Verdict with Ted Cruz: End Of Iran's Civilization PAUSED—Why, What It Means & What's Next
4/9/202635 mincomplete
0:00This is an iHeart Podcast.
0:02Guaranteed Human. This podcast is brought to you by Wise, the app for international people
0:07using money around the globe.
0:09With Wise, you can send, spend, and receive in over 40 currencies with no markups
0:14or hidden fees. Sending pounds across the pond, spending Rai's in Rio, or getting paid
0:19in dollars for your side gig, you'll get the mid -market exchange rate on every
0:23transaction. Plus, most transfers arrive in less than 20 seconds.
0:27Join 15 million customers internationally.
0:29Be smart. Get Wise. Download the Wise app or visit wise .com.
0:33T's and C's apply. Welcome.
0:35It is Verdict with Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson.
0:37With you, it's so nice to have you with us.
0:39And, Senator, we are doing this show.
0:41And, honestly, as we were show prepping, we didn't know what was going to happen.
0:45And now it looks like the Strait of Hormuz is going to be reopened after
0:49Trump announced a two -week double -sided ceasefire.
0:52Well, the end of Iranian civilization that was scheduled to happen at 8 p .m.
0:57Tuesday night, East Coast time.
0:59It has apparently been paused.
1:00It has been paused for two weeks.
1:02President Trump announced a two -week ceasefire.
1:05He did so after the intervention of the government of Pakistan, asking to negotiate peace
1:10between Iran and the United States.
1:13Iran has stated they intend to open the Strait of Hormuz.
1:16But at the same time, as we talk right now, this is late Tuesday night,
1:21Iranian missiles are still flying in the air.
1:23We're going to break down what we know, what's happened so far, and what's likely
1:27to happen next. Yeah, we'll have all that for you as well in a moment.
1:31Let me tell you real quick, though, about Bitcoin IRA.
1:34I got to ask you a question.
1:36Can you buy real Bitcoin in your retirement account?
1:40Well, if not, it's time to upgrade to Bitcoin IRA.
1:44It's 2026, and cryptocurrency is where so many investors are going and diversifying.
1:50You can buy and sell Bitcoin inside a tax -advantaged IRA with Bitcoin IRA, and
1:57that gives you more ways to diversify and grow your retirement savings.
2:02Security is their number one priority, and your assets are protected by military -grade multi
2:09-key security, and you're covered up to $250 million in digital asset insurance.
2:16So what are you waiting for?
2:17Get in the Bitcoin game today and diversify your portfolio.
2:23You'll actually talk to a real person, 866 -679 -6871, 866 -679 -7871, or BitcoinIRA
2:38.com slash Ben, that's BitcoinIRA .com slash Ben, to open a free account and earn
2:44up to $1 ,000 bonus right now.
2:47All right, Senator, so let's talk about the big news here.
2:50And look, the president made it very clear over the Easter weekend, there was a
2:54hardcore deadline, and that deadline was closing in quickly.
2:58It was going to be Tuesday night.
3:00The president, I said on Piers Morgan's show today, he's not going to flinch.
3:06Like, you need to listen to him.
3:08It's very clear he's not going to flinch.
3:10And it was also very clear what he was demanding.
3:12If you want to get a deal done, you've got to open up the Strait
3:15of Hormuz. That is exactly now what Iran is saying they're going to do, at
3:19least for hopefully the next two weeks, while they try to figure this thing out.
3:22But that's the reason why the president said, pause to major military action.
3:27Well, I've got to say, Ben, you and I also said that exact same thing
3:30on Monday's verdict. And so I'm sitting here wondering, why, Ben, do you hurt me?
3:35Why do you bring up Piers Morgan?
3:37Like, why possibly? Because I'm fighting the commies over there.
3:40I was yelling at Dave Smith, the crazy guy that thinks America is a terrorist
3:44organization. Don't argue with crazy people.
3:49It's like wrestling with pigs.
