A retired Navy SEAL speaking on [Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com?utm_source=chatgpt.com) says Iran is now “behind the power curve” as tensions continue rising across the Middle East. The former military expert analyzed Iran’s strategic position, U.S. military pressure, and the growing regional security crisis during the televised interview.
The discussion highlighted military readiness, geopolitical risks, and the possible next steps in the escalating Iran situation. As global attention remains fixed on the region, experts warn that the balance of power could shift rapidly.
Watch the latest updates, expert analysis, and breaking developments surrounding Iran, U.S. strategy, and Middle East tensions
#News #Iran #FoxNews
The discussion highlighted military readiness, geopolitical risks, and the possible next steps in the escalating Iran situation. As global attention remains fixed on the region, experts warn that the balance of power could shift rapidly.
Watch the latest updates, expert analysis, and breaking developments surrounding Iran, U.S. strategy, and Middle East tensions
#News #Iran #FoxNews
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NewsTranscript
00:01Operation Epic Fury has been declared concluded and it is and now we're into a new project and
00:06that is to get the Strait of Hormuz open. This is about diplomacy and negotiation. You don't
00:10have kinetic warfare right now. You don't have missiles flying around. And so we've got to
00:14allow the administration time to finish this and sort it out. Yeah, the clock is ticking for a run
00:19to negotiate a deal and sources confirmed to Fox News that President Trump may restart military
00:24action. And hello everybody and welcome to the final hour of tonight's big weekend show. President
00:29Trump is warning Iran that time is running out to make a deal. Following a phone call between the
00:34President and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, military options are on the table while the next
00:40wave of attack will reportedly be far more aggressive. They could come as early as tomorrow.
00:46Joining us now is Mike Sorelli. He's a Marine, a retired Navy SEAL. And I changed the order
00:54here and host of the Unsung of Arlington on Fox Nation. Mike, thanks for joining us.
01:01Thanks for having me, guys. Yes, sir. You know, I consider you a friend. We spent some time
01:04together here and there doing great stuff, by the way, with Fox Nation. A couple of things you have
01:08coming down the pipe and just proud of you for telling the stories that need to be told.
01:13When we look at Iran, we talk about the stories that need to be told. You and I fought that
01:1720-year
01:17war, those 10, two-year wars, as I like to say. You know, we worry about making the mistakes of
01:23the
01:23past. We also see what's happening and see how it's different. What's your take?
01:26Yeah, I think to compare it to Iraq is like apples and oranges, just two completely different
01:31scenarios. What we see here in the 39-day ceasefire is, guys, we are doing target refinement,
01:38ISR pattern building, you know, cyber attacks. We are in a better position and Iran is behind the
01:44power curve. Additionally, during those 39 days, Iran is communicating, they're moving,
01:48they're repairing, they're hiding, and they're really exposing critical nodes that we didn't
01:53know before. So we are stepping into a different situation if we restart attacks with, you know,
01:59the blockade in place, further economic strangulation. What's going to be interesting here,
02:04and here are the two things I'm interested to see. If we restart attacks, is it going to be a
02:09coalition-led attack? Meaning, are the Gulf states going to get involved, UAE, Saudi Arabia,
02:14Qatar to a greater extent? We know UAE just had a nuclear plant hit. And then second,
02:20are we going to conduct the systematic elimination of the IRGC oppression mechanism known as the
02:26Bajij? Are we going to go after them? Because if we do, and you remove or eradicate or degrade
02:32the Bajij, that probability of the Iranian people stepping up to take back their country increases.
