The Decline of US Power: Secret Talks with Iran Revealed"

All right, hello everybody and welcome to Geopolitical Trends, where truth matters. Very excited to be with you as always. Before I'll do anything, I want to convey a message from my guest of yesterday. Didn't show up, the reason being because the email that I sent was not delivered to him. So he literally sent me a note and said please convey my, uh, apologies to your audience. So I'm saying it to you guys, he apologize, and he will be here next week. So I'm going to organize all this again and we'll make sure next time that won't happen again. So anyway, very, very excited to be with you. I got an interesting topic for you today, and it has to do with the secret talks between the United States and Iran. Despite what you hear, I wrote about it in my Iran book way back that Despite what you read on a headline, there are things going behind the scenes, and we're going to go into some history here to prove or, or give you an example that this kind of things happened before. So, but before I do this, let me just see who's here. All of you— Ken, Kenneth Joseph, or Ken Joseph. So good to see you. Wow, you were here early at 11:00 AM. So Willie, as, as always West Memphis. Chanel, good to see you. Hamed City, good to see you. John Smith, New Zealand, good to see you. Wong Casey from Malaysia, good to see you. Francis Tango, as always. Uh, MMM Nassar from Sri Lanka, you've been here a lot, good to see you as always. Uh, Rampelson 01, good to see you as well. Phil, my neighbor to the north. Uh, Marcian Dorcier from Chicago, good to see you as always. Uh, Loni, Om Loni, hello to you as well. And Matt Backey, good to see you. Kate O'Neill from Washington State, good to see you as always, guys. All right, let's get into our topic here. Just to provide you first of all the background for those who might not know, the US has held secret talks and it just came in out By the way, there were two sources of this, uh, one of them from the Financial Times and the other one from Al Jazeera. So I got them from both. I read both of them in both languages, and, and they confirmed to me exactly what the talks, uh, sort of they've been held before. And I am not surprised at this. I'm very familiar with how these things— I was in Washington, so we used to do some kind of talks behind the scenes that media won't even know about till later on. And it gets released. So anyway, the US held secret talks with Iran, and the reason for that was because we wanted to ask Iran, please, you need to talk to the Houthi group in Yemen so they can tone down the attacks. That is what the reason is all about. So I think, and I sort of reached that conclusion back then when we went ahead and launched the first attack on Yemen, I knew right there we're gonna be trapped. And this is exactly what is happening now. Both the US and the UK realizing, oh boy, we got now trapped into this. Because here's the thing, as an analyst, it's gonna become clear if the US withdraw right now, it's a defeat. UK is useless anyway because it's not the UK that is firing, is the US that is firing. UK is just in for the ride to provide support. Well, UK sort of— UK doesn't have enough ammo to conduct a major war with a well-established military, and it will run out of ammo in one afternoon, especially against the Russians. So UK is useless for this. But that, that begs the question for us, and because we need to ask those questions and I'm going to put them, share them with you on a screen right here so you guys can see. There are the questions right there. First of all, why is the US reaching out to Iran? Of course reaching out to Iran too, because Iran has a major influence on Ansarullah, the group in Yemen, sort of kind of to tone it down. Ain't gonna happen because Iran already— and I was familiar with talks before that was used through Saudi Arabia. And the Iranians said, sorry, it's not our war, it's, it's, it's the, is the group in Yemen. So sort of deal with it. So that's the first question. Second question, is the US and UK are trapped right now in the Red Sea? And my answer to that is yes, because if they withdraw, is it defeat? Because you're gonna compare this to historical events, like for example what took place in Afghanistan. What took place in Iran, what took place in Syria is the same outcome. And the third question we need to ask is, what is the endgame? Is there a strategy, at least on part of the US and the UK? Because for the other group, the HI group, they are fighting no matter what, and they stated this. They have one objective and one objective only, is to stop the atrocities that's committed in Gaza. Straightforward. So, and this is why those questions are relevant for us to sort of ponder and ask about. So, uh, today I'm not gonna do headline. I think I have one for you, literally, because I didn't, uh, uh, this came under my radar earlier this morning, so I wanted to get on it right away and share it with you. Well, the headline that I have for you, uh, let me, let me share this another screen, an image, uh, without translating that because it's written in Arabic language. And I'm gonna share the screen with you and highlight to you what's going on with that image, which you guys saw this before because it's not— it's an old image that's been used in, in, in the recent articles and so forth. Well, basically what this is about is about now international, uh, newspapers around the world all converging on one reality. And that reality is this: Israel has now— it destroyed south. Its south, it's kind of destroyed. Has deserted north, in the north, because all the settlers left. Why? Because the H.A. group in Lebanon is the one firing. And as now America's hypocrisy deepens into the Gaza crisis. So that is very sort of spot on. I will have to agree with those newspapers that, uh, sort of shared this. But anyway, that's what it is, and that's all I have to share with you regarding that one. So, so let's get in into our, uh, topic of today, and I'm going to be providing you my own