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Today on Washington Watch: Breaking down the agreement with Iran; Funding important areas of America’s defense; Stopping Antifa terrorists; A new lawsuit against a health association regarding deceptive practices in the treatment of children suffering from gender dysphoria; Growing problems associated with the ever-changing gambling industry.
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June 18, 2026 · 59 min · Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video
Today on Washington Watch: Breaking down the agreement with Iran; Funding important areas of America’s defense; Stopping Antifa terrorists; A new lawsuit against a health association regarding deceptive practices in the treatment of children suffering from gender dysphoria; Growing problems associated with the ever-changing gambling industry. ...more Show the full description Show less Today on Washington Watch: Breaking down the agreement with Iran; Funding important areas of America’s defense; Stopping Antifa terrorists; A new lawsuit against a health association regarding deceptive practices in the treatment of children suffering from gender dysphoria; Growing problems associated with the ever-changing gambling industry.
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In this video 0:00 News Brief: Iran Deal Signed, WPATH Sued, UAE Bans Social Media for Kids7:33 Iran MOU Analysis and Capitol Hill Battles: FISA, SAVE Act, Antifa19:58 Expert Critique: Why the Iran Deal Falls Short29:38 WPATH Lawsuit: Exposing Deceptive Gender Transition Practices42:02 Prediction Markets Exposed: Kentucky Sues Gambling PlatformsComments No comments yet. Start the conversation.
News Brief: Iran Deal Signed, WPATH Sued, UAE Bans Social Media for Kids 0:00 Hello. I'm Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council and host of Washington Watch. Thanks for tuning in. Every day, we offer a biblical perspective on the news as well as insightful interviews with elected0:12 leaders, newsmakers, and culture experts. We have a great program planned for you today, but 1st, get up to speed on the top headlines with Washington Stan's news brief.0:27 Welcome to the Washington Stan news brief. I'm Quinn Dellamater bringing you today's big stories. 1st, the current status of things regarding Iran. The US released the memorandum0:39 with Iran to the public yesterday. However, Trump warned that the deal is not final and said that the US and Iran have now opened a 60 day period for further negotiation. While the0:51 signing ceremony was originally planned to be Friday in Switzerland, Trump ended up signing the document at Versailles yesterday surrounded by secretary of state Marco Rubio as well as president of1:03 France Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte. The president of Iran also signed the agreement. Vice president JD Vance addressed the American people from the White House earlier today.1:14 I think the president's peace plan in Iran is already bearing real fruits for the American people. Last night, 12500000 barrels of oil went to the Strait of Hormuz. That is a high since the beginning of the conflict.
1:26 Oil prices are down nearly at their level from the prewar conflict. Gas prices dropped below 4 dollars a gallon today for the 1st time since the conflict. And importantly, they're gonna keep falling further given how low
1:38 price low oil prices are. On the, military side, the Iranians for the 2nd night in a row did not shoot at any ships in the Strait of Hormuz. So so far, they are honoring their end of the
1:49 commitment. And on the blockade, CENTCOM has allowed north of a dozen ships to go through our naval blockade, and so we're also honoring our end of the early part of the agreement.
1:59 Despite the signing happening early, Vance said that he will still travel to Switzerland this weekend for meetings and discussion. Trump warned that the US reserves the right to start bombing Iran again
2:11 if it doesn't cooperate. Next up, the Federal Trade Commission has sued the World Professional Association for Transgender Health for allegedly giving misleading advice to parents of
2:23 children struggling with gender dysphoria to undergo harmful treatments. Other states named in the lawsuit are Alaska, Nebraska, Iowa and Texas. The WPATH
2:35 Standards of Care document removed all age restrictions for certain surgeries. The complaint also describes conversations in which parents were asked by doctors if they would rather
2:47 have a live daughter or a dead son, suggesting that surgery attempting to change their child's gender was the only way to prevent inevitable suicide. For our last story,
2:59 following in the footsteps of the United Kingdom last week, the UAE has now also instituted a social media ban for minors under the age of 15. The UAE is the 1st
3:11 Arab country to make such a law. Teenagers aged 15 and 16 will be allowed to use social media platforms subject to enhanced safeguards, including age appropriate content
3:22 controls, restrictions on interaction with unknown users, screen time management tools and parental supervision features. Social media platforms in the UAE must comply adopting
3:34 a multi step verification for users. Simply stating your birthday will not be enough. The process will include digital identity checks and artificial intelligence supported technologies.
