Morning Joe - Breaking: Four U.S. service members killed in air crash in Iraq

Episode Date: March 13, 2026

Breaking: Four U.S. service members killed in air crash in Iraq To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The situation with Iran is moving along very rapidly. It's doing very well. Our military is unsurpassed. There's never been anything like it. Nobody's ever seen anything like it. And we're doing what has to be done. Should have been done during a 47-year period. It could have been done by a lot of different people that chose not to do it.

But they really are a nation of terror and hate. And they're paying a big price right now. President Trump continues. to present this war with Iran as an overwhelming success, despite the Iranian regime showing no signs of giving up the fight. We'll bring you a live report from the region in just a moment. Meanwhile, the instability in the Middle East is sending the price of oil higher, driving up gas prices for Americans, oil up at $100 a barrel yesterday. We'll show you how the president addressed those concerns yesterday. Good morning. Welcome to morning, Joe. It is Friday, March 13th.

There is breaking news this morning, the United States military saying, four service members were killed yesterday when a refueling aircraft went down in western Iraq. No word yet on the status of the two other crew members also on board. According to a statement from U.S. Central Command, quote, The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire. The Pentagon says two planes were involved in the incident and the second landed safely. The refueling tanker is the fourth publicly acknowledged aircraft to crash in the war with Iran.

Last week, three fighter jets were mistakenly downed, you'll remember, by friendly fire in Kuwait. It all comes as missiles continue to rain down across the Middle East amid the growing economic fallout from the war. Thick black smoke seemed billowing over skyscrapers this morning in Dubai, as authorities said, air defenses intercepted a projectile sparking that blaze. This, just one of the many attacks, Iran continues to launch across the region. Saudi Arabia says it down dozens of drones in the early hours today, and damage can be seen in northern Israel as well. Well, officials say a missile strike caused extensive destruction.

Iran also continues to hit oil and energy infrastructure. New York Times analysis shows at least 16 oil tankers, cargo, and other commercial ships have been attacked in the Persian Gulf since the war began. Israel's Air Force, meanwhile, says it struck more than 200 targets in Western and Central Iran in the past day or so, and Israel continues to ramp up its bombardment of Beirut, sending smoke into the air near the Lebanese government headquarters, in areas near bars, restaurants, and schools. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday, his country's attacks are creating the, quote, optimal conditions for the fall of the Iranian government,

before adding, quote, a regime is toppled from within. President Trump issued a new threat to Iran's leaders overnight. He posted on social media just after 1230 a.m. Eastern time, quote, watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today. That's the president of the United States talking about Iran, also calling it a great honor to kill the Iranian regime. In a post yesterday, the president was dismissive of rising oil prices, writing the United States is the largest producer in the world. So when oil prices go up, we, many the United States, make a lot of money. A lot to digest there. Let's bring in the co-host of our

9 a.m. Hour staff writer at the Atlantic, Jonathan Lemire, President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, Richard Haas, and former spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the United Nations, Hagar Shemali. She also worked at the National Security Council and at the Treasury Department. So Jonathan Lemire, that was a mouthful there. All the latest. news getting people caught up. But from the president's point of view, where you cover every day, he says the war is going exactly the plan, says it's going well. He says, don't worry about oil prices and therefore your gas prices going up. It's well worth the price of taking out the Iranian regime. And then the other interesting angle to all this is the reports that we're getting

again this morning, as we've been hearing for days, of a miscalculation by this administration about Iran's capability to strike back once the United States and Israel initiated the war. war. Yeah, Trump's rosy assessment of the conflict to this point seems in stark contrast with the reality we're seeing on the ground. No question, the U.S. military and the Israeli military has delivered an extraordinary amount of damage to Iran, its military infrastructure, and the like. But to your point, Willie, there's reporting yesterday that the U.S. officials did not anticipate that Iran would try to close the Strait of Hormuz as part of a counterattack, which seems sort of pretty baffling to many.

observers of the region. Of course, we know that 20% of the world's oil goes through that very narrow and crucial waterway. Iran has mined it to their, at least to do a degree, with small boats putting mines in those waters. The U.S. has started targeting some of those mine layers, but we leave the count as now 16 or so of these ships have been damaged and with very little oil going through, although we should note some Iran still sending to China, that prices are rising. The pain is at the pump here at the United States, and we're seeing it around the world. President Trump says that cost is worth it. We will see, though, the markets have been his one guardrail to this point.

