“The president of the United States is losing patience. The United States is threatening the official mediator of the Middle East. The Trump administration threatened sanctions and even a strike if Oman cooperates with Tehran in the Strait of Hormuz. And what really happened between Israel and the United States? Is there a break in the relationship? We are here to bring you the whole truth.”
“What is happening behind the scenes and the details of the agreement? Why did Trump stop the Israeli strike in Lebanon? After a tense day in which Israel announced its intention to strike in Beirut, the Iranians stopped the negotiations with the Americans and the United States President Donald Trump hit the brakes.”
“Now, the details of the agreement and what happened under the radar are being revealed, and we, unlike the rest of the media outlets, we’re going to bring you the truth. Trump announced that an agreement with Iran may come during the coming week, and if not, the United States will recalculate its path. A regional source said that the talks between the United States and Iran are back on track.”
“The president himself said that he thinks he will reach during the coming week an agreement with Iran on extending the ceasefire and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. And we are here to explain Israel’s new strategy, a strategy that turns every diplomatic agreement into an operational landscape and a launchpad.”
“Has Israel discovered the formula for strategic victory? Even under heavy diplomatic pressure, the IDF is learning to turn every pause into a deadly jumping off point for the next stage against Israel’s enemies. And today, a new historic record was revealed. Israel had crossed the $19 billion mark in defense exports.”
“The scope of defense contracts jumped by 30% and reached $19.2 billion. This is a dramatic increase compared to last year. And is the Middle East standing before another diplomatic earthquake? Is Saudi Arabia placing an alternative to the Abraham Accords? Is Saudi Arabia advancing a new alliance with Pakistan, Turkey, and Qatar alongside distancing itself from the United States? and an attempt to block Israeli influence in this region.”
“I’m Pinto with me is Mati Shashani and we’re on boots on the ground. We bring you the whole truth about what’s happening in Israel and also the whole truth about what’s happening in our neighborhood, the Middle East. Today’s June 2nd and let’s begin. United States President Donald Trump announced this evening that he spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then published an unusual statement according to which Israel will not send forces into Beirut while according to him committed to stop firing towards Israel. The announcement came after hours of growing tension on the Lebanese front. Israeli threats to strike targets in the Dahiyeh district of Beirut and also intensive diplomatic contacts conducted by Washington with Beirut. There will be no forces entering Beirut, Trump wrote. The forces that were on their way have already been returning through senior representatives.”
“Trump had a very good conversation with the terrorist organization and they agreed that all firing will stop. Israel will not attack them and they will not attack Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later announced, ‘I spoke this evening with President Trump and told him that if Hezbollah does not stop attacking our citizens and our citizens in Israel or our forces and our cities, the terror targets in Beirut, in Lebanon’s capital will be struck and this position of power of Israel remains in place.'”
“So at the same time, the IDF will continue to operate as planned in southern Lebanon. Behind the dramatic announcement stood a day of heavy diplomatic pressure meant to prevent deterioration into a wider campaign in Lebanon. From Washington’s perspective, the timing was especially sensitive. The administration is trying to advance additional regional moves and at the same time, first and foremost, the contacts with Iran.”
“From the Israeli side, the message is clear. We must defend ourselves from every existential threat and show the terrorist organizations that force and violence will be answered with force and a harsh response. This is in order to ensure the security of the citizens of the state of Israel.”
“And here in Israel, the voices calling for harsh response to Hezbollah’s continued activities and to the repeated violations of the understandings that are reached in the past grew louder. The Israeli threat caused significant concern in Washington. American officials feared that a broad strike in the heart of Beirut would lead to uncontrolled escalation, harm to the diplomatic efforts that are being conducted with Lebanon, and even complicate broader regional moves being advanced by the Trump administration.”
“Trump’s reference to contact with Hezbollah even if through mediators and not through direct contacts, was especially unusual. Hezbollah is defined in the United States as a terrorist organization and American contact with it, even if indirect and through official Lebanese figures, shows just how determined the White House was to stop the flare up before it got out of control.”
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio held talks with Netanyahu and with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in an attempt to formulate a formula of restraint. Washington sought to prevent immediate escalation and allow the creation of diplomatic space ahead of continued contacts between the two sides. In Israel, full official confirmation has not yet been published regarding the details of the understandings that Trump spoke about.”
“However, several officials indicated that in Jerusalem, a decision was made to pause at this stage the strike that had been planned in Dahiyeh. And this is the truth that we can stand behind. Why do I say this? Because while all of this is happening on the ground, the threats from Iran, Hezbollah, and the American attempt to stop the escalation moments before an Israeli strike in Beirut took place.”