02:40I was going to ask you something else, now I want to ask you something a little different. So bear
02:43with
02:43me. I might have two questions for you. You intrigued me with that, though. So I don't
02:47disagree that that would be something that would need to happen for the Iranian people to rise up
02:52and be able to take back their country and restore it to what it once was, this Persia, this idea
02:57that
02:57it could return to that is so aspirational. But we've seen this play out before when you have a power
03:02vacuum, and then you've got a worse element that comes in. I don't know if there is worse than the
03:06IRGC and the Ayatollahs and all of that, but do you have any concerns about that if we were to
03:11take
03:12that additional step? Could it end worse? And you're referring to Afghanistan, Iraq,
03:17Libya. Sometimes we go with the theory of the devil you know is worse or better than the devil
03:23you don't. With Iran, I don't think that is the case. I think with the Persian people,
03:28and you want to keep the Iranian military, not the IRGC, but the traditional Iranian military
03:35in place and intact. One of the biggest mistakes we made in Iraq was we got rid of the Ba
03:40'athist
03:41military. Yeah, we were almost too good. Too good. And it turned out to be a strategic
03:46miscalculation, which left no internal security and then a vacuum for terrorism to come in.
03:51As we wrap up the Iran topic, I want to ask my second question before I move on to Cuba.
03:55I want to ask about some reports of taking Karg Island, also having operators go in and remove the
04:01nuclear materials if Iran doesn't want to make a deal. Good idea, bad idea. How does that shake out?
04:06Well, I call Karg the scoreboard that we've been keeping a close eye on. So is there a probability
04:11that special operations, the Marines, the 82nd Airborne take Karg Island? Yes, that possibility
04:15is high. The nuclear material? No. That won't be the priority right now. It's the degregation of the
04:22regime because that will stay in place. That's going to be an excavation project. Let's handle that first.
04:27And if we can get this regime to either play ball or fall, then we can go back to the
04:31nuclear
04:32material. Taking Karg Island, not a problem. Being a target on Karg Island is a problem. It's
04:36resource heavy defending it. Mike, I want to turn to Cuba now. Protesters there are taken to the
04:41streets while fuel shortages trigger blackouts. CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with senior Cuban
04:47officials to discuss possible U.S. support, but only if the communist country makes fundamental
04:53changes. President Trump is confident they will come around.
04:58Is Cuba going to turn to us and make a deal? I think so. I mean, look, I've been hearing
05:03about
05:03Cuba since I'm a little boy. They've been saying, what's going on with Cuba? And I think we'll be
05:08turning it. Marco's been very effective and the whole group has been very effective. It's, yeah,
05:14I think they're going to have to come to us. It's a failed nation. It's a totally failed nation.
05:18And they're taking the aid now. They're taking the aid. They want aid. They need help.
05:23But Axios is reporting that Cuba has acquired more than 300 military drones and is discussing
05:29plans to use them to attack U.S. bases and assets if a conflict breaks out. So, Mike, given that,
05:37which scenario is true here? Are they going to take the aid? Are they going to make the fundamental
05:42changes? Or are they planning an attack on the U.S.? So I've got to say this first. We didn't
05:47send the
05:48state department. We sent the CIA. And if that's not symbolic, 60 plus years after the Bay of Pigs,
05:53that was a very strategic message by President Trump. So the drones are concerning one sourced by
06:00both Russia and Iran. Would Cuba make the fundamental mistake of attacking the United States?
06:05It would be their doom. I think ultimately, too, we're bringing law warfare into this scenario with
06:12Roel Castro and the downing of an American plane where four Americans were killed.
06:16If he doesn't need a better example, it's called Maduro. We can't find you. We'll come in and get you.
06:21But, you know, for Cuba, what Trump has done is put them into a position where this regime can fall
06:28without a shot fired. We saw Maduro and Venezuela go down. Now Iran, another source of financing and
06:35material support for Cuba. They are isolated. The best scenario for them is to play ball or they
06:41will lose this regime, period. Mike, first of all, thank you for your service. This is a patriotic
06:47time. And thank you for stepping up and serving our country. But the second thing is you've got this
06:53a new season coming up on Fox Nation of Unsung of Arlington. Tell us about it. What will you see
06:59this
06:59year? Yeah, this is season two. So I was thrilled to hear it was renewed. I've got to give a
07:05thank you
07:05to Fox Nation and Fox News. There is no other news network. I'll tell you, you know, Joey and I
07:11know
07:11what station was playing overseas. It was Fox. You guys have always been committed to veterans in the
07:16military causes and are fallen. So thank you for that. Those Navy still said TVs.