If there starts to be a real toll, that could change. But Richard Haas, and we'll get into later in the show, some of the incidents of violence that have been brought to here in the United States, which may or may not be linked to this, but it comes in certainly during this conflict. You know, and now reports, again, more American lives lost. of course a tragedy, and we're thinking of their families. Give us your take. We hear the president say it's worth it. We hear the president say there's a plan.

His team really pushed back yesterday on my reporting and others, claiming that there wasn't one. There clearly isn't objective goals here laid out or a case sold to the American people. This war is harder, not going as well, perhaps as Trump thought it might. No, after two weeks, you can't avoid that bottom line. Yes, we've diminished, destroyed a large part of our, Iran's conventional military forces, their ballistic missiles, their navy, what have you. They can still shoot off drones.

They can still put mines out there. They can continue to fight this war. What you're really getting from the administration and from Israel, by the way, is happy talk. We're getting happy talk about how well it's going. And from the Israelis, that regime change is at hand. We can't count on that. And basically, we've got a real problem here. Continued military operations will not get us what we want.

We can't open up the straits. we can't through continued military operations protect our partners in this part of the world and all their oil refineries and water desalinization plants and the and the rest we've got a real problem there regime change is not at hand it's bad for the Iranian people we're not going to get a government that's suddenly going to want to work with us to the contrary what we're seeing is the resilience not just of the clerics but more important the guys with guns the revolutionary guards to me the most interesting thing of the last 24 hours jonathan is the Iranians are beginning to put out their demands for a ceasefire.

And I think that's where this is going to talk, that while the war continues, essentially, the diplomatic dimension is reopening. And the Iranians are saying things like, everyone has to, you have to stop your attacks in us, disengaged from the region, give us reparations. Well, we're not going to do all that, but we could potentially ease sanctions. We're going to have to think about how to deal with Iran's nuclear capabilities. Essentially, two weeks ago, if you remember, the talks between the United States and Iran were taking place with Oman playing babysitter. They broke down. We got impatient. We said they weren't

serious. We've now had two weeks of war. My guess is sometime over the next week or two, formally or informally, we're going to be back to some of those same issues plus some new issues because of what the war has done. Military force and regime change are not going to solve this force. Happy talk is not real. We are going to have to get serious about negotiations and think what we're going to put forward and what we're going to require. And we have not seen the protests, mass protests in the streets that we had earlier this year in Iran because they've been put down by the regime. And I thought there had been some hope from the United States that might happen again. It hasn't, at least to this point. So, Hagar, we also heard from the new Supreme Leader of Iran

yesterday, off camera amid reports that he might be injured, maybe seriously. But whether it was him or being propped up by these, you know, hardline forces there in Tehran, no message of compromise, saying that we're going to avenge the deaths of these young girls at the school that the United States mistakenly hit in Tehran in the first hours of the war talking about using the Strait of Hamoos as real leverage. And I think to Richard's point as well, Iran has been surprisingly resilient in its ability to hit back. Yeah, but we're also only two weeks into this. So, you know, I'd be careful to come to a conclusion on that just yet. Morshaba Khameini, the son of Ali Khomeini, who's been appointed as supreme leader,

is even more hardline than his father, if you can imagine, and more repressive. and he's tied to the IRGC, which is, you know, which is, which is, which you had implied here, is it says something about doubling down. It says two things in particular. One, that the Iranian regime is not ready to negotiate, doesn't want change, certainly doesn't want to surrender, especially to put such a hardliner in. It's also, by the way, very antithetical to how this regime even came into place, arguing that they didn't want a monarchy with the hereditary line, and here they've replaced

it with the theocracy with the hereditary line. So that's not going to go well with many Iranian people. But it also says, you know, it says something else to, which is that you see the way the Iranian regime is responding where they don't want to take on the U.S. and Israeli military directly. They can't. So they're pulling out the tactics they can, which is to bomb Gulf countries, many countries, actually including Turkey and Cyprus, or to attempt to at least, and including their friends, bombing the countries, bombing the Omanis, who mediated, as you noted, certainly not a smart

