Bannon`s War Room
Episode 5291: Talks For Peace Begin In Islamabad; Finding A Permanent Solution For Diego Garcia
11 Apr 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the backup plan for the peace talks in Islamabad?
What's your backup plan? You don't need a backup plan. We have the military is defeated. Their military is gone. They have, you know, we've degraded just about everything. They have very few missiles. They have very little manufacturing capability. We've hit them hard. Our military is amazing. The job they've done.
Chapter 2: How has military capability changed in the region?
Is this a one and done talk or are you open to more talks after this, Kenny?
I don't know. I can't tell you. I have to see what happens tomorrow. They've been talking for 47 years with other presidents, and we're not doing much talking. Thank you very much. You know, writing a book about how the middle class and the working people were getting screwed over and then getting in power and not caring about them at all.
Calling Trump America's Hitler and then being his sidekick. You know, all of this. And to stand. I'm so glad you raised that point. To stand next to Orban, who represents everything that we tell our children never to be. You know, a dictator who takes from the people who doesn't care about human rights. So, you know, all this aside, this is a really important moment for for peace in the world.
And and and frankly, I think it's best for Israel. if this fighting stops and that all of Iran's proxies and all the things they tell them to do to Israel, all that is brought to a table. And we can figure this out because I will tell you, I am so sad at what's happening to the reputation of Israel because of Netanyahu, in my opinion, in this great country of ours. I have never seen it.
I served for so many years and I always knew how critical it is To keep the American people behind Israel. The last point I'd make in all the years that I spent in Washington and several many trips to the Middle East, I met with all the leaders. I never did meet with Bibi. That's a whole other funny story. But I met with most of them. And they always had a couple of things.
Number one, Senator, we will always be a democracy and we will always care about human rights. And we will always need America and we will be America's strongest ally. But America will never have to fight our battles. And, you know, I just see Bibi changing the whole scenario here. And I worry so much about it. And with all my disagreements with J.D. Vance, I hope he succeeds.
According to sources familiar with recent U.S. intelligence assessments, China is preparing to send a shipment of weapons to Iran despite the ongoing fragile ceasefire, which it helped to broker. China says that these claims are untrue and that they have never provided any weapons to any country that's party to this current conflict.
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Chapter 3: What is the significance of the Diego Garcia base?
Two sources say that the weapons that China is sending include shoulder-fired anti-air missile systems. And these types of weapons pose a major threat to low flying aircraft. It would be a huge undertaking militarily.
I'm not prepared to say that it couldn't be done militarily, but to do it and to sustain an opening, a safe opening of the Strait would require months and months of hard work by not just the United States military, but frankly, militaries in the region and hopefully even militaries who aren't in the region, such as our European allies.
I mean, just the convoys alone, Jan, just I did that mission back in 88. That's time intensive, ship intensive work. We had 500-plus ships back then. We have only 300 or so now. We would need help to do it. And the convoys are slow, and you've got to be constantly on your toes going through that narrow strait. But also, you need eyes overhead.
You're going to need constant intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets flying over the strait so you can see with an unblinking eye everything that's moving in that water 24-7. And you might even have to to take militarily through land forces some of those islands on both sides of the strait that the Iranians have been able to use to launch attacks from. It's a huge undertaking.
Again, not impossible militarily, but huge. And there's just really no way the United States could do it on its own for any sustained period of time. Breaking this evening now. The UK is apparently preparing a new version of a major plan to get the whole nation from the military and the police to hospitals and industry ready for a transition to war.
That's what the head of the armed forces told Sky News. Well, just beg the question, doesn't it? Whose side would all those people be on? You can transition to war all you like, but we obviously have a load of people in this country that I think will just be on the side of whatever enemy it is that we happen to be fighting.
