WEBVTT - Trump Asserts Iran Wants to End War. Tehran Says No Proposal 0:00:02.520 --> 0:00:10.160 Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News. Welcome to the Bloomberg 0:00:10.240 --> 0:00:16.360 This Weekend Podcast with David Gura, Christina Raffini, and Elisa Matteo. 0:00:17.680 --> 0:00:20.560 Thanks for joining us for today's selection of conversations from 0:00:20.600 --> 0:00:20.959 the show. 0:00:21.200 --> 0:00:23.479 You can listen to our favorite discussions right here on 0:00:23.520 --> 0:00:25.800 the podcast, and also make sure to join us live 0:00:25.960 --> 0:00:28.960 every Saturday and Sunday morning starting at seven am Easter. 0:00:29.160 --> 0:00:32.760 We're on Bloomberg Television, Radio and the Bloomberg Business App, 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:37.600 bringing you unique takes and in depth interviews on news, politics, 0:00:37.680 --> 0:00:39.120 lifestyle and culture. 0:00:41.760 --> 0:00:43.120 I'm going to go back to Iran now to the 0:00:43.120 --> 0:00:45.840 Middle East. That main store. We had President Trump having 0:00:45.840 --> 0:00:48.959 a phone interview with NBC News exclusively talking about the war, 0:00:49.000 --> 0:00:51.199 where it stands and where he sees it headed. And 0:00:51.240 --> 0:00:53.720 he said, quote Iron wants to make a deal, and 0:00:53.760 --> 0:00:55.520 I don't want to make it because the terms are 0:00:55.560 --> 0:00:56.959 not good enough yet. 0:00:57.040 --> 0:00:57.880 Christina, all right. 0:00:58.000 --> 0:01:00.320 Joining us now to discuss all this are Bloomberg's host 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:03.760 of Horizon, Middle East and Africa, Jumana Brissecci, the AP's 0:01:03.800 --> 0:01:07.000 international correspondent Philip Crowther, who is live near the Strait 0:01:07.040 --> 0:01:09.360 of Hormuz, and Bloomberg's Washington's. 0:01:08.800 --> 0:01:11.640 Deputy Bureau Chief, Flora Davidson, who is actually in Tokyo. 0:01:12.280 --> 0:01:14.720 Thank you all so much for joining us. Philip, I 0:01:14.720 --> 0:01:15.520 want to start with. 0:01:15.440 --> 0:01:19.080 You because there were some pretty dramatic images overnight of 0:01:19.160 --> 0:01:21.720 smoke rising from a port that I believe is somewhat 0:01:21.760 --> 0:01:24.640 near you. Can you, I mean, Aroan had said that 0:01:24.720 --> 0:01:27.480 they believe some of these incoming missiles were fired from 0:01:27.520 --> 0:01:30.720 the UAE. Was this retribution for that? What has Iran 0:01:30.800 --> 0:01:32.319 said and how has the UAE responded? 0:01:34.720 --> 0:01:37.319 Yeah, this appears to have been retribution. This is the 0:01:37.400 --> 0:01:40.920 Alpha Jeira oil facility. It's just a few kilometers south 0:01:41.400 --> 0:01:44.440 from where we are here. About twenty four hours ago, 0:01:44.520 --> 0:01:48.160 there were two huge black plumes of smoke coming from there. 0:01:48.680 --> 0:01:52.120 This from two separate apparent drone attacks. Now these weren't 0:01:52.160 --> 0:01:55.880 drones that necessarily hit the plant directly, but that might 0:01:55.920 --> 0:01:58.880 have been shot down. It's called an interception, and that 0:01:58.960 --> 0:02:02.840 fragments thereof might have hit the oil facility led to 0:02:03.000 --> 0:02:05.600 a stop of at least some of the operations there. 0:02:05.880 --> 0:02:08.880 They appeared to be back up and running now. But yes, 0:02:08.960 --> 0:02:12.480 a retaliation, it certainly was, and what Iran has been 0:02:12.520 --> 0:02:16.640 saying and has been clearly singling out the United Arab Emirates. 