tactic. I would imagine that even after this, if you have, if the regime is still standing, which I think there's a chance that it will, that those Gulf countries are, it's only going to solidify their ties to the United States. Even if they're not happy and they're not that happy at all with the U.S. and Israel, they implored us not to start this war. But after something like this, you're only going to see requests for security arrangements or some kind of defense pact of some kind, which in the long run could actually be great. But that said, they're trying to pull on these levers, trying to pressure the U.S. and Israel to stop by terrorizing our friends, and also by playing on the

economics. And the economics is important because ultimately that's what, that and the way Trump's base feels about this war, which is not good. They don't want forever wars. They don't want wars in the Middle East. And Republicans are acutely sensitive to a regime change-style war in the Middle East because of Iraq. This is, this is going to, it's going to prevent Trump from keeping this going too long. John mentioned that new reporting from CNN, which by the way echoes other reporting this week from the New York Times and others, saying the Pentagon and National Security Council significantly underestimated Iran's ability to respond to the U.S. military strikes while planning the operation. According to that report, top Trump officials acknowledged to lawmakers

during recent classified briefings, they did not plan for the possibility of Iran closing the strait of Hormuz in response to strikes. It's according to three sources familiar with the closed-door session. But in a new interview with Sky News, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessett said, the U.S. Navy will be escorting oil tankers through the strait. That was always in our planning that there's a chance that U.S. Navy or perhaps an international coalition will be escorting oil tankers through. There are in fact tankers coming through now. Iranian tankers, I believe some Chinese flag tankers have come through. So we know that they have not mined the straits. My belief that

as soon as it is militarily possible, the U.S. Navy, perhaps with an international coalition, will be escorting vessels through. And his military experts have been telling us this week, that's an extraordinarily difficult exercise to escort those tankers through, perhaps under attack from Iran as well. Joining us now, MS Now reporter Josh Eindiger. He's live in Dubai. So, Josh, what is the latest on the fight over the control of the Strait of Hormuz, these key shipping lanes that control about 20% of the world's oil.

Well, Willie, actually, just building off of what Bessent there said, that they're prepared in the coming period of time to start escorting ships through the strait, about an hour ago, I had a chance to talk to, you know, an expert in shipping and in the geopolitics of the region here, specifically about that question. And his point was the whole reason why the U.S. military would escort ships through the strait, to sort of provide a shield around them, a deterrence, really, so that if somebody were to attack the U.S. military ship, that would be an act of war,

and it would attract a huge response from the U.S. military. Well, Iran is already in a hot conflict with the United States. So this analyst told me there really isn't any deterrence to the idea of sending U.S. ships through the strait alongside the cargo ships. They would just become targets themselves. is obviously very well armed targets. But against the swarm of drones, it's much more difficult, as we've seen, of course,

in the last few weeks to defend against. We do know that in 48 hours, something like six ships were targeted by Iran, and these are not ships that are in the strait, and I think that's an important point. They're in the Persian Gulf. They're just sitting ducks. They're waiting for the chance to leave

or to come up with some other plan. And as they sit there motionless, they're being targeted. And so that's the state of play right now in the Persian Gulf. Iran, obviously, its new Supreme Leader or the words written, we are told by the new Supreme Leader, suggest that they're going to continue using this as a point of leverage to raise the cost of this war for the United States. And obviously, that seems unlikely to stop anytime soon, Willie.

And, Josh, one of the other things the new Supreme Leader said, in addition to saying, we're going to keep the straight of Hormuz close, is that, yes, we will continue to attack our neighbors across the Gulf, where you're standing right now. For example, the financial center an attempted attack just today. So tell us more about that attack there in Dubai. And what is the larger view from the people there on this war? Yeah. So the Dubai International Financial Center, it's basically the Wall Street of Dubai. And yesterday there was a lot of reporting that U.S. banks, city group J.P. Morgan Chase, which have a toehold here in Dubai. as almost all banks on the planet do, were taking steps to protect their workforce.

The reality is the government of Dubai had already banned in-person work and school. So most people are not in the office as it is. This attack this morning, which the government says was actually the result of debris from an intercepted drone. It's still a drone attack, and it still caused a fair amount of damage on a building in that financial center neighborhood, although we were told there were no injuries. But widening out, big picture, I will say there, you know, this isn't, it doesn't feel like a war zone in the city of Dubai. We're in downtown Dubai. People have asked us a lot, do we hear intercepts and loud booms?