And if that wasn't enough, the Telegraph are also reporting tonight that the Russian Shadow Fleet crews will be able to claim asylum in Britain if we seize their ships because, well, yeah, they just can't. That's the fear, apparently. I mean, it's ridiculous. I'm not sure how much more of this we can really take, are we? Basically all because of international laws. U.S.
intelligence uncovered by the D.C. Bureau indicates that China is preparing for air defense shipments to Iran possibly within weeks. This is according to sources familiar with the intelligence. The systems are the shoulder-fired anti-air missiles known as MANPADS. That's what the sources are saying. And they're designed to target, as you said, low-flying aircraft, including U.S. jets.
Similar weapons likely used to shoot down that F-15 last week, according to President Trump. Iran claimed at the time that it used a new air defense system. That was according to a statement from Iranian state media. Shipments might be routed, these sources are saying, through third countries to hide their origin.
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Chapter 4: How is the U.S. military responding to new threats?
But we know that China has incentives to try to assist Iran in ways that does not harm its standing with the global community. Obviously, China is heavily reliant on Iranian oil. By some measures, they're purchasing 80 to 90 percent of the oil going through the Strait of Hormuz, up more than a million barrels a day.
So, trying to support Iran while maintaining deniability, these sources that my colleagues in Washington have spoken to say, could be really crucial here. Iran might be using the ceasefire to replenish their weapons. Now, I want to read for you, because we do have a statement from the Chinese embassy in Washington, and I'm going to read it to you in full, what we've published.
China has never provided weapons to any party to the conflict. The information in question is untrue. Goes on to say, as a responsible major country, China consistently fulfills its international obligations. We urge the U.S. side to refrain from making baseless allegations, maliciously drawing connections and engaging in sensationalism.
We hope that relevant parties will do more to help de-escalate tensions. Obviously, we know, Paula, that Russia has been providing much more significant military support than dual-use technology, even going so far as to provide Iran with intelligence of targets that they could strike across the Middle East.
If this is true, if what my Washington colleagues have reported from their sources is correct, certainly it would seem that the help coming from China is much, much more than was at least originally believed. But again, a very firm denial of this reporting from the Chinese embassy in Washington.
When you see what they're doing when it comes to Lebanon, where on this 10 point plan, don't bomb Lebanon was on there. The administration seemed to be OK with that. They're backing away from it now. But Israel is going. They're not at the negotiating table, but they're absolutely maybe the largest player when it comes to what happens next, especially when it comes to Lebanon.
Now, you make a great point. We have these bilateral talks going on in Pakistan and another key player in this war. In fact, the only real ally right now that the United States has is not going to be present and wasn't present when the ceasefire happened. was agreed to, which led to the confusion over Lebanon. Israel is a sovereign state.
They're looking at this situation from their lens and from their threats, the threats to their people. And they're going to act. I think we need to expect that Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israelis are going to act in their own self-interest here, no matter what happens in Islamabad. They view and they live in a tough neighborhood. They view Iran as an existential threat.
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Chapter 5: What role does China play in the Middle East conflict?
and certainly the proxies and one of the things that the israelis have been trying to do since before the war started and certainly over the last 40 days is break up the proxy network that iran has available to him is because because those proxies represent a very real and tangible threat to the israeli people hezbollah firing rockets out of the north hamas is still still exists and of course the houthis can fire stuff from the south so
Israel has been very focused on the proxies more than the United States has been. The other thing the Israelis are going to be watching very, very closely is what happens to that enriched uranium and what is Iran allowed to do with respect to enriched uranium going forward.
That's kind of been off the table as we all talk about the Strait, but to the Israelis, that too represents an existential threat. So there's no guarantee that whatever is agreed to in Pakistan is going to be agreed to in Tel Aviv. And we'll have to watch and see exactly how the Israelis respond as these talks continue. We're dealing with a failed presidency called Joe Biden.
The Iranians have flushed with cash because of Obama and Biden. Now they're on their back foot. And we're going to finish this job. I pray for a deal. But if they refuse a deal, just ask Maduro what happens when you turn down a good deal. Call him, but he's in jail. You won't be in jail. You're going to be dead. This is the primal scream of a dying regime.
