Judging Freedom - Pepe Escobar : Iran Has No Fear of Trump

Episode Date: August 6, 2026

Pepe Escobar : Iran Has No Fear of TrumpSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Undeclared wars are commonplace. Pragically, our government engages in preemptive war, otherwise known as aggression with no complaints from the American people. Sadly, we have become accustomed to living with the illegitimate use of force by government. To develop a truly free society, the issue of initiating force must be understood and rejected. What if sometimes to love your country you had to alter or abolish the government? the government. What if Jefferson was right? What if that government is best, which governs least? What if it is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong? What if it is better to perish fighting for freedom than to live as a slave? What if freedom's greatest hour of danger is now?

Hey, everyone, Judge Andrew Napolitano here for judging freedom. Today is Thursday, August 6, 2006, Pepe Escobar joins us now. Pepe, a pleasure, my dear friend. My pleasure, Judge. Before I ask you about a dead cat bouncing, which I've been teasing all afternoon because of the title of your great new column, I must ask you this. Does the Iranian leadership fear Trump? No, on the contrary. Their program is to drive Trump. It's the exact opposite. What do you mean by that? They are driving Trump crazy because they are boxing him in day after day.

And because they run the clock, they know all the internal pressures on him, on the Trump administration, on the American economy, on the global economy, depletion of strategic petroleum reserves, everything, devastation of U.S. basis in Persian Gulf, in Europe, in Iraq and in Jordan. The Iranians are running the whole thing, essentially. So the last thing that they feel, Judge, is Peter. Sorry, sorry, sorry. No, nothing to be sorry about. Here is an interview, a clip of an interview,

between a very senior Iranian general, who our friend, Muhammad, Professor Morandi, told us as the former commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Guard. Of the IRGC. Correct. Expressing some profound and incisive understanding of Donald Trump. Cut number nine, Chris. The fundamental problem that Donald Trump has, in my personal opinion,

is that there is this significant and noticeable shortage of both genuine wisdom and sound prudence. I mean, practically speaking, he's got issues. When you consider the 12-day war, the 40-day and 17-day wars, you see that the level of decision-makers, decision-making in America has kind of reduced. I mean, the prudence that they had in during the First War, we don't see that among the American commanders. I mean, they plan to separate the southern part of Iran from the northern part.

This is non-military. I mean, this is not feasible. It's been non-professional. I mean, such planning. On what basis did you have such a plan? This shows this degradation. I would suggest to you, and I want you to chime in, they have a profound understanding of Trump.

Absolutely. And our friend, Professor Morandi, must have told you, Judge, that this guy, Moschen Rezae, he's now the top military advisor to the Supreme Leader. Mostava Kamenei. He's up there. He's up there.

He's in fact more influential overall than the current commander-in-chief of the IRGC, Vahidi. So I saw this interview. It's absolutely outstanding. Once again, it proves not only

across West Asia, but across the global South, in fact, how the Iranians they understand everything there is to know about not only Trump himself, but how the Trump administration works. And, you know, I was joking at the beginning of the show today that their program is basically to drive Trump nuts. It's because they know how to do it. And they haven't even read, as far as we know, this latest book that is out in the U.S. only a few days ago about RICO. Roy Kohn taught all the tricks in the book to a young Donald Trump. The New Yorker published an excerpt of the book.

I linked on my telegram channel. If you read just the excerpt of the book, it's all there. The psyche of Donald Trump in action. And obviously, the Iranians have been cultivating this for months. They already know the timing of. everything that Trump does. They decode the language. Nothing is lost in translation from English to Farsi. They have excellent people in Iran totally fluent in English. And of course, totally fluent in the way the U.S. works. So there are no surprises. Here's a posting just 25 minutes ago

by Ghalibati the speaker of the Republican of Iran's parliament massive attack coming wait never mind they want to negotiate

that's theater diplomacy on loop using bullying broken promises fake news as leverage is a failed strategy acknowledge the fact and fulfill your commitments.

We don't need more theater. I've not heard them be that direct in their evaluation of and words to President Trump. Have you? Because now there's a feeling of self-confidence and all across the political spectrum, Judge. The political spectrum, the diplomatic spectrum, and the military spectrum,

reflecting what they are discussing at the Supreme National Security Council. And of course the relation with leader Morshtava Kamene, who's always invisible, but he is coordinating all that. This is the most extraordinary thing. You can imagine 90 million Iranians, they have pledged allegiance to an invisible leader. Sometimes there's a statement here, a statement there, but the weight of his spiritual, ethical, moral, political presence is something unquantifiable, in fact.

And people directly relate to what he used to what he used to say before when he was just the son of Ayatollah Khamenei, when he had many different, let's say, jobs, but mostly in the shade. One of them was coordinating very closely with the IRGC. He never believed that the Americans could be trusted. And one of his latest messages, only a few days ago, he basically said the same thing. And still, Judge, very important, he authorized the Supreme National Security Council, okay, guys, if you want to go for this MOU, if you reach a solid majority among yourselves, 13 members of the Supreme National Security Council. Okay.

