Transcript [00:00] Hey everybody, welcome back. So, in this [00:01] video, we're going to talk about the [00:03] economic sanctions, blockade, um, [00:07] operation, whatever it was called, [00:10] isolation or something that the [00:11] Americans are calling it, uh, operation [00:14] economic outcast that the that the [00:16] Treasury is running. And there's a piece [00:18] that was run in the Wall Street Journal [00:20] yesterday that is critical to [00:22] understanding where we are in this whole [00:24] thing. And it uses a lot of complex [00:26] banking terminology. Let me just pull it [00:28] up on the screen and I'm not going to [00:30] read the whole thing. It's a very long [00:31] piece. But then I'm going to read I'm [00:33] going to read just the opening lines of [00:34] it and then and then we'll talk. Okay. [00:37] So, how billions [00:40] of in Iranian money passes through US [00:43] banks. That's the title of the piece. [00:46] And again, it's from yesterday. As the [00:48] Trump administration tightens its [00:49] economic squeeze on Iran, it faces a [00:52] surprising weak link in its campaign to [00:54] cut off the regime from the global [00:56] financial system. [00:58] America's own banks, they're the weak [01:01] link. How so? Billions of dollars in [01:03] Iranian funds are flowing through [01:05] clearing accounts at American banks each [01:08] year. Western officials and researchers [01:10] say despite sanctions that prohibit [01:13] anyone subject to US law from taking [01:15] part in almost all financial activity [01:17] linked to Thran, Iran [01:20] accesses the accounts through through [01:22] foreign partners that maintain [01:24] relationships with US banks, part of a [01:28] more than century old system called [01:30] correspondent banking that helps tie the [01:34] global financial system together while [01:36] also providing Tehran with plenty of [01:38] ways to secretly infiltrate it. Okay, so [01:42] this piece, as I said, has a lot of [01:44] jargon in it and it's all built around [01:47] an understanding of this concept called [01:49] correspondent banking. [01:52] Okay, so [01:54] again, it's a dense piece, lots of [01:57] banking terminology that most people, [01:59] myself included, don't use every day. [02:01] So, I want to take a few minutes and [02:02] actually unpack what the article is [02:03] telling us because beneath the jargon, [02:06] there is a genuinely important story [02:09] about the Iran sanctions campaign. And I [02:11] don't want you to miss it just because [02:13] the subject is correspondent banking and [02:15] it seems kind of arcane. So, here's the [02:17] headline version before I break it down [02:19] piece by piece. [02:21] The Trump administration, just to level [02:24] set, they've launched this very [02:26] aggressive campaign, Operation Economic [02:29] Outcast. The goal is to make it [02:31] impossible for Iran to touch the US [02:34] dollar financial system in any way. So, [02:37] right, it's to cut off Iran from the US [02:39] dollar financial system and make it [02:41] impossible or near impossible for Iran [02:43] to do business with too many countries. [02:45] But this article is telling us, this [02:48] article in the Wall Street Journal that [02:49] I had on the screen a moment ago is [02:52] telling us that the system Washington is [02:55] relying on to enforce [02:59] this sanctions program has a structural [03:02] weakness built into it. And Iran has [03:05] spent years learning how to exploit it. [03:08] Iran has been sanctioned for a long time [03:10] and they are expert at getting around [03:12] sanctions. And the most surprising part [03:14] of the weakness [03:17] is that it's built into how America's [03:21] biggest banks [03:23] uh maintain their relationships with the [03:25] rest of the world. [03:28] So, let me build this up from scratch. I [03:30] think once you understand how [03:31] correspondent banking actually works, [03:33] this entire story will click into place. [03:35] And I'm sure some of you know exactly [03:37] how correspondent banking works and [03:38] you're just kind of rolling your eyes [03:40] saying this is simple. But bear with me [03:42] here. I guess you could fast forward if [03:44] you want. So here's the basic problem [03:47] that correspondent banking solves. [03:48] Here's what cor here's what it is. Let's [03:51] say a bank in Dubai [03:53] wants to be able to send and receive US [03:56] dollars for its customers. [04:00] Dollars for trade, dollars for [04:01] investment, whatever. So