0:02:16.800 --> 0:02:18.160 Where I am now. 0:02:18.080 --> 0:02:21.520 Right here is that they're saying that US attacks on 0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:26.880 specifically Hag Island, where of course Iran processes a very 0:02:27.000 --> 0:02:30.440 large percentage of its oil at its terminal, that that 0:02:30.680 --> 0:02:35.280 was attacked by the United States from the United Arab Emirates, 0:02:35.560 --> 0:02:38.880 from air bases or even from ports. So the reaction 0:02:39.120 --> 0:02:43.400 from Iran was to say that everybody should evacuate three 0:02:43.639 --> 0:02:46.800 big ports in the United Arab Emirates, and that includes 0:02:46.800 --> 0:02:50.120 the one we just mentioned, Al Fujaira also includes the 0:02:50.160 --> 0:02:53.280 biggest port in the whole of the Middle East, and 0:02:53.320 --> 0:02:55.200 there was a threat that there were going to be 0:02:55.360 --> 0:02:59.600 further attacks on those ports, again because Iran says they 0:02:59.600 --> 0:03:03.360 were US to stage US attacks on Iran. Iran is 0:03:03.360 --> 0:03:06.600 saying this without any proof, and indeed the US military 0:03:06.880 --> 0:03:10.680 hasn't even deemed it worthy of a response. Now, there 0:03:10.720 --> 0:03:13.560 haven't been any from the point of view of Iran, 0:03:13.760 --> 0:03:18.679 we should say successful attacks on those ports. There might 0:03:18.680 --> 0:03:22.400 have been some interceptions over the last twenty four hours 0:03:22.480 --> 0:03:24.880 or so, but there have been no direct hits. No 0:03:25.040 --> 0:03:28.720 fragments of drones or missiles have hit any facilities or 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:32.000 anything in the United Arab Emirates over the last twenty 0:03:32.000 --> 0:03:35.400 four hours, and that in fact goes for most golf countries. 0:03:35.680 --> 0:03:39.840 There have been mass attacks of drones on Bahrain, for example, 0:03:40.160 --> 0:03:44.280 on Saudi Arabia as well, but the air defenses of 0:03:44.400 --> 0:03:47.560 most of these golf countries have been working well and 0:03:47.600 --> 0:03:50.680 increasingly well as this conflict continues. 0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:52.640 Jaman, I want to turn to you and go back 0:03:52.680 --> 0:03:55.320 to that comment from the President to NBC News just 0:03:55.360 --> 0:03:57.119 about the state of play in this war and where 0:03:57.120 --> 0:04:00.280 it might be headed. Lingering on that line that Iron 0:04:00.360 --> 0:04:02.720 wants to make a deal, but the President doesn't think 0:04:02.760 --> 0:04:03.680 the terms are good enough. 0:04:03.840 --> 0:04:04.160 Yet. 0:04:04.320 --> 0:04:06.480 What is your sense of what the President is hoping 0:04:06.520 --> 0:04:08.840 for once in terms of a deal and how far 0:04:08.880 --> 0:04:11.480 apart these two sides are at this juncture in the war. 0:04:14.040 --> 0:04:17.400 Well, it's also interesting to observe the evolution of his thinking. 0:04:17.520 --> 0:04:19.159 It was a couple of days prior I think he 0:04:19.279 --> 0:04:22.039 was calling for once again the unconditional surrender of the 0:04:22.080 --> 0:04:24.279 Iranian regime. But now he seems to be open once 0:04:24.320 --> 0:04:27.120 again to establishing a deal with them of some sorts. 0:04:27.600 --> 0:04:30.280 In that interview with NBC, he declined to give a 0:04:30.360 --> 0:04:32.640 lot of commentary on exactly what the conditions would be, 0:04:32.720 --> 0:04:35.320 but maintained, and this is a stance that the US 0:04:35.360 --> 0:04:38.440 has maintained even before the war kicked off, that Iran 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:42.240 should never have the ability to develop a nuclear weapon. Now, 0:04:42.279 --> 0:04:46.240 from Iran's perspective, we've had a couple of notable figures 0:04:46.279 --> 0:04:49.320 from the regime speak out. We've had the Iranian Foreign 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:52.760 Minister make some remarks in addition to President Posishcamp putting 0:04:52.800 --> 0:04:55.080 up a post a couple of days ago where they 0:04:55.160 --> 0:04:58.280 suggested their conditions to come to the negotiating table with 0:04:58.360 --> 0:05:01.640 the US would include a number on one, full recognition 0:05:01.920 --> 0:05:04.760 of Iran's quote legitimate rights without giving a lot of 0:05:04.800 --> 0:05:08.240 information on what exactly that means. Number two, reparations for 0:05:08.360 --> 0:05:10.440 damage is caused. And then number three, and this is 0:05:10.480 --> 0:05:14.279 probably the most important element, guarantees that a war like 0:05:14.360 --> 0:05:18.279 