We really don't because the city is so sprawling. There have been a number of incidents where drone attacks have impacted residential buildings. We've told there have been not many injuries from them. The most injuries have happened when intercepted drones, fall to the ground and either hurt or kill someone on the ground. There have been six people killed in the UAE and over 100 people injured as a result of that type of activity. But, Willie, I would just say that it does seem, generally speaking, that the pace of the

attacks, the number, the raw numbers have dropped in terms of the number of drones and missiles being sent by Iran. The targeting has been a lot more strategic. They are heavily going after the airport. They are heavily going after, obviously, the strait of horn. and oil infrastructure as they try to really just cripple the global economy and American interests in the region. Willie. MS now reporter Josh Einer, live for us from Dubai this morning.

Josh, thanks so much. We appreciate it. So Richard Haas, going back to the Scott Besant case in the Strait of Hormuz saying that the United States Navy soon, as he said, will be escorting ships through the strait. And the larger question of whether the United States anticipated accurately these moves. from Iran. We heard New York Times reporting a couple days ago where the energy secretary had said to President Trump that the oil prices may go up for a short time, but it'll be a blip, much like it was last June when the United States and Israel attacked the nuclear facilities

in Iran. How big and how long of a problem is this? Because this really is the one point of leverage the Iranians have. It's a big problem and it's a long duration problem. You can't have individual tankers escorted through a 20-21 mile straight. The idea that you would put U.S. naval vessels at risk for drones, for speedboats, for swarming attacks is just a non-starter. We're not going to have a military solution there. So all due respect to the Secretary of the Treasury, I disagree. What we're going to have to do, again, is finding a political arrangement with Iran and it's going to be part of a larger negotiation. I think we'll get there. But in the meantime, you're not going to have U.S. Navy taking on that role.

insurers are not going to touch this problem. So at the moment, the only tankers they're going to get through are those who the Iranians basically announce are welcome. Otherwise, again, you can't send a fully loaded tanker with all its worth without insurance. And again, no one's going to go to insure it. And this is not going to rebound quickly. It's going to take time for this to play itself out. It won't be as ultimately oil will come down gradually. We may not get down to $60 a barrel again.

It'll come down. But only, only, only when. you have a larger understanding, not simply about the Straits, but about, if you will, the post-conflict Middle East, about Iran, the United States, Israel, and by the way, we haven't talked about it. You're going to have the United States and Iran are going to have to stop attacks. Israel is going to have to agree to sign on attacks.

It took one to start this war. Well, it's going to take three. It's going to take three to stop it. So we're going to have some diplomacy between the United States and Israel is going to come into it and between the United States and Iran. And again, you know, the straits and the passage of tankers is going to be, one dimension of it. And one last point, what Josh was talking about, this part of the Middle East has become really different. It's the new Middle East, unlike the Egypt's and the Syrias and so

forth. This is the pit Middle East that was for trying to get modern. This is the place of data centers and energy and the like. And there's a lot at stake here. But again, we've got to create, if you will, a new negotiated environment. It's just not going to be a military solution to this situation. In diplomacy, the talk we're hearing right now feels a long way off. Everybody's State Po, we've got a lot more to talk about here, still ahead, including we're following a pair of violent attacks yesterday. First, a shooting on a university campus in Virginia being investigated as an act of terrorism this morning. Also, a vehicle ramming attack at a large synagogue in Michigan. We'll have a live report and look at what community leaders there are saying,

and the motive, perhaps, behind the incident. Morning Joe's coming right back. In Virginia, the FBI is investigating a deadly shooting at Old Dominion University as, an act of terrorism. A gunman opened fire inside a classroom yesterday, killing one person and injuring two others. Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger identified the person killed as Lieutenant Colonel Brandon Shaw. He was an ROTC instructor. One surviving victim is in critical condition. The other treated at a local clinic. Officials say the gunman died after students stepped up to subdue him, likely preventing additional casualties. The gunman, who reportedly shot at Aluha Akbar before opening fire was a naturalized U.S. citizen and former Army National Guard

member who pleaded guilty in 2016 to attempting to support ISIS. That is according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter speaking to MS. Now, he had been sentenced to 11 years in prison and was released in 2024. The Jewish community is on alert this morning after police say a suspect rammed a car into a suburban Detroit synagogue and opened fire yet. yesterday. The suspect was killed after exchanging gunfire with security. The attack at the Temple Israel, one of the largest reformed synagogues in the country. None of the synagogue staff, teachers, the 140 children at its early childhood center were injured. Police have identified the suspect as 41-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen, Amin Muhammad Ghazali, originally from Lebanon.

