Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hello, everyone. I'm Dana Perino, along with Charlie Hurt, Jessica Tarlov, Jesse Waters, and Joey Jones. It's 5 o'clock in New York City, and this is The Five. A tragic update as Operation Epic Fury continues. U.S. Central Command raising the death toll to six American service members killed in action.
And we are just getting word that the Israeli military says it has begun a new wave of strikes on Iran. So let's get right to Trey Yinks. He is in Tel Aviv with this update for us. Hi, Trey.
Dana, good afternoon. The Israeli military is now going after Iran's ballistic missile launchers. They've been targeting Israel throughout the day with a series of barrages and some of them slipping past Israel's missile defense systems. In the southern city of Be'er Sheva, at least 19 people were injured and taken to local hospitals after one of those missiles slammed into a residential area.
It's been a game of cat and mouse with the Israelis going after these positions inside of Iranian territory. But while they're looking east, they're now also looking north. Overnight, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah getting directly involved in the fight, launching rockets toward the northern Israeli city of Haifa.
Israel immediately responded, striking targets throughout Lebanon. We also saw they issued evacuation orders for more than 50 Lebanese villages. And the southern Dahya neighborhood in the Lebanese capital of Beirut was hit with significant airstrikes.
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Chapter 2: What tragic updates are shared regarding Operation Epic Fury?
Again, the Israelis trying to send... a message to Hezbollah that these types of attacks will not be tolerated. With the Israelis again going on the offensive alongside their U.S. counterparts across the region, we're also looking at the Gulf, where today the Qatari Defense Ministry says they shot down two Iranian fighter jets. These were Su-24 bombers that were flying into Qatari airspace.
The Qataris have been shooting down now jets and also cruise and ballistic missiles. So a lot of kinetic action across the region, as the Israelis say they are bracing tonight for more incoming fire. Dana.
Chapter 3: How is the Israeli military responding to Iranian missile threats?
But a quick question for you, Trey. What does the current situation look like in the Gulf? And is there this continued unity amongst the Gulf states? Can that last?
There's a lot of unity among the Gulf states, but they're certainly going to need some assistance when it comes to air defense. When we look back to how all of this began, we have to look back a few years. This has been all a domino effect across the region. Iran's proxy inside Gaza, Hamas, launched an attack on the morning of October 7th in 2023. That led to a war inside Gaza.
Then Hezbollah in the north was brought in. And Gulf countries were watching all of this closely, but the threat from Iran remained. President Trump was able to get a ceasefire together between Israel and Hamas inside Gaza and then create the Board of Peace, which broadly gave hope to the region about the future of prosperity and stability in the Middle East.
But the big roadblock, the hurdle for both the Americans and the Israelis was always Iran's supreme leader, the Ayatollah Khamenei, who is now dead, and the Iranian regime. And so there is hope in the region, despite the fact that this conflict is developing, that if the Iranian regime is taken down or heavily suppressed, that it could lead to more prosperity.
The thing that the president has done, which we've heard from so many officials, not just here in Israel, but also in Gulf nations, is develop trust behind the scenes. He sent his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to the region to work on that initial ceasefire. But also they've been developing these relationships, very important relationships with
that are now coming into effect across the region, and it's giving the United States the ability to keep all of these Gulf countries on the same page and mount a strong defense against these Iranian attacks.
Dana? Trey, thank you so much. We all appreciate all the work you're doing. Stay safe, and I'm sure we'll see you again soon. Meanwhile, just moments ago, President Trump posted a new message on Truth Social. It said, if I didn't terminate Obama's horrendous Iran nuclear deal, the JCPOA, Iran would have had a nuclear weapon three years ago.
That was the most dangerous transaction we have ever entered to. And had it been allowed to stand, the world would be an entirely different place right now. You can blame Barack Hussein Obama and sleepy Joe Biden. Thank you, President Trump. Earlier, the president revealing why America needed to act now.