this will never happen again. So they are staking their 0:05:18.320 --> 0:05:21.240 own terms to go back to the negotiating table. Of course, 0:05:21.600 --> 0:05:25.160 their economy is massively buckling under this strain even before 0:05:25.200 --> 0:05:27.599 this war kicked off, and now there's the real threat 0:05:27.640 --> 0:05:31.120 of civilian infrastructure being targeted as well. Carg Island obviously 0:05:31.120 --> 0:05:33.560 a key lifeblood for them, but I would say from 0:05:33.600 --> 0:05:36.640 the perspective of the Iranians, we always said from the 0:05:36.640 --> 0:05:39.880 beginning this was a fight for their existence. It's an 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:42.840 existential fight for them. And the fact that the US 0:05:42.839 --> 0:05:45.599 are now saying or no longer talking about regime change, 0:05:45.600 --> 0:05:48.000 but are saying, okay, we're ready to cut a deal 0:05:48.400 --> 0:05:52.479 and their eyes actually is a victory and they have 0:05:52.560 --> 0:05:55.680 sustained a lot of blows. Maybe they're losing militarily, but 0:05:55.760 --> 0:05:58.040 if they come out of this the other side still 0:05:58.080 --> 0:06:02.520 intact and still effectively leading the country, then they will 0:06:02.520 --> 0:06:04.800 deem that to be a victory. So I think, you know, 0:06:04.800 --> 0:06:06.800 there's still a lot of daylight between the two sides, 0:06:06.839 --> 0:06:09.680 and from the Iranian perspective, they will continue to inflict 0:06:10.160 --> 0:06:13.240 as many blows as they can, as much economic cost 0:06:13.360 --> 0:06:16.080 on these Gulf countries and on the global economy in 0:06:16.240 --> 0:06:20.040 order to somehow bring the US as well, closer to 0:06:20.080 --> 0:06:20.960 what they're asking for. 0:06:21.920 --> 0:06:23.640 Laura, I want to go to you now over in Tokyo, 0:06:23.720 --> 0:06:25.800 because the backdrop of all of this conflict is of 0:06:25.800 --> 0:06:28.080 course what it's doing to the world energy markets, what 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:30.520 it's doing to global economies, and at the same time 0:06:30.640 --> 0:06:33.680 you have this Trump She Summit coming up, and there's 0:06:33.680 --> 0:06:34.039 a couple of. 0:06:34.000 --> 0:06:34.520 Things going on. 0:06:34.839 --> 0:06:37.359 There's US China talks about to happen or happening right 0:06:37.400 --> 0:06:40.320 now in Paris, and then you are in Japan for 0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:44.520 this there's economic secretaries. 0:06:43.880 --> 0:06:44.599 There as well. 0:06:45.240 --> 0:06:46.960 David just wrote down the name of the summit and 0:06:47.000 --> 0:06:49.039 I've already forgotten it, so can you please remind me 0:06:49.080 --> 0:06:51.280 the name of the Tokyo Summit. And they just kind 0:06:51.279 --> 0:06:53.280 of set the tage for us what's going on and 0:06:53.800 --> 0:06:55.880 where these two big countries are going to go and 0:06:55.920 --> 0:06:57.760 the backdrop of all this happening in the least, it's 0:06:57.760 --> 0:06:59.239 not it's on there somewhere. 0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:00.960 This is not a straight. 0:07:02.560 --> 0:07:03.520 But yeah, this is a summit. 0:07:03.640 --> 0:07:05.839 It's largely between the US and Japan, but there's also 0:07:05.880 --> 0:07:08.960 about eighteen countries who are also participating with high level 0:07:08.960 --> 0:07:12.680 economic and energy officials from from the region to talk 0:07:12.840 --> 0:07:15.320 basically about critical minerals and energy. You know, that of 0:07:15.320 --> 0:07:18.520 course was important even before Iran. Now with the backdrop 0:07:18.600 --> 0:07:21.320 of oil prices spiking, this has really added a lot 0:07:21.320 --> 0:07:23.880 of urgency and intensity to these discussions. Of course, the 0:07:23.880 --> 0:07:25.920 deals that have been struck, you know, so far this 0:07:25.960 --> 0:07:28.240 weekend have been relatively modest in scale. You know, these 0:07:28.280 --> 0:07:32.440 are longer term arrangements. These are memory memorandums of understanding, 0:07:32.440 --> 0:07:35.240 things that won't really do anything to address the current 0:07:35.320 --> 0:07:38.240 situation at hand, but really set the stage for this visit. 