00:00I guess the next big question is, which side feels they have the leverage going into these talks?
00:07Is it Iran or is it the U.S.?
00:09I'm depressed to say that I think it is, in fact, Iran,
00:13because Iran has the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed.
00:19And the only way to open that, there's really two paths.
00:23One is a diplomatic resolution, and Iran clearly has other demands that it wants the U.S. to meet.
00:29And I'm not sure the U.S. is going to meet them.
00:31And plus, you know, of course, you've got to get Israel on board with that.
00:34The other option is to use military force.
00:37And as we've seen in recent weeks, Trump has, as commander in chief,
00:43has redeployed a Marine unit from Okinawa to the Middle East.
00:48We have also sent two aircraft carriers.
00:51We have sent elements of the 82nd Airborne.
00:54This is the power trooper unit, if you will.
00:56So we are clearly bolstering our military presence in the region
01:01for the potential of a military escalation to include a land invasion, right?
01:10Whether that's at Karg Island, the energy depot that is the primary conduit for Iranian energy exports,
01:18and or the Iranian shoreline that is part of the Strait of Hormuz, right?
01:24So we have to see how this plays out.
01:26It's clear that Trump is preparing for the worst possibility,
01:30but I think desperately grasping at straws to find a diplomatic off-ramp.
01:35And that's why he's sending Vice President Vance and the delegation to Islamabad.
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