3:46 This comes as a part of a global effort to increase the online safety of children.
3:52 I'm very happy actually because, kids social media is killing, creativities if you ask me. Kids does not read anymore. They're always when
4:04 their friends come over, they all go on the Internet, on social media, TikTok. They play games with even with each other in the same room, so they better get out, play like we used to do.
4:16 Social media sites will have 12 months to make the necessary changes to their platforms. I'm Quindellamater and that's today's news. You can dive deeper at the Washington Stand Family Research Council's
4:28 outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. We'll be back tomorrow with more stories that matter, so make sure to tune in.
4:53 From the heart of our nation's capital in Washington, DC, bringing compelling interviews, a win win
5:11 situation for a win win situation for the United States of America. If the Iranians don't change their behavior, their military and their nuclear program is still destroyed. If they do change their behavior, then
5:23 they are gonna have a transformative relationship with the Middle East, and the Middle East will have a transformative relationship with the people of Iran. That's a win for the American people and for the president of
5:34 the United States regardless of which option the Iranians ultimately choose.
5:39 That was vice president JD Vance discussing the US Iran deal that was signed last night by president Trump and Iran's president. Welcome to this Thursday, June 18th edition of Washington Watch. I'm your guest host, Casey
5:51 Harper, filling in for Tony today. I'm the managing editor for broadcast at the Washington Stand and also host the outstanding podcast. Thanks for tuning in. Well, coming up, doctor AJ Nolte, director of Regent
6:02 University's Israel Institute, will join us to give his assessment of the 14 paragraph memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran. What needs to be hashed out before we end this new 60 day
6:14 negotiating window that we've just entered? Plus, the Federal Trade Commission, together with 4 states, have filed a lawsuit against the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, WPATH, over its
6:26 deceptive lobbying for so called gender transition for minors. Pediatric endocrinologist doctor Quentin Van Meter of the American College of Pediatricians will join us to discuss. And Florida congressman Greg
6:38 Stubbe will also be joining us to discuss the ongoing battles on Capitol Hill. All that and more is straight ahead. Well, president Trump and
6:49 Iran's president have both signed a deal framework to end the conflict in Iran. Joining me now to discuss this is Washington Watch reporter Mary Stackhouse. Mary, what are the latest developments?
7:01 So, Casey, both president Trump and president Masoud Pozeshkian put their signatures on the memorandum yesterday. Lot of moving fast moving developments here. The deal comes 2 days earlier than previously
7:13 expected. Photos published today show Iran's president signing the memorandum of understanding. In a video posted on president Emmanuel Macron's ex account, president Trump can be seen signing the agreement next to him
7:25 at Versailles. The White House also released footage of the signing. The deal framework calls for the Strait of Permian to be opened immediately and for the US US blockade of Iran's ports to be
Iran MOU Analysis and Capitol Hill Battles: FISA, SAVE Act, Antifa
7:37 lifted. The agreement also calls for Iran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, and it waives US backed sanctions on Iran. Now the White House has reportedly sent a copy of the framework to
7:49 congress. Now critics are speaking out. Republican senator Roger Wicker, who's chair of the senate armed services committee criticized the deal, and he said that it's completely out of step with president's goals. He
7:59 said that he's against the lifting of any sanctions by the US for Iran. He said that he also opposes unfreezing Iran's funds in an exchange for Iran's mere agreement to negotiate for another 60
8:11 days. We'll be watching for more reaction from lawmakers and continue to track these developments. Casey?