0:07:38.680 --> 0:07:41.200 The Prime Minister of Japan, Takeyichi, is headed to the 0:07:41.200 --> 0:07:44.400 White House on Thursday. She has been quite critical of 0:07:44.480 --> 0:07:47.400 the US's stance in Iran, has questioned the legality of 0:07:47.440 --> 0:07:49.280 these strikes and said she plans to have a very 0:07:49.280 --> 0:07:52.320 frank and stern conversation with Trump. So this is, you know, 0:07:52.360 --> 0:07:55.200 kind of We're seeing a lot of posturing from allies 0:07:55.520 --> 0:07:58.200 in the Indo Pacific region looking to get in the 0:07:58.240 --> 0:08:01.040 good graces of the Trump administration with some of these deals, 0:08:01.160 --> 0:08:03.960 but looking to take a stronger, firmer stance when it 0:08:03.960 --> 0:08:05.000 comes to geopolitics. 0:08:05.080 --> 0:08:07.360 Our control room tells us it is the Indo Pacific 0:08:07.480 --> 0:08:09.680 Energy Security ministerial and business for it. 0:08:09.800 --> 0:08:11.360 I feel less bad for not having out the tide 0:08:11.360 --> 0:08:11.720 of my time. 0:08:11.800 --> 0:08:13.760 Well's right off the tongue, and we have Liezelda in 0:08:13.800 --> 0:08:15.760 the EPA administrator joining us from those talks here in 0:08:15.760 --> 0:08:18.000 a few minutes time, I should say. But of course, 0:08:18.000 --> 0:08:20.680 nothing is shaping the conversation about global energy more than 0:08:20.920 --> 0:08:23.320 the strait that we see behind Philip Crowther and Philip 0:08:23.320 --> 0:08:25.240 I go back to you and again reference that interview 0:08:25.280 --> 0:08:27.960 that was on NBC News or NBC News conducted with 0:08:28.000 --> 0:08:30.320 President Trump via telephone. He said, We're going to be 0:08:30.360 --> 0:08:33.480 sweeping the strait very strongly, and we believe will be 0:08:33.559 --> 0:08:36.120 joined by other countries who are somewhat impeded and in 0:08:36.160 --> 0:08:40.000 some cases impeded from getting the oil. I'm looking at 0:08:40.000 --> 0:08:42.800 that line. We believe, as he invokes China and France 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:45.720 and Japan and South Korea and other countries, this is 0:08:45.720 --> 0:08:47.960 a war that largely has been prosecuted by the US 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:50.040 and Israel, just the two of them. Now we have 0:08:50.080 --> 0:08:53.480 a president talking about the need for allies to reopen 0:08:53.559 --> 0:08:56.760 or get traffic flowing in that strait. Once again, your 0:08:56.840 --> 0:08:59.640 sense of the willingness of other countries to do that. 0:09:00.120 --> 0:09:02.200 Yesterday we had a conversation just about how little traffic 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:04.360 you were able to observe in the strait behind you. 0:09:04.400 --> 0:09:06.840 Has anything notionally changed here over the last twenty four hours. 0:09:09.120 --> 0:09:10.080 First of all, it hasn't. 0:09:10.400 --> 0:09:13.679 There has not been any increasing traffic here because there 0:09:13.760 --> 0:09:17.120 is no deal, and it is still very much deemed 0:09:17.160 --> 0:09:20.920 too dangerous for any containerships, one of which we see 0:09:20.960 --> 0:09:24.000 behind us, but of course, more crucially for the world 0:09:24.040 --> 0:09:28.760 economic markets for oil tankers and those carrying liquefied natural 0:09:28.800 --> 0:09:32.079 gas to pass from the Persian Gulf through the Strait 0:09:32.120 --> 0:09:35.360 of Hormones to well, essentially where I am here, out 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:38.679 into the wider world and bringing those commodities to the 0:09:38.679 --> 0:09:42.080 international market. Now back to what you mentioned, though, you 0:09:42.120 --> 0:09:44.640 know this has happened before in the Middle East, that 0:09:44.679 --> 0:09:47.600 the United States has more or less unilaterally gone to 0:09:47.679 --> 0:09:51.760 war and then in the aftermath