking, well, why did you? It's the same old tired playbook, TDS in your DNA. But the hardworking, God-fearing, patriotic Americans out there know better. And you alluded to this, President Obama, Mr. President. Here's a fact that you don't hear on your networks, but we know.
Many of the Iranian military factories and bases that we're systematically destroying were paid for by the pallets of American cash that Barack Obama flew into Tehran under the Iran deal.
Chapter 8: What recent developments have occurred in the Strait of Hormuz?
You might call it an inconvenient truth. Iran took our money and turned it into weapons and bunkers and ammo. And now we're destroying those weapons, and we're righting, you're righting, Mr. President, that grievous wrong.
And make no mistake, we had to act. And our objectives are clear. No nukes, no Navy, and a complete dismantling of their missile program and defense industrial base.
And as Marco pointed out, that mission, and the VP as well, has not changed since day one. Yet, two days ago, they shot two failed missiles on a target 4,000 kilometers away. For years, they told the world that their missiles could only range two kilometers. Surprise. Yet again, Iran lied.
And to the world, I say London is 4,000 kilometers from Iran. Washington DC is 3,300 kilometers from Venezuela. Another country President Trump did something about that partnered for a long time with Iran. So you're telling us that Iran is not a threat to the world or to the U.S.? President Trump knows better. And here's what success actually looks like right now. You mentioned it, Mr. President.
A-10 Warthogs, if you know them, you love them, and Apache helicopter gunships are flying strike missions inside Iranian airspace and throughout the Strait of Hormuz at will. See, you only send these slow, low-flying, close air support platforms when the enemy has no meaningful air defenses left. Their presence is proof that Iran's air defenses are gone.
Their command and control is shattered, their top leaders hiding in underground bunkers, while their mid-level commanders are being crushed in the field, the morale of their fighters plummeting, and we see that disconnect daily.
They're privately admitting, as you said, Mr. President, very heavy losses. We know that. President Trump has given us a clear mission.
Our capabilities are only going up, and Iran's are plummeting. We are here to win, and we're full speed ahead. So, Steve, we appreciate your efforts. We pray for a deal, and we welcome a deal. And we have the ultimate dealmaker to make it happen. But in the meantime, as I said yesterday, the Department of War will continue negotiating with bombs. War is negotiation by other means.
And finally, I want to thank our incredible troops, our pilots, crews, sailors, refuelers, air defenders, the absolute best of America, the real 1 percent of our country. This President, President Trump, has your back. And I know this Cabinet prays for you every single day, and we ask the American people to do the same as they continue in this mission. God bless. Thank you.
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