07:21So, you know, this exists to remind Americans that real people with real names, real families gave their
07:28fair tomorrow for our today. And those names matter. I remember we were at dinner two, three weeks ago.
07:32I barely remember that part. But you mentioned two names. Yeah. Greer and Holly. That's right.
07:37Two of your teammates. Floyd and Daniel. Yeah. I remember those names. They matter to him. They
07:42matter to me. They should have mattered to the American people. The thing about Arlington is it's not
07:47just a cemetery. I say it's America's ledger for freedom. And each of those headstones are a receipt
07:52that was paid for freedom. That is a little uncomfortable to think about. But as you hear
07:57these stories of these amazing men and women that we cover, they're inspirational. And the greatest
08:03thing we can do is, you know, the greatest monument is not a marble headstone. It's actually
08:07turning inspiration into action. They believed in this country and what we could be and what we can
08:12be. It just takes all of us to commit to that. And so this is an inspirational, motivational piece
08:18to remember our fallen and hopefully get the American people to say, what more can I do for my country,
08:23my community, my family, my company to put us in a better place. So very humbled at the fact that
08:30I got to participate in a small way in this series.
08:33I'm so excited about it, man. I haven't seen the first season. Full disclosure, didn't know about
08:39it. I'm going to go watch it. I'm going to post about it. I'm sure you got some stuff from
08:43Section
08:4360, our section down there from our generation, but then the whole place. And, you know, those
08:48marble tombstones that you talk about, that's what makes the whole place so solemn is that no matter
08:52who you were, no matter your rank, no matter the award that you received, it's that same grave
08:58marker. And it's so humble. And it's the humility of it that makes it stick. If you can't make it
09:02to
09:02Arlington, there's national cemeteries all over, all over the country with the same tombstones,
09:07brother. Thank you. Appreciate you. Thank you all. United States Marine. Also did a little Navy
09:12sales stuff, but listen, that's season two of the unsung of Arlington streams exclusively on Fox
09:18Nation starting tomorrow. Let's check it out. I'll watch it with you tomorrow.
09:24Guys. Yeah. Mike's going on to do greater things. He stopped by to see us, had some great answers.
09:31Tommy, I'll go to you first. You can pick any of the topics. He had a lot to say about
09:34Iran.
09:34I love the point he made about they sent the CIA to Cuba. And then, of course,
09:39Arlington National Cemetery. There's so much there. First of all, I want to say with the
09:43unsung at Arlington, beautiful. And I want to go watch it as well. Fox Nation has such a wonderful
09:48library of military and veteran appreciation shows. Everyone go check out Fox Nation. I guess I want to
09:54go back to Iran because a lot of the stuff that he said, we've been mulling over this for the
09:58last few
09:58weeks. We've had the ceasefire. And some of the things that he said to me was new information or
10:03new analysis, which I really appreciated. And I think I have renewed hope, right, that the end of
10:11this could be brighter than we could even imagine. Yeah. Jason, I think, you know, I don't want to put
10:16words in his mouth, but to kind of summarize what he said, which makes sense to me is when I
10:21look at
10:21Iran, we've taken largely their ability to attack outside Iran away. We really haven't disturbed their
10:27ability to rule Iran, their actual boots on the ground military. And he made a distinction between
10:31essentially what is the RGC and their kind of heavy hand and the regular military. If you add it all
10:37together with their version of reserves, I think it's like a million man army. So it's not a small
10:41thing. And his idea, which we didn't do in Iraq, which is basically leave a power structure there
10:46and humble it so you can work with it. And that makes more sense to me. It's a tough equation.
10:52Look,
10:52you've got 90 million people there in Iran. They, for the last 47, 48 years, they've only heard and
10:58listened to Death to America. They don't necessarily know how to live in the first world and be a
11:04responsible country. And so how do you do that without ultimately going in there and being the
11:09nation builder? I think President Trump has found the right balance that we had to take out the threat.
