Untitled Document

[00:00:01] [Music] [00:03:58] that [00:04:03] I'll try [00:04:05] my [00:04:10] ready this is my favorite one [00:04:15] here [00:04:25] y guy is going to squeeze [00:04:28] p [00:04:31] work the [00:04:33] press this is streaming [00:04:37] right the [00:04:39] who [00:04:41] everybody is there any que or we just [00:04:43] going to laun straight [00:04:45] away ready to start [00:04:48] perfect good morning everyone my name is [00:04:50] excuse [00:04:54] me there we go good morning everyone I'm [00:04:57] Mark Wallace I'm the Chief Executive [00:04:58] Officer of United against nuclear Iran [00:05:01] without further Ado let's get right into [00:05:03] this because the issues of the day are [00:05:05] bigger than uh any very long [00:05:07] introductions I would just want to [00:05:09] acknowledge uh the incredibly [00:05:10] distinguished panel we have on the guest [00:05:12] obviously Senator Graham is an old [00:05:13] friend Senator uh we we got to know each [00:05:16] other when it was The Three Amigos and [00:05:19] and um and I I know that Senators McCain [00:05:22] and liberman uh would be so happy that [00:05:24] you're leading the charge on this and [00:05:26] you're continuing to do that uh and [00:05:28] we're here today because you're you're [00:05:31] the only voice up here that's called for [00:05:33] action against the people behind this uh [00:05:35] and that really is to your credit we'll [00:05:37] talk about that more Kazar Arabi is um [00:05:40] is a colleague of mine at United against [00:05:41] nuclear Iran formerly at the Tony Blair [00:05:43] Institute and and I think one of the [00:05:45] world's leading Scholars on the irgc [00:05:48] Jason Brodsky uh is the policy director [00:05:50] of United against nuclear Iran uh and is [00:05:53] a force of nature uh and probably one of [00:05:56] the most respected policy experts on the [00:05:58] subject uh and is renowned across uh the [00:06:01] interwebs as they say a norm rule who's [00:06:04] sitting next to Senator Graham uh I I [00:06:06] don't think I can actually introduce you [00:06:08] because I think half of it would be [00:06:09] classified Norman of course but Norman [00:06:11] is is um probably the leading voice over [00:06:14] the last if I say the true number of [00:06:16] years Norm it would it would indicate [00:06:18] that you're really older than than you [00:06:20] should be but really the leading voice [00:06:22] in the intelligence community on Iran [00:06:25] and also an advisor and a colleague of [00:06:28] mine at United against nucle Iran and on [00:06:30] the end of the table uh not for any [00:06:32] reason just because we couldn't have a [00:06:34] big enough Round Table is Gabriel norona [00:06:36] who is our uh formerly with uh in the [00:06:39] United States government worked on the [00:06:40] Iran Action Group and was a very key [00:06:43] player in helping to isolate the Iranian [00:06:45] regime and his uh has become a force of [00:06:48] nature in isolating uh the regime let's [00:06:51] get right into it and Senator I want to [00:06:52] obviously uh throw to you but what I'd [00:06:55] like to ask as we have a short period of [00:06:56] time is how can it be that that right [00:06:59] now there is debate that it is Iran [00:07:03] Behind these actions that we see going [00:07:06] across the Middle East and we were [00:07:08] talking in the phone about this Senator [00:07:09] liberman and I put out a state calling [00:07:11] for action against the irgc not the Iran [00:07:14] but the irgc who oppresses its own [00:07:16] people and is responsible for these [00:07:18] attacks the only echoing statement of [00:07:20] that was but uh and you did it before us [00:07:23] was you Senator Graham and President [00:07:26] Biden right now is in the Middle East [00:07:28] and he has shown great show of support [00:07:30] for Israel we appreciate that and and [00:07:32] for the action there but the glaring [00:07:35] omission of this of the word Iran still [00:07:38] sticks out and I worry that that lack of [00:07:40] moral clarity about who's truly behind [00:07:43] this makes the world a more dangerous [00:07:45] place and Senator you've been the leader [00:07:47] in this issue so why is there that lack [00:07:49] of moral [00:07:50] Clarity that's a good question how does [00:07:53] this [00:07:55] thing did is that yeah yeah it's on Can [00:07:58] You Hear Me okay [00:08:00] um War [00:08:03] fatigue how do you they give Wars [00:08:05] numbers for a reason we tend to make the [00:08:09] same mistakes over and over again so how [00:08:11] do you explain that we're talking about [00:08:15] Iran the great Satan and like nobody's [00:08:19] here uh you got a few cameras that are [00:08:21] streaming but people will look back at [00:08:25] this and say hm should have paid [00:08:27] attention the goal is to tell the truth [00:08:30] as we see it yeah if you believe the [00:08:35] Ayatollah in [00:08:36] Iran woke up one day and read about this [00:08:40] attack in the paper or saw it on TV [00:08:43] you're crazy I don't know how the I [00:08:46] ayatollah's day starts maybe he has like [00:08:48] an Ayatollah briefing what's going on [00:08:50] today well Hami just invaded uh Israel [00:08:54] boy that's very interesting do you think [00:08:55] that is remotely possible no that's just [00:08:58] all [00:08:59] so why don't we talk about it more [00:09:03] because you'd have to [00:09:05] act in World War I everybody put on nice [00:09:09] uniforms jacked up about going to war [00:09:12] thought they'd be home in three or four [00:09:13] months four years later you have a whole [00:09:16] generation of young men throughout [00:09:18] Europe wiped out and a bunch of people [00:09:20] killed right World War II rolls around [00:09:24] what drove the appeasement of Hitler the [00:09:26] memories of World War I were so a [00:09:30] they would they want to people want to [00:09:33] believe that the terrorist is not a [00:09:35] terrorist because you have to deal with [00:09:36] them people wanted to believe that [00:09:38] Hitler was just joking when he said he [00:09:41] wrote his book we live in a time where [00:09:45] that if you had to tell the truth about [00:09:47] Iran the likelihood of acting goes [00:09:50] up I think that's what's driving this [00:09:54] Republicans are beating on Biden for the [00:09:57] hostages and everything else and they [00:09:59] they should be but I don't have a big [00:10:01] crowd behind me saying we should put [00:10:03] Iran on notice we're going to attack [00:10:04] them militarily if this war expands they [00:10:07] man they killed 30 [00:10:09] Americans so the Republican Party beats [00:10:12] on Biden about his Iran policy but [00:10:15] here's the question for this [00:10:18] group I'm trying to restore lost detor [00:10:22] would you like Trump or not the Iranians [00:10:23] were afraid of him everybody I was [00:10:26] afraid everybody was afraid of him [00:10:28] because he seemed to have a different [00:10:30] way of doing business that was at times [00:10:33] confusing but people felt [00:10:37] afraid the president of the United [00:10:39] States flies to the mid East and Jordan [00:10:42] Egypt and abas won't even meet with him [00:10:46] based on a BS Report about Israel [00:10:50] hitting a [00:10:51] hospital every media in the world took [00:10:54] hamas's version and ran with it and they [00:10:57] canell the meeting of the the president [00:10:59] of the United States who is actually [00:11:01] trying to help the Palestinians this is [00:11:03] not good so I don't want to talk much [00:11:07] longer but the reason we're not doing [00:11:09] more to hold around accountable we'll [00:11:11] have to act I am telling everybody in [00:11:14] the Republican conference and all my [00:11:16] Democratic friends if this war expands [00:11:19] if Hezbollah comes after Iran in any uh [00:11:21] Israel in any serious [00:11:23] way then I will be urging action [00:11:27] militarily against Iran they've killed [00:11:29] 30 Americans they'd