3:51You get covered in mud, and the pig enjoys it.
3:54But that's true. You would have been proud, though.
3:57It was a one -on -one, and I say very kindly, I whooped his A
4:01-double -S. It was a beatdown, my friend.
4:04Are you familiar with the T -shirt, I refuse to have a battle of wits
4:07with an unarmed man? Yes, yes.
4:10So, look, Monday's podcast, we did a deep dive on this.
4:14And the president's threat, President Trump's threat, I believe, was not a bluff.
4:19He was not kidding. And at 8 p .m., he was prepared to unleash holy
4:24hell and to take out power plants across the nation of Iran and take out
4:28bridges across the nation of Iran.
4:30And what we talked about was the big open question was, does the Ayatollah care
4:35to the mullahs care? Or are they perfectly happy seeing their economy go literally back
4:40into the dark ages, see the lights go out, go back to having candles, and
4:44be by fire pits because there's no electricity in the country?
4:50Well, here's what President Trump put out on Trump Social on Tuesday.
4:56Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shabazz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir of Pakistan,
5:02and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to
5:08Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran's agreeing to the, all caps, complete,
5:14immediate, and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing
5:19and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks.
5:22This will be a double -sided ceasefire.
5:25ceasefires all caps. The reason for doing so is that we have already met and
5:29exceeded all military objectives and are very far along with a definitive agreement concerning the
5:35long -term peace with Iran and peace in the Middle East.
5:38We've received a 10 -point proposal from Iran and believe it is a workable basis
5:43on which to negotiate. Almost all of the various points of past contention have been
5:49agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two -week period will allow
5:53the agreement to be finalized and consummated.
5:56On behalf of the United States of America as president and also representing the countries
6:01of the Middle East, it is an honor to have this long -term problem close
6:06to resolution. Thank you for your attention to this matter, President Donald J.
6:10Trump. Now, in response, Iran put out an official statement, and here's the response of
6:17Iran. Tehran, 7 April 2026.
6:21On behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran, I express gratitude and appreciation for my
6:26dear brothers, the Prime Minister of Pakistan Sharif and the Field Marshal Mounir for their
6:31tireless efforts to end the war in the region.
6:33In response to the brotherly request of Prime Minister Sharif in his tweet, and considering
6:40the request by the U .S.
6:41for negotiations based on its 15 -point proposal, as well as an announcement by POTUS
6:47about acceptance of the general framework of Iran's 10 -point proposal as a basis for
6:51negotiations, I hereby declare on behalf of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, if attacks against
6:59Iran are halted, our powerful armed forces, each capitalized, will cease their defensive operations.
7:08For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be
7:12possible via coordination with Iran's armed forces and with due consideration of technical limitations.
7:20Sayyid Abbas Aragachi, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Islamic Republic of Iran.
7:25Now, as you and I are sitting here, it is a few minutes before midnight
7:29Tuesday night. We don't know what's going to happen.
7:33We do know there are reports this evening of Iranian ballistic missiles raining down on
7:39Israel right now. So it appears, as of right now, the two -way ceasefire is
7:44not being honored by Iran.
7:47We don't know what will happen on Wednesday, on Thursday, on Friday.
7:50I will say if Iran continues offensive attacks on its neighbors, I am skeptical the
7:58two -week pause will hold.
8:00Let me ask you a question about the wording there, because I think this is
8:03very interesting, and I want your take on it.
8:06Two -way ceasefire, there was several people that I talked to in Israel that said
8:11the reason why that verbiage may have been used is to make it clear this
8:16was just a ceasefire between the U .S.
8:19and Iran. This did not include Israel -Iran.
8:22That's why it was two -way, not three -way, right?
8:26Our trilateral, you know, agreement here.
8:29And it looked like Israel, it also basically said, like, we're still going to probably
8:33be hitting targets over the next two weeks as well.