analysis about it Uh, it's gonna be brief, but before I forget, also, I'm sorry, I— while I'm thinking about it, uh, where is it? Uh, I'm gonna share some links with you. Remember to join me tonight at 9:00 PM, uh, Central Standard Time, which will be about 10:00 AM the next day in Shanghai, with my guest Rick Turin. Tomorrow I'm having Carlza. You know, I just reached out to him and he's excited also. So we're gonna have a conversation with Carlza tomorrow. And next week, which I will post for you, uh, uh, with my guest that was supposed to have yesterday, uh, Adjunct Professor Warwick Powell. So here are the link— I have the links for you guys for, uh, the tonight and the tomorrow shows. So I'm gonna put them for you in the chat box here. So I have one for, uh, Carlza and one for Rick Turn. So, uh, and I will post— I already posted on the, on the community. So, so I look forward to having you guys join me on this one here. All right, let's get into our conversation here. So the idea that the United States now reaching out to Iran Some, and as I put in the description, truth reveal, because no matter how you look at it, truth always comes up. It's gonna come up one way or another. That's why I always say truth matters. So, so the US, uh, secret talks with Iran aimed at one thing and one thing only, is to convince the Houthi group in, in Yemen to stop the attacks on not only the, the, uh, the, uh, what you call them, the oil, uh, transporters, the big, big ships for the oil transporters, but also on the US naval assets there on the Red Sea, because they want them to end, literally. Even though they are arguing, well, this is about ending the attacks on the Israeli ships— no, that's not true. It is about also the US being attacked by the HI Group. And by the way, one of the viewers sent me a comment which was very interesting. It says, from Reza Ammar, it says, uh, Dr.— and I quote here— Dr. O, hello to you. The Russian news agency, uh, RIA Novosti, has reported, quoting sources in the Yemeni army, that they have successfully tested hypersonic missile and started the mass production of this. So in the near future, this event will definitely have new developments in the region of West Asia and the Red Sea. So, and he asked, what do I think, and so forth. I'm going to answer him later on. But again, you guys need to think about it, what is taking place in, in, like, the— I just did the video for you yesterday about the, uh, the naval drills So all of this combined with, of course, the US talks— the secret talks were a few weeks ago, it just came up to the surface— but also you, you, you, you can ignore what's taking place right now on the ground regarding the naval drills between Russia, Iran, and China, and with what now the US is asking Iran to do. So I don't think so. What do you guys think? Do you think Iran will agree? Just let me know your answer in the chat box as I further the conversation on this. But before I delve deeper, I'm going to give you a little bit of geography about Yemen. It's a country that I spend a lot of time in, and a little bit of history of Yemen because it's very, very interesting to know a little bit about. So, and let me see your answer first. Uh, Muslim Revert— I'm sorry, Masian Dorsey, Muslim Revert— all of you guys said no, which, which I'm leaning towards that as well, because Iran is going to say, ain't our problem. So you kind of, you create the problem and you want to solve it. And second thing, we can ignore the history between Iran and the US How do you think Iranian— Iranians ain't gonna forget what we've done to them back then. So, so most— I, I concur with you guys on this one here. So, so let me share with you the map for, uh, Yemen. We're going to talk a little bit of geography and a little bit of history because the history of Yemen is very, very, very interesting to those who speak Arabic. Is there somebody here who speaks Arabic? If you do, please just put your name there so I know. Uh, let me share the screen with you. And we have— and of course, as always, I give my, uh, thanks to, uh, the, uh, World Atlas. You know, I'm drawing a blank on it. World Atlas. That is what I give my— let me share the screen with you here, and I'm gonna make make this a little bigger so you guys can see. So Yemen, and I'll be moving that. There it is. So that's Yemen here. So the idea of Yemen, it's, it's sort of a deserted country. There's a lot of, uh, it's an arid country, let's just put it that way, in, uh, in, in West Asia. So, and it is at the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula as you look at the map there. In Western Asia. So it is located in the northern and eastern hemisphere of the Earth. Yemen is bordered by two main countries: Saudi Arabia, bounded to the north, and Oman to the east. Yemen has a coastline on the Red Sea to the west, the Gulf of Aden in the south, the Arabian Sea and the Gardafui Channel bound in the south. Those are in the south. Then you have, uh, sort of, uh, uh, Yemen is also strategically located at the entrance of Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, and the strait links the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea via the Gulf of Aden. So if you look at the map right here, so I'm going to scroll down, this is like Bab-el-Mandeb right here. And when I was in Djibouti, I mean, it's closer Really, you can do. So you have the city of Taiz right here. This is Al-Hudaydah, which is on the Red Sea coast. Sana'a is the capital. Then you have Tarim and Sayyum, uh, those are on the other side. So, but the main things here you have, guys, is Bab el-Mandeb, because they has also closer to the Gulf of Aden. Those are very, very important. Then you have on the border with Saudi Arabia, you have Ar-Rub al-Khali. Desert, which is called the Empty Quarters. And if you recall, I did share a picture with you when I was in that part of the world, the Rub al-Khali. And, and here is a picture of it. I'm going to share it with you. That is the Rub al-Khali, or the Empty Quarters. This is nothing but just