be alive today [00:11:31] without the Iranians you know helping [00:11:33] Hamas to take down the oil [00:11:35] infrastructure they'll have no money for [00:11:37] terrorism and if they warn a war with [00:11:39] the United States we will win it to all [00:11:42] of you [00:11:43] here thank you for not letting us look [00:11:47] away you remind us of who Iran is you [00:11:50] see these things over here what does [00:11:53] Iran really want well if you got a [00:11:56] ballistic missile with death the Israel [00:12:00] on the side of it that's not reassuring [00:12:01] to [00:12:02] Israel I mean they clearly Hamas wants [00:12:05] to kill all the Jews and establish some [00:12:07] kind of caliphate Iran wants to dominate [00:12:10] the the the Islamic faith destroy the [00:12:13] Jewish State eventually come after us [00:12:17] Israel can't afford two Holocaust one [00:12:20] was enough and uh they're going to have [00:12:23] to act and I trying to get the American [00:12:25] public and political system to come to [00:12:28] grips that this terrorist regime that's [00:12:30] got blood on its hands for decades [00:12:32] against our country is now a time of [00:12:34] Reckoning it is time to call the [00:12:37] question on a [00:12:39] run one followup Senator and then maybe [00:12:42] we could go to Norm and maybe it's an [00:12:44] obvious question but I think we should [00:12:46] discuss it how dangerous does it make it [00:12:50] that we don't say the word Iran and we [00:12:53] don't deter them when they organize the [00:12:56] massacre of babies children uh women and [00:12:59] the elderly in a in a brutal manner that [00:13:02] hearkens back to Isis in any other [00:13:04] context we would hunt down the leaders [00:13:07] uh of these groups bring them to justice [00:13:09] but right now Iran is sitting back [00:13:11] knowing that they were behind that and [00:13:13] not facing any con consequences that [00:13:16] clearly emboldens them but that makes [00:13:18] the world a much more dangerous place [00:13:20] how are we ignoring that and how do we [00:13:21] address that and how does the Congress [00:13:24] address that Senator so I've got a [00:13:26] resolution I'm trying to get together to [00:13:29] get hopefully find a democratic [00:13:30] colleague that will say escalation [00:13:32] against Israel means an attack on [00:13:35] Iran why did they do it [00:13:38] now and why was it so [00:13:41] vicious I am a th% convinced that Iran [00:13:45] is threatened deeply by the [00:13:47] reconciliation prospects between Saudi [00:13:50] Arabia and Israel why [00:13:52] now uh I've been one of the leading [00:13:55] voices in both parties about expand [00:13:58] Abraham gords the next logical step is [00:14:01] normalization with Saudi and Israel I [00:14:03] went back to Saudi Arabia after [00:14:05] promising never to go because of the [00:14:07] kogi deal to reestablish a relationship [00:14:12] that can be Ben beneficial to the world [00:14:14] s Arabia is changing they're moving in [00:14:17] the right [00:14:18] direction this attack was so [00:14:21] vicious and so cruel that it had a [00:14:25] purpose I mean Hamas doesn't need a [00:14:28] reason to be CR they're just cruel but [00:14:29] it had a purpose here's the purpose to [00:14:32] make it so gruesome and Israel could not [00:14:34] look away they have to go in on the [00:14:36] ground and the belief is that will stop [00:14:39] the reconciliation process that Israel [00:14:42] can't make War and Peace at the same [00:14:44] time that the whole world will get [00:14:45] distracted and the normalization efforts [00:14:48] will die uh I am going to the region [00:14:51] here soon I'm going to Saudi Arabia I'm [00:14:53] going to Israel going to go to Egypt my [00:14:56] goal is to make sure Iran doesn't f uh [00:14:58] fails in their effort to destroy the [00:15:00] normalization process so what can [00:15:03] Congress do we can unequivocally have [00:15:06] Israel's back we can say we support the [00:15:09] destruction of Hamas that's [00:15:11] non-negotiable but what is negotiable is [00:15:14] how we do it I'd like to lessen the loss [00:15:16] of innocent lives but I want all of us [00:15:19] during this very perilous time to not [00:15:21] give up on the effort to end the Arab [00:15:24] Israeli conflict uh you're against a [00:15:27] nuclear armed Iran good if they had a [00:15:30] nuke would they use it yes rocket man [00:15:33] wants nukes to as an insurance policy to [00:15:36] keep his thuggish state right China's [00:15:38] got a nuclear force to be a world power [00:15:40] so is Russia I don't believe that these [00:15:43] three actors I just named are going to [00:15:45] attack us preemptively they're not [00:15:47] religious zeelot they have their own [00:15:49] agendas the Iranians are motivated by [00:15:52] religion they want chaos to bring back [00:15:54] the missing imom they want the end times [00:15:57] to unfold in in their lifetime so if [00:16:00] they had a nuclear weapon I am 100% [00:16:03] confident they would use it as part of [00:16:05] their religious [00:16:07] Crusade uh you know Endeavors against [00:16:10] Israel and to accelerate the return of [00:16:13] the missing Imam that may sound crazy to [00:16:17] you but they say it all the [00:16:19] time Hitler wrote a book nobody believed [00:16:22] him look what these people do [00:16:25] routinely so your voice is very [00:16:27] important thank thank you thank you [00:16:29] Senator nor I want to chat with you if I [00:16:31] could a little bit about deterrence [00:16:33] we've had how many calls uh at [00:16:35] ridiculous hours of the day and night [00:16:36] about uh the Intel Community concerned [00:16:39] about deterrence I was struck that the [00:16:42] same people that are providing in [00:16:44] weapons and killing innocent ukrainians [00:16:46] the same people that are killing Jews [00:16:48] the same people that are running around [00:16:50] London targeting kazra and other people [00:16:53] the same people that are running around [00:16:54] the United States targeting Americans [00:16:57] are our are all the IR rgc when we [00:16:59] called for military action against irgc [00:17:02] targets we made it very clear the people [00:17:04] that reached out to me first were the [00:17:06] Iranian people that I know the Iranian [00:17:08] diaspora because they knew that we [00:17:10] weren't seeking to Target Iran Iranians [00:17:13] that but this regime Norm we've talked [00:17:16] so much about that level of deterrence [00:17:19] and how there's concern across int [00:17:20] communities around the world that the [00:17:23] failure to be transparent and open about [00:17:26] Iranian the Iranian role in these [00:17:28] matters only emboldens them and makes um [00:17:30] them greater what do we do to bring [00:17:33] deterrence back and other than talking [00:17:36] about this tell me your views about what [00:17:39] Iran's role in this in this attack and [00:17:42] could it have happened without [00:17:45] Iran uh thank you Mark and good morning [00:17:49] it's a pleasure to be here and I want to [00:17:50] thank uh you for superb questions and [00:17:53] the support you provide on the Iran [00:17:54] issue it's a pleasure to be part of this [00:17:56] panel and it's wonderful to hear the [00:17:57] wisdom of of of the good Senator um you [00:18:00] strike at the heart of the issue in a [00:18:02] few days we we will observe the 40th [00:18:06] anniversary of the bombing in Beirut [00:18:08] that took 41 uh 241 American lives we've [00:18:12] had Iran send uh weapons to Iraq that [00:18:15] killed hundreds of Americans we have [00:18:17] Iran sending drones to uh Ukraine [00:18:21] killing Innocents we now have Iran uh [00:18:23] instigating a congration that will kill [00:18:26] thousands as well as targeting Americans [00:18:29] in the United States in the homeland of [00:18:31] the United States it is impossible to [00:18:34] say that we have a successful DET [00:18:36] returns posture against the individuals [00:18:39] Behind these