Trump Wants Gulf Royals To Pay Him Trillions For Wrecking the Middle East

 

https://twitter.com/i/status/2035380188922479047

Trump interested in Arab countries paying for war against Iran - White House

Kyiv • UNN

Karoline Leavitt stated Trump's interest in Arab countries funding the war. The President will later elaborate on plans regarding this issue.

 

White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said that US President Donald Trump would be interested in calling on Arab countries to pay the costs of his war against Iran, and added that, in her opinion, the president could speak in more detail on this issue, reports UNN with reference to The Guardian.

Details

When asked if Arab countries were ready to help pay for the war, Leavitt replied that she would not get ahead of herself, but Trump had such an idea.

Many Mideast News Sites Reporting Attack Upon Kuwait Was Attack Upon US Marines

 

[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1lRjgHZeBEjrBgQAdR3xJqvnN_JA&ehbc=2E312F&w=640&h=480]

[Arab, Turkish and Kurd News sites seeming to confirm Iranian reports of massive Mar 28th attack upon Kuwait and allegedly US MARINES, who had been assembled there for invasion.]

Wave 84 continues: IRGC Navy hits US, Israeli targets in Kuwait, Dubai

By Al Mayadeen English

IRGC naval forces launch missile and drone strikes on US targets in Dubai and Kuwait during wave 84 of Operation True Promise 4, causing casualties and sinking ships.

In continuation of the 84th wave of Operation True Promise 4, the naval forces of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) carried out a joint assault targeting Israeli and US forces in the Banda Shweikh Port, the Dubai coastline, and Dubai’s port facilities.

The operation employed a combination of ballistic and Ghadr 380 cruise missiles against six US LCU (Landing Craft Utility) warships stationed at the Shweikh port. According to field reports, three of these vessels were directly hit and sank, while the remaining ships were reported to be ablaze.

In addition, the IRGC Navy carried out drone attacks targeting assembly points for US Marine officers along the coast and one hotel in Dubai, with strikes reportedly carried out with high precision. The combined operations, in addition to the sinking of tactical boats, resulted in a significant number of US casualties.

US military personnel on Bubiyan Island neutralized

Reflecting on the second batch of wave 84, the spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters stated that the IRGC Navy, acting under full control and supervision, responded forcefully to the provocations of "enemy forces".

The spokesperson added that the sudden, coordinated assault on Bubiyan Island, using a mix of one-way drones and ballistic missiles, successfully neutralized multiple US military personnel, with the wounded transferred to Saleh Al-Sabah, Mohammad Al-Ahmad, and Ali Al-Salem hospitals [GOVT. HOSPITALS].

Field sources indicated that these hospitals were placed under full lockdown, restricting access for Kuwaiti patients while treating the wounded, which sparked protests among the local population.

The IRGC’s Naval Force stated that it would continue its “devastating strikes” against US military personnel in the region until they are “completely eradicated from Muslim lands.”

Additionally, the IRGC stated that it destroyed and severely damaged several US aerial refueling aircraft and the logistical support HQ in the Al-Kharj Base in Saudi Arabia, also as part of wave 84.

[The same day attacks in Kuwait--ed.]

Drone, Missile Attack Targets Kuwait’s Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port, Causes Material Damage

Kuwait’s Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port. (Photo: Aecom)

Apocalyptic Scenes In Kuwait As Iran Punishes U.S. Ally With Huge Attacks On Twin Ports | WATCH

 

Iran has escalated its campaign in the Gulf, targeting Kuwait’s key economic lifelines. Two major ports — including Shuwaikh Port — were hit in coordinated attacks on March 27, sending shockwaves across the region. Kuwait’s main commercial hub sustained material damage after being struck by Iranian drones, while hours later, Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port on Bubiyan Island was hit by drones and cruise missiles. Authorities have confirmed no casualties so far, but the strikes mark a dangerous escalation — targeting critical infrastructure at the heart of Gulf trade and supply chains

10 military personnel injured in attack on armed forces camp

 

 

 

Col Saud Al-Atwan

 

Most missiles and drones intercepted • Some damage from falling debris

 

KUWAIT: The defense ministry announced Sunday that the armed forces detected and dealt with 14 hostile ballistic missiles and 12 hostile drones within Kuwaiti airspace over the past 24 hours. Defense Ministry Spokesperson Col Saud Al-Atwan said during a media briefing that a number of those projectiles struck one of the armed forces camps, resulting in the injury of 10 personnel, who are receiving the necessary treatment, in addition to material damage at the site. Warehouses belonging to a private logistics company were also targeted, causing material damage only, with no human casualties recorded.

He added that the total number of hostile aerial threats detected since the beginning of the aggression on February 28 has reached 307 ballistic missiles, two cruise missiles and 616 drones. He affirmed that armed forces personnel continue to carry out their national duties with a high level of readiness and discipline and remain firmly committed to executing their missions to protect the homeland and preserve its security and stability.

He prayed to Almighty God to continue to bestow upon Kuwait the blessings of security and safety under the wise leadership of HH the Amir, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, and HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.

Meanwhile, the interior ministry said explosive ordnance disposal teams handled 11 reports related to falling debris resulting from interception operations over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of such reports since the beginning of the aggression to 599. Interior Ministry Spokesperson Brig Gen Nasser Buslaib said sirens were activated 12 times during the past 24 hours, raising the total number of activations since the start of the aggression to 158. He presented a video highlighting the efforts of EOD teams in handling reports of falling debris or objects outside threat zones.