desert in Saudi Arabia, closer to the borders of Yemen. So here is another picture here. I saved them. So when I was there back in the day when I was still traveling on behalf of the US government, even somebody told me, are you crazy, take picture there? It's like, why? There's only one life to live, you got to live it according to your term. So, and here is another one, last one I share with you. All right, so, uh, let's talk about a little bit of history of Yemen. And by the way, Uh, I'm gonna put a link for you, uh, uh, of an article that was written by— I give credit to Ehsan Taror. And this article, I had to dig in the archives. I found one that goes back some 14— pardon me, 14 years ago, 2010. And it's still as relevant as today because I know about the information. Again, I spent time in Yemen. I wrote about the Middle East extensively, so I'm very, very familiar with this. So, so when you think about Yemen, which a lot of people do not know, it's one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, Arab Muslim world, that is. So, so Yemen came, uh, sort of Islam, because it's Muslim country. Islam came to Yemen after its rise, meaning the Islam, the religion of Islam, back in 6th century AD. And sort of at that time, much of the Middle East or West Asia that is sort of one with it as far as embracing the religion of Islam under the powerful caliphs at that time. So the imams— this is why, and you look, when you look at in certain both Sunnis and, and Sunnis and Shiite countries, they both have imams, what's called imams, the religious leader of sort. So imams from the Shiites, Zaidi sects installed theocratic rule in the northern part of Yemen by the 9th century. That's how back far it goes. A political order whose influence has lasted effectively in the past century, almost 100 years. And this is what it was interrupted by the Turkic warlords, because I'll tell you why the Turkic, that is and the Zaydi teachings that one has the right to overthrow unjust rulers, which sort of almost gives you an idea why in Yemen there were always internal conflict, coups if you will. So the— in the meantime, Yemeni cities, especially when you think about the old ones like the capital Sana'a or the city of the, the principal port city of Aden, or even Hadramaut. Now, if you know anything about Hadramaut, to those who speak Arabic, Hadramaut is an old, old city in Yemen. Certain rules of Arabic language also were established in Hadramaut region, which is in the eastern part of Yemen. But to think about Yemen, especially the port city of Aden and Sana'a, Uh, in, in these areas they formed diasporas, and diasporas from all the way from Spain to India Malabar Coast and China's Pearl River Delta. That's how wide it spreads. When you think about Hadramaut, historically Hadramaut was like the center for where the caravans will go through. And that's where they developed some sort of fortified settlements in the area. This is why, uh, when you look at, uh, uh, the modern architecture in Yemen, you see the buildings are so tall. They don't have those wide, they are tall per se. But also came with it is the establishment of the Bedouins, and the Bedouins started to attack the residents, uh, in, in that area there. So the most famous example is the Shibam, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and this one was established about 600 years ago. Fast forward to 19th century, Yemen's modern political contours were taking shape with the region like a chess piece That is why, because it was in the hand of the major powers. Let me, uh, let me show you some pictures. I, I saved some pictures here just to share them with you. There is one here, the old, old cities of, of, of, uh, Yemen back then. So as I said, the— it became chess piece in the hands of the foreign powers. Then you have the Ottoman Empire, which extended its control over Arabia South from the holy cities of Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia, seizing Sana'a and nearby towns, because the Turkish Empire was, was large and big. In 1832, soldiers of the British East India Company— why East India? Why it says British East India Company? Can anybody type in, in a chat box Why still in the historical record they are not saying the British Army or the British soldiers, they're saying the British East India Company? If you can let me see first before I continue here, because I like to know your knowledge also. Why they keep saying still in record saying the British Indian, uh, that's how they referring to it. The British East India Company. They didn't say British companies or British military. Why that is? All right, an Indian-owned AIC today, it hires soldiers. Uh, that, that is true, that is true. It's because also was the the colony. For India was the colony of Britain, and Britain was using the, the soldiers sort of from there. That's why they use the term a private. That is the reason why. So what happens is that they seized this nearby town of Sana'a and close by. And by 1832, as I mentioned, soldiers of the British, uh, East India Company captured Aden, which is on the Gulf of Aden in the south, which they saw as a strategic waypoint between Europe and their colonial possessions in India. That is why historical record still using the term British East India Company, just FYI for you to know. Fast forward to 1904, the Ottomans and the British agreed on a boundary separating their spheres of control, carving out Yemen into an Ottoman north and the British south. When the Ottoman Empire crumbled at the end of the First World War, its slice of Yemeni territory became an independent kingdom led by Zaydi Imam, which is an Arab nationalist, toppled the ruling monarchy in 1962 with Egyptian help to found a republic, but a civil war with the Saudi-financed royalists raged for almost a decade thereafter. And you all know why. You need to know why. The reason being because the Saudis were concerned about the southern part, you know, where Dar al-Khali because they were concerned about the Shia expansion up north, because Saudi