that Dubai bank [04:04] is not licensed to operate in the United [04:07] States. It doesn't have a branch in the [04:09] United States. So how does it touch the [04:10] dollar at all? How does someone go in [04:12] there and [04:15] do a transaction in dollars? If they [04:17] want to pay someone in another country, [04:18] let's say, how do they use that Dubai [04:20] bank? So the answer is as follows. That [04:24] bank in Dubai has a bank account at a US [04:29] bank, let's say JP Morgan, the same way [04:31] that you or I would open a checking [04:32] account. And that account is called a [04:35] correspondent account. [04:38] the Dubai Bank parks a pool of dollars [04:42] in it. [04:44] Now, here's the part that trips people [04:45] up. So, so follow along closely here. [04:48] When the Dubai Bank wants to pay a [04:50] dollar amount to someone, [04:53] the money does not physically travel [04:55] from Dubai to wherever it's going. [04:58] Instead, think of it as like a relay. If [05:00] the person getting paid [05:04] also happens to bank at JP Morgan. So [05:07] let's say you have a you have a client [05:08] in Dubai and he wants to pay someone [05:12] in the west and that company in the west [05:15] that he wants to pay has an account at [05:17] JP Morgan. So that's easy. That's the [05:19] simplest case. JP Morgan subtracts from [05:22] the Dubai bank's bank account [05:27] and adds that and just moves the money [05:29] over to whoever has to get paid who has [05:32] an account at JP Morgan. [05:34] Okay, that's the whole transaction. The [05:37] person in Dubai paid the bank in Dubai [05:42] some other currency. Dubai contacts JP [05:45] Morgan says pay from our account to that [05:47] guy. [05:49] And that's how the transaction is is [05:51] done. [05:53] Okay. So [05:56] most of the time the person getting paid [05:59] though doesn't have an account at JP [06:01] Morgan. So now let's go to that type of [06:04] transaction. The person getting paid is [06:06] somewhere else entirely. So let's say uh [06:09] guy in Dubai wants to pay a company in [06:11] China. In that case JP Morgan doesn't [06:14] send money to China. It credits the [06:18] account of a Chinese bank that also has [06:22] a correspondent account at JP Morgan. [06:24] Let me back up. [06:27] The bank in Dubai and let's say the bank [06:28] in China each have an account at JP [06:32] Morgan and that's called a correspondent [06:34] account. So when someone goes into a [06:36] bank in Dubai and wants to pay someone [06:38] in China, [06:42] the two banks [06:44] use their correspondent accounts and [06:47] money gets transferred from the Dubai [06:49] bank's account in JP Morgan to the [06:51] Chinese bank's account in JP Morgan. And [06:54] that way the Chinese bank then back in [06:55] China can pay the person on its end. [06:58] Okay, [07:00] got it? Good. So the dollars hop the [07:04] dollars actually move from one [07:06] correspondent account to the next. [07:08] Dubai's bank Dubai bank's account and at [07:12] JP Morgan and the Chinese bank's account [07:15] at JP Morgan. That's where the money [07:17] actually moves [07:19] and [07:21] no cash ever crosses the ocean. It's [07:24] ledger entries basically relayed step by [07:27] step. [07:29] Okay, good. That's correspondent banking [07:32] in one sentence. It's how a foreign bank [07:34] gets access to the US dollar system [07:37] without having to be in the US or be [07:40] able to bank to operate in the US, [07:42] right? It keeps an account at a bank in [07:44] the US and then that American bank moves [07:47] the money. Now, this is not shady. This [07:51] is how legitimate global trade functions [07:53] every single day. You do not want to [07:55] shut this down. It allows global trade [07:58] to operate in the dollar. If it didn't [08:00] exist, every international dollar [08:02] transaction on Earth would grind to a [08:04] halt. So, the system is valuable because [08:07] it's efficient and because in theory, it [08:10] gives Washington, it gives the American [08:13] government a an ability to monitor [08:17] things, an ability to to [08:21] Yeah. I mean, to police it, basically. [08:23] Every one of those transactions [08:25] ultimately clears through a bank the US [08:27] government could regulate. So there's a [08:29] transaction going on between someone in [08:31] Dubai and someone in China and and the [08:34] American regulators can see the [08:36] transaction in the in the accounts of [08:40] the two banks. [08:43] All right, [08:44] so far so good. Next