He stressed that security begins with the cooperation of citizens and residents with security authorities through awareness in handling information, emphasizing that the responsibility today is to verify accuracy and refrain from circulating or reposting any unverified news due to its harm to security efforts and its impact on stability. He urged everyone to rely solely on official sources and act with awareness and responsibility, warning that spreading or promoting false information exposes individuals to legal accountability under applicable laws.

The ministry of electricity, water and renewable energy affirmed that electricity and water systems remain stable and under control despite damage to some components of the electrical grid caused by falling debris from air defense interception operations. Ministry Spokesperson Fatima Hayat said that, with the continued aggression, seven overhead transmission lines in various areas were recently damaged by debris. Four of these lines were repaired and restored to service within less than 24 hours in coordination with security authorities, while two additional lines were repaired the following day.

She explained that the total number of affected overhead transmission lines has reached 22, of which 20 have been repaired, with work ongoing to complete repairs on the remaining two. She added that a fuel tank at Al-Subiya power generation and water distillation plant, which sustained damage in recent weeks, is currently being repaired by specialized technical teams, noting that due to the extent of the damage, full rehabilitation will require more time.

Hayat said the ministry reaffirms its commitment to transparency and strengthening trust with citizens and residents through continuous communication via its official channels to ensure accurate information delivery, calling on the public to follow its official social media accounts for updates on electricity and water and to disregard rumors. She stressed that everyone shares responsibility in preserving national resources and that rationalizing electricity and water consumption is a collective duty that supports system sustainability.

Hayat expressed appreciation to the ministry’s national workforce for their round-the-clock efforts with high responsibility and professionalism to enhance the reliability of electricity and water systems, also commending close coordination with security and relevant authorities to ensure effective government response under all conditions. She prayed that Kuwait remains a land of security, safety and prosperity under the wise leadership of HH the Amir, HH the Crown Prince and HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. — KUNA

The World Must Die So That Israel Can Be Saved--(another disappeared article)

[Written Just before I started NOSUNGLASSES, most of the reference links have been deleted over time, including the article itself...thanks, once again to Countercurrents.org for salvaging it for me.]

The World Must Die So That Israel Can Be Saved

By Peter Chamberlin

23 May, 2008
Countercurrents.org

Bush has failed to fulfill his divine mission, to secure the safety of Israel for all time. For a true believer in Christian-Zionism, it must be gnawing at his soul like some giant rat hollowing-out his insides. How can Jesus ever return if Bush can't make Jerusalem safe enough for all Jews to return to? If Bush can't clear the way for the rebuilding of Solomon's Temple, then where will the messiah sit while he is destroying the earth and most of the Jews with it? (See: "Lobbying for Armageddon")

Bush has followed his obsession with making the Middle East safe for Israel down every conceivable twist and turn, looking for adequate justification to unleash Armageddon upon the region. He could not overcome Israeli civilian reluctance in 2006 to taste the rain of Hezbollah's sweet retaliatory revenge of thousands of missiles. No amount of neocon machismo or camaraderie could convince the Israelis in 2006 that American bombers would back them up if Israel escalated its all-out fight to eliminate Hezbollah and Hamas into Syria and Iran.

Again, in the recent uproar in Lebanon, Bush the deliverer could not convince Israel to follow through with the planned air assault on Lebanon in the multi-stage plot to restart the war with Hezbollah, http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1350 Neither could he persuade them to carry-out the plan to assassinate Hezbollah leader Nasrallah, on April 25.

http://www.almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.
aspx?id=43157&language=en

http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/
cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2008/05/08/p25328

As a result of the Israeli government's reluctance to order attacks which would bring massive retaliation upon Israeli citizens, Bush has apparently realized that if he is to eliminate the enemies of Israel in the time allotted him, then he will have to take the bold actions required to protect the "Chosen People" from reasonable retaliation which they bring upon themselves. Towards this end, Bush has employed his loyal Democrat "blue dogs" (three Zionist Jewish Democrats and two Lebanese-Christian Republicans) to introduce legislation that is, in effect, the early stages of a Lebanese war resolution.

House Resolution 1194

"Urges the United States Government and the international community to immediately take all appropriate actions to support and strengthen the legitimate Government of Lebanon under Prime Minister Fouad Siniora;

...prohibit all air traffic between Iran and Lebanon and between Iran and Syria;

every country controlling possible transit routes from Iran to Lebanon to impose the strictest possible controls on the movement of Iranian vehicles, airplanes, and goods." [which also happens to be Olmert's second option for blockading Iran]

"Olmert to U.S.: Impose naval blockade on Iran"

"Olmert proposed two possible courses of action: first, a naval blockade of Iran using the U.S. fleet to limit the movement in and out of Iran of its merchant ships...The second option Olmert proposed was to place limitations on Iranian aircraft, business people and senior members of the regime at airports throughout the world."

Strangely enough, even though the resolution on Lebanon is intended solely to enforce Israel's wish list for America's military, in the minutes of the short forty minute debate on the House floor,
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/
query/z?r110:H20MY8-0056:
Israel was never blamed for any of the problems of the besieged Lebanese democratic state, not even by the two lone opponents of the resolution, Kucinich and Ron Paul. Kucinich, champion of underdogs, did object to the "25 years" of suffering which had been unleashed upon the people of Lebanon, but he never laid the blame for this outrage on its perpetrators, Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon, or their successors. The Lebanese resistance forces (Hezbollah) which were spawned by Israel's bloodthirsty invasion which began on June 6,1982 and their Syrian counterparts are blamed for every act of terror and aggression that is committed there by Israel, America and Saudi Arabia.