is Sunni, but it has, it has minority Shiites living there. As a matter of fact, there is one truth a lot of people do not know about, is that the Shia location in the south part of Saudi Arabia where the oil is, the Shiites are not benefiting from it because the royal monarchy, the Al Saud, taking control over that. That is the reason why they had to finance the, the revolutions against the, uh, the Republic at that time. What happened at that time back in 1967? The British protectorate endured because it was still the last of 1967. When it was pressured out of following 5 years of violent insurgency by the locals. That's how you drive them out. This is why it's a part of the Yemeni history. This is why I believe the US is reaching out to Iran, because the history is coming full circle here. So, and after factions of radical Marxists took over in 1970, South Yemen became the, the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen and was propped up by host communist backers. Which country? Can anybody type in which country backed it up? Because you should know this, because, uh, uh, yeah, let me see which country do you think. Oh, Stephen Hayes, I want to say thank you so much for your super sticker. Dr. David, you wrote, we love to see middle school kids Photoshop giant bottles of Gatorade and other brands soft drinks in your desert photos chilling in Yemen. Awesome country. It is an awesome country. I have great love and respect for Yemeni people because I lived among them, and you won't believe— I tell you this based on my experience You won't believe how generous those people are. They don't have much and they share with you whatever they have. I used to sit on the floor and eat with them and they share with me whatever they have. And I never want them to make me things or whatever. And you know why they liked me? Because not as an American or whatever, beside all that, of course I spoke their language and understood their culture and did their traditions and values and so forth. It's because they looked at me as a human being and I did the same for them. When I sat down with them, I sat down with them as a human being, no more, no less. American or not is beside the point. And of course I disagreed with my country, how it conducted itself over there. That's the truth of it all. So I will never forget my years in Yemen and how, uh, uh, those wonderful— those people were to me, were kind to me. Very, very generous. So, all right, where is— oh, here, I got it. Uh, Neo, uh, Nikai Universe, you got it. It was the Soviet Union at that time. That's what backs it at that time. So, and what happened after that, the two Yemens were split up. You got the north, you got the south. Eventually formed the United Republic in 1990, but their politics has been marked for decades by infighting assassination attempts and the specter of military coups. That's why it was the norm over there. Not long after the reunification, which happened, uh, disputes over power sharing led to leaders from the South declaring a separate state. But a swift and ruthless campaign in May of 1994 quashed this rebellion, and it was none other than Ali Abdullah Saleh was— he died, he passed away. I met him personally, didn't talk to him, but I just met him in a military base. So I'm very familiar with how he used to rule. He used— there's a saying about him that he will be the only one to dance with the snake, whatever that means in that culture, because he was— he'll play both sides and so forth. So Uh, so Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh ruled North Yemen from 1978 before heading the United Republic, has over the years spent most of his political capital consolidating his power with our support, by the way, and the Saudis, you know, uh, rather than, than knitting together the country, uh, the country was sort of marred into poverty, corruption and hopelessly weak rule of the law. Yemen is very la la land when you go outside Sana'a and so forth. And of course, this is where the Al-Qaeda group back then— because if you know anything about UBL, his ancestors were from Hadramaut. And, uh, that's— if you all know what happened, what happened in 2000, a bombing in that part of the world? Can anybody tell me? Do you guys remember a major event that took place in the Gulf of Aden in 2000? So before I'll, I'll, I'll add something here. Yeah, what happened in 2000? I know some of you might remember it, my— some of you might not. All right, let me see what you guys typed in, in the chat box. Uh, American ship. You got it. You're getting closer. You're getting closer, Muslim Revert. What happened to an American ship and which one? Somali pirate. No, Matt, I see your point. No, this one happens in the Gulf of Aden. So Muslim Revert, you are on the right path as far as your answer. Uh, a big hole. You got it. In a big ship. Which one? USS Cole. It is— who gets it here? Let me see. US as coal. You got it right there. Army with harmony. But also, uh, the first one I saw is Black in the Empire. You got it. US as coal. And that's exactly what happened, guys, back then at that time. And that paved the way for the US presence because of further complicates, uh, uh, sort of the, the whole idea of what was going on in that country because it was still divided, because it's a tribal country. And that's something we never even understood. And at that time, the H group, modern today's the Ansarullah H group, H-I, is a Shi'ite, you know, and they are of course backed by Iran. And within this chaos that took place back then, the US, uh, uh, embarked on a CIA-led covered war using drones and elite units, special ops, that is, to target Al-Qaeda in the region at that time. Uh, but sort of, you will think we will learn from history. Despite all this, like what happened in Afghanistan, like what happened in Iraq, like what happened in Syria, uh, it was always— because here's the thing, Washington believes that it can holy guide Yemen Because that's what he was thinking. We're going to move Yemen into some direction we want, away from