Pray for our enemies, because we're going medieval on these people. You're just not going to free shot all these networks lying about the people. The people have had a belly full of it. I know you don't like hearing that. I know you've tried to do everything in the world to stop that, but you're not going to stop it. It's going to happen.
And where do people like that go to share the big lie?
Mega media. I wish in my soul, I wish that any of these people had a conscience.
Ask yourself, what is my task and what is my purpose? If that answer is to save my country, this country will be saved. War Room. Here's your host, Stephen K. Babb. It's Saturday, 11 April, in the year of our Lord, 2026.
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Chapter 6: How do the Iranian negotiations reflect their mindset?
Our weekend coverage today, obviously we're going to talk about the talks. We're trying to find out if they've actually started because there are, you know, there's so many rumors going around, so many different news stories breaking. We're trying to cut through the fog of war here, the fog of negotiations to see what's real and what's not.
Understanding that may not have even started because there may be a misunderstanding of what's going on in Lebanon and what's the agreement of Israel already. to be at least party to this, not a direct negotiation, but that the ceasefire in Lebanon has to take hold. Also, all types of rumors about the Chinese Communist Party, they were absolutely very essential to get us where they are today.
There may actually be a delegation in Islamabad, which reinforces the war room's position is that the deal is Any deal that has any meaning at all will be cut between the president of the United States and she president. She in a room in Beijing sometime during the state visit of President Trump in mid May. You just heard right there. Admiral Kirby on two things.
Number one said, hey, it doesn't make it doesn't whatever is agreed to in Islamabad and. agreed to that Washington wants to do, it doesn't mean it's going to be agreed to in Tel Aviv. This is the whole situation with having an ally that's got its own strategic plan. Now, having your own strategic plan is fine, but if it doesn't comport to your senior partner, then it's not great.
And so this is all going to be worked out in the next day or two. Also, Admiral Kirby giving, I think, an assessment from his perspective, particularly given the small size of the Navy, of what actually would have to do to convoy duty, the type of convoy duty that happened in the tanker wars in 86, 87, and 88. He said it would take months of planning. We really don't have the resources to do it.
You'd have to have the World Navy. You'd have to have the French, Italian. NATO would really have to step up, which it seems to be they have no intention of doing because they don't have the resources. They don't have the Navy either, although there is a report
on one of these tracking services that a Navy destroyer, DDG 112, is the USS Michael Murphy, a guided missile destroyer, is actually transiting the Strait of Hormuz even as we speak. So we'll get more into this. We've got a packed show, but we're going to do today
both the geopolitics and the negotiation and national security of what's happening not just in the Middle East, but also with the Chinese Communist Party. But also we're going to look inside the wire, which we think is not getting enough focus, the war inside the United States for the security of the United States and to keep this republic going.
And we're going to go from Texas to Florida to many other locations and discuss all of this. I want to thank our sponsors, particularly on the weekend, Birch Gold.
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Chapter 7: What strategies are being employed by the U.S. in the region?
War Room. Here's your host, Stephen K. Bannon. War and the rumor of war. So we're going to go from Iran and Islamabad, the Persian Gulf, to the Indian Ocean, De Garcia, and then talk about the Chinese Communist Party as we tee up for this audience to keep you guys ahead of the curve. David Patrick Caracos joins us now. Special correspondent. the Daily Mail.
David, thank you so much for joining us. You are one of the top, I would say, Iran experts in the world. The media is making a huge deal that since 1979, since the Shah of Iran got booted, and with it the United States, and they took over our embassy, that this is the first time in 47 years there's ever been high-level
face-to-face between, I think they've got a 12 or 14-man team with Vice President Vance and Jared and Steve Witkoff. We've been making the thesis here that one of the issues around this negotiation is forget what reality is.