11:15But at the same time, we also need them to stop firing on everybody and stop. I mean,
11:20they fire on their neighbors. They fire, they want to fire on us and certainly Israel. So
11:25his perspective, I think is spot on. It comes with experience.
11:28You know, Anita, I have to believe there's a battle plan that's pulled out, dusted off and
11:33looked at every couple of years for Cuba. It's so close. It's small. The idea that we could do what
11:38we needed to there isn't really a question. But the idea that he called it lawfare, that's fair.
11:43But this, you know, going in and saying, listen, we could put this old man in jail or you could
11:49exile yourself and we could get rid of this problem. It feels like that's what they're trying
11:53to say.
11:53Well, I mean, he gave a good example of look what happened to Maduro, right? I mean,
11:57that could easily happen to the president of Cuba. You know, and they are in dire straits there.
12:04I mean, they have, you know, blackouts. They have no fuel. The people are hungry. There's lines for
12:10everything. They have every incentive to take this deal from President Trump, take the humanitarian
12:15aid and, you know, cooperate and not be an enemy of the United States. But we're going to see what
12:21happens. You know, nothing is done until it's done. You know, Tommy, the hard, in fact, truth of it is
12:27if Cuba never aligns with Soviet Union or even China eventually, if they never align with that and we
12:35don't have the 13 days crisis where we think there are nukes, we pretty much knew there were nukes in
12:39Cuba. Chances are we don't care near as much as, you know, not that we're evil people. But in other
12:44words, when we talk about regime change, it's completely different than changing the regime's
12:49perspective. And I always say that Trump doesn't care who's in charge of the country. He just cares
12:53that they fear us more than our enemies. And so when we look at Cuba, there's got to be a
12:56class of
12:57people that are empowered by the way that government runs, just like Iran. And to think those people
13:01are going away quietly isn't exactly common sense. So, you know, what happened in Venezuela? It's
13:07Maduro's right hand woman who's now in charge. It's just, will they be more friendly to us? Not
13:12necessarily. I don't know if things changed in Venezuela for Venezuelans. I don't know that
13:15Cuba is going to completely change. Well, I'll say Cuba and Venezuela are very different animals
13:20to Iran. Their perspective, what motivates them, so different. That's why I see much more success,
13:26not only what we're seeing in Venezuela, but also in Cuba. I have to know because my husband is Cuban
13:30and his parents are from Cuba. Yeah. And there are so many patriotic Cuban Americans,
13:34right? We have to remember how close we are to Cuba, by the way. I do think that they have
13:39a
13:39real opportunity, but it's not like Iran where you're trying to change their religion, their
13:42ideology. They're so, I believe their people are so close to us and freedom loving and freedom
13:47wanting. I see real promise for the Cuban people. And if you look at the Venezuelan people, similar to
13:52a lot of the Iranian Americans, they celebrated when we took out Maduro. Yeah. There are a lot of
13:58Cuban Americans and a lot of Cubans that would celebrate if they could see something different.
14:02I campaigned, Jason, I campaigned with Marco Rubio in 2015 in Florida, and it's real. It's
14:07palatable. I saw it. The patriotism, but also the belief. I mean, there are people that are still
14:13alive that exiled from Cuba, and they still believe that their family can return, that they can be
14:19reunited with a Cuba that isn't under a dictatorship, and it feels within reach. Yeah. And addressing the
14:27wet foot, dry foot policy and figuring out how to make them, again, they're so close.
14:3290 miles off the coast of our country. Marco Rubio knows this inside and out. I've been to Cuba.
14:39I mean, it is locked in the 1950s. The people, when you get on the countryside, they're lovely.
14:44They're wonderful. They don't hate America. No. But their leadership has got to change because
14:51they're so oppressed. It's sad to see it playing out. It'd be interesting. The president can walk and
14:56chew gum at the same time. He's got Cuba, Nigeria, what's happening in Iran. Venezuela's still going.
15:03Yeah. The world, maybe, maybe, coming to a better place. Yeah. Just visited China.
15:07What about Grinch?
15:07What about Grinch?
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