“Newspaper headlines around the world already chose a completely different story. Not Hezbollah terrorist organization, not Iran, not the residents of the northern Israel communities that are under drone threats, suicide drone threats, but the big fight between Trump and Netanyahu on their phone call. Suddenly, everybody knows how to tell what was said in a closed conversation between the president of the United States and Prime Minister Netanyahu.”
“Who shouted, who was offended, who was angry, who supposedly lost control. Only one thing is missing there. Someone who actually knows, who is willing to stand behind the words by name and present the full context. And that is exactly the point where we need to stop for just a moment.”
“Not every leak is necessarily a lie, but almost every leak comes with an interest. When a report relies on an American senior official without a name, without documentation, without a recording, and without any way to check the full context, we do not treat it as fact, but as a claim that must be handled carefully, especially when its result is so clear.”
“To present Trump and Netanyahu as being in a sharp confrontation to damage the trust between Jerusalem and Washington and to give Iran and Hezbollah the feeling that the Israeli American alliance is cracking. That’s why we will separate between what can be verified, the official announcement, the actual policy and the moves on the ground and the noise of the leaks, the rumors, the psychological warfare that’s happening all around us.”
“Because in the Middle East, sometimes the story that someone leaks is not what really happened, but what he wants us to think that actually happened is the truth. So, let’s continue. United States President Donald Trump declared that he expects to reach an official agreement with Iran to open up the Strait of Hormuz and extend the ceasefire during the coming week.”
“Trump said that he personally intervened in the crisis that threatened to collapse the negotiations. But while Trump is spreading statements about an agreement being closed, the revolutionary guards are tightening their operational grip on the Strait of Hormuz. Footage from the field revealed how the racing boats manage this movement, collect passage fees, and dictate the rules of the game on the ground.”
“And while the eyes of the world are tuned towards the Gulf, Lebanon has became a central point in the negotiations with the revolutionary guards. So look, Tehran insists that every arrangement with the United States include Lebanon and guarantee Hezbollah’s interests, which is considered its most important strategic asset in the Arab world.”
“But the defense minister makes clear that every violation by now on will be answered with a strike. Israel makes clear that there’s no ceasefire in Lebanon. According to the Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, the evacuation notice published by the IDF has already caused hundreds of thousands to flee the district and created heavy pressure on Hezbollah and on the Lebanese government.”
“So by stopping the strike in Dahiyeh, it does not stop the IDF’s fighting against the Islamic and the murderous terrorist organization, a proxy of Iran. And look, it seems that the last power position of the regime in Tehran is actually in Beirut, Lebanon. The revolutionary guards have run Lebanon through force and terror over the past decade.”
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to convince the United States President Donald Trump to approve broad strikes in Dahiyeh district of Beirut were probably truly close to igniting a full regional war. But Netanyahu as the prime minister of Israel who looks after his country tried to lead a move that would force Hezbollah to stop the fire and at the same time send a threatening and daring message to Iran.”
“The Israeli move and probably also knowing me created real panic and hysteria in Tehran. The Iranians, the regime, the revolutionary guards who suspected that this was a dangerous trap meant to create new facts on the ground before a diplomatic agreement immediately raised the level of alert. According to the Lebanese newspaper, Iran began moving missile units and even threatened a coordinated preemptive attack.”
“At the same time, and in response to the IDF’s attempts to establish a foothold north of the Litani River and raise a flag at the Beaufort Castle, Hezbollah raised the level. The organization significantly expanded the range of fire deep into Israel, which forced hundreds of Israeli families to leave their homes in the middle of the night.”
“In addition, Hezbollah operatives began operating swarms of advanced drones and UAVs even during the night using thermal cameras in order to paralyze the freedom of movement of IDF forces and make them pay a price. The boiling point arrived when Israel again threatened to bomb Lebanon’s capital. At this stage, Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri intervened using an anonymous friend to send an urgent message to Washington.”
“Hezbollah will hold its fire only if Israel does the same. At the same time, growing threats from Tehran of direct intervention had their effect. But this is only a temporary and fragile freeze of the situation. And it’s important to make clear, the United States also insists that IDF forces remain on the soil of southern Lebanon as long as Hezbollah provides no guarantee for ending the war and disarming itself.”
“And the fire could resume at any moment. And now Oman is in the crosshairs because for decades the Sultanate of Oman has been proud of an almost completely neutral foreign policy which turned it into the ultimate mediator between the West and Iran. But now against the background of the wall that is flaring up between the United States and the Islamic Republic that neutrality is beginning to cost Muscat a heavy price.”