Rep. Gary Ackerman referred to the things we are doing in Lebanon as "the equivalent of a rape," but he was practicing typical Zionist double-speak, when he attributed the evils wrought by American and Israeli mischief to the opposition forces, who were merely defending against our multiple rapes. He waxed poetic in defense of hypocritical American/Israeli aggression that is always blamed upon the victims or their supporters:

"Let us speak out for freedom, speak out for freedom in the case of a people who are under siege [by us], who are in the throes of having their duly elected government taken away from them by terrorist organizations and rogue regimes [who work for us]."

According to testimony on H. Res. 1194, by Rep. Kucinich,

"David Welch, who went to Lebanon...to basically make sure that the government took a hard-line position and that it would forestall the possibility of any dialogue. And then one of the clients of the United States, or so-called clients, basically escalated the situation by taking on the issue of disarmament of Hezbollah."

The Americans, the Israelis and the Saudis, through Welch, created their own rogue paramilitary (terrorist) forces. According to former head of Israel's intelligence, Aaron Zeevi Farkash:

"Israel has given Lebanese Forces (of Samir Geagea) men the best training and they will appear in any future confrontation. Lebanese Forces fighters will hold on much longer in Hezbollah's faces, but eventually they will be defeated." ("Nasrallah Ruined 3Yrs of Arab, Foreign Intel Efforts.")
http://www.almanar.com. lb/NewsSite/
NewsDetails.aspx?id=43157&language=en

America built the terrorist militias of Saudi front man Saad Hariri's Future Movement, the destabilizing forces who clumsily tried to provoke Hezbollah into taking over, so that Hezbollah would be responsible for all of Lebanon, justifying the use of the same brutal tactics there that Israel uses in Gaza.

The wisdom of Nasrallah is apparent in his decision to restrain the resistance forces, refusing to fall into Bush's trap, by refusing the bait.

In order to reward Saudi loyalty in this affair, for assisting in terror attacks upon Lebanese targets, Bush handed the keys to the nuclear power club to the royal family, along with an oath to:

"protect their energy infrastructure against terrorism, as demonstrated by the unsuccessful terrorist attack against the kingdom's Abqaiq plants in February 2006...safeguarding the kingdom's energy resources by protecting key infrastructure, enhancing Saudi border security..."
[Thus setting the stage for a repeat of the "al Qaida" attacks upon Saudi oil facilities in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia]

Israel, for their part, has donned its favorite persona of the innocent victim, suffering from America's Machiavellian policies, as it blames the US for its conflict with Syria. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/985748.html This attempt to distance the ruling party from the consequences of their actions in Lebanon and the rest of their besieged neighbors is Israeli sleight of hand, masquerading as diplomacy. The new improved Zionist spokesmen are sounding the same alarm in the face of losing control of the Americans, "Israel is the victim, everything is either America or Iran's fault."

Seeing the rising American backlash to their grand war plans for us, the Zionists have decided to try to "cut bait and run" away from the neocon gambit. Israel has hired Bush to go it alone, as they prepare to return to their favorite time-tested new/old tact, that of the Zionists finishing their theft of the mantle of Judaism, by pretending to be a "light unto the nations," in pursuit of their new world order. Even their American spokesmen, the neocons, have begun to turn against the Israel Lobby, which has been exposed in its manipulations of American government. (See: "We Are All Mearsheimerites Now")

Olmert's careless exposure of the web of connections between Israeli politicians and the deep pockets of Jewish American benefactors reveals the river of Jewish-American money that flows through both American and Israeli governments, controlling the lethal actions of each. It is this critical grand exposure that cannot be allowed to happen under any circumstances. However this all works out, it is a certainty that the ruling international financial elite will put a stop to anything that will expose them. (This is why the key to stopping the terror war is to threaten exposure of the ruling cabal. When it becomes impossible for them to pursue their goal of a regional Middle East war from the safety of their dark lairs, they will change their plans.)

Under the cover provided by imaginary "good faith" negotiations with half of the Palestinians and equally illusory negotiations with Syria over the Golan Heights, Olmert is able to spin his own reputation and obfuscate the reality that the Zionist controllers cannot allow to be revealed.

http://www.almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/
NewsDetails.aspx?id=44167

In the midst of this spinning maelstrom of deception the Zionist settlers annex more Palestinian land to build another 300 homes for the "Chosen People" on the West Bank.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/
chi-mideast-homesmar10,1,7070280.story

These new projects represent but a small portion of the explosion in settler (colonizer) building that has taken place on Palestinian land since Annapolis created the impression that Israel was becoming reasonable.

http://www.peacenow.org.il/data/
SIP_STORAGE/files/4/3584.pdf

In the end, this is what it is all about, Zionists exercising what they believe is their "divine right," to use whatever force is necessary to mercilessly evict the Palestinians from their own homes and sweep them off "Israeli land." This is also the root of the Lebanese problem that Bush wants to turn into World War III, Zionists plotting to seize the lands they call "Eretz Israel." This is the part of Zionism's lies that takes hold of the Christian Zionist movement in America, forcefully creating a restoration of Biblical Israel, the stuff that fuels Bush's darkest nightmares and delusions.

The military leaders of our beleaguered forces should follow the example of the Lebanese Army as it cooperated with the opposition forces, and begin to undo Bush's acts of aggression as they are called upon to pull new triggers for him. It is both disgraceful and shocking to see our President and Vice-President crawling on all fours before their Zionist masters, searching for the right trail that will lead to total war on Israel's enemies! They lust to embroil the world in world war to complete their failed war plans, believing that the survivors will respect them for their wisdom in the end of all things. They have to complete their plot for total power before someone else gains the power to hold them accountable for their crimes against humanity.

peter chamberlin

Torture of Palestinian Baby To Force Father's Confession--(disturbing content)

 

‘A Revolting Moral Outrage’: Israeli Soldiers Reportedly Torture Gaza Toddler

Reports of 1-year-old Karim Abu Nassar being burned with a cigarette and pierced with a nail followed the publication of a United Nations analysis detailing Israel’s “systematic” torture of Palestinians since October 2023.