is asking for help essentially, 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:54.600 and in this case, what President Trump is doing, he's 0:09:55.080 --> 0:09:58.320 or maybe enticing other countries to get involved in what 0:09:58.600 --> 0:10:02.040 would boil down to an inter national coalition of warships 0:10:02.320 --> 0:10:04.800 to protect these ships going in and out of the 0:10:04.800 --> 0:10:08.080 Strait of Hormuz. Is he enticing them? Is he provoking 0:10:08.120 --> 0:10:10.480 them into joining him? Is he just basically saying this 0:10:10.600 --> 0:10:13.200 is a FETA complie. You need to now be part 0:10:13.240 --> 0:10:16.280 of this because it's your ships that are not getting through. 0:10:16.440 --> 0:10:18.000 And it is true, of course. 0:10:17.960 --> 0:10:22.040 These are countries and companies that are very much affected 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:26.280 by a US Israeli war on Iran, and China is 0:10:26.360 --> 0:10:30.520 number one there because such a huge percentage of the 0:10:30.679 --> 0:10:34.600 oil that passes through the Strait of Hormuz goes to China. 0:10:34.679 --> 0:10:37.719 So in his post last night by President Trump on 0:10:37.760 --> 0:10:42.679 his social network on truth Social, he was naming countries specifically, 0:10:42.720 --> 0:10:45.600 not innocently, you know, there was a reason for this. 0:10:45.679 --> 0:10:48.640 France and the United Kingdom, of course, that's understandable. These 0:10:48.679 --> 0:10:53.280 are Western allies, but also Japan, South Korea, and specifically China. 0:10:53.400 --> 0:10:56.400 He wants them to be part of, well essentially a 0:10:56.480 --> 0:10:58.520 bit of an armada that would be led by the 0:10:58.679 --> 0:11:02.640 United States to protect these ships and get the traffic 0:11:02.720 --> 0:11:05.440 flowing through the Strait of hor Mows. Again, this is 0:11:05.480 --> 0:11:09.840 a lot easier said than done. While these Iranian threats 0:11:10.120 --> 0:11:12.960 to hit any ship that tries to go through that 0:11:13.120 --> 0:11:17.200 is in any way affiliated or allied with the United 0:11:17.280 --> 0:11:20.920 States and Israel or its allies, while those threats continue, 0:11:21.000 --> 0:11:23.360 well you have to presume that there could be Iranian 0:11:23.360 --> 0:11:24.880 attacks on warships as well. 0:11:25.200 --> 0:11:25.600 Jimana. 0:11:25.640 --> 0:11:28.719 Speaking of Israel, there's a report that's popped up in 0:11:28.760 --> 0:11:32.079 Semaphore that is exclusive saying that Israel has informed the 0:11:32.160 --> 0:11:34.440 US this week that it's running critically low on ballistic 0:11:34.480 --> 0:11:37.960 missile interceptors. As the conflict with Iran rages on, Israel 0:11:38.000 --> 0:11:40.800 has reportedly entered the current war already low on interceptors 0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:43.240 that were fired during last summer's conflict with Iran. Now 0:11:43.280 --> 0:11:48.040 this compliment's reporting from Bloomberg that UAE and Kutar were also. 0:11:47.880 --> 0:11:49.199 Running low on those interceptors. 0:11:49.200 --> 0:11:51.000 I do need to say both those countries have pushed 0:11:51.000 --> 0:11:54.480 back vociferously on that reporting. But I'm wondering if you 0:11:54.520 --> 0:11:56.760 have any sense of the veracity of these reports. If 0:11:56.760 --> 0:11:59.200 this is something countries in the region are worried about, 0:11:59.200 --> 0:12:00.920 I mean, it would make at this point, But what 0:12:00.920 --> 0:12:01.600 are they telling you? 0:12:05.000 --> 0:12:07.800 I think, you know, let's just go back to the 0:12:07.840 --> 0:12:10.240 starting point of all of this, which is the asymmetry 0:12:10.240 --> 0:12:12.520 of the military warfare here. I think I don't think 0:12:12.559 --> 0:12:16.600 there's a question that the US and Israel have military dominance, 0:12:16.679 --> 0:12:18.520 and in fact, if you go back to some of 0:12:18.520 --> 0:12:20.319 the comments at Central Command have said, they've said that 0:12:20.360 --> 0:12:22.920 they managed to eliminate around sixty to seventy percent of 0:12:22.920 --> 0:12:27.920 missile launchers in Iran, around sixty to seventy percent of 0:12:28.080 --> 0:12:32.520 their missile stockpiles. But at the same time, I think 0:12:32.840 --> 0:12:35.680 most of the region was taken aback at the sheer 0:12:35.800 --> 0:12:39.120 intensity and frequency of the strikes that came through from 0:12:39.120 --> 0:12:41.839 Iran onto these Gulf states and indeed onto Israel itself. 