8:17 Thanks, Mary. Now vice president JD Vance says that the 60 day period of talks to reach a final with Iran starts today. What did he say about this agreement?
8:27 So, Casey, now that the memorandum of understanding has been signed, there are tough negotiations ahead for the US and Iran. Vice president Vance says that the final negotiations can set the terms of what comes
8:38 afterwards. In the press briefing earlier today at White House, vice president Vance echoed the president's statement that the Strait of Hormuz should be free of tolls. He was also asked where things stand with Israel
8:48 and Lebanon. Here's what president, vice president Nance had to say.
8:53 What you've seen is radical progress in Lebanon, less shooting, less firing, but you're still gonna have these little flares from time to time. And that's just the sort of thing that we're gonna have to manage through
9:03 the diplomatic process. Eventually, what we wanna see is the Lebanese government, the elected representatives of the people of Lebanon who are able to police Southern Lebanon so that Hezbollah has not taken over the
9:14 country. The Israelis are not threatened. And then consequently, the Israelis are not attacking, Southern Lebanon or Beirut either. That's the plan there.
9:23 Now Iran has consistently said that any peace deal must also cover Lebanon. Hours after the memorandum between the US and Iran was signed, 3 Saudi super tankers and other ships were seen sailing through the
9:35 Strait of Hermeuz. 12500000 barrels of crude oil safely passed through the sea passage last night. Before the conflict, about 14000000 barrels per day of oil and 6000000 barrels per day of
9:47 refined products moved through the Strait of Hormuz. So big win that, big global win that the straits open. Casey?
9:54 Alright. Thanks, Mary. Appreciate the updates. While much of the press's attention is overseas on the US deal with Iran, there are still ongoing battles here in Washington DC that don't
10:06 appear close to a resolution. Joining us now to share his thoughts on what's been unfolding in DC is congressman Greg Stube, who serves on the house ways and means committee and the permanent select committee on
10:17 intelligence. He represents the 17th congressional district of Florida. Congressman, welcome back to Washington Watch.
10:24 Yeah. Thanks for having me.
10:25 Absolutely. Well, a major concern right now here in DC is section 7 0 2 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act known as FISA, which has expired, I guess, for nearly a week now. Now
10:37 president Trump said he wanted the Save America Act to be included now in the legislation to reauthorize 7 0 2. And then earlier today, by the vice president encouraged Republicans to give that a try. What are your
10:48 thoughts on all this?
10:50 Well, the the the real sticking point is the senate and what the senate's gonna do, because they've gotta get 60 votes over there to to pass anything. So when the president, nominated, Pulte to be DNI, All the
11:02 Democrats backed away, and suddenly shut everything down. Last week when we were up there, that was supposed to pass, come to the house, and we were supposed to pass it out. There's been a court case that there was a
11:13 federal court case that stated that congress didn't have to reauthorize it for the agencies to continue to use 7 0 2. And just to be clear to your viewers so they understand, there's FISA title 1, FISA title
11:25 2, and FISA 7 0 2. 7 0 2 is foreign surveillance. So we're talking about looking after the communications of people outside of our country who wish to do us harm. I can't think of anybody that that
11:37 thinks it's a good idea to not reauthorize a program that allows us to surveil, foreign entities and foreigners outside of our country that wish to do us harm. So hopefully, they can get this
11:48 worked out. I don't I don't think the Democrats are gonna change their position, anytime soon, but we in the house have passed the Save Act multiple times. I think we've passed it 2 or 3 times. And, again, the
12:00 senate is a hold up on passing the Save Act because of the filibuster that I've called since October to do away with the filibuster to pass the Save Act into law.
12:09 You know, does the Save Act? I mean, now it was not previously really tied to FISA in the same way as now that president has suggested. It could be. But when people hear about the Save Act, it sounds like common sense. I
12:19 mean, it's voter ID. You have to have a an ID to get on an airplane. Certainly, you have to have an airplane. Certainly, you have to have an ID to buy certain things at the grocery store, but you you can't vote. You can
12:29 vote without an ID. I don't know. How what are the justifications you're hearing from the Democrats who are just refusing to vote for the Save Act?