 

by Brett Wilkins

Israeli soldiers in Gaza allegedly tortured an 18-month-old Palestinian toddler in an effort to force a confession from his father, local and international media outlets reported Monday.

Karim Abu Nassar is held by his mother after he was reportedly tortured by Israeli occupation forces in Gaza. (Photo by Osama Al-Khalout/X)

According to Al Jazeera, Karim Abu Nassar was with his father, Osama Abu Nassar, near the al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza on Saturday when they came under Israel Defense Forces fire. Eyewitnesses told Palestine TV that IDF troops ordered the man to leave the child on the ground and advance to a nearby checkpoint, where he was stripped naked and searched.

Witnesses said IDF soldiers then tortured Karim in front of his father to pressure him to confess to something. Journalist Osama Al-Kahlout interviewed the child’s mother, who said the toddler suffered a cigarette burn to one leg and a nail puncture to the other. Al-Kahlout’s video shows wounds on the child’s legs – injuries reportedly confirmed by an unspecified medical authority.

 https://www.instagram.com/p/DWLw3WyigrQ/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_video_watch_again

Karim was reportedly released to relatives via the International Committee of the Red Cross after 10 hours of detention. The ICRC has not issued a statement regarding the matter and rarely does so absent an investigation.

The Palestine Chronicle reported that Osama Abu Nassar remains in custody, in a system rife with torture – sometimes deadly – and other abuse.

The IDF has not commented on the alleged incident.

In the United States, the story is being amplified by prominent figures including Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and the Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR), which issued a statement calling the accusations “revolting.”

“Israel’s use of a nail and cigarette burns to torture a 1-year-old child and force a confession from his father is a revolting moral outrage that demands immediate action from Congress,” the group said. “No child, anywhere in the world, should be subjected to such cruelty, especially with American taxpayer dollars. These actions constitute grave violations of international law and basic human decency.”

“Our nation must end its complicity in these crimes,” CAIR added. “Congress has a responsibility to ensure that American taxpayer dollars are not used to support the torture or slaughter of more children. Every lawmaker with a conscience must vote to end military aid for the out-of-control Israeli regime.”

The US has given Israel hundreds of billions of inflation-adjusted dollars in aid to Israel since the country was established in 1948, including more than $20 billion since October 2023.

A new report published by UN Palestine expert Francesca Albanese examines the “systematic use by Israel of torture against Palestinians,” finding “practices that meet the threshold for genocide” under the Genocide Convention – the basis of the ongoing International Court of Justice (ICJ) case brought by South Africa.

A summary of the report states:

Torture has become integral to the domination of and punishment inflicted on men, women, and children – both through custodial abuse and through a relentless campaign of forced displacement, mass killings, deprivation, and the destruction of all means of life to inflict long-term collective pain and suffering. A continuous, territorially pervasive regime of psychological terror is being imposed, designed to break bodies, deprive a people of their dignity, and force them from their land. This is not incidental violence. It is the architecture of settler-colonialism, built on a foundation of dehumanization and maintained by a policy of cruelty and collective torture.

Palestinian victims – including minors – and witnesses, as well as Israeli soldiers, veterans, and medical professionals have described widespread torture and other abuses including rape and sexual assault by male and female soldiers, electrocution, mauling by dogs, beatings, denial of food and water, sleep deprivation, stress positions, and exposure to loud music and temperature extremes.

At least scores of Palestinian detainees have died or been killed in Israeli custody, including one who died after allegedly being sodomized with an electric baton. Many bodies of former Palestinian prisoners returned by Israel have shown signs of torture, execution, and mutilation.

Since the Hamas-led attack of October 2023, Israeli forces have killed or wounded at least 250,000 Palestinians, including more than 65,000 children. Israeli troops have been accused by Palestinians, Western medical volunteers, and their own colleagues of deliberately targeting children with sniper fire and executing them along with their adult relatives during massacres.

In addition to facing the ICJ genocide case, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, are fugitives from the International Criminal Court, where they are wanted for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza, including murder and forced starvation.

Brett Wilkins is is staff writer for Common Dreams. Based in San Francisco, his work covers issues of social justice, human rights and war and peace. This originally appeared at CommonDreams and is reprinted with the author’s permission.

If Trump Or Netanyahu Attacks Pakistani Nukes, Pakistan Will Nuke Delhi and Mumbai

[“Strike and crush Pakistanis, enemies of Jews and Zionism, by all disguised and secret plans.” – David Ben Gurion]

‘If America attacks Pakistan, we’ll target Delhi and Mumbai in India,’ says former high commissioner Abdul Basit

 

Edited By Anuj Shrivastava

 

Pakistan’s former high commissioner to India, Abdul Basit, has raised fresh concerns about regional security Photograph: (AFP)

Pakistan’s former high commissioner to India, Abdul Basit, has raised fresh concerns about regional security even as there is no let-up in tensions amid the ongoing Iran War by stating that Pakistan could strike India if it faces an existential threat from the US. Basit, who served as Islamabad’s top diplomat in New Delhi from 2014 to 2017, made the controversial statement while discussing a hypothetical worst-case scenario.

 

“Let’s say the situation in Iran worsens and Israel positions itself closer to us. Suppose a scenario develops where the United States also views our nuclear programme negatively or attempts to destroy our nuclear capability,” Basit said.