“Washington is increasing the pressure on the Sultanate, demanding that it choose a side and cut off ties diplomatically with Tehran and is even sending unprecedented threats of sanctions and military action. And we will bring you all the details about this. I’m Pinto with me is Mati Shashani. We’re on boots on the ground. We bring you the whole truth about what’s happening in Israel and about the war against the revolutionary guards in Iran, which is the head of the crumbling axis of evil in the Middle East.”
“Now Mati Shashani our senior Middle East correspondent is joining us here on this report. So Mati when Iran says that in recent hours a passage through Hormuz is possible only if its rights are respected. Is this no longer just a maritime blockade but an attempt to force the world to recognize the Iranian sovereignty over the most important energy artery of the world?”
“Look, it seems like this whole thing, the war with Iran, the rebuilding, the restructuring of the power balance here in the Middle East, it all really hinges on a couple of main points. One of them is the Strait of Hormuz. Another is the Iranian nuclear program and of course the enriched uranium that’s tied into it. And there’s several other things, the proxy warfare, Israel’s place in that. Many, many other derivatives fall out of those main topics.”
“And Iran in a relatively expected way is putting a lot of weight, a lot of their power, a lot of their effort into disrupting travel in the Strait of Hormuz because they realize correctly that it is one of the most effective ways to affect the global economy and through that to utilize to use to build to structure their power in this conflict.”
“More so it is the most visible, clear and present way for them to show their status, their current situation in the conflict with the United States and show that they have an upper hand in the negotiation. Why? Because as long as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed or dangerous enough that ships don’t want to travel through, well, that means that the Iranian regime is winning.”
“I know this sounds oversimplified, but look, news cycles and politics are often dictated by simplified images, by simplified and oversimplified news narratives and national narratives. And this is exactly one of those. Is the Iranian regime winning or is it the US? Well, is the Strait of Hormuz open? Of course is much more nuanced than that.”
“But the Iranians are trying to use the Strait of Hormuz as a lever of power to really affect their will on this negotiation to publicly prove that they’re still in control to one degree or to another and of course to use it as a tool of extorting of pressuring other countries in this region to bid their will.”
“Now I need to be clear here. There are some practical elements here that are not a negotiation tool. When the Iranians say that they want to tax other countries for going through, they actually mean it. They want to collect money because it’s a great way for them to make money and to exert control on other countries.”
“And if they can, they will. What’s the problem is the problem is if they are able to do that it will be a huge terrible precedent in countries that are sovereign countries using their proximity to main travel routes to really jeopardize international trade in the economy the world that we live in is based on the fact that you can travel freely around the world that ships can move between countries without suffering from piracy or from vandalism from other countries or from disruptions to their trade that is what the global economy that we live in is based on to a great degree that and low tariffs for the most part. And so this them disrupting the trade is a substantial negative element negative effect. Now it gets more complicated than that. The US will publicly visibly be the one that has an upper hand on Iran that has has been able to bend the will of the Iranian regime when they can show the world that the Strait of Hormuz is open.”
“And in the gray area between closed and open in the Strait of Hormuz, there’s a whole lot that has been going on in recent weeks. The US has been escorting ships in and out, mostly out of the Strait of Hormuz. How do we know? Well, it’s been leaked from multiple sources because the US government wants us to know. They want us to know that they have been able and successful to move ships from under the nose of the Iranian regime.”
“But it goes also the other direction. The Iranians have been able to disrupt ships trying to travel through, strike several of them, and they’ve shown the footage of exactly that. And when they try to lay mines, when they try to sabotage ships traveling through, they want the world to know that it has worked.”
“And believe me, if you’re traveling in a slow, heavy, and expensive vessel over the seas, you don’t want the threat of Iranian terrorism or Iranian piracy against your ship full of oil or whatever the cargo exactly is. So we’re playing here a very complicated game. A game in which the visible side is the Strait of Hormuz.”
“But underneath the surface both literally of the sea and of course when it comes to the trade and the geopolitics there’s so much that is going on so much of a complicated relationship where there’s a ton of nuance playing out right now over the control of that area the power of the disrupting force which is the Iranians and the peacekeeping force which is the Americans to really manifest their control over that area and behind the scenes the neverending or seemingly never ending attempt to bring some kind of agreement in which there’s a resolution or a solution to the question of the Strait of Hormuz and of course the nuclear bomb in Iran or the attempt at a nuclear bomb in Iran. There’s a lot going on. This is a very complicated relationship and the Strait of Hormuz is the visible public part of this negotiation.”