The mayor of Dearborn Heights posted on social media, the suspect recently lost several members of his family in an Israeli attack in Lebanon. MS now has not confirmed that post independently. Law enforcement says it is investigating but called the attack in West Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community. Jewish communities across the country are now increasing security in response. Joining us now live from West Bloomfield, Michigan, MS now reporter Ariel Reschaf. Ariel, good morning. What are you hearing this morning? Good morning to you, Willie. We're standing right here by Temple Israel, and you can vaguely see here. There's still caution tape outside. It's a surreal scene outside one of the biggest synagogues in the country.

I spoke to the past president of Temple Israel in the immediate aftermath of all of this, and she said something heartbreakingly profound to me. She said the difference between a massacre and a tragedy is preparation. And this synagogue, this temple was prepared with layers and layers of security. And that is why miraculously, as you mentioned, more than 100 children and staff managed to make it out of this building during that attack safely over here to the country club right across the street where many of them sought refuge until they reunited with their families. Now, I spoke also to the mother of a two-year-old who recounted the terrifying moments where she didn't know where her son was. She says that eventually she was able to race to the scene to reunite with him. His teachers had hidden him inside a nearby garage for safety. She said she still feels that sense of numbness this morning.

That's a sentiment I'm hearing from so many of the parents that I have spoken to, but this was the best possible outcome of the worst day of their lives. And just to give you a sense of how important this temple is here in this community and well beyond, it is, like I said, one of the biggest in the entire country. There are some 3,000 families that belong. here and it is heavily fortified with all those layers of security. Like so many Jewish institutions across the country as the Jewish community faces unprecedented threat levels, here was the CEO of the Jewish Federation here speaking yesterday. I will be loud, I will be proud, I will be

there. I will be at services tomorrow with Rabbi Josh, wherever they're held. We will continue to practice Judaism. I want to look everybody in the eye and say, we are proud, we are safe, we are doing everything we can to keep the Jews safe, and our community depends on it. Now, this congregation has expressed such gratitude for the heroic actions of law enforcement, of their security detail that was here, of those teachers and staff that knew exactly what to do in this worst case scenario. And as you heard there, most of the leaders that I've spoken to, the parents that I've spoken to, while they say they are incredibly traumatized by what happened, they say they will remain proud, they will remain visibly Jewish, and they are saying they need

allies more than ever to speak out against this hate. It is a shame they have to be so vigilant and so prepared for a moment like this, but they were, and thank goodness, no one was hurt there. MS now reporter Ariel Resheff live this morning outside Temple Israel's synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Ariel, thanks so much. Coming up on Morning Joe, in a new interview, Treasury Secretary Scott Besson confirms the removal of sanctions on Russian oil. We'll talk to Sky News, Wilfred Frost, who conducted that interview about Besson's response to concerns the move only benefits Vladimir Putin. Thus, we'll ask about the moment Bessent was quickly pulled out of the room.

And as we go to break a quick look at the travelers' forecast this morning from Acuweather's Bernie Rayno. Bernie, how's it looking out there? Willie Strong wins today from the Midwest and into the northeast, although those gusty winds won't get to the East Coast until tonight. Your Acquether exclusive forecast increase in clouds. New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., some rain and snow across interior sections of the northeast. Southern tier of the U.S., it's quiet and bright,

except for a couple of showers in Miami. If you're doing any traveling, the wind will cause delays. New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia this afternoon, maybe some delays in Miami, and get ready for major travel delays on Monday as a storm deepens across the Upper Midwest Sunday. To help you make the best decisions and be more in the know, download the Ackyweather app today. Picture of the United States Capitol at 635 on this Friday morning. The United States has temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian oil already at sea as the Trump administration struggles to contain rising energy costs. Brent crude oil closed above $100 a barrel yesterday after Iran's new Supreme Leader vowed to