12:37 80 percent of Democrats support having valid ID to vote to ensure that there's a sanctity in the vote. But Democrats in the senate don't want that to happen because in places like California and New York, they send
12:48 ballots out to illegal immigrants. They send ballots out to noncitizens. They send ballots out to just about everybody, and there's no quality control on the who those people are and if they're registered to vote, if
13:00 they're citizens of our country. So they know that it would change the outcome of the vote very significantly, especially in Democrat run cities and states. So that's why they don't want it. This is a political
13:09 calculation for them. They care more about illegals having the ability to vote in some of these states than they do about citizens having the ability to vote because they know that if it's just citizens, the amount of
13:20 people voting for Democrats will go down substantially.
13:23 I I wanna play a clip for you. President Trump did later say that the Save America Act could be passed in other ways, maybe softening the position. But however it's done, that it needs to pass before FISA is
13:34 reauthorized. Let's take a listen.
13:36 I mean, that's all we want. It's not a lot. The Save America Act, and that can be passed any way they wanna pass it, but I'm not gonna sign FISA unless it's So, I
13:47 mean, we think you made your position clear, made laid out some good arguments, for the Save America Act. But politically, it feels like a tall order, isn't it?
13:55 Well, politically, you have about 4 Republican senators who refuse to nuke the the filibuster to pass the Save Act. The only way that you pass it is gonna be with Republican votes. And if you're you're not
14:07 willing to nuke the filibuster and do away with that 60 vote threshold to pass it, it's not gonna pass. And by putting it with FISA, we could do that in the house and send it over, but it's gonna go back over to the
14:18 senate, and it's gonna die because it needs 60 votes to pass. The Democrats won't vote to reauthorize FISA if it has the Save Act on it. And if we do it through the reconciliation process, the parliamentarian in the
14:29 sense is gonna take it out because it's policy and not budgetary. So the sticking point has been this entire congress in the senate because we have Republican senators who are unwilling to do what the American people
14:41 want us to do and pass the Save Act.
14:43 I wanna switch topics a bit. There's another item that congress is working through right now, the National Defense Authorization Act. There's been progress in both chamber chambers, but some are suggesting it it's not
14:54 gonna be smooth sailing as we've maybe seen in years past. What are the obstacles you're seeing?
14:59 I've always been a big, opponent of foreign aid in the NDAA. I don't understand why we're sending hundreds of millions of dollars, in some case, billions of dollars to foreign countries in our in our National Defense
15:10 Authorization Act. So that I'm sure is gonna come up as an issue. We have a very slim majority in the house. It's a 3 vote majority in the house. So if all the d's are down, obviously, you have to have most, if not all,
15:22 the Republicans to vote it out. Now typically, the NDAA is somewhat bipartisan in nature, so we'll have to see what the Democrats do. But the at the end of the day, it's what is in in it when it gets to the
15:34 floor, what amendments get passed when it gets to the floor. But this is the the National Defense Authorization Act that funds a lot of our military operations.
15:43 Yeah. The clock is ticking on both those issues. But while we have you, earlier this month, you introduced the house companion to senator Rick Scott's stop Antifa act, which is legislation to designate Antifa
15:55 as a domestic terrorist organization. I want you to tell us about that.
15:59 Yeah. So the president designated them by executive order as a domestic terrorist organization. I think congress needs to back up president Trump and make this actually pass it as a as a law to
16:11 ensure that a new president comes in that can change that executive order. I'm all for peaceful protests, but when you're burning down buildings, when you're attacking our law enforcement officers, when you're conspiring
16:22 to impede law enforcement officers in their function, you're acting as a domestic terrorist organization. You should be treated as such.