8:35Is that part of the reason why the president said it that way, do you
8:38think? So I'm going to give you my technical and precise answer.
8:42I got no idea. I don't know.
8:46This is why I love doing this show.
8:47If we don't know something, we will tell you.
8:49Yeah, no, I'm not going to hide it.
8:50Look, I'm reading the same tweet you are.
8:53The tweet says, this will be a double -sided ceasefire.
8:57Look, my suspicion is that was meant to include Israel, but I don't know that.
9:03Okay. See, I read it opposite of that.
9:05I thought it was like a cheeky way of saying, hey, you guys in Israel,
9:09y 'all got to figure out your own thing for the next two weeks.
9:12This is just us. This is me.
9:13This is U .S., Iran.
9:15And that gives Israel the freedom to do what they need to continue to do
9:18in their opinion. Oh, look, maybe.
9:20I don't know. I have not seen any reports in the media or on X
9:27of additional attacks on Iran tonight.
9:30They may be happening. I don't know that Israel is not attacking Iran tonight, but
9:34I have not seen any reports if that's happening.
9:37What I've seen is reports of Iran's attacks going out.
9:44And, you know, for example, the New York Times, always a questionable source, retired as
9:54follows. By the way, 28 minutes ago, the New York Times.
9:58Okay. You ask and I answer, albeit with weak sourcing, the New York Times.
10:04Updated 28 minutes ago, Iran war live updates.
10:07U .S., Iran, and Israel agree to ceasefire.
10:12Okay. There you go. The deal came shortly before President Trump's deadline for Iran to
10:17reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face devastation.
10:20Israel said the ceasefire did not include Lebanon.
10:23Now, that seems fair. Lebanon with Hezbollah.
10:25That's not Iran. Yeah. Although Hezbollah is an Iranian proxy, but that's fair.
10:30Here's what the New York Times reported.
10:32And by the way, I don't know what this is.
10:35I literally just found it on my phone and I'm reading it.
10:39So here's the latest. The United States and Iran reached an 11th hour ceasefire deal
10:43on Tuesday evening, hours after President Trump threatened to start wiping out Iran's whole civilization
10:47if it did not allow commercial shipping to pass safely through the Strait of Hormuz.
10:52Mr. Trump. announced the agreement uh pakistan proposed each side observer two -week ceasefire it
10:59will take months for global jet fuel supplies to return to normal now here's another
11:03aspect oil prices plunge and stocks surge after the ceasefire deal and here's here's what
11:13iran or iran the new york times posted oil prices tumbled and stocks in asia
11:19surged on tuesday as investors breathed a sigh of relief after the united states and
11:23iran reached a last minute ceasefire agreement temporarily avoiding a worst case scenario president trump
11:28following through on his pledge to wipe out iran the seat why is that a
11:32worst case scenario i guess if you're the ayatollah it's a worst case scenario i'm
11:35not sure from the new york times you know it would be truly horrific if
11:40the islamist regime in iran that wants to murder americans and is murdering americans if
11:45if they suffered yet another loss that that's the new york times let me keep
11:48reading the ceasefire deal came 90 minutes before a deadline set by mr trump israel
11:53supports president trump's decision to stop attacking iran for two weeks subject to the immediate
11:58reopening strait of hormuz and the cessation of iran tax against the united states israel
12:02and other countries in the region officer prime minister benjamin netanyahu said in a statement
12:06um so we don't know right now but listen if it gets the strait of
12:14hormuz opened that's positive yes uh that is a step in the right direction i
12:19will say the iranian military and what president trump said in his truth social is
12:23exactly right many of the military objectives have been accomplished the military has been degraded
12:29almost out of existence it's one of the reasons the iranian statement about you know
12:34our very powerful military will stop striking um yeah there there's virtually no military left
12:40it's like four guys with a slingshot uh sitting on the back of a camel
12:43so so it's uh but but they're very powerful military what they do have is
12:48some mines and and some speedboats with dynamites that have the potential of sinking uh
12:52potentially oil tankers in the strait of hormuz and so it so so they are