the dysfunction that exists. No, no, we failed like we did in Afghanistan, like we did in, in, in foreign interventions in some other lands, in, uh, Somalia or, or, uh, Iraq or Syria and so forth. Because that's our record, you know. And this is why I see no difference here. And this is why, just to tie it to the— our today's topic, to tie it to why the US reached out to Iran behind the scenes, because they wanted to ensure that the idea of the US and Iran, rather, can ask the group, the HI group, to sort of reduce its attack. But Iran said, ain't our problem. But that is not about just that. It is about also the idea of how much we hearing the statements from emanating from Western capitals, be they in Brussels, London, Paris, Berlin, or Washington, about Iran and, and West Asia and so forth. And yet we are going behind closed doors and reaching out for them. That just to me hypocrisy of the highest order. If you couldn't talk to them directly and openly So we know, but it shows you right there what we're saying versus what we're doing. So, and this is why, as I said again, and I confirmed the stories from both the Financial Times and Al Jazeera, both of them, that the, uh, the negotiations took place between Washington and Tehran. And guess where, which country the negotiations took place? I'm going to give you a— I wanted you guys to guess. Just give me, give me a guess. Doesn't matter right or wrong, just, just guess. I want you to be part of the conversation here, guys. So I want you to guess on a country, in your opinion, that will play a role. And by the way, no, Chanel, you're, you're right, Saudi Arabia will get involved, but not this time. Saudis tried it last time. Qatar? No, not this time. Qatar does that. Turkey? No, Turkey, it's wishy-washy. You know, country I just talked about recently. So— oh, wait, wait, wait, wait, someone I did see, I did see someone wrote it down. Oh, oh, you put question mark, you weren't sure. Trust your instinct, Matt, you were right, it was Oman. That's where the negotiations took place. Uh, because Oman has always played that role, because I met Oman— not a man, a woman— strategic locations have always been. It's very neutral country, and it's both Shias and Sunnis and all that. They has other religious minorities there, but it's always been— you don't hear much about Oman, but it always plays a role into this kind of— so the Sultanate of Oman was involved in last January. And as a matter of fact, the talks took place in about last month also, but they were prior to this for about 10 months. This is where also the Saudis were involved. So, and the US delegation was led by Middle East advisor— I don't know how they call themselves advisors, I'm not understanding, uh, uh, the thing about the culture, the history, the language, the mindset, the values, the traditions, read a book or two and call themselves advisors. Anyway, his name is Brett McKirk, uh, so he's the one who met with Ebrahim Raisi, Ebrahim Raisi from Iran, and they, they talked in Amman. And the— it was quoted that the US and Iranian officials say Washington has also raised concern about expanding Iran's nuclear program. Well, what the heck? You are going to meet with Iran to talk about one issue, why are you bringing another one? Why they bring in another one? Because they are concerned. They— Washington is concerned. You all know what the former President Trump did when unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA, the Joint Plan of Action regarding the Iran nuclear program. Now Iran said, we have no incentive to abide by those rules that were set in the deal. Iran's effect, which by the way doesn't get reported here, I wrote extensively about it in my book because the book came after the deal was reached. I had to wait till to see what the outcome of those P5+1 negotiations will amount to, and that's when I wrote the book. In that. But I did say, I, and, and I wish I would have put the quotes, but anyway, what I did write is that if the West does not abide by the rules, Iran will have no incentive of maintaining that, and it will revert back to whatever he wants to do. And that's exactly what Iran is doing right now. They are in reaching now at a higher level So US is concerned about that. Well, who cares now what the US thinks or wants? That era is gone. Yeah, my country has shot itself in the foot. It's our own making. We shouldn't be blaming other countries for— we the one who play in double standard when it come down to international norm, international law, international rules. We can't say one thing and do another. That's not how you operate within the global stage. And now Iran's saying, no, we're not gonna listen to what you say, first of all, and second, we ain't gonna even be talking about that. That's a separate topic for another day. So you come to us, meaning you, the United States, came to us asking us for our help with the group, HI Group, and now you want to talk about the nuclear program? They said no, forget about it. So, and what happened is that a second round of negotiations took place, which was originally scheduled for February, just last month. But guess what happened? It was postponed because, because it became sort of, uh, their argument was that the US argument was that, oh, now we are tied with trying to broker a deal between Hamas and Israel. Well, hold on a second. Since when we played an honest broker deal anyway? So no, it's because the US realized— that's, to me, it's, it's a lie. That is not true what they're saying. It's because the US realized that Iran just shrugged its shoulder and said, ain't our problem, you deal with it. And they are— they, the United States policymakers, realizing that Iran will support the Houthi group no matter what we say or do, and there is nothing we can do about it. You know why? It's because we can't attack Iran, because Iran has certain systems that are— when I say systems, I'm referring to missiles here. That are within reach of— within reach of every location of US military base in West Asia or the Middle