The reality that the regime believes is that not only are they winning this war, they think right now to date they've won it and they think they have the upper hand in these negotiations. Can you walk us through your understanding of the mindset of this regime and where we are right now as we kick off these negotiations in Islamabad, sir?
Sure.
Sure. Look, Steve, I think that is a very astute point that you've made. They think that they've won and that they're winning. I mean, I was looking at photos of those regime stooges walking in to the Islamabad negotiations. It's like a low-grade reservoir dogs, all of them in their black suits strutting around. Look, what is happening right now?
is, you know, I mean, Iran is the beneficiary of what I have come to term, what I call the despot dividend, right? What does this mean? It means when democracies go to war with dictatorships, dictatorships always have a couple of advantages. One of them is informational, okay? Look, one thing we do know, that the Americans and the Israelis have pounded Iran like it's never been seen before.
And yet, because they're a dictatorship, they've cut all of the internet. There is an informational imbalance here, Steve, which is Iran is dark. On one side, all we hear are crowing, boasting Iranian leaders, those of them that are still alive.
And on the other, the Iranians watch everybody in the West and the world hammering Donald Trump, hammering Benjamin Netanyahu, and it emboldens the Iranians. And that's the way it is, because obviously we don't want to cut our meter off, do we? So what has happened is that every day the Iranians have survived, The discourse has moved towards them and it has emboldened them.
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Chapter 8: How do the outcomes of these talks impact global security?
It's very bureaucratic. Uh, they negotiate in these small points that take forever. Is that what we're going to see in Islamabad? I mean, what's the process that the Persians look at when they have to face the west in a negotiation? Again, another good question. Look, my first book was on Iran's nuclear program. So I spent about 10 years, Steve analyzing Iranian nuclear negotiations.
And, you know, I used to go and see in Vienna, Steve, a man called Aliashkar Soltaneh. He was Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency. He was a lovely, charming man, would give me tea, would ask about my family and then proceed to lie to me for the entire hour of our interview. Very charming. Never got a single word of truth out of him. It's the same principle.
They'll be very charming. And another thing, every time you meet with Iranian diplomats, Steve, you have to spend half an hour, first 15 minutes of boasting where they tell you how they're an ancient civilization and that they defeated the Persians and so on.
Then there's another 15 minutes of them listing all their grievances against how the West has done this to them and that to them and how they've never started a war. in God knows how many hundreds of years. And you go on and on and on. And they will quibble and haggle over minutia.
And let's not forget, this is all now being done under the auspices of the Pakistanis, which, Steve, I personally think is like having an arsonist oversee a meeting of fire safety regulations. I find it absurd, but this is where we are. So be prepared. The Iranians will try to string this one out. You're absolutely right again. You're absolutely correct.
And I realize President Trump's got a very strong relationship with the field marshal of the Pakistani army. That being said, if you had to pick in the world a worse group to be as mediators, it would be the Pakistanis. If nothing more, then they're totally bought and paid for by the one belt, one road of the Chinese Communist Party.
Give me your perspective of China's influence in this, the specter of the Chinese Communist Party that hovers over this entire meeting in Islamabad, sir. Look, and that's one of the things I like about you and the war room. You don't forget China. China is a colossal actor that often stays in the background. Look, China needs Iranian oil, OK? I think it's 80% or 90% it buys.
It is there in the background. It's in many ways keeping Iran afloat. Now, in the short term, I think this benefits China. Right now, you know, energy prices right now has that relationship with Iran. So if Iran's cutting off the oil to other people, China will still keep flowing. Don't forget as well, it's seen a lot of Western military tech in action.
It will be watching those American strikes, learning about American military capabilities. And now, You know, if it wasn't bad enough with the Pakistanis, we're going to have the Chinese looking statesman's like and talking about bringing peace. So they're going to be milking this for all it's worth. But again, over the medium to longer term, it starts to look worse for them.
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