12:56having leverage by the way to the way that the way it was described to
13:00me by a guy in the military when he was trying to explain to me
13:02like again it's coming from a military mindset he said ben this is what americans
13:07need to understand he said and please explain this wherever you can we've taken out
13:12them as a military yes they now have what he described as terrorist weaponry of
13:19course weaponry is completely different than military weaponry military weaponry is like you know radar
13:24and and ballistic missiles and airplanes that can have dogfights he said terrorists can do
13:30things with fertilizer they can do things with with dynamite they can do things that
13:35are basic as you just described it like blowing a hole in the side of
13:38an oil tanker and having a massive you know economic as well as environmental issue
13:43in the strait of hormuz and so the point he was making was this idea
13:48that that i mean and he went back to al -qaeda and isis you can
13:52do a lot of damage yeah with very basic things car bombs are a great
13:57example with fertilizer ammonia you know the the very basics as he described it he
14:01said the the good news is we've we decimated the military in iran we have
14:07not decimated as he described it the terrorist aspect of iran because all you need
14:11is a couple crazy guys with very little resources and you can do something on
14:15a terrorist scale and we've seen that all over the world i think that's exactly
14:19right and and understand the strait of hormuz is not iran's to control that is
14:24not part of iran that is international waters it just happens to be nearby to
14:28iran and and the fact that they're willing to act as terrorists uh on you
14:34explain to everybody how the strait of hormuz is supposed to work i think a
14:37lot of people don't understand the the international aspect of this i think there's i
14:41think also the media has been really portraying it almost like well it's kind of
14:45iran's anyway and they let us use it that is a lie can you explain
14:49that for people real quick look at the end of the day it doesn't operate
14:52materially differently than say the atlantic ocean or pacific ocean if you're sailing from new
14:58york city to london you're gonna cross the atlantic and you know what there is
15:03a possibility halfway across the atlantic of piracy someone someone out on the atlantic you
15:09could be in an ocean liner could pilot a ship into your into your boat
15:12and and or and have dynamite and explode and sink it uh now and by
15:17the way piracy used to be a a frequent peril i mean that was not
15:21an unusual there's a great series that i've watched on netflix you ever watch black
15:26sails no oh black sails why have you been holding out on me for a
15:31guy that tells you about all these other movies i got to watch you you
15:34you admit this one this actually seems like one i want to watch now yeah
15:37so it's actually not a movie it's a series and it's like four seasons long
15:41uh and it's about pirates black sails it's about pirates in the caribbean and so
15:46blackbeard is in it and it's really well done i i watch the whole thing
15:50look i'm on airplanes all the time so as you know i download lots of
15:53series by the way ben we have done a movie podcast we haven't done a
15:58netflix download podcast i want to do that at some point maybe we'll do it
16:02for a holiday or something i think those uh because i have a lot of
16:05series i've downloaded but black sails goes through there was a whole era where where
16:09if you're taking you know cotton from uh from a plantation in the south and
16:15you and you're going going to the caribbean or you're going to uh to england
16:21You might encounter pirates who would come along with cannons and board you and potentially
16:26kill everyone on board and steal your cargo.
16:30And piracy, it's not entirely gone away, but it's mostly gone away, and it's mostly
16:35gone away due to the United States.
16:37And one of the things that happened post -World War II is the United States
16:42took a responsibility of ensuring navigation of the open seas.
16:47And it wasn't – we didn't have to do that, but it produced more than
16:52a half century of global trade and commerce, where people could – you could put
16:56a shipping container from the United States to England, from the United States to Asia,
17:01and the odds of it being robbed on the high seas were pretty low.
17:05They weren't zero, but they were pretty low.