actions and whatever your [00:18:42] views are on the politics the situation [00:18:45] the existing level of sanctions the [00:18:47] existing level of diplomacy is not [00:18:49] deterring these people from conducting [00:18:52] operations that are now resulting in [00:18:54] thousands of dead civilians to include [00:18:57] 30 Americans but here's the danger if we [00:19:00] know it's not just the danger here's [00:19:02] here's how it gets worse if as bad as it [00:19:05] has been this is a virtual guarantee [00:19:08] that it will continue so the harsh [00:19:11] reality is you have to wonder who is [00:19:13] listening to this presentation today [00:19:15] that may be dead in the coming year [00:19:17] because of a KS Force operation that was [00:19:20] not deterred because sanctions against [00:19:23] people who have no assets in the United [00:19:25] States do not use International [00:19:27] Financial systems do not travel and the [00:19:29] regime doesn't want them to travel are [00:19:31] not just symbolic but they're they [00:19:33] actually encourage the adversary to say [00:19:36] this is all they're going to do in [00:19:39] essence what we have done over the years [00:19:40] is for a variety of reasons particularly [00:19:43] since engagement became a dominant [00:19:45] aspect of American foreign policy and [00:19:47] sanctions relief accompanied that [00:19:49] engagement we have kicked a can down the [00:19:51] road and that can has gotten heavier [00:19:54] with every kick and the road shorter and [00:19:56] in Gaza we've come to the C the act with [00:19:58] a 55 gallon drum can of Terror so I [00:20:03] think you you've you've you've got the [00:20:04] right you've got the right point we do [00:20:06] not want to raise Iran in many [00:20:08] conversations for reasons that um raise [00:20:11] as the good Senator has stated we have [00:20:13] to do something about it but from [00:20:15] Ukraine to Gaza from Washington to New [00:20:17] York uh from Beirut to to Yemen and and [00:20:22] Africa people are dying and will die [00:20:25] unless this posture changes the senator [00:20:28] mentioned if they had a nuclear weapon [00:20:30] they would use it if you're willing to [00:20:32] slaughter children and do what we've [00:20:34] seen you're willing to use a nuclear [00:20:36] weapon in my opinion Norm we we [00:20:38] frequently I don't want to say who said [00:20:40] it to us but a diplomat U that we know [00:20:44] uh uh from the region and mult multiple [00:20:46] others said you know if there's going if [00:20:48] they're going to continue to do this and [00:20:50] there has to be repercussions shouldn't [00:20:52] we do this before they get a nuclear [00:20:54] weapon and I think that that's been very [00:20:57] it rings in our conversations Norm we we [00:21:00] talk in in a too many and uh and an [00:21:03] inappropriate amount of time um but [00:21:05] speak to that because I don't think it's [00:21:07] just an opinion shared by us it's an [00:21:09] opinion shared around the region but our [00:21:13] friends and diplomats and other [00:21:15] countries that are scared a bit to [00:21:17] disrupt the uh President Biden's Kick [00:21:20] the Can down the road approach which we [00:21:22] all disagree with while at the same time [00:21:24] I I want to be very respectful he is [00:21:26] offshore he is in Israel showing support [00:21:28] to our Ally and he is uh my president [00:21:31] right now so I want to be very [00:21:33] respectful to him and his and his team [00:21:35] but I worry that that statement reflects [00:21:38] a belief in the lack of American [00:21:40] seriousness can you speak to that [00:21:41] because you've heard that more than [00:21:43] anybody I know in the world I've heard [00:21:45] it a lot but I know you've heard it from [00:21:47] many people in the region I I have [00:21:50] indeed and uh it it raises a the broader [00:21:54] question of every time Iran develops a [00:21:57] capability or is involved in a conflict [00:21:59] where American Warf Fighters or [00:22:01] civilians are present the it actually [00:22:03] has constrained some policymaker [00:22:06] decision-making and the region has [00:22:08] noticed this and that fragments our [00:22:11] coalitions our alliances it reduces the [00:22:13] impact of sanctions and what it does is [00:22:16] it tells the region if the west and this [00:22:18] isn't just the United States these are [00:22:20] good friends in Europe and and and in [00:22:23] Asia if the west and or the [00:22:25] International Community is unwilling to [00:22:27] confront Iran and present would they be [00:22:29] willing to confront Iran with a nuclear [00:22:31] weapon and that sense of Doubt can only [00:22:33] be overcome by a sense of realistic [00:22:36] deterrence diplomacy is absolutely the [00:22:39] way we should pursue this Relentless [00:22:41] diplomacy is a brilliant is a brilliant [00:22:44] approach but endless diplomacy without [00:22:46] deterrence is a gift to Tyron and at [00:22:50] present it's difficult to identify the [00:22:52] deterrence that we have set against an [00:22:54] adversary that tomorrow if we received a [00:22:57] report that instead of Hamas Isis likee [00:23:00] militants terrorists killing people in [00:23:03] Israel if if we received a report [00:23:05] Senator saying that 20 Isis militants [00:23:08] Ras came across the southern border of [00:23:09] the United States and attacked Jewish [00:23:12] facilities in America would you be [00:23:14] surprised and would we say that we had [00:23:16] set a deterrence to Iran against that [00:23:19] and the answer is we we we didn't and we [00:23:22] should expect more and worse things to [00:23:24] happen that just erode that sense in the [00:23:26] world that you know they're just not [00:23:28] willing to take Iran on and if Iran gets [00:23:30] a gets a nuclear weapon they'll really [00:23:33] not be willing to take Iran on thanks [00:23:35] Norman it really is a deep view in my [00:23:38] opinion uhu shared across a vast portion [00:23:42] of our intelligence Community obviously [00:23:44] can't go into that but I think that that [00:23:45] lack of deterrence is a key thing Mark [00:23:47] can I just inject one more comment [00:23:49] sanctions enforcement is critical to [00:23:52] International an international sense of [00:23:54] our willingness to deter Iran and if you [00:23:57] look at oil sells to China that has [00:24:00] built up a reserve in Iran that would be [00:24:02] very difficult and time consuming to GW [00:24:04] down under actual serious sanctions and [00:24:07] not playing to the audience the most [00:24:09] significant oil sanction against Iran [00:24:13] would not have come about without United [00:24:15] against nuclear Ron and your personal [00:24:18] leadership in the last year and it's [00:24:22] difficult to actually identify a [00:24:23] significant oil sanction on Iran outside [00:24:26] of that in recent memory and our allies [00:24:28] have noticed that I appreciate that [00:24:31] Norman you know as we seized a super [00:24:33] tanker with the United States Department [00:24:35] of Justice who I really want to applaud [00:24:37] it was about aund [00:24:39] million um I do note that only a few [00:24:42] days after that justice department uh [00:24:44] revelation we did agree to uh give over [00:24:47] $6 billion dollar to the Iranians as [00:24:49] part of it so it it seemed to be a bit [00:24:51] of a drop in the barrel all the while [00:24:52] 300 other vessels are on the Seas right [00:24:54] now transporting oil Jason I I'd like to [00:24:57] go to you because you have an incredible [00:25:00] sense of this what does it do to allies [00:25:06] in the region when we see that we won't [00:25:08] act I want to remind everyone that it [00:25:10] was President Obama that took the very [00:25:14] courageous action didn't seem that it [00:25:16] was that courageous at the time but [00:25:17] maybe in this political context it was [00:25:19] to literally invade Pakistan to kill [00:25:21] theama Bin