0:12:41.880 --> 0:12:43.959 I mean, just to give you the example of the UAE, 0:12:44.920 --> 0:12:47.760 they said that they have engaged in over one thousand, 0:12:47.880 --> 0:12:51.160 six hundred drones and three hundred missiles launched by Iran 0:12:51.280 --> 0:12:53.960 since the war began, and this was over two weeks ago. Now, 0:12:54.360 --> 0:12:58.280 as our colleague reporter was just saying, the interception rate 0:12:58.400 --> 0:13:02.880 for these projectiles is very high. It's between something like 0:13:02.960 --> 0:13:06.120 ninety two to ninety five percent, whether it's drone, drones 0:13:06.520 --> 0:13:10.079 or missiles. But there is a mismatch and costs, and 0:13:10.400 --> 0:13:13.719 this is something that Iran recognizes. They're capable of manufacturing 0:13:13.720 --> 0:13:16.080 these low cost drones in. 0:13:15.880 --> 0:13:16.559 A huge amount. 0:13:16.600 --> 0:13:19.160 They're estimated to be sitting on around fifty thousand of 0:13:19.200 --> 0:13:22.640 these drones, and they are costly to take down. And 0:13:22.679 --> 0:13:25.360 so the longer this war goes on for the more 0:13:25.400 --> 0:13:27.640 they are going to be questions about how long these 0:13:27.640 --> 0:13:30.000 air defense systems can hold up for I should I 0:13:30.000 --> 0:13:33.400 should say, however, that these GLF states maintain that the 0:13:33.520 --> 0:13:36.839 air defense systems at continue to have very high interception rates, 0:13:36.840 --> 0:13:38.760 and they are doing what they can to beef them up. 0:13:38.880 --> 0:13:41.560 Okay, thank you Jamin Rossecchi, our Mid East anchor. We've 0:13:41.559 --> 0:13:44.800 also liked to thank Philip kurhller AP international correspondent standing 0:13:44.840 --> 0:13:47.440 out on that water for us. And Laura Davidson, of course, 0:13:47.559 --> 0:13:50.760 Washington Deputy BEARA Chief joining us from Tokyo. 0:13:51.880 --> 0:13:54.880 Stay with us for more on Bloomberg this weekend, right 0:13:54.920 --> 0:13:55.320 after this. 0:14:07.440 --> 0:14:10.680 All right, so right now, President Trump's National Energy Dominance 0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:13.880 Council is hosting an energy security firm in Tokyo. This 0:14:14.000 --> 0:14:16.840 was a conference that was planned before America struck Iran 0:14:17.240 --> 0:14:20.040 and is happening amid global economic turmoil. 0:14:20.200 --> 0:14:22.520 Shorting is now from Tokyo. Is the EPA Administrator Lee 0:14:22.560 --> 0:14:24.560 Zeldin on this Saturday. Great to have you with us. 0:14:24.560 --> 0:14:26.880 We're going to talk about the substance of the conversations 0:14:26.880 --> 0:14:28.440 you've been having here in just a moment, but I 0:14:28.520 --> 0:14:31.080 wanted to ask you first, remembering as I do, you 0:14:31.120 --> 0:14:34.040 as a congressman, you as a fellow New Yorker. You've 0:14:34.080 --> 0:14:36.080 talked an awful lot about the need for there to 0:14:36.080 --> 0:14:38.680 be endgames in military conflict, and you've brought that up 0:14:38.720 --> 0:14:41.560 in the context of your military service as well. Talking 0:14:41.600 --> 0:14:44.360 about a Rock and Afghanistan. As we look at this 0:14:44.440 --> 0:14:47.080 war entering the third week, I'm curious what you see 0:14:47.080 --> 0:14:49.080 that endgame as and if it's clear enough to you 0:14:49.320 --> 0:14:50.880 as somebody again who's served in the military. 