17:07And it produced – you know, when the Roman Empire was at its height, the
17:13world saw something called the Pax Romana, the peace of the Romans, because the Roman
17:17Empire prevented threats. Well, we had for some time been going through what's called the
17:25Pax Americana, which is the peace that the Americans have brought by allowing global shipment
17:30and trade. The Strait of Hormuz is a much more constricted place, because it's just
17:34– it's going around where you don't have much space, and if you're going through
17:37the Suez Canal, you've got to pass through there.
17:40And it's a narrow passage, which means – look, if Iran wanted to try to
17:46shut off transit across the Atlantic Ocean, that's a really big body of water.
17:51That's not easy to do.
17:52The Strait of Hormuz is not that big, and so it is a natural choke
17:58point where a terrorist can focus.
18:01It's interesting. Iran is promising to open it up, so we'll see what that means.
18:06But there are also reports of Iran continuing to fire ballistic missiles, so we'll see
18:11if the ceasefire even lasts 24 hours.
18:16Every missile Iran fires, I think, decreases the chance of the ceasefire maintaining.
18:21Yeah. No, you're right. I want to ask you another question.
18:24I've got a lot of questions to ask you tonight, Senator, because they're questions I
18:27keep getting asked, and I want your take on them.
18:29I was asked this question by Piers Morgan, and he said, Ben, what is your
18:33definition of success in Iran?
18:37My answer was, look, I think the media has changed it to the only thing
18:43that is acceptable to not be considered a failure is if the regime falls, and
18:47there's this massive moment in Iran where the people win.
18:52I said my definition of success is taking away the threat of Iran being a
18:59nuclear power and being able to kill innocent men, women, and children, and Americans.
19:03That is my definition of success.
19:05Now, a bonus, right, a moral victory above that would be if you truly saw
19:10regime change and the fall of the leadership in Iran right now.
19:14Now, I'm not so obsessed with that point.
19:17I think the people of Iran, they've got to decide for themselves.
19:20But for me, it was all about the nuclear capabilities and making sure they could
19:24do no harm to us and to innocent people.
19:27Also, I think, in the Middle East and around the world, that includes Israel.
19:31What is your definition of success here?
19:33Because the media is trying to say, A, this is a quagmire.
19:36Quagmire, by the way, if you ask AI, for example, they'll say it's years into
19:40a war if it's stagnant or you're not making gains, not four weeks in, five
19:45weeks in, or six weeks in.
19:46That's absurd. But the media keeps wanting to use the word we're in a quagmire
19:49already. I think that's an absurd lie.
19:51And now they're saying the only way this could be a success for Trump is
19:55the way I described it.
19:56They described it, which is the regime falls and that's it.
19:59Well, look, there was a very interesting story, a long story in the New York
20:03Times today about the inside decision -making in the Trump administration behind the decision to
20:10go to war with Iran.
20:13And it describes the tick -tock up to it right up until the point on
20:16Air Force One on Friday where Trump gave the go order.
20:21And I was with President Trump on Air Force One at the time he gave
20:24the order. I did not know he had given that order, but he was asking
20:27me and the others on Air Force One what we thought, should he do so?
20:31And it turns out on that flight is where he actually gave the go order.
20:34And it describes that there was a vigorous debate within the administration, that J .D.
20:39Vance, the vice president, was the most vocal opponent of striking Iran, and there was
20:45a vigorous back and forth among the cabinet.
20:48And it described four different steps of the military engagement.
20:54Number one, decapitating the Iranian regime, taking out the Ayatollah and the senior military leadership.
21:00Number two, destroying their ballistic missiles, their drones, their ability to wage war.
21:05Number three, incentivizing the Iranian people to rise up and revolt.
21:11And number four, seeing a new government, seeing regime change in Iran.
21:16And there was considerable debate, according to the Times.
21:20And I've got to say, just reading the account, I don't know that it's exactly
21:23accurate, but it read in a way that was very plausible.
21:28There was considerable agreement that steps one and two were very accomplishable, very achievable and
21:34likely achievable in fairly short order.