We warned Iran not to make any attempt to rebuild at a different location because they were unable to use the ones we so powerfully blew up. But they ignored those warnings and refused to cease their pursuit of nuclear weapons. This was our last best chance to strike what we're doing right now and eliminate the intolerable threats posed by this sick and sinister
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Chapter 4: What role do Gulf states play in the current conflict?
This is also a big purchaser of technology and weapons from China. And so I truly believe this is all a part of President Trump's chess game with China. I think there is an immediate threat with Iran, but... I mean, they've said it to our faces and we haven't listened. This is the best time. The fight might have been in five years.
But what a world could we live in where we don't wait those five years until it really hurts us? I applaud them for it because they're going to take a lot of arrows on the politics and on the even diplomacy. And you saw how the UK reacted. They're going to take a lot of arrows for this. But it is truly it's almost similar to how.
We have said, listen, it's going to hurt a little bit, but we're bringing manufacturing back. We're going to use these tariffs. You're not going to be happy about it for a year or two, but it's going to set us up for success. I believe this is a part of that same ideology when it comes to leading this country for the next 100 years. What do we always complain about?
We get four-year plans, not 100-year plans. This is a 100-year plan. And the smartest thing other politicians could do is buy in on it because it will absolutely lead to our prosperity and longevity, our security for the next 100 years.
Jessica, I haven't heard from you yet.
Yeah. So you said, Joey, this is the best time to do it. And I think that the problem that the American public has with what's gone on, and these are people who vote like me and people who vote like Jesse, is that our government has not made that case to us. And Secretary Rubio was out there giving a press conference.
And I think he was by far and away the best representative of the administration to do it, had the most support. level of clarity. And that's because he admitted it finally that Israel decided to do this. And we went along for the ride. We have heard so many conflicting stories.
And that's why you have strong MAGA supporters from Megyn Kelly to the Matt Walsh's of the world saying, excuse me, wait a minute, this is confusing and not what we signed up for, for the peace president. Right. No boots on the ground. Now we have six dead service members. But we heard about Iran's nuclear capacities. We heard about what's going on with the ballistic missiles.
We heard they're going to attack us. But the truth is, is that Israel was going to go in and then they were going to attack us because of what our ally was doing. So the decisions that are being made are being orchestrated by Bibi Netanyahu. We have a strong partnership with them for sure.
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Chapter 5: How has the U.S. military's involvement evolved in this situation?
I want it to be from we honor them, and we know that that sacrifice will mean something. I know you meant that, but it's important for me to say it.
That's fine, and I don'tāI made sure, or I was trying to make sure that I communicated in that way because we wereā In the introduction, it was mentioned as well. There was no disrespect.
Charlie, as you and I, I think, are the senior members of the team here today, but you've covered several of these conflicts, right? And there's been complaints from either side of the aisle about, does the president actually have the power to do that? And over and over again, it's like, yes, he does.
That doesn't he's not required by law to necessarily explain it in a particular way for any particular group. But some of the Democrats who are complaining that he doesn't have the power, they didn't feel that way when Barack Obama did it in Libya.
And of course, these are also the same Democrats who have been supporting an open borders for the last four four years prior to the last year. So I seriously just sit down. It's kind of obnoxious to even have to listen to it. Every president since Thomas Jefferson has believed that the president has the authority to do this from either party.
The question to me, I think, is about the timing, whether or not the time, because every president of our lifetimes has believed that Iran was a was a terrible force in the world and has attacked Iran indirectly, either through proxies or going after allies. Donald Trump, in typical Trump fashion, walks in and says, you know what? Actually, I'm not going to fight a proxy.
I'm going to go directly and cut off the head of the snake. And now I have a lot of like you were saying, Jesse, I have a lot of like I'm very nervous. I don't I don't like this. I don't want to be in a war. I don't want to have boots on the ground. I don't want to lose soldiers. But you can't say that that's a wild departure from. every single president of either party of our lifetimes.