“I am talking about a worst-case scenario, something that is among the impossibilities, because Pakistan has the capability to defend itself,” he said, while emphasising that such a scenario was highly unlikely.

Basit argued that if Pakistan were attacked by the United States and were unable to respond directly due to range or operational limitations, India would become the default target.

“If the US attacks Pakistan and we cannot reach their bases in the Gulf or strike Israel, then what would be our only option? India,” he said.

“We would have nothing else to do. Even if our range does not extend there, if someone casts a hostile eye on us, we would, without hesitation, attack India—Mumbai, New Delhi—we would not hold back.”

 

“Whatever happens afterward would be dealt with later, and we should not hold back either,” he said, reiterating that such a situation remains unlikely but possible in theory.

Basit’s remarks reflect a similar approach to Iran attacking Gulf countries since it cannot target the US due to distance. However, while the Gulf nations being targeted by Tehran have US bases, there is no such military facility of Washington in India, which makes Basit’s suggestion reckless, irresponsible, and provocative.

Basit’s remarks come after US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on Wednesday that Pakistan is among the countries that pose the most significant nuclear threats to the United States. “Russia, China, North Korea, and Pakistan pose the biggest nuclear threats to the US," Gabbard told a Senate panel. She also pointed out the growing concerns over missile capabilities being developed by several countries, including Iran.

 

Anuj Shrivastava is a Senior News Editor at WION Digital with over 20 years of experience across publishing, print, and digital media.

Video of Trump Bragging About His Plan To Attack Iran And Seize Its Most Important Oil and Gas Assets In 1987

Trump mulls risky Kharg Island takeover to force Iran to open strait

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/embed/video/3620489.html

 

Shocking video shows Donald Trump discussing his Iran war plans in 1987

By CHRIS MELORE, US ASSISTANT SCIENCE EDITOR

 

Footage has emerged of President Donald Trump warning of the threat posed by Iran's Supreme Leader and America's goals in a war with the nation, 39 years ago.

The video captured an interview with late journalist and television personality Barbara Walters in December 1987, where Trump appeared to predict the current crisis in the Middle East and laid out his war plans if he were president.

At age 41, Trump said:

'The next time Iran attacks this country, go in and grab one of their big oil installations and I mean grab it and keep it and get back your losses because this country has lost plenty because of Iran.'

Trump also dismissed the possibility that Russia, formerly the Soviet Union, would send in troops to defend their allies in Iran, adding that he was more concerned about Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, calling him 'something like nobody's ever seen.'

 

The real estate mogul's prophetic comments came four decades before the US and Israel would launch a devastating military campaign that has already killed Iran's current supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

'You're going to have a war, and it's going to start in the Middle East,' Trump predicted to Walters during the interview.

The Walters interview on ABC's 20/20 also revealed how the future two-term president had spent thousands on newspaper ads criticizing the US for protecting foreign oil tankers without compensation when Iran was attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Today, oil prices have surged as fighting in the Persian Gulf has spread to the sea, with Iranian drones targeting the Strait of Hormuz, and the Pentagon is once again considering using the US Navy to protect oil shipments headed west.

Donald Trump's comments during a 1987 interview with late journalist Barbara Walters (Left) appear to show Trump's intentions of attacking Iran four decades ago

President Trump pictured while overseeing the US bombing campaign on Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

The unearthed interview featured excerpts from Trump's appearance at New Hampshire's Portsmouth Rotary Club in October 1987, a luncheon where influential people could test the political waters before a potential run for office.

 

In a stunning echo of Trump's future political addresses, the billionaire was captured saying:

'I'm personally tired of seeing this great country of ours being ripped off.'

Decades later, Trump's remarks at the event have been called his 'first campaign speech,' as the president has continually called for European countries to spend more on their own defense.

Trump's 1987 call for a tougher stance on Iran and more financial backing from US allies in Europe and throughout the region has eerily mirrored the current situation, with the president demanding NATO send warships to police the Strait of Hormuz.

The president insisted on Saturday that Britain, France and China should 'send ships to the area so that the Strait will no longer be threatened by a nation that has been totally decapitated.'

Speaking to the Financial Times, Trump said: 'It's only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the Strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there.

'We have a thing called NATO,' Trump continued. 'We've been very sweet. We didn't have to help them with Ukraine… but we helped them.'

'Now we'll see if they help us. Because I've long said that we'll be there for them, but they won't be there for us. And I'm not sure that they'd be there.'

Pictured: Oil tankers seen in the Persian Gulf near the crucial Strait of Hormuz

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is thought to have already pushed back on this demand, reportedly saying that the British military was only ready to deploy minesweeping drones to clear out the important shipping lane.

In the 1987 interview, Trump floated the idea of forcing other nations to pay the US to protect the world's oil shipments sailing through the Strait of Hormuz, calling the fee for the Navy's work 'a ransom.'

'We made a huge mistake by going into the Persian Gulf without having negotiated a fair and reasonable deal before with all of the beneficiaries of the Persian Gulf,' Trump said.

'I would have said, "hey folks, let's get together, how much you're gonna pay for this?" and, you know what, give you a little secret, Barbara, they'll pay a ransom.'

As for Trump's plans for seizing Iran's oil, something that has not become reality yet, the New York businessman asked the Portsmouth Rotary Club: 'Why couldn't we go in and take over some of their oil, which is along the sea?'

The US and Israeli militaries have been carrying out devastating bombing raids on Iran. As the conflict has escalated, oil prices worldwide have spiked

When Walters pressed a 41-year-old Trump on how he would carry out such an operation, the future president would not definitively say he would send in ground troops to take Iran's oil fields - something Trump has still not committed to doing in 2026.