16:29 Yeah. With the violence that we've seen, as you mentioned, the birdings or it just makes me wonder how many, how many cars do you have to set on fire before your domestic terrorist organization, especially when we had
16:40 the previous administration calling, you know, Catholic parents or Christian parents or parents who go and share their opinion that school board's potential terrorists. It seems like a a no brainer.
16:50 Yeah. I just wanna back up the president. I think the president was right to designate them as a terrorist organization. I think Congress needs to do the same. I'm happy to work with senator Scott on that. So we've got a
17:00 bicameral piece of legislation that'll hopefully work its way through the process. We can send it to the president's desk.
17:06 And I'm sure you've kept up with the Southern Poverty Law Center hearings, everything. Of course, we're very familiar here at Family Research Council with the antics and really, dangerous rhetoric and behavior of
17:17 Southern Poverty Law Center. But it was revealed at the congressional hearing where the interim CEO had to testify that while, you know, traditional Christian conservative groups like a a life sustaining freedom and
17:28 Family Research Council were put on their hate map, and then, of course, that inspired, violence against Family Research Council, Antifa didn't make the cut as a hate group. Do you think the left has a
17:40 problem recognizing that their own violence problem on their side?
17:44 Yeah. Imagine that. Isn't there isn't that a funny coincidence? Right. Yeah. Absolutely. As long as it is, ultimate to their goal, as long as it accomplishes what they wanna accomplish, they don't care if there's
17:56 violence, which is indicative by the fact that they haven't designated Antifa as a domestic violence, organization and have designated places like this, the Family Research Council. So, yeah,
18:08 absolutely. These are the type of things. I'm glad we have an administration that's looking at the fraud that's going on in the Southern, Poverty Law Center and and exposing a lot of the corruption that's been going on
18:18 in these organizations.
18:20 Absolutely agree. Well, thank you for joining us today, Florida congressman Greg Stube. Appreciate it.
18:25 Anytime.
18:27 Well, folks, I wanna, give you 1 quick update before we go. FRC's pray, vote, stand chapters initiative is equipping believers to engage locally, prayerfully, and biblically. Your church can get
18:39 involved and maybe they should. It's something worth praying about and looking into. Text chapters to 6 7 7 4 2. That's chapters 6 7 7 4 2. Coming up, we're talking the Iran deal. You won't wanna
18:51 miss it.
18:54 1 nation under God. America's undeniable foundation of faith.
19:04 Before America was exceptional, America was prayerful. Just as Paul urged Timothy, 1st of all, that prayer, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for all people,
19:16 our founding fathers understood deeply the command to be devoted to prayer. This great American experiment began as a mighty appeal to heaven, petitioning the lord
19:28 of heaven's armies to intervene for the righteous cause of liberty. As war began to sweep across the colonies, the Continental Congress called days of fasting countless
19:45 challenges countless challenges facing our young nation, John Adams declared national
19:57 days of solemn humiliation, fasting, and prayer to directly address the many trials and call on Americans to seek mercy and restoration. Years later, in
Expert Critique: Why the Iran Deal Falls Short
20:09 1 of America's darkest hours, Abraham Lincoln stood upon this unshakable foundation by calling the nation to repentance, declaring, it is the duty of nations as well as
20:21 of men to confess their sins in humble sorrow and to recognize that those nations only are blessed whose god is the lord. We have seen the hand of god
20:33 answer prayers again and again as our nation has turned to him. However, the wise warning of Ronald Reagan still stands. If we ever forget that we are 1 nation under god, god, we will
20:44 be a nation gone under. Through war, uncertainty, and turning points in history, many of our leaders have known where to turn. And now it's our turn. We echo the call
20:56 of George Washington 250 years ago, humbly to supplicate the mercy of almighty god, that it would please him to pardon all our manifold sins and transgressions, and
21:08 finally, establish the peace and freedom of America upon a solid and lasting foundation, the undeniable foundation of faith.