Laden and to take action to [00:25:25] kill the the worst of the worst [00:25:27] terrorist wherever they may be including [00:25:29] in in countries that we had diplomatic [00:25:31] relations to that ethos seems to have [00:25:34] disappeared can you put that in the [00:25:36] context now and the allergy of speaking [00:25:39] to Iran and and and the disconnect with [00:25:42] that that has caused even from policies [00:25:45] of Democratic and Republican presidents [00:25:47] in recent presidents in recent memory [00:25:50] how is that so different now and how [00:25:53] what has that done to form what I call a [00:25:55] new axis of Terror [00:25:58] thank you and it's great to be with you [00:26:00] I do think it erodes our deterrence [00:26:02] significantly it strains our [00:26:04] Partnerships which are act absolutely [00:26:06] vital and I know that the Biden [00:26:08] Administration has made a point of [00:26:09] strengthening our alliances and [00:26:11] Partnerships around the world and that [00:26:12] is absolutely critical but it can't just [00:26:15] be in Europe it has to be in the Middle [00:26:17] East as well and that strains the [00:26:19] perception of our of our partners in the [00:26:22] Middle East uh I would say that I would [00:26:24] agree with Senator Graham that if uh the [00:26:27] United States is is apparently seeking [00:26:30] to keep Iran's role undefined because if [00:26:33] it comes out and says uh that Iran was [00:26:36] directly involved that's going to put [00:26:37] public pressure on the administration to [00:26:40] then do something about it and it's [00:26:43] apparent not only to Americans but it's [00:26:45] also apparent to the Iranian regime that [00:26:48] he is not uh keen on doing something [00:26:51] about the Iranian uh problem and that [00:26:54] causes a a perception problem because [00:26:56] the Islamic Republic knows we have the [00:26:58] capability to inflict Grievous losses on [00:27:02] their military and security apparatus [00:27:04] but it doubts that we have the will to [00:27:06] do so and unless and until we change [00:27:09] that latter calculus escalation is [00:27:13] inevitable I think there's also a very [00:27:15] interesting asymmetry in the Iranian [00:27:18] rhetoric and the American rhetoric in [00:27:20] the aftermath of this awful Slaughter by [00:27:23] Hamas terrorists against Israel uh and [00:27:26] that the Iranian leadership has no [00:27:27] problem if you monitor their statements [00:27:30] in recent days saying that the United [00:27:31] States will be held responsible for [00:27:34] Israel's actions in Gaza but the United [00:27:37] States on the other hand sends a [00:27:39] de-escalatory message in public to the [00:27:41] Iranian regime and that uh creates a [00:27:45] risk of a miscalculation on the part of [00:27:47] Tran that they can get away with more [00:27:48] than they can and that can actually make [00:27:50] a war more likely not less likely so I [00:27:53] think that we need to all figure this [00:27:55] into our uh deterrence uh posture and [00:27:58] then last and certainly not least Mark I [00:28:00] would just like to mention the [00:28:01] transnational repression that's been [00:28:02] going on uh here on us soil and on [00:28:06] European soil look if looking at our [00:28:09] allies and partners perception of our [00:28:11] Readiness to defend our interest if we [00:28:14] do not hold uh the Islamic Republic of [00:28:17] Iran accountable for an attempted [00:28:20] assassination or an attempted kidnapping [00:28:23] on us soil this is a hostile foreign [00:28:26] power challenging the United States on [00:28:28] American soil then how can we be [00:28:31] expected to come to their defense during [00:28:33] their time of need so it strains our [00:28:37] Partnerships it strains our alliances [00:28:39] and we can't just uh create deterrence [00:28:42] by issuing a strongly worded press [00:28:44] statement warning of unspecified [00:28:47] consequences uh should uh the Iranians [00:28:50] continue these uh attempts on American [00:28:52] and European soil we can't restore [00:28:53] deterrence with peac meal sanctions with [00:28:56] individuals who have no assets in the [00:28:57] United States and are unlikely to travel [00:28:59] here and we can't restore deterrence [00:29:01] with just an indictment of uh [00:29:03] individuals who likely again won't step [00:29:05] foot in the United States there has to [00:29:07] be uh a kinetic element to these uh [00:29:11] policies to change the Iranian [00:29:13] perception Gabriel I was going to throw [00:29:15] to you but with your permission I'm [00:29:16] going to go to KRA instead I I really [00:29:18] wanted to go to you next because Jason [00:29:20] talked about transnational repression we [00:29:22] have kazra uh our colleague from the [00:29:25] United Kingdom uh here who has been a [00:29:27] target of that transnational repression [00:29:30] and is an expert on the irgc and [00:29:32] experiences that I was struck by the [00:29:35] statements of Tom tuen hot previously [00:29:38] and the the the head of uh MI6 who [00:29:41] recently said the biggest threat on UK [00:29:43] soil let me repeat that the biggest [00:29:45] threat on UK soil is the danger of [00:29:49] Iranian Terror against its citizens [00:29:52] that's an extraordinary statement right [00:29:54] now that same threats experienced by [00:29:56] Americans including Americans in this [00:29:57] room I might add um in the United States [00:30:00] on us soil KRA can you speak to that a [00:30:03] little bit and with your expertise on [00:30:05] the irgc and what's it like to be a [00:30:07] Britain um that when you hear the [00:30:10] British government say the biggest [00:30:11] danger is um elements of Iranian uh [00:30:15] agents trying to kill diaspora members [00:30:16] including you yes uh thank you Mark and [00:30:20] uh thank you for the senator for hosting [00:30:22] this very timely um session on the [00:30:25] transnational repression [00:30:27] um well the fact that as a British [00:30:30] citizen I don't feel safe in London uh [00:30:33] is quite frankly ridiculous absurd [00:30:38] um and it's indicative of the failed [00:30:42] policy towards the Islamic Republic of [00:30:45] Iran um the UK we have showed on [00:30:50] multiple occasions the irgc the Islamic [00:30:53] revolutionary guard Corp is active on [00:30:55] British soil just before I joined Yani [00:30:59] uh I exposed an irgc cell in London [00:31:03] where British Muslim Students as part of [00:31:06] the Islamic Student Association of [00:31:08] Britain and Europe an entity by the way [00:31:11] that is controlled by the beta RAR the [00:31:13] Supreme Leader's office that has an [00:31:15] office in London in Hammersmith was [00:31:18] hosting online senior irgc commanders [00:31:23] not just any senior irgc commanders the [00:31:26] most VI [00:31:27] and extremist irgc Commander s gami who [00:31:32] on record previously had said that in [00:31:35] during the 1990s he had trained Al-Qaeda [00:31:38] the irgc had trained [00:31:40] Al-Qaeda these irgc commanders not only [00:31:44] glorified irgc terrorism to British [00:31:47] Muslim Students not only propagated [00:31:50] extreme [00:31:51] anti-Semitism but they called on these [00:31:54] students in London to join an [00:31:56] apocalyptic Army Army to quote end the [00:31:59] lives of Jews around the world we [00:32:02] exposed this and the Home Secretary [00:32:04] rightly said with this new evidence we [00:32:07] can clearly state that the irgc is the [00:32:10] biggest threat to British national [00:32:14] security despite this evidence despite [00:32:18] the irgc's persistent efforts not only [00:32:21] to Target British citizens directly but [00:32:25] also to nurture homeg own islamist [00:32:28] radicalization and terrorism using [00:32:30] methods like Isis Al-Qaeda through their [00:32:32] centers despite this the irgc is still [00:32:35] not being prescribed so what we're in [00:32:38] the situation where the irgc is using [00:32:40] methods like Isis like Al-Qaeda but for [00:32:44] Isis and Al-Qaeda the sanctions regime [00:32:46] in place because they are prescribed [00:32:48] entities prohibits any form of activity [00:32:52] relating to these terrorist organization [00:32:54] but today in London the IR gc's [00:32:57] activities such as propaganda activities [00:32:59] such as efforts to to radicalize and [00:33:02] call for terrorism are not prohibited [00:33:05] the irgc needs to be prescribed as a [00:33:06] terrorist organization there's no doubt [00:33:08] about that that's the least by the way [00:33:10] that the Europeans can do and to do that [00:33:13] if I may and I don't want to get into [00:33:14] the bipartisan politics of the US [00:33:16] because I'm not an US citizen we need I [00:33:19] say we the [00:33:21] Europeans us support we need a US push [00:33:26] uh we need Congressional support we need [00:33:28] support from the Senate the US needs to [00:33:31] push the Europeans and the Brits to [00:33:34] prescribe the irgc as the very least [00:33:37] mechanism to impose consequences on tan [00:33:40] because there needs to be much more than [00:33:41] this not least targeting irgc Assets in [00:33:45] the region but also in Iran and let me [00:33:49] make it very clear as an Iranian [00:33:51] diaspora member targeting irgc bases is [00:33:54] not targeting the Iranian people it is [00:33:56] not not an attack on Iran it is [00:33:59] targeting the very people who terrorize [00:34:02] the people of Iran the very people who [00:34:04] killed Massa [00:34:05] naika um Muhammad Resa um the Iranian [00:34:09] people share a common enemy with the [00:34:12] Israeli people the Iranian people stand [00:34:14] with the Israeli PE people because the [00:34:16] force that is terrorizing the people of [00:34:19] Israel is the same force that is [00:34:21] terrorizing the people of Iran they're [00:34:23] the same victims we see it and I was [00:34:26] amazed we obviously have a lot of [00:34:29] friends in the Iranian diaspora [00:34:30] Community I was amazed at the outpouring [00:34:32] of support when we said let's go [00:34:34] straight at these irgc facilities Gabe [00:34:36] I'm going to put you a little bit on the [00:34:38] spot because I might it might be [00:34:40] unanswerable but you know I I there's [00:34:43] some polling data recently on CNN that [00:34:45] showed the lack of support for Israel [00:34:48] amongst young people in the Democratic [00:34:50] party and otherwise but I'm also [00:34:52] surprised at the lack of clarity on the [00:34:55] Iran issue in a bipartisan way this is [00:34:59] an incredible group that I'm proud to [00:35:01] stand with and Senator Graham's [00:35:02] leadership has been truly wonderful he's [00:35:05] my friend so you you should take it with [00:35:06] a little grain of help but not too much [00:35:08] but he's truly been a leader in this [00:35:10] space how is it possible that it's so [00:35:13] lonely up here and there's bipartisan [00:35:15] neglect you were in the government [00:35:17] before and you speak to a lot of folks [00:35:20] on the right as well it's as if no one's [00:35:24] paying attention how do how do you [00:35:27] explain that if you can so here's what I [00:35:29] would first say senator Graham warned [00:35:31] that if we withdrew from Afghanistan the [00:35:34] Taliban would take over and they did [00:35:36] Senator Graham warned that if we didn't [00:35:38] provide weapons to Ukraine and that if [00:35:40] we didn't sanction nordstream 2 that [00:35:42] Russia would invade and they did Senator [00:35:44] Graham is warning now that because we [00:35:47] refuseed to enforce sanctions on Iran [00:35:49] that we are headed towards a disaster [00:35:51] and we are Senator Graham and all of us [00:35:53] here have warned that if we paid $6 [00:35:55] billion in Ransom pay [00:35:57] to Iran that Iran and its proxies would [00:35:59] take more hostages around the region and [00:36:02] they have now taken hundreds it's time [00:36:04] for the Press it's time for the American [00:36:05] public and Congress to start paying [00:36:08] attention to our warnings there's a [00:36:10] track record of a deterioration of [00:36:13] American Security there's a track record [00:36:15] of Israel security and Americans around [00:36:17] the region being put at risk here's [00:36:20] here's some stats which the American [00:36:21] public democrat or republican should [00:36:23] just look at and make up their own minds [00:36:26] since the Biden Administration took [00:36:28] office there have been 83 attacks at [00:36:31] least against Americans in the region [00:36:33] America responded four times only once [00:36:36] even killed Iranian proxies that's a [00:36:38] recipe for [00:36:40] disaster uh in 2017 Hamas was giving [00:36:43] Iran was giving Hamas 100 million a year [00:36:45] after we reimposed maximum pressure [00:36:48] Hamas went on an austerity plan today it [00:36:51] is getting $350 million from Iran that [00:36:55] is 9 3% of its budget if we don't think [00:37:00] that Iran is responsible when they fund [00:37:02] 93% of someone's budget people are [00:37:05] people are misleaded so I think what the [00:37:07] public needs to do this has been a [00:37:09] wakeup call this has happened in Israel [00:37:12] there are at least a dozen Americans [00:37:14] including many of my former bosses [00:37:16] including secretary Pompeo including [00:37:18] John Bolton who are under assassination [00:37:20] threat here on American soil they've [00:37:22] been under assassination threat for 3 [00:37:24] years we cannot let Let The Smoking Gun [00:37:28] be a dead senior American official or [00:37:30] human rights dissident we are warning [00:37:33] this whole panel is warning this is [00:37:35] what's coming down the table and and the [00:37:38] Iranian regime does not care if you are [00:37:40] a Democrat or if you are a republican [00:37:43] the Iranian regime does not care whether [00:37:45] you support uh whe whether you're going [00:37:47] to vote for President Biden they do not [00:37:49] care whether you are um of Iranian [00:37:52] Descent of American descent they see [00:37:54] their enemies and they want to kill them [00:37:56] so here's the solution that we are [00:37:59] saying we need to enforce our oil [00:38:01] sanctions right now Iran gets $150 [00:38:04] million doll a day at least in its oil [00:38:07] export Revenue that needs to go down as [00:38:10] close to zero as we possibly can that [00:38:13] will dry up the money for terrorism and [00:38:15] we have to tell Iran if you kill [00:38:17] Americans there are consequences right [00:38:20] now Iran does not believe there are [00:38:22] consequences because at least 30 [00:38:24] Americans are dead and no Iran I are [00:38:27] dead as a result there has been no [00:38:28] response Iran has gotten away with it [00:38:31] they believe rightly that they can [00:38:34] because there's been no response there [00:38:35] have been no missiles from the United [00:38:37] States against Hamas there have been no [00:38:40] us missiles against the Iranian [00:38:42] installations that fund that that that [00:38:44] train Hamas Fighters and there have been [00:38:46] no attacks against Iran's oil [00:38:48] infrastructure which funds all these [00:38:50] attacks if we continue the status quo [00:38:53] things will get worse so it's time for [00:38:55] republicans and Democrats to work [00:38:57] together and create firm accountability [00:38:59] for Iran and that includes an aumf from [00:39:02] Congress authorizing the president to [00:39:05] take action and that requires Congress [00:39:07] to pass laws uh Congress can't keep [00:39:09] sitting on its hands here and thank you [00:39:11] Senator Graham and thank you Yani for [00:39:12] your leadership here thank you Gabe just [00:39:14] one quick followup when you were on the [00:39:15] Iran Action Group Iranian oil sales fell [00:39:19] to under 400,000 barrels a day around [00:39:23] 300,000 in change right now there're [00:39:25] approximately .4 million barrels a day [00:39:27] of Iranian oil that is a lot of money [00:39:30] that is empowering Iran's Behavior you [00:39:33] remember that what we saw in 2019 when [00:39:37] we put our oil sanctions on we saw [00:39:39] Syrian Fighters complained to the New [00:39:40] York Times that the golden days were [00:39:42] gone that they had been laid off from [00:39:44] work that they'd been laying off their [00:39:46] reserves their benefits were being cut [00:39:47] their salaries were being cut Hamas went [00:39:50] on austerity Iraqi militias were getting [00:39:52] laid off that and Iran's irgc budget was [00:39:56] cut 28% in just one year in the last two [00:40:00] years we've seen the complete reversal [00:40:01] of all those Trends we are seeing the [00:40:03] oil sales fund all these Terror groups [00:40:07] they are providing the financial support [00:40:10] for Hamas to survive for Hezbollah to [00:40:13] build up its missile Arsenal to [00:40:14] potentially kill more Americans and and [00:40:17] thousands of Israelis uh and they're [00:40:19] providing a Lifeline up for the regime [00:40:20] that was on the verge of collapse we [00:40:22] think and at the end of 2020 the regime [00:40:24] was on the verge of collapse the Ian [00:40:26] people want to overthrow their [00:40:28] government there will not be there do [00:40:30] not have to be US tanks rolling through [00:40:32] tan the Iranian people want to do this [00:40:35] work themselves no one is calling no one [00:40:37] is calling for that we are saying we put [00:40:40] pressure on the regime and the Iranian [00:40:42] people will do the rest thanks cab [00:40:45] Senator people remember but you've been [00:40:48] doing great work up here for so long [00:40:50] that you're a lawyer by training and [00:40:51] you're a former military lawyer by [00:40:52] training and we both been around this [00:40:55] long enough to remember the doctrine of [00:40:57] preemption that we had when we had our [00:40:59] faced our threats and I don't want to [00:41:01] have a you know I think you and I would [00:41:03] probably subscribe to that because we [00:41:05] know where we stand and I understand [00:41:06] that people might not have liked that [00:41:08] but right now I would say we no longer [00:41:11] have a doctrine of preemption we have a [00:41:13] Doctrine you really have to sacrifice a [00:41:15] lot of souls before you're going to get [00:41:17] us to act and it it would appear to me [00:41:19] and I I don't want to be glib about this [00:41:21] but I don't know how to put this [00:41:22] delicately it would seem that our [00:41:25] posture is a certain number of Hezbollah [00:41:28] Rockets must rain down on Israel and Tel [00:41:32] Aviv before the great fighting force on [00:41:35] the Gerald R forward Carrier Group uh [00:41:37] the Enterprise the um Eisenhower battle [00:41:40] group and the Baton will interact so [00:41:42] that's a doctrine of [00:41:44] sacrifice so I don't I'm trying not to [00:41:47] be glib but how many Rockets will it [00:41:50] take to hit Tel aiv before we act and in [00:41:54] some ways the doctor preemption is [00:41:55] already over because they've already [00:41:57] attacked this attack by Hamas was [00:41:59] already that Iranian attack so I don't [00:42:02] know how what to call it Senator you [00:42:04] you're better at this than all of us [00:42:05] combined what is the doctrine of of that [00:42:08] we must suffer before we act and and how [00:42:11] do we reverse that I think it's [00:42:16] the it's the doctrine of the [00:42:20] 30s if you thought the 1930s were great [00:42:23] foreign policy period you were wrong [00:42:26] so why if You' had this [00:42:31] meeting in 1938 talking about Hitler [00:42:35] you'd have the same crowd we have here [00:42:38] today what we're trying to say is that [00:42:45] Israel will preempt if they have to the [00:42:49] Iranians [00:42:51] believe that Israel would attack if they [00:42:55] had to the Iranians believe they can [00:42:57] with survive an attack by Israel against [00:43:01] their [00:43:02] nation that the Arab [00:43:05] world uh would be [00:43:08] sympathetic to the idea that Iran was a [00:43:11] victim of the Jewish [00:43:14] State the Iranians know that they cannot [00:43:18] survive a war with [00:43:20] us the doctrine in place [00:43:23] now is not preemption as you you said Mr [00:43:27] Ambassador it is if you do any more [00:43:30] we're going to come after [00:43:33] you why am I talking about military [00:43:37] force as the response if the war [00:43:40] expands I think that's the only spot [00:43:42] that politically will work now if it [00:43:46] were up to me we' had an authorization [00:43:48] to Lo use Force against Iran a long time [00:43:50] ago number two the president doesn't [00:43:54] need an AMF he has all the authority as [00:43:57] article to commanderin-chief to do [00:43:59] whatever he needs to do to protect [00:44:01] Americans at home and abroad all of you [00:44:03] eloquently have put out the notion that [00:44:06] the irgc and other Iranian um entities [00:44:10] have been killing us for a long time and [00:44:12] we've responded very poorly why am I [00:44:15] talking about future escalation why am I [00:44:18] buying into the idea a bunch more [00:44:20] Rockets have to be released because [00:44:22] politically I don't think I can do any [00:44:24] better I mean I that's the was I I was [00:44:27] trying not to be good but I believe that [00:44:30] there has to be some number of rockets [00:44:32] before we attack and that means a loss [00:44:34] of life and suffering and that is an [00:44:36] incredible uh opposite of deterrence and [00:44:39] and a tragedy so Matt how do I okay I'm [00:44:43] trying to Define what escalation looks [00:44:46] like we're in a we're in a heated [00:44:49] contest for escalation dominance what's [00:44:52] going on right [00:44:53] now Hezbollah issued a statement [00:44:55] yesterday [00:44:56] today you know we've had it Iran said [00:45:00] time is out today the Iranians are [00:45:03] threatening the Israelis with further [00:45:06] action if they go in on the ground in a [00:45:08] meaningful way Hezbollah is threatening [00:45:12] action against Iran if they go into the [00:45:15] ground in a meaningful way against [00:45:17] Israel our bases in Iraq are being [00:45:21] threatened by Shiite [00:45:23] militias what is our response [00:45:29] don't okay that's not my response my [00:45:33] response is if you do open up a second [00:45:37] front there will be a third front [00:45:39] there's going to be one front or three [00:45:41] fronts they not going to be two so if [00:45:44] you [00:45:45] accelerate the attacks in the north [00:45:47] where there are 100,000 rockets that [00:45:49] could do a lot of damaged Israel I will [00:45:52] be driving hard to push that body [00:45:56] Administration and the Western World to [00:45:58] take the regime down their oil revenue [00:46:02] and hit their IRC [00:46:05] targets I don't know how many rockets [00:46:08] that is so we're in a game here [00:46:11] between when's enough for the Congress [00:46:14] and here's what I worry about I don't [00:46:16] know if there is [00:46:17] enough we're so reluctant to get [00:46:20] involved in conflict that we're creating [00:46:23] more of it this is exciting and this is [00:46:26] World War this is the 22-year period 21- [00:46:29] year period between World War I and [00:46:30] World War II I had I was at lunch Tom [00:46:33] Cotton's been great everybody wants to [00:46:36] take their money away everybody wants to [00:46:37] you know freeze the [00:46:40] assets that's not going to change the [00:46:42] game for all the reasons you said they [00:46:44] don't need a lot of money they it's not [00:46:45] like they want to go on a world tour and [00:46:48] they can't go now these people are on a [00:46:50] mission and it's not to travel it's to [00:46:52] kill and it's to dominate so I'm trying [00:46:56] to set the conditions that would be most [00:46:59] favorable to a vote about hitting [00:47:04] Iran if they do too much we should be [00:47:08] already telling Iran you're now a Target [00:47:11] based on what you've [00:47:14] done but we don't have that luxury so [00:47:17] help me Define what escalation looks [00:47:20] like I'll end with this today under the [00:47:24] Iran nuclear agreement [00:47:26] the restriction on ballistic M missile [00:47:29] development by the Iranians expire [00:47:33] today so was that a good deal hell no [00:47:36] look at that missile de Israel on it [00:47:39] under the deal they're free to do [00:47:41] anything they want to do [00:47:42] now so here's what I'm going to tell my [00:47:44] colleagues later in the day get ready to [00:47:48] be asked questions about what Senator [00:47:50] Graham is [00:47:52] proposing thank you Senator do we think [00:47:55] that [00:47:56] that if Hezbollah that number of [00:48:00] missiles that need to rain [00:48:02] down [00:48:03] strikes is the United States only going [00:48:06] to limit its response to Hezbollah and [00:48:08] its proxies because we we keep not [00:48:10] saying the Iran word so it's not even a [00:48:12] question of how many missiles on Tel [00:48:15] Aviv but will we be responding against [00:48:19] the ultimate Target well here's the [00:48:22] question if Israel had to attack [00:48:24] tomorrow because they saw something that [00:48:27] unnerved them in [00:48:28] Iran would we go behind [00:48:31] them I think there's a general belief [00:48:35] Trump will okay like Trump or don't like [00:48:37] Trump none of this would be happening [00:48:38] with Trump I mean that's just a fact I [00:48:41] think it doesn't mean he's right about [00:48:43] everything it's just we've lost a turns [00:48:44] is what we're all saying here and I want [00:48:46] to support president bid as much can you [00:48:48] only have one president at time and [00:48:50] trying to Rally around the flag here but [00:48:52] uh at at the end of the day don't is not [00:48:57] working and to my Republican colleagues [00:49:00] you got to do more than beat Biden up [00:49:02] about all of his impeachement you have [00:49:04] to embrace the idea you as a republican [00:49:07] we as a [00:49:08] party are calling for action against [00:49:11] Iran and if the Republican party can't [00:49:14] do that that's a damning indictment of [00:49:18] where we've come as a [00:49:20] party uh the party of Ronald Reagan [00:49:23] would have no problem with what I'm [00:49:24] saying [00:49:26] have you seen any prominent Republican [00:49:29] cotton me and a few others really [00:49:31] pushing the idea enough already with ir [00:49:34] ran no so I don't know M how many what [00:49:39] Rockets have to come but it appears that [00:49:40] they're going to have to be more if [00:49:42] Israel goes in I hope we'll go behind [00:49:44] them uh and if Iran believes all that [00:49:47] this war won't escalate if Iran believed [00:49:50] that they would be a Target based on [00:49:52] expansion in in in the North uh there'd [00:49:56] be less likely to be an expansion in the [00:49:58] north clearly they don't believe that [00:50:01] thank you Senator there's clearly has to [00:50:03] be and I think you and I are expressing [00:50:05] the same shock in different way there [00:50:07] has to be some sort of unifying [00:50:09] statement legislative vehicle whether it [00:50:11] was an aumf or not I agree with your [00:50:13] legal interpretation of course that the [00:50:15] president does need an aumf but where is [00:50:17] the legislative Unity Republican and [00:50:20] Democrat saying we will not stand it's [00:50:22] here I'm a caucus of one I'm the only [00:50:24] guy you are a caucus of one McCall [00:50:26] mentioned this uh there's some Democrats [00:50:28] that are actually talking to me about a [00:50:30] sense of the Senate resolution that [00:50:32] would define what an escalation would be [00:50:34] and that they would support a military [00:50:36] response against Iran there are a few [00:50:39] that are actually reaching out to me but [00:50:40] I am [00:50:42] stunned after [00:50:45] this horrific attack on our best ally 30 [00:50:49] of our own citizens have been killed a [00:50:52] dozen in captivity at the hands of the [00:50:55] Iranians and we have been so tepid to [00:50:58] say beond don't and you know you can [00:51:01] beat Biden up he deserves it but where [00:51:03] are we as [00:51:05] Republicans that's what bothers me the [00:51:07] most right now is I am trying to Rally [00:51:12] the I can imagine how Church Hill must [00:51:14] have [00:51:16] felt back in the late 30s so I saw a [00:51:19] show last night about couldn't sleep [00:51:23] Hitler and the Nazis and one whole [00:51:24] episode [00:51:26] was about how the German High command [00:51:28] was ready to take Hitler out in [00:51:30] 1939 or 40 missed it and peace in our [00:51:35] time happened like two weeks before the [00:51:37] plan was supposed to unfold it out and [00:51:40] Hitler got the suon land without firing [00:51:42] a shot and that broke up that effort [00:51:44] there were about three occasions where [00:51:47] weakness by the Western World gave [00:51:51] Hitler a pass and you talk about Gabe [00:51:54] the Iranian people want a better life [00:51:55] they certainly do so I just don't want [00:51:58] to be seen in history as that guy I [00:52:02] don't want to be seen in history as the [00:52:04] guy that made it easy to kill more not [00:52:07] harder to kill more that incentivized [00:52:10] terrorism instead of stop it here's the [00:52:13] the lesson from World War II when you [00:52:15] see evil confront [00:52:18] it Norm I want to talk to you because [00:52:20] we've talked about it in private it [00:52:22] seems like we've talked about all these [00:52:23] issues in private and we should do them [00:52:25] in know as much as we can in public as [00:52:27] well let's talk about the force [00:52:28] deployment right now where you have the [00:52:30] Ford uh and its battle group you have [00:52:33] the Eisenhower battle group and you have [00:52:35] the Baton moving and the sort of vague [00:52:37] calls that we've seen publicly about the [00:52:39] call up of other uh Marine forces what [00:52:42] is the significance of the call up of th [00:52:44] of those assets what is the message it's [00:52:47] sending and tell us a little bit about [00:52:48] your views about positioning whether it [00:52:51] be from the Persian Gulf to the [00:52:52] Mediterranean and how that affects uh [00:52:55] Force [00:52:57] Effectiveness thank you Mark and to to [00:53:00] to add to your previous question the [00:53:02] Senator's wise answer it comes back to [00:53:05] the question of do these represent a [00:53:08] deterrence as Jason correctly stated [00:53:10] there's no question in the Iranian mind [00:53:12] that they know our military is capable [00:53:15] of annihilating their military there is [00:53:18] no question that they recognize that we [00:53:20] have Assets in the region that are able [00:53:22] to do terrific Devastation it really any [00:53:25] any time the question comes down to will [00:53:28] we use these assets the Gerald Ford is [00:53:31] the most modern aircraft carrier we have [00:53:33] the largest in the world um and the and [00:53:35] the Dwight Eisenhower built in 1997 is [00:53:38] very modernized theyve got multiple [00:53:40] missile vessels coming with them but if [00:53:43] you're Iran what is the red line that [00:53:45] says the United States will use these [00:53:48] assets against Iran if you if if this [00:53:50] group turned around to into a to a to a [00:53:53] cell that said we're going to Pretend [00:53:54] We're Iranians right now we're in the [00:53:56] Islamic Republic and we're going to say [00:53:59] okay what's the red line we can't cross [00:54:01] we can go up to this with the United [00:54:03] States I think we'd be we'd had some [00:54:06] difficulty with that threatening [00:54:08] Americans in the US in the capital of [00:54:10] the Homeland in a