0:14:52.760 --> 0:14:56.280 Well, obviously, my role serving as administrator of the Environmental 0:14:56.280 --> 0:14:59.400 Protection Agency is a bit different than serving Congress on 0:14:59.440 --> 0:15:03.240 the House Horna Affairs Committee. Have the utmost faith and 0:15:03.320 --> 0:15:06.960 trust in President Trump and his national security and foreign 0:15:07.000 --> 0:15:12.880 policy team. They have been conducting many successful strikes to 0:15:12.920 --> 0:15:19.800 achieve strategic objectives, taking out top high value targets throughout Iran. Consistently, 0:15:21.080 --> 0:15:25.360 that progress has resulted in all sorts of people who 0:15:26.040 --> 0:15:30.360 have been responsible for many attacks that have not just 0:15:30.440 --> 0:15:35.440 adversely impacted US interests in that region, but have killed 0:15:35.800 --> 0:15:37.560 and maimed US service members. 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:40.280 As a now retired member. 0:15:40.040 --> 0:15:44.680 Of the United States Army, speaking from that perspective, just 0:15:45.040 --> 0:15:49.600 too many fellow soldiers have been targeted by OURGC and 0:15:49.640 --> 0:15:54.440 Iranian leadership over the course of my adult life. Since 0:15:54.680 --> 0:15:59.160 first going into the military in two thousand and three, 0:15:59.400 --> 0:16:02.960 seeing that justice brought to bear on behalf of all 0:16:03.080 --> 0:16:07.120 those United States service members that their veterans, those families. 0:16:07.880 --> 0:16:11.720 That is long overdue justice for many of these Iranian 0:16:12.480 --> 0:16:15.240 quote unquote leaders who are no longer alive. 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:17.800 I do want to ask you about the summit that 0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:20.920 you're competing, and especially, you know oil prices about forty percent. 0:16:21.200 --> 0:16:23.720 Americans already feel like they're being squeezed. And I know 0:16:23.760 --> 0:16:26.320 that you're there partially to pitch to Asian countries because 0:16:26.320 --> 0:16:29.000 I heard John some of our other network friends why 0:16:29.120 --> 0:16:31.760 America would be a good resource for them for energy, 0:16:31.760 --> 0:16:33.920 why they should get our energy from US. But my 0:16:34.040 --> 0:16:36.600 question to you is many of those same nations, including Vietnam, 0:16:36.640 --> 0:16:40.800 Thailand and others, are feeling pressure from the constantly changing 0:16:40.920 --> 0:16:44.240 US tariff landscape, and they feel like the President is 0:16:44.360 --> 0:16:46.960 using that as a tool and changes depending on what 0:16:47.000 --> 0:16:50.760 he wants from foreign policy. So why should Asian nations 0:16:51.080 --> 0:16:54.960 trust the US as a consistent and dependable source of 0:16:55.080 --> 0:16:55.880 energy in the future. 0:16:59.440 --> 0:17:03.440 Well, the points is that you see these Asian companies, 0:17:03.560 --> 0:17:08.159 these Asian countries that have relied so heavily on the 0:17:08.160 --> 0:17:12.560 Middle East for their crude oil and the time that 0:17:12.600 --> 0:17:17.159 it takes, and the reliance on a route that in 0:17:17.160 --> 0:17:20.919 many respects a terrorist regime has been able to frequently 0:17:21.000 --> 0:17:24.000 disrupt or, at the very least threaten to disrupt over 0:17:24.000 --> 0:17:27.639 the course of years and decades. Now they start looking 0:17:27.760 --> 0:17:30.920 east to the United States, where we have been unleashing 0:17:31.000 --> 0:17:34.600 energy dominance here at home with new projects that are 0:17:34.640 --> 0:17:38.639 now on the horizon. President Trump has been advocating strongly 0:17:38.760 --> 0:17:44.359 for a new lit liquid lergy facility, a pipeline that 0:17:44.400 --> 0:17:48.080 would run alongside the Trans Alaska pipeline in Alaska. Crude 0:17:48.119 --> 0:17:52.320 oil in Alaska has the ability to have a lot 0:17:52.440 --> 0:17:56.439 more oil passed through it, and that route for sixty 0:17:56.520 --> 0:18:00.600 years with Japan, for example, has been able to deliver 0:18:01.280 --> 0:18:06.359 that crude oil to Asia. To japras I, how are 0:18:06.400 --> 0:18:07.680 you with freedom of navigation? 0:18:07.920 --> 0:18:10.000 Of course I'm sorry for but if I may, are 0:18:10.000 --> 0:18:12.120 you not getting any pushback that even if you make 0:18:12.160 --> 0:18:15.119 some of these deals and President Trump becomes displeased with 0:18:15.160 --> 0:18:19.880 these countries, he could claw back that energy. 