East. That is, that is the truth. That is the reason why. So when the US said, well, we are involved in trying to broker a deal between— no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! We have never been honest. When I say 'we,' I'm referring to our government, not the— of course you know this one here. No, because look at the example of Iran and Saudi Arabia, how long they've been at odds till China stepped in. Why China succeeded? Why do you think, in your opinion, China succeeded? Yeah, let me, let me, let me read your comments, guys, or answer on this. Why do you think China succeeded in brokering a deal between Iran and, uh, Saudi Arabia? Where we failed miserably. And, and we've done this with the Arab-Palestinian conflict forever. We were never honest broker. We were giving just lip service. Oh, Hosni, Hosni, thank you so much for your super sticker. Truly appreciate it. Thank you very much, Hosni. Yeah, why do you guys— that, that is, I would like to know, Europe, because I want you to start to think. That's part of what, you know, I want you to learn from this, because that's what we do in all this, is to learn from each other. And my whole reason for doing this, guys, is to help you see the big picture. So, and by understanding the big picture, and when you start to think outside the box, especially when it comes down to geopolitics So, and the question to you is, why Saudi— why, uh, China was able to broker a deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia when we fail? Okay, uh, Poyan, so trade is one of them. I, I agree with you. There is one thing specific, one thing specific that we couldn't do throughout for the last 4, 5 decades Something, something specific, and I'm looking for the keyword here. You know, Chinese is true, that is true. You're getting closer. There is a term that I'm looking for. Uh, trade is good, BRICS is good. It is, it is, here it is. Neutrality, neutrality. You're absolutely correct, Q at 78. And I knew you guys know it. It's just a matter of thinking outside the box. And this is the— this is my objective for doing all this. That's why I do this live stream in this manner here, because I want to engage you intellectually, because I know you know. It's just you never thought about it, whatever. And I want to push you to the limit, intellectually speaking. And that is the reason why, guys, is because China was able to be neutral. They succeeded in that, something we couldn't. And this is why Iran is looking at this approach by the United States and saying, oh, ain't our problem because we can't trust you. That's what it is. So now here is the reality that Washington now is admitting. Washington now is admitting and acknowledging that military action alone will not be enough to deter the HI group and believe that Tehran holds the key, ultimate key, to sort of influence the group to stop its activities. And I don't see— I do not see Iran doing that at all, because we went into the trap. And why should Iran help us out, or any country for that matter? And this is why, guys, I want you to understand This is why when the US and its servant, or subservient rather, uh, uh, uh, UK tried to reach out to some Arab countries or Muslim countries in the region, they all said, sorry, we're not getting involved. You all remember that naval coalition with 20 countries, which was a lie. There weren't 20 countries to begin with. Even European countries were withdrawing, like Italy, for example. They said, we don't want to be part of this, ain't our problem. France doesn't want to be part of it. So who end up holding the end of the stick? The US and the UK. UK is useless, as I always say, because UK— now if you look at the history, UK is the source of where all this travels around the world has emerged from. It's the UK history. The British Empire history, I'm gonna go way back. Look no further than Africa, look no further than Latin America, and look no further than even West Asia or Asia itself. British have nothing— have, have, have not done anything of importance to those countries. It's only dragged them down the, the deep hole, per se. That is what it is. Let me say thank you here to, uh, Stephen Hayes. Thank you so much for your Super Sticker, truly appreciate it. You wrote, Dr. David, remember when we used to hear every week about WTO— that's World Trade Organization— actions and negotiations? But with unilateral sanctions, uh, did that whole scheme disappear, replaced by arbitrary rule-based order? Yeah, absolutely correct. Yeah, what happened to the rules? If we are to say we obey the rules, well, when tensions happens and the world— some countries will bring sort of, uh, file a complaint with the World Trade Organization, nothing happens because we control it. So where is the rule of law? And this is what I'm saying, guys, the double standard. This is why no country can trust us anymore. We, we, we done. We done for. Thank you so much, Stephen Hayes, truly appreciate it. Uh, and, and, and spot on, spot on. And that's usually how you will understand something like that is taking place regarding these secret talks, you know. And by the way, guys, this secret talk is nothing new. Again, I am gonna take you back, historically speaking, to the 1980s. What happened in the 1980s regarding those two countries, the US and Iran? Can anybody tell me? A major event that took place in the '80s, same scenario, just in a different setting. And once again, I just want to challenge you intellectually here. It is, Matt, you got it right away, man. Iran-Contra is the same setting, just in a different time and different, uh, uh, environment per se. That's what it was, Iran-Contra. What happened is we were sending weapons. We were sending weapons to Iran to fight which country they were fighting at that time? Can anybody tell me? Remember, not the '70s, '80s. Iran-Iraq War, you got it. Army with Harmony, you got it. So we were sending weapons to Iran behind closed doors and at the same time, uh, taking the money that Iran had to pay for the weapon and sending it