21:36And there was considerable debate about whether steps three and four, a popular uprising and
21:42replacing the regime with another regime, whether those were achievable.
21:47I can tell you... what the Trump administration has articulated.
21:51It has articulated its goal was number two.
21:54Number two is what it's described as goal, which is taking out Iran's ability to
21:58wage war. Yep. And in particular, it's described, look, Iran, there's no indication, I've seen
22:05no evidence that Iran had nuclear weapons or was close to getting nuclear weapons.
22:10They were trying last summer, and President Trump launched bunker busters and took out their
22:16nuclear weapons research facilities, including in Fordow in the basement of a mountain.
22:21That had devastating effect. So the reason this military attack was launched was not to
22:26stop an imminent realization of nuclear weapons.
22:33Tomorrow type of thing, yeah.
22:34The reason it was launched is they were vigorously, rapidly building ballistic missiles and drones,
22:40and they were doing that because they wanted such a large arsenal that if Israel
22:45or the United States attacked Iran, they would be able to inflict massive damage on
22:49their neighbors and kill a lot of people.
22:51And the Trump administration didn't want to be in a position a year from now
22:55when, say, they had launched their nuclear weapons research and development again, but when the
23:01cost of intervening was so high that thousands of people might die because they had
23:06so many missiles they could just carpet bomb their neighbors and kill hundreds or even
23:11thousands of people. And so the Trump administration said, look, if they develop enough missiles
23:15and enough drones, they would do that as essentially an umbrella to shield their ability
23:21to then develop a nuclear weapon.
23:23And I think Iran with a nuclear weapon, the odds are unacceptably high they would
23:27use it. That was the major reason that we launched this attack.
23:31And what the Trump administration articulated is their objective was to take out the air
23:36defenses, to take out the air force, to take out the Navy, to take out
23:39the ballistic missiles, to take out the drones, to take out the launchers, to take
23:43out the drone manufacturing capability, to take out the missile manufacturing capability.
23:48We've done essentially all of that.
23:50The success has been extraordinary.
23:53Now, the administration has, by and large, been very reluctant to use the words regime
24:00change. And I understand why.
24:02Regime change is associated with Iraq.
24:05It's associated with hundreds of thousands of troops on the ground for years on end.
24:09It's associated with escalating American casualties and fatalities.
24:14And President Trump is not interested in that kind of military conflict.
24:18The chances of that happening, I believe, are zero.
24:22Trump doesn't want to do that.
24:23And so regime change, people are really nervous to say that's the objective.
24:27What I have said the objective should be is regime collapse.
24:32This regime, a regime of Islamists who chant death to America, who fund terrorists, who
24:40are killing Americans, and who want to continue killing Americans, I think that is a
24:44danger to the United States.
24:45I don't care who takes their place.
24:47I don't care if it's the crown prince, the Shah's son.
24:51I don't care if it's a military strongman.
24:53I don't care if it's a democratically elected leader from the people.
24:56That's not my concern. I'm not in the nation -building business.
25:00My objective is not to turn Iran into Switzerland.
25:04That's up to the people of Iran.
25:05If they want a peaceful society, that's great.
25:08I wish them all the well, all the best, but it's not the U .S.
25:14military's job to do that.
25:15It is the U .S.
25:16military's job to take out enemies.
25:18Now, I do agree that seeing a regime of tyrants, particularly a regime of tyrants
25:24willing to kill up to 40 ,000 of their own citizens, seeing them fall is
25:28not easy. So the objective of regime collapse may prove really difficult.
25:34I hope we keep at it, but opening the Strait of Hormuz is a really
25:38important tactical step. And by the way, if we end up with a government that
25:44has a negotiated settlement where they stop funding terrorists and they stop killing Americans and
25:49they stop trying to kill Americans, that is a huge, huge victory.