21:22 Looking for a trusted source of news that shares your Christian values? Turn to the Washington stand, your ultimate destination for informed faith centered reporting. Our dedicated team goes beyond the headlines,
21:34 delivering stories that matter most to believers. From breaking events to cultural insights, we provide clear, compassionate, events to cultural insights, we provide clear, compassionate coverage through a biblical lens.
21:43 Discover news you can trust at the Washington stand, where faith and facts meet every day.
21:55 Welcome back to Washington Watch. I'm your guest host, Casey Harper, filling in for Tony today. Thanks for tuning in. Reminder for you, for those in or around the Gainesville, Georgia area, it's not too late to join
22:07 Tony tonight, Thursday, June 18th, from 6 30 to 8 PM, soon as the show is over, for a live taping of this week on Capitol Hill, Tony's weekly program with house speaker Mike Johnson.
22:19 Now it will be at North Hall Church in Gainesville as part of FRC's faith, family, and future tour. So depending on how far away you are, you may wanna head out soon or jump in the car now even. We want you to
22:31 join us. Now for more details, you can text Georgia to 6 7 7 4 2. That's Georgia to 6 7 7 4 2. Alright. Back to the news. Last night in Versailles, president Trump signed a physical
22:43 copy of the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran, which is surprising. We thought that wouldn't happen till Friday while the Iranian president signed a copy in Tehran. That officially kicks off that 60 day
22:54 negotiating window that the 2 sides have to reach a final deal. And while some are expressing concerns about the framework that was agreed upon, vice president JD Vance is trying to assure Americans that it's a
23:06 win for the US. You really have
23:09 a win win situation for the United States of America. If the Iranians don't change their behavior, their military and their nuclear program is still destroyed. If they do change their behavior, then they are
23:20 gonna have a transformative relationship with the Middle East, and the Middle East will have a transformative relationship with the people of Iran. That's a win for the American people and for the president of the United
23:31 States regardless of which option the Iranians ultimately choose.
23:35 So is it a win? Well, joining us now to discuss this is doctor AJ Nolte, associate professor of politics at Regent University's Robertson School of Government and director of Regent's Israel Institute. Doctor
23:47 Nolte, welcome back to Washington Watch.
23:50 Thanks. It's great to be here.
23:51 I wanna get your assessment of this 14 paragraph MOU. What do you think?
23:58 Well, I I think I'm going to have to, as I often find myself doing on this program, disagree, with vice president. This is not a win. This could, under a very narrow set of circumstances,
24:09 become, kind of a partial win, but I'm not comfortable with what may be sacrificed to get there. My top line, I've read through the MOU draft very carefully a couple of times today. My top
24:21 line is as follows. Objectively, it's bad. It's probably not as bad for Israel, I think, as as some people are arguing. It is much worse for the United States than than people currently recognize. And so and
24:33 we can break that down if if it's if it's helpful.
24:35 Yeah. Please please do. Because there's a lot of, conflicting reporting. Even the details leading up to the real report coming out, you had sort of a Pakistani version, maybe a US version. You had leaks. So I I think
24:47 it's a lot to sift through. So that I would love to hear that from you.
24:50 Yeah. So just for clarity, I'm relying on the, version that's on both ABC News and NPR, which is word for word basically identical. Why is so why is it not as bad for Israel? Because, actually, Israel is not technically
25:01 a party. And the only thing that references Israel in this MOU is article 1. And the wording here is very interesting. It says that the US, Iran, and their allies in the war commit
25:13 to stopping, fighting on all fronts including Lebanon and that Lebanon's, sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected. The reason this is interesting is because Hezbollah, which Iran is
25:25 apparently treating as an ally, in this, conversation because they're talking about their allies, Hezbollah is the only ally they can meet, also has not signed, and Hezbollah is still conducting strikes in Israel and
25:35 strikes on, Israeli positions. And so if I'm the Israelis, I think, number 1, I don't sign until Hezbollah signs and Hezbollah actually implements. And 2, when we're talking about Lebanese sovereignty, per several UN
25:47 resolutions, notably 17 o 1 and agreements inside of Lebanon, all internal forces in Lebanon, militias are supposed to, throw down their arms and disarm, and the Lebanese Armed Forces are supposed to be the only
25:59 armed force inside of Lebanon. Hezbollah has been violating Lebanon's sovereignty since 19 89. And so if we're gonna respect and I think the Israelis can and should make this case. If we're gonna respect Lebanon's
26:10 sovereignty and territorial integrity, great. We'd love to negotiate with the government, but Hezbollah is not a sovereign entity. It is a militia that is in violation of multiple agreements to disarm, and so we will
26:22 sign when Hezbollah actually follows through with this commitment.