keep the Strait of Hormuz closed. Despite the policy reversal on Russian oil, Treasury Secretary Scott Besson insists the move will not, as he put it, provides significant financial benefit to the Russian government. Here's more of what the Treasury Secretary said yesterday in a new interview with Sky News anchor Wilfred Frost. Is it a matter of regret to you that Russia is benefiting from this conflict? Well, again, I think it's an inevitability, and that's why we gave a 30-day waiver, because the Russian barrels are on the water,

and it is a quick source of, for the Indian refineries. The other way to think about it is those barrels are going to end up in China anyway. So. But is it a shame, the Russia benefits? Sorry, again, that it is unfortunate, and we hope that it will be, in a micro period that they will benefit. And the man conducting that interview, Wilford Frost joins us now. He's the host of the master investor podcast, also an MS now contributor. Wilfred, it's great to see you this morning.

So were you surprised by this move, as many across Europe were leaders of the UK, leaders of France, imploring President Trump on a call this week not to provide Russian oil sanction relief for the very reasons that you laid out in the interview there. What did you take away from that conversation with the Treasury Secretary? Yeah, look, I think everyone was a bit surprised, but not entirely because, of course, just a week earlier, he'd issued a waiver, a similar 30-day waiver, but specifically for Indian refineries to buy Russian oil. And then, you know, you do the math and reflect on the fact that all of the attempted tactics they've used to try and limit the increase in oil prices hasn't worked yet, so they're attempting something else. I do think it's really

interesting that now under US sanctions, anybody could buy Russian oil. It'll be interesting to see who does buy it, because clearly one would think it's inconceivable that anyone in Europe would, for example, the UK government and others quickly ruling out this morning that they would consider buying any of this oil. I think that the other big takeaway, Willie, for me from this, what was about a 50-minute conversation, is that there is no limit to the action that the US government is currently taking based on running out of money. I asked very clearly, Secretary Besson, how much has this cost so far? He said, a little over $11 billion in absolute costs. I said, is there any number that would lead you to go to President Trump and say, we can't

afford this anymore? He said, absolutely not. Clearly, rather than stopping action in the Middle East, They're just exploring various other tactics to try and offset the increase in oil price. One of them you played the clip earlier and discussed with Richard, possibly sending in the Navy to escort trips through the strait of Hormuz. And I guess we'll keep watching to see if there are other tactics that work. More broadly, I'd just say this was an extended conversation on the Master Investor podcast, including about his investment career. And the one thing we did come to time and again is that he thinks the bond market is king. So just wonder if his advice to the president would change if we saw a similar sort of fallout in the U.S. bond market as we saw last April after Liberation Day, whereas thus far, it seems

huge oil price increases haven't been enough to temper the action. Yeah, it seems like the bond market might be one of the few guardrails in Trump 2.0. And even though Treasury Bessent wouldn't say the words that it was unfortunate that Russia was benefiting from this. Plenty of other people have, your time of the Treasury Department, I know you have a lot of experience with sanctions. So talk to us about what this means, please,

and also how there's this growing consensus that one of the winners, shall we say, of the first two weeks of this war, is Vladimir Putin, because the U.S. is now his attention directed to the Middle East, even more than it was before. They're not helping Ukraine, and now they're able to profit.

Yeah, Russia and the Russian regime and Putin are absolutely one of the biggest winners out of this. A lot of wars have unintended consequences, and this is going to be one of them. He already would have been benefiting from this increase in oil prices, by the way, without the need to remove sanctions. There is no argument I can see of why removing sanctions is necessary, whether it's, by the way, economic or in terms of what Trump is supposedly trying to achieve around the world in general.

And so that move doesn't make any sense to me. I will also tell you, having worked out of it, on sanctions for a very long time, and particularly when I was spokesperson and we'd get Iran, every time we hit, every time we had Iran sanctions every single time, the oil markets would be hit, and it would be hit for less than 24 hours. Now, I understand that this is longer, but I want to underscore how fickle it is, because the day that Trump came out about five days ago or whatever, and he said, oh, this war is very complete. He said this, I think, on CBS, and he said this very complete. And oil prices went down that day, and because they're reacting to this. And I'm not

trying to diminish or minimize what it means to have vessels not go through the Strait of Hormuz, but I also don't think we should overemphasize this. A lot of this is the reaction of markets, confidence, and so on. So the thing that I would suggest that they try is to try and be more communicative to the American public about why we're in this war, how long they intend it to last. They do talk about the length, but talk more about why it's happening, what they hope to achieve at the end, what the different outcomes could be. I understand you want to keep your cards closed, close in front of an adversary, but just by doing that, I actually think it would be a better job than removing sanctions temporarily on Russian oil.