25:54I don't know if we get there, but what I told President Trump the day
26:00he ordered the attack is this regime has never been weaker than right now, and
26:05we will regret it. We will regret it for years and decades if we miss
26:09this opportunity, because there's very few things on planet Earth that would make America safer
26:14than getting this murderous regime out of power so they could no longer be able
26:20to kill Americans. This podcast is brought to you by WISE, the app for international
26:24people using money around the globe.
26:26With WISE, you can send, spend, and receive in over 40 currencies with no markups
26:31or hidden fees. Sending pounds across the pond, spending reyes in Rio, or getting paid
26:36in dollars for your side gig, you'll get the mid -market exchange rate on every
26:40transaction. Plus, most transfers arrive in less than 20 seconds.
26:44Join 15 million customers internationally.
26:46Be smart. Get WISE. Download the WISE app or visit WISE .com.
26:50T's and C's apply. All right, let me ask you another question that's gotten a
26:54lot of fodder online, and I think it's an important one to answer.
26:59Democrats and the media really seem to be trying to figure out some way, even
27:03if there's success with this Iranian policy of Trump, that they can stick it to
27:08Donald Trump. And now the new thing over the last 24, 48 hours has been
27:11Donald Trump is advocating for committing war crimes by...
27:16blowing up bridges potentially in Iran and power plants in Iran.
27:20Let's talk about the war crimes aspect of this and deal with what Americans need
27:25to know about this new line by the left because they care more about Donald
27:30Trump being in trouble than actually taking out a murderous regime in Iran.
27:35That's true, and I will say one of the sad things, it used to be
27:38the case for a long, long time that politics ended at the water's edge.
27:42In other words, that Republicans and Democrats battle here at home over all sorts of
27:48issues, but when it comes to military conflict abroad, when it comes to defending America,
27:52that the two sides refrain from partisan attack.
27:56I've got to say that is not the case anymore.
27:58The instant President Trump launched this attack, Democrats began savaging him.
28:04You know, we had a classified briefing shortly after the beginning of this attack where
28:10you had the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the
28:13head of the CIA, kind of all the top national security apparatus in the Trump
28:16administration. Yeah. And all 100 senators attended that, and they were laying out what was
28:24happening. And look, I'm not going to say anything that was said by the briefers
28:28in the classified briefing, but I can tell you, other than John Fetterman, who's been
28:32very positive on what he said publicly about the conflict with Iran, every single Democrat
28:39senator in the room was highly, highly skeptical, was attacking what happened, was opposing what
28:45happened, was started on day one with, we are against standing up to Iran.
28:52And I sat there and just kind of shook my head.
28:55I was saddened by that.
28:57And so one of their talking points when President Trump said he was going to
29:01take out power plants and bridges, and why did he say power plants and bridges,
29:04by the way? Look, the biggest thing to take out for Iran is their oil
29:08production facility, Karg Island, which is the key to where they export virtually all their
29:13oil from. Yep. Karg Island, if we really wanted to cripple Iran and put them
29:18into the Stone Age, we'd take out their oil facilities, we'd bomb the hell out
29:23of Karg Island, and Iran's economy would just be screwed for a decade or more.
29:30Yeah, instantly, by the way.
29:31People need to understand that, like, if you just wanted to decimate them economically, that
29:35is how you would do it, and it would not be that hard.
29:38So, Trump very deliberately has not done that.
29:41The reason he said power plants and bridges is because they're critically important to the
29:47economy. You take out the power plants, the electricity turns off, the military is crippled,
29:51but also the economy is crippled.
29:53The basic, all of banking, all of communication, lights, literally at night, people start lighting
29:57candles because there's no longer, the light switches don't work.
30:01And bridges are essential for transportation, both military and commercial transportation, across the country.
30:09I think the reason he picked those two is they're enormous lever points, and his
30:15hope is that it would cause the collapse of this regime, I believe.
30:19But also it means if there were a new government in Iran, the oil facilities
30:24would still be there, so they have the ability to generate billions in revenue pretty
30:29quickly. And that billions, if the United States military took out the power infrastructure, if
30:34you had billions in oil revenue coming in, you could rebuild.