where? Does anybody know? Let me say thank you here to, uh, KL, as always. KL, thank you so much for your super sticker, truly appreciate you for that. So the Sandinistas, Nicaragua, that is correct, Sandinistas. Why? Because we wanted to fight communism down there. My point in this is that here is what I want you to get when it comes down to— and I always say this, guys, this is nothing new— when it comes down to international relations, context matters. This is why the US did not want those talks to be known, because the context will be sort of clear to everybody around the world that the US doesn't hold the power. This is why the talks went this direction, the same way we did it back in the '80s when Reagan was the president at that time. And they threw— what's his name? What's his name? Oliver— Colonel Ollie, known here in the US as Ollie— Oliver North. They threw him under the bus and he took the blame for the fall and so forth. And Reagan, Ronald Reagan came later and apologized to the American people and all that. Yeah, whether Ronald Reagan knew about it or not, uh, I don't know, but I think he did. It's because, uh, Oliver North had to— you— there's nothing sometimes happens without the president's knowledge, except, except sometimes even for black ops As one who worked in Washington, and I'll disclose it, there's nothing classified about it here, we will not move an inch without having the signature of the president on the order. That means what? That means the president is aware of it. It's just the norm. So, so this is how it happens. So my point in this is to highlight to you that this kind of talks exist behind the scenes. Would you be surprised that if I am to tell you that there might even be talks between the US and the Russians behind closed doors, talks between the US and the Chinese behind closed doors, and yet what we do publicly is different? So this is again where that difference is. But, and now when the US is officially acknowledging that the military action alone will not be enough to deter And I quote this from, uh, from the article here, and I'm going to put the link for you, from the Financial Times and Al Jazeera, both of them. It says, and I quote, US officials acknowledge that military action alone will not be enough to deter the, the H group and believe Tehran will ultimately need to pressure the group to curb its, uh, activities, end of quote. I don't see that happening. I don't see that happening at all. It's because it works to the benefit of Iran. Why will they do that? So, and again, the way you look at it, because the H.I. group all is saying is we want the atrocities to stop, what Israel is doing to stop. But Israel is, like I read with you, to you at that headline, Israel now it's, it's in a bad, bad position. The north is deserted, the south there is chaos. And for us, we drag— we've been dragged, we were sucked in, and we contributed to it. We don't blame anyone. We decided willingly to be part of that. So, and that's why even the next president of the US, no matter who, they both the same, two faces of the same coin. Trump has already declared his support for Israel. So you all know what it means. So, and the, uh, so as, as you know, this is the reason why now you have this idea of, uh, because the concern for the United States has to do with if things go wrong and end up attacking Iran, Iran's gonna react. And there are some who've been comparing the military strength Of course Iran doesn't have aircraft carriers and all that stuff. They do have their own, but sometimes having aircraft carriers at that level, you become the target. That is where the problem is, and especially, especially when it comes down to developing certain aspects of anti-submarines. Or like China now, China has a system that can sink an aircraft carrier. So there is no— even Iran itself has developed some major drones. Those are major ones. They are major. And this is why we're trying now by any means. But I use the term trapped because we are trapped. We and the UK. Why UK just following us? Whatever, whatever we say, whatever we order the UK to do, it will do it. Without asking a question. No questions asked. UK is in no position. UK, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, all the rest. Now Finland and Sweden and all that, no questions asked. Australia, South Korea, Japan, soon to be New Zealand. Philippines is a basket case. So And this is where I see, uh, uh, why now the idea— just to go back to my original, uh, point here about, uh, uh, why the US is reaching out to, uh, Iran to convince the Houthi group to stop. And again, they ain't gonna stop. They will not stop. So that's the way I see it. So, all right guys, I'm gonna stop right here because I have some other stuff I need to take care of. And remember to join me for, I think, 2:30 for on Locals. I will be on Locals. And remember tonight, uh, uh, if anybody see the links that I posted, or let me post it again because I have them right here, for my conversation with Rick Turan tonight and Carlza tomorrow. I look forward to that conversations, both of them, uh, because they are knowledgeable individuals. So So I'm gonna, uh, once again, I want to extend my thanks to those who got me Super Sticker here. Thank you all so much. For you, if you want to support the channel, uh, here's the link for you here. And speaking of the channel, I need to, uh, share with you quickly here where things are. Buy Me Coffee. I'm going to show you the screen so you know where the, uh, this, the donations for, uh, the Asia trip Of course, Asia trip still on. Um, I run into a little hiccup with the embassy here, but it's not a major one. I'm gonna— it's, it's not an issue. It can be— it will be resolved. All right, let me log in here to, uh, Buy Me a Coffee and share with you where things are, because you need to see what it is. And once again, thank you all. Uh, Lang Wan bought me 55 copies, guys. I mean, I can't thank him enough. Became a member of the, uh, Platinum on the channel and so forth. So, so here is the— I'm gonna share