Well, I wrote this yesterday for the Atlantic, that the Trump, who fancies himself the master salesman, has not done that. He did not explain why we're in this war. He hasn't really explained what the ultimate goals are and how long we might be there. So Richard, there's that clouding everything. But let's go back to the Russia piece if we can. So this is Putin benefiting from the lifting of these sanctions. You know, the oil is helping refund his war machine. But also this comes at a moment when. Intelligence suggests that Russia is helping Iran with targeting information of U.S.

military bases. It comes as Ukraine is actually helping us with or offering to help us with drone technology, even as Russia is helping Iran. And yet, Trump's rhetoric in the last week is still far harder on Zelensky than Putin and say, hey, Zelensky's P.T. Barnum, he's got to come here and make a deal. And we have Steve Whitkoff saying, oh, Russia, we can just take them at their word. Take them at their word. And one other factor, everything else you said, is what are we burning through at a great rate? Exactly the weapon systems, the air defense missiles that who needs, Ukraine needs. So rather than sending them to

Ukraine, which we weren't doing anyhow, we're burning up at a rate. We could have provided Ukraine with all it needs to defend itself against Russia's principal means of attack, which is going after their electricity generating plants and the rest. We've burned through it in the last two weeks. That would have provided Ukraine years of what it needed. So it sends Zelensky the signal. You don't matter. You are not a priority.

And that has the virtue of being true. He's not a priority for this administration. So, yeah, Russia is the great economic and strategic beneficiary of this war. And both I worry about is as Russia now economically is stronger. Ukraine is militarily as weak as it's been. whether we now make a new push to basically jam Ukraine with the one side of Peacedale. And if and when they resist it, then again, what is this administration going to do? This is, but, you know, what you're getting at, Jonathan, is the great mystery.

Why, for now, what, 14 months? Has this administration consistently embraced the Russian position and consistently put Ukraine in an impossible situation? Everybody has their theories. All I know is all I see are the realities of the policy. It's shameful. It's strategically flawed. morally shameful. Let's just call it out for what it is. And Steve Whitkoff and Jared Kush are meeting again with a Russian envoy down in Florida to continue the conversations with that side and not the other.

Wilford, you also asked Secretary Besson about the new strategy by the Trump administration to bring back tariffs on all of its trade partners after the Supreme Court ruled the first round of tariffs were illegal. Here's a part of that exchange. Interesting timing, given that you're at war. now not a moment where you want to make sure all of your allies are on side? Well, look, I think if going back to the tariff level that we previously had is going to take an ally offside, then they weren't allies. And we're operating now with a global 10% tariff. And I can tell you that the allies and all the countries that have done the trade deals with us have all come and said, we like our trade deal, we want to stick with that.

So I think this is a good opportunity for me to explain any misperception about these investigations. These investigations are part of the normal course of business. So all we're doing is reconstructing the tariffs under a different authority. I would expect that everyone just goes back to the deal they had within the 150 days that we're allowed to use the Section 122 tariff. So, Wilfrid, for our viewers, not well-versed in that section of the tariff law. What is this workaround they're attempting now that the Supreme Court has said, no, Mr. President, you actually do not have the authority unilaterally to impose tariffs.

Yes, so obviously the Supreme Court overruled the Trump administration's ability to use the IEPA tariff legislation to cover the tariffs that they put in place. they're now using both Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act, and specifically in the last week, the new announcements have been under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act, which has been used by multiple administrations over the years of all different political colors. The latest things that was announced overnight are a slew of investigations into 60 countries that could then lead to tariffs being imposed.