step. Here's the [08:48] catch. And this is and the article [08:51] mentions this. Here's where it gets [08:52] interesting. Iran is banned outright. [08:55] Okay, an actual Iranian bank, and the [08:59] article names one, Bank Tarat, it cannot [09:02] open an account at JP Morgan. So, an [09:05] Iranian bank can't have a correspondent [09:07] bank account at JP Morgan. The accounts [09:09] we just described, these banks having a [09:11] bank account. [09:13] Okay? It can't open an account at JP [09:15] Morgan or Cityroup or whatever. So, what [09:18] does Iran do? It it needs a workaround. [09:21] So the article walks through a real life [09:23] example and I want to lay it out for you [09:25] step by step. [09:28] An Iranian firm wants to buy a large [09:30] shipment of circuit boards and sensors [09:33] from a supplier in China. [09:36] And these are components that go into [09:37] ordinary manufacturing. But Iran also [09:41] wants these circuit boards and sensors [09:44] for its military and drone programs. So [09:47] the payment has to happen in dollars. [09:51] Okay, it's an Iranian firm buying [09:54] circuit boards and sensors from a [09:56] Chinese firm and it has to pay in [09:58] dollars. So here's what it does. The [10:00] Iranian firm pays bank Tarat, an Iranian [10:04] bank. [10:05] It's a sanctioned Iranian bank. That [10:07] bank is illegal in America, right? It's [10:09] an Iranian bank. So this Iranian firm [10:11] pays the Iranian bank in Iranian [10:14] currency entirely inside Iran. Nothing [10:17] has left Iran yet. No dollar has changed [10:20] hands. So no sanctions have been [10:22] triggered. Okay, this is all outside the [10:24] system. It's in Iran. [10:27] Step two, and here's where it gets [10:28] interesting because what does Tzarat do [10:31] now? Tzarat needs to get the money to [10:34] China somehow. [10:36] It it's holding this real, this uh [10:38] Iranian currency, but it needs to pay [10:41] $650,000 [10:42] to the Chinese supplier. [10:46] So Tesarat that bank goes to a currency [10:49] exchange network that operates in two in [10:54] two parts in two linked pieces. One [10:56] piece is in Iran, meaning they have an [10:58] office in Iran, a local office or a [11:01] representative. And Tesarat, the Iranian [11:03] bank, deals with this local office of [11:07] some international currency exchange [11:09] network. [11:14] And [11:17] the other piece of that network is in [11:19] like Hong Kong or Dubai or Turkey. [11:23] and it controls a shell company [11:28] that already has a pool of dollars [11:30] sitting in it. And that pool of dollars [11:33] was built up from other unrelated trade [11:36] that the network that this currency [11:38] network has moved over time. Okay? Think [11:41] of it as two branches of one operation, [11:43] right? You you have two partner or two [11:45] partners have worked together for years, [11:47] right? You have one in Tehran and one in [11:49] Dubai and they're both part of this [11:51] currency network. [11:53] and they're operating a shell company, [11:57] okay? And they're doing all kinds of [11:58] deals. The money is already sitting [12:01] offshore because let's say they're [12:02] selling oil and they're getting money [12:04] and they're keeping it in that account. [12:05] They don't want to move it into Iran [12:06] because they're going to need it for [12:08] some other transaction that's going to [12:09] happen outside of Iran. So there's money [12:12] in an account of a shell company. A [12:15] shell company is a company that doesn't [12:17] actually do anything that just money [12:18] moves through it. It has expenses. It [12:20] has it has income. has right but it [12:22] doesn't actually do anything. [12:24] So there's money there. So I go in again [12:27] let me walk through it again. I'm T I'm [12:30] the Iranian uh purchaser. I go to Tzarat [12:33] bank. I pay them in real. Tzarat bank [12:36] then goes contacts the office of a [12:38] currency exchange network. Let's say [12:40] they're based in Hong Kong and they have [12:41] an office in Tehran [12:43] and and Tesarat pays them, [12:49] but the money stays in Thran. Then they [12:53] that guy picks up the phone, calls the [12:55] office in Hong Kong and says, "Pay [12:59] $650,000 [13:00] to that Chinese company." [13:03] Okay, so this is what happens. Again, [13:05] Tesarup pays the local Iran side. [13:08] Local representative sends a message, [13:11] pay the Chinese supplier. [13:14] The two sides then settle their own [13:16] books between themselves. [13:18] No