Despite not revealing the details in 1987, Trump's war plan may be playing itself out in real time, as the US military has already bombed Iran's biggest and most important oil facilities, the Kharg Island oil terminal.

The small island in the Persian Gulf handles approximately 90 percent of Iran's crude oil exports, totaling over a million barrels per day.

US forces have struck military targets on Kharg Island in March 2026, but have reportedly avoided hitting the oil facilities themselves to prevent a total shutdown that could spike global oil prices even further.

Stop Trump Before He Finishes His Lifetime Vendetta Against the People of Iran

Trump is busy painting a vivid picture off unleashing even greater destruction upon Iran for its stubborn refusal to assume a supine position at Trump and Netanyahu's feet, despite the fact that both sides in this war have already felt compelled to target the other's oil storage and processing facilities.  At the end of this unsolvable dilemma, the Middle East will be unable to market its oil, lp-gas and petroleum bi-products for at least a year, leaving the good ol' USA as the world's only acceptable fuel source, other than Russia and Brazil gas (Brazil is no doubt on Trump's target list).  Our fracked gas and oil production would be dwarfed by the monumental task of supplying the demands of the entire world.

ANNUAL GLOBAL OIL DEMAND---37,434,218,625 BILLION BARRELS world usage
ANNUAL US FIELD PRODUCTION OF CRUDE---4,987,725 MILLION BARRELLS/YEAR-2025

Israel has once again bombed Iranian oil storage facilities and Trump pretends his hands are clean.  Except that AXIOS NEWS had already reported the truth.

"Israeli and U.S. officials said the strike on the gas facility was coordinated between the Israeli prime minister's office and the White House."--- Israel strikes Iran natural gas facility in coordination with U.S.

"Israel, out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East, has violently lashed out at a major facility known as South Pars Gas Field in Iran," Trump posted on X ​on Wednesday.

Iran then retaliated in yet another tit for tat attack upon Qatar and Riyadh facilities, even after Trump warned against such Iranian retaliation, even after the "rogue" IDF attack...

"In which instance the United States of America, with or without the help or consent of Israel, will massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field at an amount of strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before."

The indiscriminate bombing of oil storage facilities would dump millions of gallons of the sticky black goo directly into the pristine waters of the Persian Gulf, then into the Arabian sea and onward into the world's oceans.  Perhaps even more disaster will come through the thick choking clouds of oil smoke certain to rise from the burning, smoking conflagration...remember the burning oil wells gifted us by Saddam Hussein?

source

If Trump is allowed to follow through with his promised devastation of Iran's South Pars oil/gas operation, then the complementary destruction of Qatar's own "North Dome" Pars field and processing units will surely follow, with the other Gulf oil majors to receive the same.  How could America's most demented leadership  consider such a dire outcome to be acceptable?

It is fortunate that the following video from 1987 has been reintroduced to the public eye at this time, showing Trump confessing his plans for a war on Iran that are nearly identical to the current mess which Trump has forced upon the world.

Shocking video shows Donald Trump discussing his Iran war plans in 1987

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/embed/video/3620489.html

The same Daily Mail article reveals that Trump had spent thousands of dollars on newspaper ads criticizing US policies in the Gulf...

source

The letter in the ad reads like one of Trump's modern speeches, spouting the same B.S. about "Nations taking advantage of us."

The Real Reason For Donald Trump's Anti-Iran Vendetta Losing A Nightclub To Anti-Shah Revolution?

Trump in Tehran in 77 (to the right of Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson)
source

Trump's media records condemn him with his own words...he has ALWAYS PLANNED to destroy Iran and to seize her enormous assets, he only waited until his favorite rogue little killing machine, which masquerades as a "democratic Nation" matured enough to serve as his "fall guy" for his long-planned attacks.

"Israel, out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East, has violently lashed out at a major facility known as South Pars Gas Field in Iran. A relatively small section of the whole has been hit. The United States knew nothing about this particular attack..."

@realDonaldTrump

 

UAE Royal Rips Trump A New One Over Persian Gulf Fiasco

 

UAE billionaire asks Trump: Who authorised turning

 

our region into a war zone?

 

US President Donald Trump speaks in the Cabinet Room of the White House. Photo: AFP file

 

Khalaf Al Habtoor, chairman of Al Habtoor Group, says the Gulf and Middle Eastern countries, and their people, are not arenas for settling scores among the great powers

By Waheed Abbas

 

 

The UAE billionaire Khalaf Al Habtoor on Thursday wrote an open letter to the US President Donald Trump questioning his authority to drag the Gulf and the Middle East into the ongoing military conflict with Iran.

The founder of Al Habtoor Group raised many questions in his open and candid letter, authored in Arabic and shared on the social media platform X, asking Trump whether it was solely his decision to go to war or whether he was influenced by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

 

In a post on X, the hotel magnate lambasted the president for not considering collateral damage, although he later told The Post: “I blame Trump, but I blame the Iranians more.”

 

 

 

Open Letter from UAE billionaire Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor:

Mr President Donald Trump,

 

A direct question: who gave you the authority to drag our region into a war with #Iran? And on what basis did you make such a dangerous decision?

 

Did you calculate the collateral damage before pulling the trigger? Did you consider that the first to suffer from this escalation would be the countries of the region?

 

The peoples of this region also have the right to ask: was this your decision alone? Or was it the result of pressure from #Netanyahu and his government?