30:38It wouldn't be immediate, but having the revenue stream makes rebuilding much more possible.
30:44Then if you take out the oil infrastructure, the revenue stream is much further down
30:49the road, and it's much harder to turn around.
30:51I think that's why he picked it.
30:52But I will say we're getting a lot of pompous Democrats and pompous news reporters,
30:58although I repeat myself, on TV, saying taking out civilian power plants is a war
31:06crime. Yeah. Well, let me read to you from the Pentagon's Law of War manual.
31:12So the Pentagon has a manual on the Law of War.
31:14Here's what it says, quote, And by the way, the broader section, which I will
31:40read from you, this is in Section 5 .6 .8 .5, Examples of Military Objectives,
31:49Economic Objects Associated with Military Operations.
31:52And it says before what I just read, Economic objects associated with military operations or
31:57with war -supporting or war -sustaining industries have been regarded as military objectives.
32:06That is incredibly inconvenient for all of the Trump haters in the Democrat Party or
32:13in the media who want to scream war crime, war crime, war crime, because there's
32:17no doubt the power generation is integral to the war -fighting ability of Iran.
32:22And listen, I will say the fact that Pakistan stepped in, it actually goes to
32:29what we said on Monday's podcast, which is Trump's threat with any ordinary and rational
32:36leader would be incredibly effective.
32:38Yes. If you actually had a leader that gave a damn about their people, that
32:41gave a damn about their economy, that threat would be...
32:44would be, holy cow, we can't let that happen.
32:46The risk factor is the very real possibility that the Ayatollah and the Mullahs just
32:51don't care, that they're willing to see that kind of devastation to their country.
32:56I will say Pakistan. Pakistan is, I've long described Pakistan as a problematic ally.
33:04They are an ally, but there are challenges in Pakistan.
33:08I actually put Pakistan and Turkey.
33:09That's a very diplomatic way of putting that, yes.
33:12But you know what? They're an ally rather than a friend, but there are real
33:15challenges. We work with Pakistan.
33:17There are a lot of bad people or enemies of America that are within Pakistan,
33:20but we work with the government of Pakistan.
33:23And I think the prime minister of Pakistan stepped up and said, hey, look, you
33:29guys in Iran, don't go down this road and end up crippling.
33:34Don't go back to the dark ages.
33:36And this goes back to where Pakistan may have some credibility with Iran.
33:42I don't know if Pakistan provided Iran something of an off -ramp.
33:46That's a good interpretation. Or if Iran's just seizing on this to delay.
33:50That's another interpretation that is possible.
33:53But I do think Pakistan stepping forward and saying, let's have a two -week ceasefire,
33:59is an example of a more normal country and a leader who presumably cares about
34:06his people, at least to a significant extent, stepping forward to Iran and saying, come
34:11on, guys, don't keep playing chicken.
34:14This doesn't end up well.
34:15Yeah, it's a great point.
34:17Don't forget, we do this show Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
34:19You can also watch it on YouTube as well.
34:21So if you are on YouTube, you can put in Verdict with Ted Cruz.
34:25You can watch almost every episode that we do on video there.
34:28And write us a five -star review if you wouldn't mind as well.
34:31That helps us reach more people.
34:32And the Senate and I will see you back here on Friday morning.
34:35This podcast is brought to you by Wise, the app for international people using money
34:40around the globe. With Wise, you can send, spend, and receive in over 40 currencies
34:45with no markups or hidden fees.
34:47Sending pounds across the pond, spending Rai's in Rio, or getting paid in dollars for
34:52your side gig. You'll get the mid -market exchange rate on every transaction.
34:56Plus, most transfers arrive in less than 20 seconds.
34:58Join 15 million customers internationally.
35:01Be smart. Get Wise. Download the Wise app or visit wise .com.
35:05T's and C's apply.