wire ever goes from Tehran to Hong [13:20] Kong. No crossber transaction links the [13:23] two sides at all. It's just a message [13:25] between two people. Now, if this sounds [13:28] familiar to you because you've seen [13:29] other videos I've made recently, it's [13:31] because it is. It's the same as the [13:34] ancient Hwala network. It's the oldest [13:36] trick in the book for moving money [13:38] across the border without actually [13:40] moving anything across the border. You [13:42] pay locally on one end, you get paid [13:44] locally on the other end, and the and [13:46] the middlemen trust each other and net [13:49] out the difference with other [13:50] transactions that they're making. Okay, [13:53] so this is a kind of modern version of [13:56] Hala or a more complex version of Hala [13:59] using shell companies and bank accounts. [14:03] Now [14:06] from here on everything is real and [14:08] everything is documented. Okay. The [14:10] meaning once the money gets out now we [14:12] have a paper trail because the shell [14:14] company is a company. It holds a [14:16] perfectly ordinary looking account at a [14:19] bank in Hong Kong or or the UAE to that [14:22] local bank. It just looks like any other [14:25] trading company paying a Chinese [14:27] supplier. [14:30] Okay. So again, [14:34] I pay my Iranian bank. My Iranian bank [14:37] contacts this currency exchange network [14:39] that is operating a shell a shell [14:42] company. [14:43] Picks up the phone, calls the other guy [14:45] from the from that network who's in Hong [14:48] Kong. That shell company [14:51] has a bank account in a Hong Kong bank. [14:54] And that shell company says, "I'm buying [14:57] circuit boards from this other Chinese [14:59] from this Chinese company. Pay them." [15:05] Okay, so that's the problem. [15:09] These shell companies will be based in [15:11] places that don't have strict [15:12] enforcement like the UAE, like Hong [15:14] Kong. [15:18] Now, that local bank, [15:21] that Hong Kong bank, has a correspondent [15:24] account at an American bank. Completely [15:27] normal and legal, right? It's a normal [15:29] bank. It's just a normal Hong Kong bank. [15:30] They're not doing anything illegal. They [15:32] don't even know who's contacting them. [15:33] It's just some company. Happens to be a [15:36] Shell company, [15:38] some local company with some nondescript [15:41] name is contacting them and saying, [15:42] "We'd like to do a transaction. We have [15:44] a bank account with you." And that Hong [15:47] Kong bank has a correspondent bank [15:49] account if let's say JP Morgan. [15:54] So when the Shell Company's payment goes [15:56] out, the local bank simply instructs its [15:59] American correspondent to relay the [16:01] money onward. [16:03] The same process I just described a few [16:05] minutes ago. But here's the key thing to [16:07] understand. At no point in that chain [16:09] does the American bank see the word [16:12] Iran. It sees a request from its own [16:14] correspondent, the Hong Kong or Dubai [16:17] Bank that it that has an account with it [16:19] and it ask and all they see is a request [16:22] to move money on behalf of a company and [16:25] the company is the Shell Company, but it [16:27] just has a nondescript name. It's a name [16:29] that's not Iranian or anything. The [16:31] American bank runs that name through [16:33] sanction screening software. The name [16:36] isn't on any list because the shell [16:37] company was just created and no one's [16:39] flagged it [16:41] and it doesn't seem Iranian. It's not [16:43] based in Iran. And the transaction [16:44] clears. Every single link in that chain [16:49] looks totally clean. [16:53] But no document and no paper trail shows [16:57] the whole chain that started in Thran. [17:03] You see how it works? Each bank only [17:05] ever sees its own its own immediate [17:09] neighbor in the chain. Like in a relay [17:10] race, imagine a relay race where the [17:12] only people I ever see are the person [17:14] who gave me the baton and the person I [17:15] handed it to and I don't know the rest. [17:18] Okay. So this article, this Wall Street [17:21] Journal Journal article isn't just [17:22] describing this in theory. It's giving [17:24] us an actual recent example and it's a [17:26] big one. On August 28th, [17:30] what is that a week and a half ago? The [17:33] US Treasury identified the United Arab [17:35] Emirates branch of Bank Miser, a [17:38] state-owned Egyptian bank, the second [17:40] largest bank in