Great. But this doesn't mean that he supported it from the beginning because he was absolutely convinced this was going to fail, as it did. And he learned this from his father. Why are, why does there seem to be an increasing number of military men involved in the negotiations, whether it's a, it's the Pakistani military or Saudi or Omani. Why military guys are getting involved? Because now this is a diplomatic, military, geopolitical, and geopolitical and geopolitical and geopolitical, revolving around the resuscitation of the dead cat, the MOU.

That's why I put in the title of my column, Deadcat Bounce. The Dead Cat Bounce is in effect. The DETT bounce means what? MOU might be back. Exactly. Exactly. Well, in a relatively playful way, I used a not-de-say metaphor. Instead of Ulysses, I thought about the dead cat

on a raft in the middle of an ocean in revolt under the wrath of the gods, but he was not dead. He was not at the bottom of the ocean yet. Here in New York, on Wall Street, a dead cat. bounce is what occurs when a market is very low and suddenly bounces back. Everybody thought it was dead, but it just bounced back almost unexpectedly and very rapidly. So is the dead cat coming alive? Is the MOU coming back to life once the Iranians and the Omanis come to an agreement on the use of the strait?

of the strait and the revenue streams from the uses of the strait? Absolutely, Judge. Because this is the sequencing. It's very, very important. If people only follow American mainstream media, they won't understand the sequence. You have to think like the Iranians are sinking you through and how they explain to the Pakistanis, look, we have to follow this sequence. then we will be back to the MOU.

So what's happening now? Trump is saying that we are talking, blah, blah, bye, there's going to be an imminent deal. No. First of all, the Americas are not talking to anybody. In fact, the Iranians are not talking to the Americans. What the only negotiation at the moment is a technical negotiation between Iranian officials and Omani officials,

specifically on the new rule. rules of engagement in the Strait of Hormuz. And they are about to reach an agreement. And this agreement is important is between Tehran and Muscat. Nobody else, not even other GCC members. And as it stands, it's going to be everything sailing into the Strait of Hormuz will be controlled by Iran. IRGC Navy, the PGSA, the new body that they established to run everything in the Persian Gulf.

And everybody's swinging out of the strait of our moves going to Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea, and further on down to Asia. There'll be two stages. First, controls by the Omanian authorities, and a second control by the Iranian Authority. So this is why we are. and is spread in the clinched. Once this temporary, very important, not a full term deal, was this temporary accord is splinched, then the Iranians will be willing to go back to the table

and basically the MOU to be implemented, not to renegotiate the MOU. Everything is over there in the 14th point, and the Americans broke it. And the Iranians told the Pakistanis. We'll be back as long as the Americans. Americans are fulfilling what they sign in terms of the MOU. Do the hardliners, whether in the Council of Experts or the Parliament or even on the streets,

not want the MOU resurrected, even though it, in my opinion, and I suspect in yours, decidedly favors Iran? Yes, it does. But it's very, very important, Judge. This cannot be interpreted as American mainstream media is interpreted as a rift at the top. No, there are different interpretations. It's not a rift. The absolute key issue is, can we trust the UNM?

Everybody knows. Minister of Foreign Relations, diplomats, the parliament, And of course, the hard line as generals or not generals know that it's impossible to trust President Trump and the Trump administration, because they broke everything that they signed, not signed, or whatever. But they don't close the window of opportunity in the diplomatic sphere. And that explains Arashu, in diplomacy in West Asia and everywhere. and always saying on the record we always leave the window of opportunity for diplomacy, as long as there's mutual respect. So for instance, yes, go ahead, please.

I'm going to ask you to log off and log back on because we're having problems with your audio. This is not you, it's stream yard. Okay, no problem. I will log off and give back to. Thank you. Okay. Okay. Those of us who have been, those of you who have been with us all day know that this problem has been plaguing us all day. And while this is not a long-term fix, it often works for the duration of the show, this logging off and logging on. Apologies, even though this is not anything we can do about it here. We have complained to the provider, Streamyard, and they've given us an AI answer. We told me we want a human answer. Here's Pepe back, all right. Yes. I hope it's okay now. Yeah, I cannot hear the echo anymore. No, it sounds the same, but we'll just have to finish. We've got about four or five minutes left. Will Iran press the U.S. to, before I get there, before I get there, what is Israel doing while the sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz is being decided definitively in such a way as to exclude them.

I can't imagine Oman or Iran permitting any ships destined for or coming from Israel. For the moment, they are doing nothing. They are just waiting to see what's going to be decided between Iran and Oman. And, of course, how the United States is going to be. to officially react to that. Then they will come back to doing what they usually do, kill people in many different ways, as we know it. Will this war ever end while Israel is still in Gaza and Lebanon? No. No, because Gaza and Lebanon are part of the axis of resistance. Absolutely, absolutely not. So this could be a forever war in more ways than one.