0:18:21.160 --> 0:18:23.720 Well, what we just witnessed over the course last forty 0:18:23.760 --> 0:18:28.000 eight hours is that many countries in the Indo Pacific 0:18:28.040 --> 0:18:32.479 are gravitating towards the United States. We had over fifty 0:18:32.520 --> 0:18:36.960 billion dollars worth of deals with US companies. All the 0:18:37.040 --> 0:18:41.360 dialogue that has taken place has been with an understanding 0:18:42.040 --> 0:18:45.200 that by entering into new deals with the United States 0:18:45.200 --> 0:18:49.119 that allows them to reduce their reliance which was so 0:18:49.200 --> 0:18:52.679 heavily concentrated in the Middle East. And on top of it, 0:18:52.680 --> 0:18:56.000 it takes just a fraction of time to get that 0:18:56.280 --> 0:19:00.760 energy supply to Japan and these other countries, compared to 0:19:01.840 --> 0:19:03.920 twenty eight days to get it from the Middle East 0:19:03.920 --> 0:19:05.360 to take eight days. 0:19:05.040 --> 0:19:06.840 To get there from Alaska. 0:19:07.000 --> 0:19:11.040 So that is another dynamic, but just a lot of 0:19:11.480 --> 0:19:18.320 very robust, energetic, motivated conversation and engagement from the ministers 0:19:18.359 --> 0:19:21.920 of energy of all of these countries trying to cut 0:19:21.960 --> 0:19:23.720 deals with United States. 0:19:23.560 --> 0:19:26.640 Mister Minister rusually cutting deals, you might, for Christina say. 0:19:26.640 --> 0:19:28.080 At the top of this is of course the summit 0:19:28.119 --> 0:19:32.000 that was scheduled before the war began, and I'm curious, 0:19:32.480 --> 0:19:34.760 given what has happened here, how much that situation is 0:19:34.800 --> 0:19:37.920 kind of coloring the conversations that you're having with allies 0:19:38.119 --> 0:19:40.480 and companies at the summit. Over the course of this weekend. 0:19:45.160 --> 0:19:48.320 One of the topics that were discussed, one of the 0:19:48.359 --> 0:19:53.040 pillars of this weekend is about the supply chain, and 0:19:53.440 --> 0:19:59.160 for Indo Pacific countries, they are I think far more 0:19:59.200 --> 0:20:04.560 motivated they were talking quite frequently about wanting to diversify 0:20:04.800 --> 0:20:08.800 their supply chain, that they want to start looking elsewhere 0:20:08.840 --> 0:20:12.359 because they were relying too heavily on the Middle Eastern 0:20:12.400 --> 0:20:18.160 region for their supply chain now, so diversifying how they 0:20:18.400 --> 0:20:22.040 provide energy to their people. Some countries are further along 0:20:22.160 --> 0:20:25.920 and talking about nuclear, others relying more on L and G, 0:20:26.280 --> 0:20:30.480 others talking about coal. It really ran the gamut, and 0:20:30.520 --> 0:20:32.760 depending on which country we were sitting in for a 0:20:32.800 --> 0:20:39.080 bilateral or for meetings amongst all the energy ministers, diversification 0:20:39.280 --> 0:20:41.960 of the supply chain was not just a pillar going 0:20:42.000 --> 0:20:45.679 into this weekend, but something that was frequently talked about throughout. 0:20:46.320 --> 0:20:48.359 I have a couple of nuclear questions, but I do 0:20:48.440 --> 0:20:51.480 want to start with when we look at the possible 0:20:51.480 --> 0:20:54.000 consequences of a regime falling in Iran, one of the 0:20:54.000 --> 0:20:56.719 concerns we've been hearing from nuclear experts and security experts 0:20:57.160 --> 0:21:00.280 is how to secure and possibly transport out that rich 0:21:00.359 --> 0:21:03.520 geranium in that country. Is there a plan to do it, 0:21:03.560 --> 0:21:05.919 does it involve American boots on the ground, and what 0:21:06.000 --> 0:21:08.360 can you tell us about what's going to happen there. 0:21:11.800 --> 0:21:15.639 Yeah, that's a question that I as Administrative EPA would 0:21:16.080 --> 0:21:19.639 not want to answer on behalf of the President of 0:21:19.640 --> 0:21:22.680 the White House, the Department of War, Department of State, 0:21:22.760 --> 0:21:29.280