It's not. He's just being very direct about it. And I think he's been very clear about what he wants. And as Pete Hegseth said today, this is not a so-called regime change war, but the regime sure did change. That's true. He is. But the president is very focused on the issue of a nuclear weapon. And every time he talks about the environment, he talks about the N-word nuclear.
That's what he's worried about when it comes to the environment. It's what he's worried about when it comes to geopolitics. And and, you know, and you look at how. Iran has responded. And you have to recognize that he's probably right about this. These people are lunatics. We've known that for a long time. If they have a nuclear weapon, that is that that's a total global game changer.
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Chapter 6: What historical context is provided about Iran's actions?
Can we just take a minute? Yeah. Take a beat. And what he's trying to say is I think he's actually probably doing too much and trying to say, well, we're ahead of schedule here. But how long will that last? I don't know. But he's trying about a month. We'll see a few weeks. I don't know. It's not going to be in the next day.
And I think one of the things that happened, listening to Call Me Back this morning was amazing. They had a military expert on, and he said that one of the things that the Israelis had learned to do, and possibly our intelligence as well, is they were following the bodyguards of each of the members that were meeting there. So that's how they knew where they were.
And the decision to just always underestimate the enemy. So that's what Iran constantly underestimates their adversaries. So they never thought they would strike in the daytime. They never thought they would strike on the Sabbath. They had all of their things in their minds saying, we'll be safe if we all get together for brunch. And they all went.
Now, was there a Delcy Rodriguez like in Venezuela in that group of 49? That's what the president's indicating, that there might have been two or three. But now that's not an option. So I I think that the next points for him would be outline the history. OK, so Charlie and I, again, we're like the oldest ones here. It's like I remember the Ayatollah right during the Reagan administration.
I was terrified of this guy. And I thought Ronald Reagan will protect me. Why? And then walk, walk people through it. Take time. People will listen to the president. So he has time to explain the history. And I think that's really important. And that includes more recent history, like, for example, roadside bombs that were material that was purchased from Iran and ended up in the Gulf War.
I think he has to outline the threats as they are coming, but also show our our new allies. and how Iran decided to turn on all of its neighbors at once and destroy beautiful hotels that the Emiratis had built. And everybody in those Gulf states are saying, we want a better life. I think President Trump continues to talk about the competence of our military. I think that helps a lot.
And then I would hammer the Democrats on the Department of Homeland Security still being shut down. There's no need for it. ICE is not going to be abolished. Get to the table. Get the people who work at TSA and everybody at Homeland Security. Just put this behind you. Let it go and let the Department of Homeland Security move forward. There's a hearing tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. with Kristi Noem.
That would be a good opportunity to announce it.
Your name was invoked as a wise one, Charlie. We're in trouble. So you've heard from the president. You've heard from Secretary of War. You've heard from chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff. Do you think that they've communicated effectively? And Rubio.
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Chapter 7: What are the implications of President Trump's military strategy?
I have talked about this from Trump 1.0 into Trump 2.0. The Abraham Accords, I think, is, for me, probably his seminal foreign policy achievement. I think it's fantastic. I think it's a really good thing. I hate seeing, though, like the U.K., France, Spain, other countries that stood with us when, for instance, we were going to go into Iraq and Afghanistan saying this is an illegal war.
You know, we don't want to have anything to do with this. And maybe I want too much, but I would like everybody to try to be on the same page if this is a just action and it is going to bring better economic outcomes for sure, peace and prosperity, and hopefully freedom for the Iranian people, which I know everybody wants. I hope that there is still a diplomatic solution on the table.
The Omanis are saying that they were close. I understand it is in their best interest to say that. If there can be an even better nuclear deal, let's get back to the table and make sure that that's possible. We are spending a lot of money. We are tragically losing American lives, brave people who are fighting for us and our allies in the Gulf. They need more from us. It's going to cost a lot.