“One last part is beyond the practicality, beyond beyond the actual negotiation, there’s a whole PR war that’s going on. And in that PR war, everyone involved wants everyone else to think that they’re doing well, that they’re winning, that they’re beating the others, that they are in control. And again, the Strait being visible is the reason why the Iranian regime publicizes to the world images of them attacking ships, shows the video footage of their little mosquito boats attacking others.”
“It’s because the PR war is as legitimate and important a war as a physical war that’s taking place. And we need not forget that element of this story.”
“And Mati, if Trump declared calm between Israel and Hezbollah, but on the ground, the fighting in southern Lebanon continues, what does that say about the American ability at all to force an agreement on an Iranian proxy?”
“Yeah, I think that’s a very valid question. I think we need to be asking that question. I want to remind everyone a another version of restraint or ceasefire has been imposed and again the reports vary greatly on what exactly happened in the conversation between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday. But the bottom line is is that Israel is supposed to be showing restraint in Lebanon, not attacking in the big city concentrations.”
“Hezbollah was supposed to be part of the ceasefire, but in a very very clear way, in a very obvious and public violation of that agreement. Well, Hezbollah did attack both civilian and military targets within Israel just yesterday after this was already declared. And that shows something very clearly. They’re not part of this agreement.”
“They don’t plan to uphold the agreement. They don’t care what the United States, Israel, or Iran says. I’m not sure what the Iranians are saying here, but they’re doing their thing and their thing is to play the tune of terrorism to harm Israel, to jeopardize Israel as much as it promotes the benefits or the agenda of the Iranian regime.”
“That is what the terrorist organization has done for decades. That is what they continue to do in present days. And the fact that several times Israel has done everything possible, everything in our power to uphold a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon against Hezbollah and at the same time Hezbollah blatantly, openly violates any kind of agreement.”
“It just shows you what the nature of that terrorist organization actually is. It shows you also that the ability of the US administration to impose its power by public declarations or unilateral declarations of ceasefire agreements etc is very limited on Hezbollah and by extension I would say on other Iranian proxies. And that’s something that needs to be taken into account because when we ask ourselves this question that comes up almost every day of is Iran even able to sign an agreement internally because there’s such a rift within their leadership that question becomes far more complicated when you think of a twice removed proxy such as Hezbollah that has its own localized leadership that has its own mechanisms of financing its own agenda with its soldiers.”
“When you take that into consideration and realize that well they might not necessarily uphold any kind of ceasefire agreement that takes place.”
“Well, where does that put Israel? Do we just keep up our side of a negotiation or ceasefire agreement while our enemies blatantly violate them? We can’t do that. We’d be well it just be stupid on a military and a defensive level. And because of that, we’re in a tricky situation where you see that one, the diplomatic doesn’t always work against what was working against Hezbollah was the maximum military campaign, the strikes against them, the effort against them, the continued targeting of their terrorists and their infrastructure. That is what was working against them. And I think the lesson is clear: keep up targeting and striking against Hezbollah do everything we can diplomatically and militarily speaking to weaken them and remove them from the state the country of Lebanon until they’re no longer existent that is the only resolution the only clear conclusion the only thing that will work long term for Israel and of course for the people of Lebanon.”
“But the oil prices are moving again because of every hint from Hormuz and from the talks with Iran So is Trump managing a war here against Iran or also against a global economic clock that limits his freedom of action?”
“One of the interesting elements that have has been a key part of this war is the clear connection to the markets both the future markets where oil and other commodities are traded and the overall stock markets the indexes etc.”
“And when you look at those kind of things, you understand how intertwined the global economy is, how important it is to track what’s actually happening, and how much that does play a part in a global war such as the one that we’re playing right now. It would be hard to say at this point that the Trump White House is not aware of the effects of their statements and the effect of the phase of war, the declarations related to the war on stock markets and other things.”
“There has been a lot of communication that comes out just before markets open or just you know in key moments in the week and most of the strikes happen on the weekend to minimize the effect on the markets and that’s understandable. This war is fought around economies too. The global war we’re fighting right now is an extension when you think about it over the question of who controls the global economy.”
“Is it the everpresent power of the United States of America or is it the up and rising axis powers of the Chinese through Iran with Russia etc and other countries there’s a bigger war at play here that’s also economic in its nature and I don’t think we have to be play innocent or play dumb on this topic we want to live a comfortable life most countries want to succeed even non-democracies they want comfort they want success they want cash to pay for whatever war they’re drumming up or whatever they want to waste their money on. This is the non-democracies I’m talking about, the dictatorships such as Iran, they need cash, too. So economies play a part in these wars. And especially when you’re sitting on such an important route such as the Strait of Hormuz, the global economy is dramatically affected. And any country fighting that war should take into account that aspect, the aspect of the markets, the aspects of the oil prices, what that does to the political system.”