 

You have placed the countries of the #Gulf_Cooperation_Council and the Arab states at the centre of a danger they did not choose. Thank God we are strong and capable of defending ourselves, and we have armies and defences that protect our homelands. But the question remains: who allowed you to turn our region into a battlefield?

 

Before the ink had even dried on the #BoardOfPeace initiative that you announced in the name of peace and stability, we now find ourselves facing military escalation that puts the entire region at risk. Where have those initiatives gone? And what has become of the commitments that were presented in the name of peace?

 

Most of the funding proposed in those initiatives came from the countries of the region themselves, particularly Persian Gulf Arab states that contributed billions of dollars on the basis of supporting stability and development. These countries have the right today to ask: where has this money gone? Are we funding peace initiatives, or funding a war that puts us in danger?

 

More dangerously, your decision does not only threaten the peoples of the region. It also reaches the American people, whom you promised peace and prosperity. Today they find themselves in a war financed by their own money and taxes. According to the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), the cost ranges between $40–65 billion for direct military operations, and could reach $210 billion including economic effects and indirect losses if the conflict continues for four to five weeks. It has even reached the point of sacrificing Americans themselves in a war in which they have no stake.

 

You have also contradicted your promises not to become involved in wars and to focus only on America and place it at the top of your priorities. During your second term you ordered foreign military interventions in seven countries: Somalia, Iraq, Yemen, Nigeria, Syria, Iran, and Venezuela, in addition to naval operations in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific. In your first year in office you authorised more than 658 external airstrikes, equivalent to the total number of strikes carried out during Biden’s entire presidency, despite your criticism that he had entangled the United States in foreign wars.

 

Mr President, these numbers have clearly affected your approval ratings among Americans, which have fallen since the start of your second term, dropping 9% within just 400 days.

 

These figures say something clear: even within the #United_States there is growing concern about being dragged into another war and about exposing American lives, their economy, and their future to unnecessary risks.

 

True leadership is not measured by decisions of war, but by wisdom, respect for others, and efforts to achieve peace. If these initiatives were launched in the name of peace, then we have the right today to demand full transparency and clear accountability.

Source: https://x.com/KhalafAlHabtoor/status/2029442279170293996

The Real "Nuclear Option" In Persian Gulf War Isn't In Trump's Or Israel's Hands

 Could a GCC energy embargo halt the US-Israel war on Iran?

Ali Bakir

 

The GCC possesses a radical, unconventional, and highly effective tool to force an end to the hostilities; a collective and complete halt of all oil and gas exports

 

 

Smoke rises following a strike on the Bapco Oil Refinery, amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, on Sitra Island Bahrain on 9 March, 2026 (Reuters)

The US-Israel war on Iran has rapidly deteriorated into a regional crisis, dragging the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states into a war they did not seek.

As the fighting intensifies, the GCC countries - Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman - find themselves caught in the crossfire. With Israel pushing the United States into the conflict and Iran adopting a strategy of attrition, the Gulf states are bearing the brunt of the economic and security fallout.

In this precarious situation, traditional diplomacy and defensive measures are proving insufficient. However, the GCC possesses a radical, unconventional, and highly effective tool to force an end to the hostilities: a collective and complete halt of all oil and gas exports under force majeure situation.

The current dynamics of the war offer no incentives for the primary belligerents to cease fighting. For Israel, the costs remain minimal, as the United States shoulders the heavy lifting of military operations.

Meanwhile, Iran is committed to a prolonged war of attrition, aiming to weaken its adversaries through sustained pressure rather than decisive military victories.

Severe consequences

The GCC states are already paying a heavy price. Iranian drones and missiles have struck vital energy sites across the region. In Qatar, attacks on the Ras Laffan LNG complex - the world's largest - forced a halt in production and a declaration of force majeure on shipments.

Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura refinery, with a capacity exceeding 500,000 barrels per day, faced precautionary closures following drone interceptions. Similar incidents have occurred at the UAE's Fujairah oil field and Kuwait's Ahmadi refinery.

Furthermore, attacks on tankers near the Strait of Hormuz have disrupted a chokepoint that handles approximately 20 percent of global oil and gas shipments.

These attacks have immediate and severe economic consequences. Brent crude prices have surged, and natural gas prices in Europe spiked by over 54 percent following Qatar's LNG halt. Global stock markets have tumbled, and fears of sustained disruptions are raising inflation risks worldwide.

For the GCC, the pressure is dual; they must either absorb these mounting losses through heightened security measures and economic strain, or retaliate and risk deeper direct pro-active involvement in the war, which would be framed by Israel as joining the US-Israel coalition.

Both paths plunge the region into chaos, drain resources, and increase defence costs without offering any clear benefits.

The Gulf countries have thus far acted with high responsibility, striving to absorb and contain the war's repercussions. However, their defensive capabilities are not unlimited.

Mediation efforts are unlikely to succeed, as US calculations remain primarily tied to Israel's interests rather than those of the GCC

The financial costs of maintaining high alert and intercepting incoming threats are increasing daily. Defensive interception missiles cannot withstand cheap and unlimited attacks from the Iranian side for extended periods.

If stocks of defensive missiles run out, replenishing them will be difficult, costly, and unsustainable.

At that point, the options available to GCC countries will be exceedingly challenging as they become extremely vulnerable to the escalation of the war.

They will face enormous financial and economic losses, including increased targeting of vital economic infrastructure, the departure of foreign labour, and the inability to secure basic necessities amid a prolonged war.

Mediation efforts are unlikely to succeed, as US calculations remain primarily tied to Israel's interests rather than those of the GCC.

The radical solution

Given the bleak outlook and the exhaustion of traditional options, a unified GCC decision to cease all oil and gas exports until the war ends emerges as a rational, albeit radical, measure under force majeure situation.