And of course, we're going to have different stages, depending on how the Strait of Hormuz is resolved, or if it's left unresolved, but as a fact on the seas, in fact, that the Americans have to adapt to, like after the Brits with the Swiss Canal Prizes in 56, 57, Then it's a different story because the actions of resistance will rearrange their strategy vis-à-vis Israel. But the key problem, which is what Israel did and continues to do in Gaza, West Bank and against Lebanon, will not disappear. This is very important what you put on screen, Judge, what President Pesachan said.

He believes in the NOU. Yes. Let me read it aloud for the benefit of those who take the... the take judging freedom on audio only. I believe this memorandum will be the center of gravity of our foreign relations in the future. We must strive to compel the enemy to remain committed to what it has signed. The security of our country, the region, and our allies will be enhanced by this memorandum. This is posted by President Poseshkin of Iran.

What Trump has posted, of course, is more threat. and bluster, which, as we know, from the statement from Speaker Galabov and General Razai, nobody takes seriously. No, they don't. And what, and that's the, that's another key issue at the moment, Judge. What Pasechkin is saying, which is exactly how Arachia is negotiating, vis-a-vis the possibility of reopening the dead cat, resources state in the dead cat, the MOU,

there are RGC hardliners who are totally against it. And even more important, Iranian public opinion is overwhelmingly against it. Because there is a consensus all across, every nook and cranny of Iranian society today, this is something our friend, Professor Moran, they can confirm that it's absolutely impossible to negotiate with the Americans, and there's no element of trust whatsoever.

All that is true, but there's got to be some sort of diplomatic understanding. And that's why we have Pesachshkin and Arakshi coming back to the possibility of going back to the negotiating table. But only after the straight-over move's issue is resolved, which is the, trying to find a temporary agreement with the Omanis. And the Americas, what are they going to do? They're going to throw Oman under the bus. No, these are the two sovereign states boarding the strait of Oman. So it's absolutely legal for them. Okay, we're going to install the new rules of the game to navigate here. Makes total sense.

When Ghalibaf or Arakhi, the Iranian leaders, speak with the field marshal of the Pakistani army or the prime minister of Pakistan, do the field marshal or the prime minister relay anything to the Americans? Or is that line of communication no longer open? No, on the contrary, Judge, everything that the Iranians tell, Munir, Arachi, Ishakdar, the foreign minister, is relayed practically instantly to the Americas. And Larry and I have confirmed this with our sources, or the sources that feed us information from the negotiating table, behind the shades. How Intel circulates? Or to whom are they relaying it, not to the two real estate agents any longer? No, no, no. In the case of a Simonyer judge, it's very serious.

He has Trump on speed dial, literally. They talk directly on the phone. And of course, there is a negotiating team on the American side. And this is something that one of our sources, he told, this is only one guy. It was impossible to reconfirm because he was the guy in the room in this particular negotiation. When an American delegation early last week went to Islamabad in Raulpindi, the sister cities, Raul Pindi is the headquarters of the Pakistan army. This guy told us that in his best evaluation, the American delegation came via the office of the vice president.

This means these were J.D. Vance's people, not Tweedledy and Tweedledum, Whitkoff and Kushner. So this is a major development. But we cannot, we don't have the means to confirm 100% that the American negotiating team at the moment is J.D. Vance's negotiating team. What we do know is that Kushner and Whitkoff are completely. out of the picture because they were vetoed by the Iranians. Because, A, they're not diplomats, and B, they take orders from Netanyahu. You're absolutely right, exactly. So forget it. So if the Americans come back to the negotiating table, they'll have to have a new negotiating team. And maybe this new negotiating team

is this, or at least part of it, sorry, is this delegation that visited Pakistan early last week. And yes, the Pakistanists tell the Americans everything that Iranians communicate to them. There is a constant flow of information. And behind everybody, Judge, very important, the Chinese, who are always in the shade, but the Chinese are the overarching power behind this channel of. communication China, Pakistan, Iran. And then it gets to the Americans. And when he gets back, everything that comes back from the Americans, go straight to Iran. The Pakistanis tell the Iranians immediately. And obviously the Chinese also know in 24-7 real time.

Got it. Pepe, thank you very much, my dear friend. We will see you tomorrow with Larry Johnson on the Intelligence Community Roundtable. Oh, this will be great. Ray is going to be part of it as well? No, Ray is retiring, but you and Larry will be there to Phil Ray. And I miss Ray so much. Yes, I'll do my best to be with you tomorrow. Yes.

All right. Thank you. Thank you, Pepe. All the best. I love you. All the best. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Tomorrow Friday at 8.30 in the morning, Trita Parsi returns. His Internet problems have been resolved and will have the serious conversation we attempted to have this morning. And as he just heard me say, the roundtable at four o'clock, Larry Johnson and Pepe Escobar. Judge Napolitano for Judging Freedom.