And those are the kinds of things that hit people back at home. And you better believe that people who are against this and certainly the regime change aspect are going to be saying they're not focused on your health care. They're not focused on your cost of living. We're spending hundreds of billions of dollars in a war that means nothing for your life.
Jessica says go back to the negotiating table.
Yeah, here's the negotiation. It's going to look like Japan on the aircraft carrier after World War II. That's the negotiation. We've lost six heroes. The nuclear deal is we take all your fissile material and we might sell you a reactor to make some power with. That's the only acceptable nuclear deal after this. Regardless if you believe in this war or not, we've made it this far.
To let your foot off the throttle now just would be ā You can make half the country mad. Doing that would make the other half mad. Everybody's mad. That's all you would do. I don't accept that. I think everybody misunderstands this. When we talk about regime change and what happens next, I don't think President Trump said, let's invest in this guy.
He can run the country and we can work with him. That's the bad policy. That's the policy that's ruined us since the 60s. That's the policy that got us into this problem with Iran to begin with. The policy is, whoever is strong enough to take the reins and understands we will kill him if he doesn't work with us, that's who we're going to work with. And that's as much as it needs to be.
I don't know if Iran gets a free and prosperous government or not. As long as they don't get one that chants death to America and death to Israel and tries to create missiles for Russia and China and works with our enemies more than us, After that, that's what I'm concerned about. And if that makes me, you know, America first too much, that's OK. But that's where my concern is.
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Chapter 8: How do the panelists view the potential outcomes of this conflict?
John Fetterman, the senator from Pennsylvania, said, I'm sick of hearing Democrats saying no matter what, Iran can't have a nuclear weapon, but then not saying anything about what they would do to stop it. And I do believe that The whole world might rest a little bit easier knowing that Kamala Harris is not making these negotiations.
If you think about the story that we did last week that said that the issue of Gaza really hurt her. Right. So you can imagine that the Hamas caucus would have talked her out of something like this type of action. And that's also what she just displayed on the street corner.
Joey, you have a unique or unique to this table perspective of having gone into war and and had to suffer through hearing or maybe you didn't. I don't know. But the idea that you have men and women going into battle right now and they're listening to this carping back home, political carping back home from people who are clearly trying to score political points.
as you and your friends are perhaps willing to lay down their lives for that right to carp. Yeah, we didn't listen to any of them. They were all talking heads. I didn't vote in a presidential election until McCain-Obama, and it's because I learned that McCain was a POW, and I thought that was kind of bad. We you know, I don't think this generation has that luxury.
We didn't have smartphones, so we weren't checked into politics as a part of our personality. I can tell you what the politics were of any of my buddies, except we all agreed on killing bad guys. And that was a hell of a lot of fun, as General Mattis said. So I think that in a lot of ways, maybe we're more ignorant. Maybe we were less propagandized. I don't know.
I think that a lot of folks right now in the military are excited. I think that Pete Hegseth has done a hell of a job returning the warrior. He said it in one of the latest comments. I think maybe it was at the press briefing. He said, we're not defenders, we're warriors. We are waging war on our terms to win the goals that we set and come home and celebrate. And that's the posture of this war.
Listen, I understand the angst of looking back on the last 20 years of what wars in the Middle East were. But if I look back on the last 10 years and see everything that President Trump has done from ā Maduro to Midnight Hammer to Qasem Soleimani, he strikes, he achieves an objective, and he brings our guys and gals home. I have to believe that's the plan here.
I believe that having these Arab nations pissed off at Iran is a helpful tool in that when it comes to whatever rebuilding or whatever reconstituting the country of Iran turns into, because honestly, they've got a bigger risk here than we do if the regime reconstitutes itself. Jessica, where's the line where Democrats go too far?
I certainly haven't seen it yet. I mean, making thoughtful comments about how this is a war that we chose to get involved in when one of our strongest allies pushed us in that direction, I don't think is anything but a factual assessment of what's going on here. And if J.D. Vance and Tulsi Gabbard weren't in the administration, they'd be on that same side. They'd be saying, focus at home.
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