Egypt, as one of these [17:42] access points for Iran in the system I [17:45] just described. The US Treasury says [17:47] that Misser's UAE branch routed as much [17:51] as $1.8 billion through the US financial [17:54] system for companies that were [17:56] potentially part of Iranian shadow [17:58] banking networks. And Mer, this Egyptian [18:01] bank according to its own website holds [18:04] a US dollar holds US dollar [18:07] correspondent accounts at JP Morgan [18:09] Chase and Croup. [18:12] So I want to be precise about what [18:14] Treasury actually did here. They didn't [18:17] sanction JP Morgan or Croup. They didn't [18:20] even sanction Bank Miser, the parent [18:22] bank. What they did was much narrower. [18:25] They just cut off the Emirati branch of [18:29] Bank Miser from access to US [18:31] correspondent accounts. [18:34] And even that isn't immediate. Miser [18:36] gets 30 days to respond before the [18:38] branch actually loses its US banking [18:40] access. So it's really at this point [18:42] it's almost just a threat. [18:45] It's a little more than a threat. [18:47] They're saying the sanctions will take [18:48] effect if you don't, you know, [18:51] if you don't respond [18:54] in a way that that convinces us. [19:00] Now, why is America showing so much [19:01] restraint? How come, you know, we just [19:03] want them to sanction everything, shut [19:05] it all down? So, the restraint is [19:08] because Washington has to be very [19:10] careful here because here's the honest [19:12] picture that the article leaves you [19:14] with. I think it's the most important [19:15] part. US Treasury itself has estimated [19:19] that around $9 billion in Iranian linked [19:22] funds moved through American banks in a [19:25] single year in 2024. [19:27] Some of the researchers quoted in the [19:29] piece say that uh say that that number [19:32] could come down significantly if [19:34] American banks were simply more [19:36] aggressive about scrutinizing their own [19:38] correspondent relationships. So why not [19:41] just force American banks to lock this [19:43] down, right? Isn't that the solution? [19:45] force the American banks to like, you [19:47] know, to really be, you know, super [19:50] careful about it. But here's the [19:51] dilemma. [19:54] If Washington leans too hard on the US [19:56] banks or it moves to sever the [20:00] correspondent relationships with foreign [20:02] banks too aggressively if it starts [20:05] sanctioning here and there and the other [20:06] one and you can't use it, you can't have [20:08] a correspondent account and you can't [20:09] have a correspondent account and they [20:11] start knocking off these foreign banks [20:14] like they did to the Egyptian one or [20:16] threatened to and also a couple days ago [20:18] to uh to a couple Turkish banks. So, a [20:22] few things can go wrong. It can backfire [20:23] on America. Number one, you can [20:27] genuinely damage a foreign bank beyond [20:29] repair by cutting off its correspondent [20:31] access. It it because this has happened [20:34] in the past where doing that to a bank [20:35] has actually made the bank it's just [20:37] been destroyed and that has ripple [20:40] effects on the wider economy that it [20:41] serves. You're talking about Bank Miser, [20:43] for example, is the second largest bank [20:45] in Egypt. Egypt's a country with 120 [20:46] million people. You you put that bank [20:49] out of business. You make it impossible [20:51] for businesses to bank with them because [20:53] they're cut out of the US correspondent [20:55] banking system and you could cause a [20:57] massive crisis in Egypt and that's not [21:00] the intent of all of this. [21:03] Second problem, and this is the one I [21:05] think matters even even more for the [21:08] bigger picture of US Iran policy, is [21:10] that the harder you squeeze the dollar [21:13] system, the more like the more they [21:14] enforce, the more they crack down, the [21:16] more incentive you create for other [21:19] countries and foreign banks to just stop [21:22] using the dollar and start using the [21:25] Chinese yuan or crypto, [21:28] both of which the article mentions that [21:30] Iran is already leaning on more. [21:33] And they quote a former Treasury [21:35] official who who said it this way. [21:37] Quote, "The more you use the tools, the [21:40] more you create incentives for [21:42] alternatives [21:44] to the dollar." Right? Third problem is [21:47] that correspondent accounts are actually [21:49] a source of intelligence. They