26:25 On the Israel side of this, which I think is is really fascinating, I wanna play a clip here. Yesterday, president Trump said he told Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that this deal gets Israel, quote, the most
26:35 important thing that he's been asking for, an Iran without a nuclear weapon. Take a listen.
26:41 Think of what Israel's getting. They're not gonna be nuked. Very simple. I told Bibi, Bibi, your biggest risk was that they drop a nuclear weapon into the
26:53 middle of Israel. They only need 1, and there would be no more Israel. Think of it, baby. You got the best the most important thing that you were asking for is that.
27:02 Yeah. I wanna get your reaction to that because while Israel is not named in the deal, they do very likely have the power to derail it through what they do in Lebanon.
27:11 Well, I think I think from the Israeli perspective, they just say, look. There's no deal in Lebanon until Hezbollah also signs on and Hezbollah disarms. And, I think the Trump administration would be wise to, back that
27:21 up because the reality is Hezbollah is violating Lebanon's sovereignty and that's in the deal. As far as the nuclear issue, here's the challenge. The way the deal is structured, you do front load a lot of concessions to
27:33 Iran, and Iran is not actually conceding anything because they say Iran affirms that we will not pursue nuclear weapons or reaffirms. So what they mean is they said, well, there's a fatwa that said we weren't gonna do
27:43 this. But the level of enrichment that they've reached before, was only suitable for nuclear weapons. So Iran is actually the way it's worded. They're not saying that they're changing anything. And so, you know,
27:55 hopefully, it gets rid of their nuclear program. We've already done a lot to do that, but we are chain we're doing a lot of upfront concessions for back end promises, which is exactly, the
28:07 complaint that all of us had about the JCPOA. And so Trump is, runs the very strong risk of walking down the Obama road here, and he does not wanna do that.
28:16 Well, that's that's that was gonna be my next question to you about trusting Iran. I mean, you can analyze the the pros and cons of the deal, but when you do that, you're sort of assuming that Iran follows through. And
28:26 now we are also heading into this 60 day negotiating window
28:30 Yeah.
28:30 Where they could theoretically try to renege on some of this. So is there any reason to believe that Tayron could be stalling for time here, and not really even being sincere?
28:40 Yeah. Absolutely. I mean, that's I would say that's absolutely what they're doing. And there there's 1 other poison pill in this in this that's really important. It's in I think it's in, 0.5 where it talks about the
28:51 Strait of Hormuz. It says in the MOU that Iran will negotiate with Oman and other littoral states, that states that border the Strait of Hormuz for the final disposition of the Strait. The United States Navy has been
29:01 predicated on the idea of free navigation of the seas, meaning nobody gets to toll, nobody gets to decide who goes through and who doesn't go through, strategic waterways. And so if we are actually going to cede
29:13 that permission and and change that doctrine, in an MOU with Iran, that has huge implications for China, that has huge implications for things like the Panama Canal. And that's something that actually congress is
29:24 probably gonna wanna weigh in on because our navy is based on the idea of we're gonna maintain free navigation of the seas.
29:31 Great perspective. As always, thank you for joining us today, doctor AJ Nolte of Regent University. Appreciate it.
29:36 Happy to be here. Thank you.Show more
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