This would not be an act of aggression, but a defensive manoeuvre to protect vital assets under threat, and force a resolution to a conflict that is destroying regional stability.

The GCC produces about 20 percent of global oil and a significant share of the world's liquefied natural gas (LNG).

A collective halt would create a global economic shock, instantly shifting the balance of power and giving the GCC countries the initiative. They would transform from victims dragged into a war by force of circumstance into decisive actors determining its fate.

A total suspension of GCC energy exports would compel the United States, Israel, and Iran to immediately reassess their positions.

The resulting energy shortages would likely trigger global pressure, fuelling massive public backlash in the West. The shock of the closure would elevate the grievances of the American public, pressuring the US administration to shift its focus from Israel's interests to domestic economic survival.

For Iran, whose economy is already strained by sanctions, export disruptions and war, the added pressure of a global economic crisis and the potential loss of any remaining revenue streams could force concessions. The US and Israel, facing severe domestic economic fallout, would be pushed toward negotiations.

Reclaiming control 

The GCC has a clear and compelling justification for such an action. Their facilities are being targeted slowly and painfully without provocation. They are being dragged into the war by the US and Israel, paying more for defence and security while enduring Iranian attacks. The bloc has the right to safeguard its sovereignty and protect its infrastructure.

While the costs of an embargo would be enormous for the Gulf countries, they are already incurring massive costs, while lacking control over the war's course.

As long as the primary belligerents face minimal costs or pursue strategies of attrition, the conflict will continue to drain Gulf resources and destabilise the region

Ultimately, they may be forced to stop the flow of oil and gas anyway due to direct targeting or threats from the conflicting parties. By taking the initiative, the GCC can control the timing and narrative of the shutdown.

Furthermore, the GCC states possess substantial financial buffers. Their sovereign wealth funds, holding trillions of dollars, could absorb short-term revenue losses.

Swift steps to secure liquidity through the sale of assets or future investments prior to the embargo would help mitigate the initial shock. Additionally, the higher prices resulting from scarcity might offset reduced volumes once exports resume.

As long as the primary belligerents face minimal costs or pursue strategies of attrition, the conflict will continue to drain Gulf resources and destabilise the region.

In this dire context, a collective decision by the GCC to halt all oil and gas exports stands as the single most powerful, non-military measure available to end the war.

By leveraging their unparallelled position in global energy markets, the GCC countries can force the international community to intervene and compel the warring parties to the negotiating table.

While the decision carries significant risks and costs, it offers the GCC a chance to reclaim control over their destiny, shifting from passive victims to the architects of regional peace.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.

 

Ali Bakir is a research assistant professor at Ibn Khaldun Center for Humanities and Social Sciences. He is following geopolitical and security trends in the Middle East, great power politics, small states' behaviour, emerging unconventional risks and threats, with a special focus on Turkey’s foreign and defence policies, Turkey-Arab and Turkey-Gulf relations. He tweets @AliBakeer

Trump F***ed Everything Up For the Entire World, Then Cries To Our Old Friends For Help

Trump F***ed Everything Up For the Entire World, Then Cries To Our Old Friends For Help

New supreme leader: Close US bases immediately or attacks will continue

“Mojtaba Khamenei’s first statement threatens Middle East neighbours as he demands withdrawal of American forces”

THEN

Trump seeks warships from other countries to help secure Strait of Hormuz

Key Ally Instantly Slaps Down Trump’s Demand for Help

“France, which has delivered an emphatic “Non!” to the American president’s request for military support in his Middle Eastern campaign.”

‘Strait of Hormuz open, but…’: Iran says US, Israel ships not allowed through key oil route

Abbas Araghchi said vessels from most countries can pass through the Strait of Hormuz but ships linked to the United States and Israel are barred.

Iran says US, Israeli ships barred from key oil route

Amid the escalating conflict in West Asia, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that the Strait of Hormuz remains open to most countries but is closed to vessels linked to the United States and Israel following recent airstrikes on Iran’s key oil hub at Kharg Island.

“As a matter of fact, the Strait of Hormuz is open,” FM Abbas Araghchi said.

“It is only closed to the tankers and ships belong[ing] to our enemies, to those who are attacking us and their allies. Others are free to pass,” he told MS NOW, as cited by New York Post. “And I can say that the Strait is not closed, but it is only closed to American, Israeli, you know, ships and tankers, and not to others.”

The remarks came a day after US forces carried out strikes targeting military facilities on Kharg Island, a crucial hub for Iran’s oil exports. The conflict began on February 28 when the United States and Israel launched coordinated attacks on Iran that killed the country’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Tehran later responded with strikes on Gulf nations hosting US military bases, disrupting aviation operations and pushing global energy markets into uncertainty. Araghchi also said some ships were avoiding the route because of security concerns rather than restrictions imposed by Iran.

“Of course, many of them prefer not to because of their security concerns. This has nothing to do with us,” he said.

According to the UK Maritime Trade Operations, at least sixteen vessels operating in and around the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz have been attacked since the war began.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump has called on global allies to deploy warships to protect shipping through the strait. In a post on Truth Social, the US president urged countries including China, France, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom to help secure the key maritime route and ensure uninterrupted global energy supplies.

The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, is one of the world’s most strategic oil transit routes. Roughly 13 million barrels of oil pass through it each day, about 31% of global oil shipments, meaning any disruption could sharply affect global energy markets.

Recent tensions have already led to hundreds of vessels becoming stranded in the region, including several Indian ships, as maritime traffic slows due to security fears and ongoing military activity.