give the [21:52] US visibility into financial flows that [21:57] it would lose if it if it if it cracked [22:02] down and forced all of this to go [22:04] underground. So the United States [22:06] actually benefits from being able to see [22:08] all these transactions because they [22:10] leave this system intact. [22:13] So [22:14] the the Department of the Treasury Scott [22:17] Bessent is threading a needle here. [22:20] He wants to close the door on Iran's [22:22] shadow banking network without either [22:25] destroying foreign banks or accelerating [22:29] the [22:31] the uh the trend of countries looking [22:34] for ways to get off of the US dollar. [22:36] They don't want to accelerate that [22:41] because that would make American [22:42] financial leverage even weaker down the [22:44] road and we don't want that. [22:46] So, here's how I'd sum up what the [22:48] article is actually telling us. Let's [22:50] sum it up. If you got confused, just [22:52] focus in here. Here we go. Here's how [22:55] I'd sum it up. The Trump [22:56] administration's economic war on Iran, [22:58] this operation economic outcast [23:00] campaign, it's very aggressive and [23:02] that's that that's clear, but it's [23:05] running through a financial system, [23:07] correspondent banking, that was built [23:10] for speed and trust between banks [23:12] internationally, [23:15] right? It was not built to catch hostile [23:17] governments that spent years building [23:20] shell companies in order to get around [23:22] sanctions. [23:24] So because of the way the correspondent [23:26] banking system is built and you you want [23:28] it to continue to function, it is an [23:30] important engine of international [23:32] finance. [23:34] But the difficult part here is that the [23:38] weak point in America's own sanctions [23:41] regime [23:43] is the ordinary legal everyday [23:46] correspondent banking relationships that [23:49] Americans own largest banks maintain [23:51] with the entire rest of the world. [23:56] And that's what Iran is using. [23:59] So [24:01] it's not like anyone messed up here. [24:03] Okay, this is, [24:05] you know, Treasury is moving on real [24:07] cases as it finds them, whether it's the [24:10] Egyptian bank or the Turkish bank of the [24:11] other day. But it also can't move too [24:14] fast or too aggressively without doing [24:16] damage to the system that gives it the [24:18] power that it has in the first place. [24:21] You don't want everyone leaving the [24:22] dollar system. So that tension between [24:25] closing a loophole in the system as it [24:27] were and protecting the system [24:31] that you need. [24:33] I think that's what's going on here. And [24:35] that's an interesting aspect of this [24:37] whole story of this attempt to run this [24:39] to run this whole sanctions plan is that [24:42] you know there's this there's actually a [24:45] tension in there for the Americans where [24:46] if they go too far they can undermine [24:48] the very power that they have. I hope [24:50] this made sense. It's a little bit [24:52] complicated. [24:53] Um, now I have just a couple other [24:55] pieces I want to add to this uh before [24:58] we close out the video. But before I do [25:00] that, I just want to uh I want to tell [25:02] everyone you uh if you haven't heard [25:04] about it yet, we're doing an an very [25:07] exciting trip to Israel in March. It's [25:09] going to be co-hosted co-led by myself [25:12] and Dr. David Worms, who is one of the [25:15] top Middle East experts in the world. Uh [25:18] he's at the Center for Security Policy, [25:19] served in multiple US administrations. [25:21] He knows he knows it all. He's amazing. [25:24] And hopefully you've seen my my weekly [25:26] conversations with him on the Israel 365 [25:28] news channel. But Dr. Worms and I [25:30] together will be leading an exclusive [25:33] VIP luxury trip to Israel for 8 days in [25:37] March. [25:38] And uh you know, for those of you who [25:41] are so inclined, this is a really [25:43] incredible opportunity. It's going to [25:45] include private meetings with senior [25:47] Israeli government officials. Uh [25:49] briefings on the Syrian and Lebanese [25:51] borders by senior military officials and [25:54] uh and leaders of communities whether [25:57] it's the Drews community or or or the [25:59] Jewish community in different parts of [26:01] the country, all different communities [26:03] and uh and also leading journalists. [26:06] It's going to be a really high high-end [26:09] high-profile