the link with you on both of them because I need you to see. Transparency is important for me, and especially when it comes down to monetary aspects. So, because it's responsibility. That's the way I look at it. This one here, now this is not all. I already withdraw some money out and I'm gonna show you. This is where it is as of today. That's where I stand on this one. Now here is what— one, the payout that I took out earlier. It's because I, I don't want to leave the money sitting there. And this is an advice from some of you guys, uh, you advised me to not leave the money just sitting there, so I took it out. And, and saved it, uh, in the bank just as is. This money is not spent on anything, but it's gonna be for the trip, and that is what it's gonna be. So for, uh, for the supporters, uh, I wanna of course thank, uh, uh, TC Kwon and, uh, uh, Drag88. Uh, it just— I can't thank you enough, guys. You buy me coffee on a daily basis. Literally daily, daily basis. So that, that has always been the case. Same thing for some other members like Stephen Chung, you know. And here is Long Wan, you know. And I'm gonna show you the screen because I, I believe in transparency. I feel comfortable doing it that way, guys. And, and I know some complain, why you say too much thank you, whatever. Well, if you don't like it, get off. Straightforward. I don't need you here. It is— I know you guys can see it. You can't see, but, but Long Wong here is bought me about 20— 55 coffees. Uh, Ego, AC Lee, uh, uh, someone about— but King Dallin and Margie and so forth. So you, you guys got the idea. That's what it is. So if you want to support the, the, the trip Uh, it's for the second link. This is buymeacoffee.com/truthmatters. That's for the support for the trip to Asia. The first one is for the channel. And, uh, uh, if some of you ask for PayPal, I do have PayPal. If you feel comfortable doing that one here, I will be very grateful to you for all that. So, so I thank you so much for your continued support. All right, let me ask a question or two here for you guys. And, uh, I missed one. I saw one question earlier. It was from Chanel, if I'm not mistaken. Oh, Franny. That's from Franny. Franny, can you type it back? Francis Tango. No, I take a question or two. Uh, timeline, uh, Oh, Franny, I, I'm trying to locate that one. Franny, you wrote, I appreciate these classes very much and it allows for homework so I can go and teach my child. Believe it or not, you want him, you want him to learn, him or her to learn at this stage early on. History is very, very important. So you're most welcome, and I enjoy it, but I'm also learning as well, you know. I just want you to know that one. So, all right, let me take a question here from, uh, Time Dunkley. Good to see you as always. Uh, Dr. O, did you know China is developing an energy shield for its country? I heard about it, but I do not know the details. So I'm gonna look into this, especially I want to know what is the connection between this one and what is doing on the surface of the moon. It's because the access to, uh, a rare, uh, an element there. Uh, I forgot what it was. Uh, if anybody can type in in the chat box, which is, uh, there is plenty on it, of it on the moon and China. So no, I do not know, but I intend to look into this. And thank you so much for, uh, bringing this to our attention. All right, let me see. Okay, let me see here. Question— I'm scrolling all the way up, guys. Uh, Francis Tango: Dr. O, buy gold with the money. You mean the one for the, for the Asia trip? Yeah, well, I'm gonna let you guys know in case something happens administratively, I'm not able to go. I would like to know what you guys want to do with that money. You know, if I am to reimburse everybody, why not? Or refund rather. Yeah, because it's your money, guys. You guys supporting this trip. So, but again, I don't foresee a problem, but just in case, I will let you know. And I will not touch that money till I clear it up with you guys, because that's the right things to do. And will I buy gold? And most likely, if I had the choice or I will go with Bitcoin because it's going up. So, all right, let me, uh, Francis Tango, where's your question, man? Okay, I'm scrolling up just to see, guys. And thank you for joining me here, uh, uh, thank you for, for joining me here, guys. So Question: How can we support HI Group? I do not know. I do not get involved in all this, uh, uh, Army with Harmony. Even money to Gaza, I won't send it. It's because I know what's going on with charities and, and all that stuff. I mean, look what happened with GoFundMe in Canada. If you are to do that through GoFundMe, uh, yeah, I, I do not know. I really do not know. So, and, uh So I just wish things will change for— especially now that in that part of the world they are celebrating Ramadan. I don't know if you guys know about it or not. That's the fasting way people fast. Uh, so it's, it's sad. It's sad. Uh, Po Yon Su question: without all the allies to fight for US, US fight— can US fight? No, we can't. We can't. We are not equipped psychologically to fight anymore. Gone the era of the '70s and '80s. The, the troops today, they are in a different mindset. This is why not a lot of people are joining the military. So we can't, and we can't— look what happened in, in Iraq and Syria and Afghanistan and all that stuff. So we can't, we can't win, let alone two-front wars. So I, I just don't see that happening. I don't see that happening. So, all right guys, uh, just to remind you once again, uh, remember, uh, oh Matt, that's funny. Dr. O, you had to set the tonight video on my bedtime. So yeah, no worries, you can watch it when it's, it's recorded anyway. It just, uh, I also have to consider my guests because they are on different time zones and As I'm sure you guys understand all this. So thank you all for your support, guys, and I look forward to seeing you tonight for 2100 hours and tomorrow with Carl Zah. As always, remember, geopolitics impact your daily life in more ways than one. Till next time, guys, bye-bye.