“Again, Trump has to, you know, deal with internal elections coming up later in this year. In the US, other members of governments around the world have their own elections to deal with, their own primaries to deal with. It’s impossible to detach economy from warfare and from geopolitics. That said, there is an anomaly to that equation.”
“Israel somehow is much outside of what’s happening in the Strait of Hormuz. We don’t get our oil there. Our economy is affected by many different factors such as the dollar exchange rate, etc. that are very detached or semi-detached from what’s happening over there. And we can actually attack freely without it having a direct effect on our economy or the political situation here internally.”
“President Trump, his team, they need to think about the US economy. They need to think about the markets. American presidents are measured by financial performance during their terms, about the rise and fall of the markets, about the inflation rates, about the interest rates.”
“They are measured over those metrics too, as are other people. And even the Gulf States that are not usually known to be democracies, even they care about the financial well-being of their countries. And this war affects them too. As you know, the military war here was ended relatively quickly, at least when it comes to the symmetrical element of the warfare.”
“And the financial war is a huge part of this. Oil prices, trade in and out of commodities through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf, and the list goes on and on. The place of Gulf states, their economies, their power financially to affect the economies and the geopolitics of the world. It’s all intertwined.”
“We’re living in a global economy, in a global political village, and in a global village where one war in one place affects other countries elsewhere. I’ve said several times during this war that what happens in the Strait of Hormuz will affect ultimately the Straits of Malacca and the conflict and the tensions in the South China Sea.”
“It’s all connected to each other. It will also affect what ends up happening between Russia and Ukraine. People are looking to see the military resolve but also looking to see the financial resilience of different countries and entities both in the stock markets and their volatility but also in the ability to prevent global inflation and price creeping of different commodities.”
“This is the world we live in. There’s no need to try and isolate different conversations. It’s all interconnected. It’s all intertwined. And I’d say this from a PR perspective, from a affecting and inspiring confidence in the markets, the Trump White House has done an amazing job of over prolonged period of time maintaining a level of stability and lack of panic when it has to do with the war taking place in Iran right now.”
“So, thank you very much, Mati Shashani. That definitely helped us understand better what we are dealing with.”
“And in southern Lebanon, even after Trump’s announcement, the IDF did not stop. Our forces continue to operate on the ground, in the air, and by land. South of the Litani and also north of it. So deeper into the southern Lebanon area.”
“And at the same time, Hezbollah continues trying to test where Israel’s new line runs. And Iran is trying to turn every strike against the Lebanese terrorist organization into a crisis with the United States of America. So, is there really a ceasefire or only a short pause before the next stage? That’s the central question now.”
“Because behind all the diplomatic wards of the past 24 hours, there is a much clearer military picture. Israel is trying to establish a new equation in Lebanon. The United States is trying to prevent an eruption that would blow up the agreement with Iran and the revolutionary guards are trying to prove that they can still threaten North Hormuz and American forces in the Gulf.”
“Defense Minister Israel Katz said today very sharply from Israel’s perspective there’s no ceasefire in Lebanon. The equation that he presented is simple. The Dahiyeh district in Beirut will be treated the same as the communities of northern Israel. If Israeli communities are attacked, Israel will act with force in the Dahiyeh district. The main Hezbollah stronghold inside Lebanon in the capital of Lebanon. This is not just another diplomatic message. This is a new deterrence equation.”
“According to Katz, the evacuation notice published by the IDF spokesperson to the residents of Dahiyeh already achieved an immediate effect. Hundreds of thousands left the district.”
“The number given was 600,000 out of 950,000 by last evening. In other words, even before the aircraft struck, the Israeli threat itself had already created enormous pressure on Hezbollah, on the Lebanese government and on those trying to protect the organization behind the scenes. And this is an important point. Sometimes the Middle East, the military action begins even before the first bomb.”
“It begins with an evacuation notice, begins with movement of forces. It begins with a clear message to the enemy. This time the price will not remain in a border village. This time it will reach your center of power. But then Trump entered the picture. The president of the United States announced that he had spoken with Prime Minister Netanyahu and claimed that Israel would not send forces into Beirut and forces that had already been underway there had been turned back. He also said that through senior representatives a good conversation had been…”