trip in that in that [26:11] regard. Um, it's going to be limited to [26:13] about 15 to 20 people. And, uh, you [26:16] know, if you're interested in this, if [26:18] this is for you, please click the link [26:21] in the, uh, description of this video [26:22] about the trip and you can go to the [26:24] landing page here and you can check out, [26:26] uh, the sample itinerary that we've put [26:28] together and what the accommodations are [26:30] going to be. It's all five-star VIP type [26:32] of trip. Uh, and again, it's an [26:35] opportunity to spend the entire eight [26:36] days. Dr. Dr. Worms and myself will be [26:38] with the group the entire time and it's [26:40] an opportunity to really connect uh with [26:42] him and he's just uh I I uh I I have so [26:49] much respect for him. I I cherish every [26:51] moment that I get to sit at his feet and [26:53] learn about uh about geopolitics, about [26:56] the Middle East, and he's uh uh it's [26:59] really a great opportunity for everyone. [27:00] So, you you want to sign up for that. [27:03] Now, just a couple other other little [27:05] headlines. US slaps sanctions on Turkish [27:07] bank calling it critical financial [27:08] lifeline for Iran. And this was this was [27:10] very interesting and I spoke to Dr. [27:13] Worms about it actually in today's [27:14] conversation. If you go to the Israel [27:16] 365 news channel every Sunday we I [27:19] record a conversation with Dr. worms and [27:21] we and the first topic we addressed [27:23] today was the whole issue of what this [27:25] says about the Turkish US relationship [27:26] because this is really you know here's [27:28] Turkey who who uh uh has been you know [27:33] through one of their major banks was [27:35] actually tied and that bank is tied to [27:37] Erdogan and his people and Bessant [27:40] flagged it as an institution that was [27:42] allowing money to flow Iranian money to [27:44] flow and if you think about the fact [27:46] that Kamas has been has been has moved [27:50] their base of leadership to Turkey. You [27:54] have to imagine that the Iranian money [27:55] going to Kamas might have been going [27:57] through this bank too. Who knows? Uh but [28:00] uh it's very interesting. And and then [28:02] in Turkish state media today, they put [28:06] up this headline, Iran establishes [28:08] economic war headquarters amid US [28:10] conflict and sanctions. And it's a it's [28:13] an article here about how Iran is is [28:16] working to get around the sanctions. And [28:18] I just found it interesting that it [28:19] appeared in Turkish state media like the [28:23] a day or two after Turkish banks were [28:25] sanctioned. So that's also an [28:28] interesting plotline related to this [28:30] whole economic warfare which is are we [28:33] are we starting to see a little bit of a [28:35] of a fracturing in that loveydovey [28:37] relationship between the Trump [28:39] administration and the Erdogan regime in [28:41] Turkey. So that's something we're going [28:42] to watch closely and we'll see where it [28:44] goes. Yeah, this was a bit of a [28:46] complicated one. I hope it made sense. I [28:48] hope it explained something. But I think [28:49] it's actually a very big story. Let me [28:50] just sum up, which is that yes, there's [28:54] this economic isolation program and [28:56] we're all for it and it's a siege and [28:57] it's a blockade and and they're going to [28:59] shut down Iran's ability to do, you [29:02] know, to do finance. But problem is that [29:05] you have this correspondent banking [29:06] system that Iran can use to move money [29:08] around and it's very difficult to [29:11] police. But also, even if the United [29:13] States wants to police it, if they [29:15] police it too hard, they could end up [29:19] scaring, you know, they could end up [29:20] causing ripple effects that are far [29:22] beyond what they're trying to accomplish [29:24] here, destroying the economies of some [29:25] other countries by hitting their biggest [29:27] banks, but also they could encourage [29:31] more and more financial activity in the [29:33] world that is off the grid of the US [29:35] dollar. And that's not good. That ends [29:37] up whittling away at American power. Uh, [29:40] and that's and that's not a good thing. [29:42] And the other consequences that I laid [29:43] out. So, it's very interesting. We're [29:45] going to have to watch how this plays [29:47] out and how America continues to thread [29:49] that needle. All right. Thanks for [29:51] watching. God bless.
