00:00Where do things stand? And does it feel like we're approaching a moment where something is potentially going to change?
00:05That's right. It certainly does not feel that way. So mediators are in Tehran.
00:10The president, you know, of course, held off, said that he held off on strikes earlier this week because he
00:17was really urged by allies,
00:19Gulf allies to do so and who had told them that there was really serious negotiations underway, that there was
00:24progress being made.
00:25It's really unclear whether that is actually happening.
00:30You know, we saw comments from the Ayatollah this week or spoke to Reuters saying that they would not hand
00:36over the highly enriched uranium.
00:39You know, this is after Trump has been saying for a long time that that is a key point.
00:43That is something that, you know, he wants Iran to hand over that highly enriched uranium.
00:48They want to take it out. He even spoke, you know, in some detail to reporters about how, you know,
00:54they would go in together after after the hostilities ended.
00:59And so we're just seeing a lot of, you know, as we have been for weeks, just a lot of
01:03conflicting messages about where we actually stand,
01:07what progress is being made and really what the other side has agreed to.
01:11So right now we're just really in a holding pattern as we have been for weeks now, frankly.
01:15And I think what's what's different about now is, you know, the president said he held off on these strikes.
01:21He also said he gave sort of a loose deadline when he spoke to reporters.
01:24He said, you know, maybe I'll give them until Friday or Saturday or Sunday or early next week.
01:29So we're sort of tracking a kind of loose early next week deadline for Iran to get back to the
01:35United States about potentially, you know, a counteroffer.
01:39But the last couple of counteroffers we've seen, Trump has just completely discarded them and said they were non-starters.
01:45And to your point, it doesn't seem like these two parties are any closer on the deal breakers.
01:49They haven't moved on the really big things.
01:52The other big thing is, of course, that the strait is still closed.
01:55And our commodities columnist, Javier Blas, has a column out this week talking about there could be a reality that
02:00the strait does not open for quite a while,
02:03talking about how the Suez was shut down for years during that conflict, so much so that the boats actually
02:08rusted waiting to go through.
02:10Is this a reality that you think the White House is willing or ready to face?
02:15Are they planning a contingency plan for this or for the other alternative, which is you now have this possible
02:21negotiation with Iran and Oman trying to create a permanent toll system through the strait if it does open?
02:28Yeah, it's a great question.
02:30I actually asked the president about this a few weeks ago, about whether he would be OK with any—you know,
02:36he's been asked several times,
02:37but what he told me was that, you know, there would—absolutely not, that he would not be OK with a
02:43kind of toll system or any kind of restrictions,
02:46or the Iranians really controlling anything about the strait.
02:49You know, he said basically that the only thing he would accept is it completely opening.
02:53But again, when we think about the reality here, it's really unclear whether that is going to be feasible or
03:01even if it does open.
03:03I think now the fear is that Iran could just close it at any time, that this could be—this is
03:08a point of leverage now for them,
03:10something that they've realized that they have a lot of control over.
03:13I think, you know, the president has said that he will not lift the naval blockade.
03:18That's something that Iran needs or said that they need in order to open the strait.
03:23He says that under no circumstances will he lift the blockade unless a peace deal is finalized and there's something
03:30that is signed and done.
03:32So it seems with everything with this war, I think it's really interesting.
03:37The president, I think his top advisers are saying, you know, this is a huge concern for the midterms.
03:43Gas prices are so high.
03:44This war is very unpopular.
03:46But we heard the president this week say, essentially, everyone is telling me that this war is unpopular.
03:52He acknowledged that.
03:53He said that, you know, people are saying that this war is unpopular.
03:56But I think it's actually more popular than it is.
03:59And there seems to be sort of a digging in by the president saying, you know, like it's this.
04:05I think this is important enough to continue.
04:07And we're seeing that in a lot of ways, you know, as this drags on and as gas prices get
04:13higher and higher and more.
04:15There's more anxiety heading into the midterms.
04:16The president seems to say this is worth it for him.
04:20Kate, Christine and I were both on the terrace here at Bloomberg yesterday looking to the skies to see if
04:24we could see those Ospreys carrying you and the other reporters.
04:26And President Trump to Rockland County for this event that he did for Mike Lawler, the congressman in upstate New
04:31York.
04:32You were there for that event.
04:34I was wondering before we spoke with you this morning how much Congressman Lawler wanted the president to be there.
04:38He said, you know, if the president says he's coming to your district, you have him come to your district.
04:41But he is in a tenuous and difficult position here, the congressman, trying to hold on to that seat, which
04:47is heavily contested.
04:48What did you make of the comments from the president last night and the kind of welcome and reception that
04:51he got there in Rockland County?
04:54Yeah, it was interesting because so Kamala Harris won that district.
04:59Lawler is facing a really tough reelection fight.
05:02He's a very vulnerable House Republican.
05:05I think, you know, what we saw, what I felt like I saw from the president yesterday was him sort
05:11of trying to test out his midterm messaging, trying to really focus on the things that his advisers and allies
05:19have asked him to focus on, which is really domestic issues, the economy.
05:23He talked about salt. There was a lot of, you know, it seemed like we heard sort of a preview
05:31of what we're going to hear a lot of from the president as we head into the midterms, as he
05:35starts traveling more and getting out onto the road.
05:37I think the president also, frankly, just, you know, I covered his 2024 campaign and ended up going to more
05:43than 200 rallies.
05:44You know, and it was I think he he does enjoy being out on the road and giving these speeches.
05:51And I'll also note that it was interesting and perhaps it was just New York.
05:56But there was there were several protesters at different points in the speech who were escorted out.
06:02I don't remember the last time that I saw that many protesters at different times being escorted out.
06:07But in terms of the president's speech, he really tried to focus on the domestic issues and and less on
06:16Iran, which is something that I think a lot of the people who are in his base really want him
06:22to be focusing on at this moment.
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