post 911 World killing [00:54:12] thousands of people abroad drones to [00:54:15] Ukraine I I'm I'm sort of running out of [00:54:17] hundreds of missiles against Saudi [00:54:19] Arabia where there are thousands of [00:54:21] Americans and missiles don't turn left [00:54:23] and right over the head of a blue [00:54:24] passport [00:54:26] the significance of this this this Force [00:54:28] group is we have the power to [00:54:29] significantly punish Iran and its allies [00:54:32] but that power will not be conveyed if [00:54:34] they believe we don't have the will to [00:54:36] do so so our political Dynamic and I [00:54:38] make no comment on that because that's [00:54:40] my old world has trained me that way it [00:54:42] it shapes their their their perception [00:54:45] so I think you asked a great question [00:54:46] you gave a great answer and I think it [00:54:48] fits into that thank you Norm Jason I [00:54:50] want to talk about if we could I know [00:54:52] we're running out of time because [00:54:54] senator legislative duties coming up [00:54:56] shortly um The Alliance the axis that's [00:55:00] formed here right now if we knew where [00:55:03] Bin Laden was if it was torbor or [00:55:06] wherever it was we would go get him and [00:55:08] we're seeing because I think of a lack [00:55:11] of deterrence and Alliance of countries [00:55:14] that are forming against us that's [00:55:15] including these proxies talk to us a [00:55:18] little we we were talking before this [00:55:20] about the the designation that took [00:55:22] place today and it showed an incredible [00:55:25] Alliance that you and I have talked a [00:55:26] lot about between uh financing Iran [00:55:30] Hamas and Qatar is it can you talked to [00:55:33] that and explained to me how a major [00:55:35] non-nato US Ally is uh partnering with [00:55:39] Iran kissing the cheek of the Iranian [00:55:41] foreign minister while holding the [00:55:42] leaders that directed these attacks and [00:55:45] not turning them over to us authorities [00:55:47] uh yes it's very troubling in today's [00:55:50] sanctions designation announcement [00:55:52] against around 10 leaders of Hamas uh [00:55:55] there was one particular designation [00:55:57] that stood out and that was of a man [00:55:58] who's based in Cutter who has uh deep [00:56:01] connections to the Iranian regime and I [00:56:05] think that our major non-nato Ally [00:56:07] cutter has for far too long provided a [00:56:09] permissive environment and funding in [00:56:12] many respects to uh the Hamas leadership [00:56:15] and uh also support to uh the Islamic [00:56:18] Republic let's not forget it was it was [00:56:21] last year that at a defense Expo in cut [00:56:25] they hosted an irgc Naval Commander [00:56:28] aliat Tangi who is the commander of the [00:56:31] irgc an sworn enemy of the United States [00:56:35] there was also pictures of the Amir uh [00:56:37] meeting with Mosen reai who is under an [00:56:41] arrest warrant uh for his role in the [00:56:43] bombing of the Yia uh Jewish Community [00:56:45] Center in [00:56:46] 1994 that should not be how a nonato u [00:56:49] major US Ally works and there have to be [00:56:53] consequences it cannot be business as [00:56:55] usual so I do think more attention has [00:56:57] to be uh devoted to this uh support [00:57:00] network and I think that the treasury [00:57:02] Department announcement is a step in [00:57:05] that direction it's certainly not [00:57:06] sufficient but it's [00:57:08] necessary that's fine but right now the [00:57:12] bin ladin of the story are sitting in an [00:57:15] office tower in Doha cutter with the [00:57:16] support of the Iranian government is [00:57:19] there anybody in this room that doesn't [00:57:21] want those guys turned over to the [00:57:22] United States of America right now is [00:57:24] there any any doubt from anybody in this [00:57:26] room that if it was Bin Laden that we [00:57:28] wouldn't run air strikes on our major [00:57:30] non- US Ally is there anybody here that [00:57:33] does not say that the guttery should not [00:57:35] be turning over these bastards to us and [00:57:37] cease their involvement with Iran [00:57:39] anybody audience anyone sorry to do the [00:57:41] ferris ber line on on a very serious [00:57:44] matter but that is unacceptable Senator [00:57:46] I know you agree with that yeah I just [00:57:48] think about it this way you know we have [00:57:50] thousands of troops stationed in gutter [00:57:53] right they were very helpful to us in [00:57:55] Afghanistan getting people out so it's [00:57:57] it they are an ally but this is a moment [00:58:00] to [00:58:01] draw you know what is the red line I I'm [00:58:03] going to ask that today when I meet with [00:58:05] the administration if you don't have one [00:58:07] you need to get one you need to [00:58:09] communicate to us what it is and tell [00:58:11] the Iranians and not having one is [00:58:13] unacceptable so I'm going to take your [00:58:16] idea and run with it as to the guaris uh [00:58:18] you need to close some Us's office and [00:58:21] turn them over to to the US authorities [00:58:23] I Norman and I were talking about this [00:58:25] before I don't want to see is hania and [00:58:27] khed Michelle disappear into their ether [00:58:29] we would have never allowed that in the [00:58:31] context of Bin Laden it is the worst [00:58:34] crime of crimes we regret torab Bora [00:58:37] torab Bora right now is an office tower [00:58:39] with the largest of the Iranians and the [00:58:41] gutes in Doha turn them over to us at [00:58:43] least maybe and I don't believe in [00:58:45] trading for hostages but at least we [00:58:47] would have some leverage if we had these [00:58:48] guys I got to run um thank you for the [00:58:51] work you've done uh Gabe that was great [00:58:54] he's a polar we're trying to create [00:58:57] politically I'll just be a little the [00:58:59] Republican party has groups organized [00:59:02] for the pro-life movement for second [00:59:04] amendment rights uh you know the Club [00:59:07] for Growth the business round table [00:59:10] there are all kind of groups out there [00:59:12] that intervene with Republicans about [00:59:15] domestic [00:59:16] policy there is no real voice [00:59:21] now uh educating members about why is [00:59:24] bad for Iran to get a nuclear weapon the [00:59:27] history of Iran's involvement with [00:59:28] killing Americans so one of my legacies [00:59:31] is create an [00:59:33] organization that can advance the goals [00:59:36] of of of a Reagan party and get the best [00:59:40] of trump the reason nobody's talking [00:59:43] about this is that the political space [00:59:46] on foreign policy is is pretty narrow [00:59:50] people are so tired of the mid East well [00:59:53] here's what's happened Americans are [00:59:54] disgusted they're sick to their stomach [00:59:56] their heart's broken we have a moment [00:59:59] here to Rebrand [01:00:00] Iran I'm going to Rebrand them for the [01:00:04] ghoulish Thugs and religious Nazis they [01:00:08] are we have a chance to Upper game with [01:00:10] the Arab allies I want to help you but [01:00:13] if you don't meet the president of the [01:00:14] United States when he goes to the region [01:00:17] uh you're you're making a huge mistake I [01:00:19] want to drive peace between Saudi and [01:00:21] Israel is the ultimate blow to the [01:00:23] Iranian hopes and dreams [01:00:25] so we got to do two things at once wage [01:00:27] war and seek [01:00:29] peace Polaris this group you're great [01:00:32] allies and um we're on the right side of [01:00:35] History unfortunately history tells us [01:00:39] that evil gets so [01:00:41] strong that by the time we engage it a [01:00:44] lot of people die unnecessarily that's [01:00:46] happening right now today thank you [01:00:48] thank you Senator I want to thank [01:00:49] everyone in the panel it's good seeing [01:00:51] you [01:00:53] all [01:00:55] thank you [01:00:57] all [01:01:00] [Applause] [01:01:07] mark thank you you [01:01:17] more