So it's investigations at this stage instead of tariffs. I think what's really interesting is the framing there, as if to say that no country, no ally, was upset about having tariffs in the first place, saying this is going to rebuild the position to where it was before the Supreme Court decision. Everyone should be pleased with that. You know, a country like the UK obviously sees a 10% tariff

that we now face as the least bad deal out there, but a lot worse than we had a couple of years ago. And ponderes why, when we had balanced trade essentially, certainly no big trade deficit where we respect IP rules and intellectual property rules and the typical laws at play, why we face tariffs in the first place. You know, the timing of this is very interesting. I was questioning it from an ally perspective, but I also think the timing probably links to the fact that there are other distractions. And it allows the administration to get these types of things out there. And there's the question of what it means for prices here in the United States in a time of inflationary concerns added to by the war in Iran. Sky News anchor MS now contributor,

fascinating interview with Secretary Besson, Wilfred Frost. Thanks so much, Wilfred. We appreciate it. And you can catch the full conversation with Scott Besson on Wilfred's master investor podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. American to the Council on Foreign Relations, Richard Haas, former spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the United Nations, Hagar Shemali. Thank you both for your insights as well. Good to see you. Still ahead, Senate Republicans preparing to bring a sweeping voting restrictions bill to the

floor, even though it is unclear if it will have enough support to pass. Democratic Senator Alex Padilla of California joins us to talk about that effort and what it could mean for the midterms. Morning Joe's coming right back. Senate Democrats have filed legislation that would be. prevent the United States from attacking Cuba without congressional approval. Senators Tim Cain, Ruben Gallego, and Adam Schiff filed the war powers resolution yesterday, which potentially could be voted on by the end of the month.

Democrats have used war powers resolutions repeatedly to force debate on President Trump's foreign military actions, but so far have not been successful in passing on any of them. There is supposed to be congressional authorization for any war. Earlier this week, Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubin, Rubio is in talks with Cuban leadership saying, quote, it may be a friendly takeover, it may not be a friendly takeover, adding he and Rubio would focus on the island nation after the war with Iran. Jurors in Los Angeles heard closing arguments yesterday

and a closely watched trial over whether social media companies can be held liable for harm to young users. An attorney for the plaintiff argued meta and YouTube knowingly designed addictive platforms and failed to protect vulnerable teens, pointed jurors to internal company documents saying they targeted the weakest users comparing the situation to predators picking off vulnerable prey. Lawyers for META and YouTube pushing back, arguing the plaintiff faced serious mental health and family challenges before using social media and that the evidence does not show the platforms caused her struggle. Jurors will begin deliberations later this morning. Their decision could

influence similar lawsuits nationwide. We'll keep a close eye on that one. And now we're just two days away from the biggest night in Hollywood. A new poll reveals the film Americans think will take home the top prize at the Academy Awards. According to a new UGov survey, most Americans say sinners should win the Oscar for Best Picture, followed by Frankenstein F1, one battle after another, and Hamnet. We'll find out the winner during Sunday Night's award show. Lemire hosted by The Great Conan O'Brien, who did such a good job last year. They asked him back immediately. Can't wait for that part of the show. Unfortunately, the American public does not get a vote. That's a fun poll, but it doesn't really mean much. It's up to the academy. Sinners, though, has been coming up on the outside lately.

It is such a great movie. Saw it in the theater. Watch it again a couple of nights ago with my son. Michael B. Jordan playing two roles. I think he has become the odds on favorite to be best actor, well-deserved if he gets it. One battle after another, though, also an incredible film. Yeah, first of all, given Oscar to Conan, he's spectacular, excited to see him again. I think you're right. I mean, one battle after another has won most of like the pre-Oscar award shows. Like, it's done very well in terms of being best picture, and it's certainly the favorite. But I tend to agree. I feel like there's a chance here we might see Paul Thomas Anderson, the director, win for one battle after another. And deservedly so.

He's an extraordinary career. He's yet to win an Oscar. But I wouldn't be surprised if he might win, but yet they split it. And Sinners gets Best Picture, and then Michael B. Jordan might get best actor, even though, of course, Leonardo DiCaprio nominated there as well. But yeah, this is a year where you actually have also, Willie, some of the movies, the best picture nominees, made a lot of money, F-1-2. So it's one where Americans have seen more of these than other Oscars.

Yeah, that best actor category is stacked. Michael B. Jordan, Leo, Salome, Ethan Hawke, Wagner, a incredible category. Ryan Coogler, don't forget, the incredible director as well of Sinners. Should be a fun night. We'll be watching mostly for Conan, but we'll watch the rest of it too. Coming up now.