Posted originally on Mar 23, 2026 by Martin Armstrong |
COMMENT: Hello Martin
Here in the UK there is a fear campaign being waged about the rise in meningitis. Miraculously they have the vaccine ready to save us all!!
Do you believe this could be another C19?
REPLY: What is taking place in the UK right now with meningitis is being presented in the press with the same tone we saw during COVID, yet when you strip away the headlines and actually look at the data, the story becomes very different because this is not a national crisis but a localized outbreak being framed in a way that amplifies perception beyond statistical reality.
The outbreak has been centered in Kent and largely tied to a university and a nightclub event, with roughly 27 to 31 total cases and two deaths reported, and while officials have described the clustering as unusual, the broader context is that the UK typically records ongoing cases each year with England reporting roughly 378 cases in the 2024 to 2025 period, meaning this is a known bacterial disease rather than anything new or emerging.
What is actually happening is a localized outbreak of meningococcal disease, primarily the MenB strain, which has existed for decades and tends to spread in close-contact environments. It is not airborne in the way respiratory viruses are, but instead spreads through direct contact. Despite that, the response has begun to follow a familiar pattern where authorities contact tens of thousands of people, expand vaccination programs, and distribute thousands of antibiotic treatments. Universities move activities online and warnings are issued about travel potentially spreading the illness, all of which begins to mirror the behavioral response cycle seen during COVID even though the scale and transmission entirely different.
The comparison is not about the disease itself but about how the situation is being framed and managed, because during COVID, the key issue was not just the virus but the fear-mongering propaganda through constant headlines and policy escalation. Fear is a powerful tool.
When you look at the actual risk assessments, health authorities have stated that the overall risk remains low and that the disease is not easily transmissible. There is already an established vaccine that is effective against the strain involved, which further reinforces that this is a contained public health issue rather than a systemic threat. The media narrative focuses on the most alarming aspects, such as deaths, and uses language like “explosive” or “unprecedented,” which becomes misleading when removed from the statistical facts. Governments use public fear to seize more control, and the cycle repeats.
From the perspective of the Economic Confidence Model, this type of reaction aligns with periods where confidence is declining and governments expand their role in managing outcomes, since public health provides a mechanism through which intervention can be justified, particularly when uncertainty and fear are running high.
Posted originally on Mar 23, 2026 by Martin Armstrong |
Even Gallup Poll has shown that only 38% of Americans were satisfied with the US position in global geopolitics and 61% dissatisfied with the United States’ position in the world BEFORE the military action in Iran. Tulsi Gabbard has refused to confirm any intelligence assassment that presented Iran as an immediate threat. President Trump has publicly and explicitly dismissed intelligence assessments made by his own Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard. He stated that her conclusions were wrong and even said he did not care what she had to say .
The most direct public contradiction occurred in June 2025 regarding Iran’s nuclear program. She said Iran “is not building a nuclear weapon” and has not restarted its weapons program. Trump seems to be listening to Netanyahu who has always insisted that Iran is on the verge of getting a nuclear bomb. Trump stated publicly “they were very close to having one.” Trump has even bluntly and explicitly rejected her assessment, stating, “I don’t care what she said.”
This clash highlights a fundamental tension in how the two assessments. Gabbard’s job is to present the findings of the U.S. Intelligence Community. In her March 2025 testimony, she relayed the official assessment that Iran’s leaders had not authorized a nuclear weapons program. President Trump, who has a long history of distrusting his own intelligence agencies, showed no hesitation in dismissing the official analysis when it conflicted with his own views. The real question is is this a personal conviction or is this Neocon and Netanyahu insistance?
The disagreement is particularly notable because Gabbard was selected by Trump specifically for her skepticism of the “deep state” and the intelligence establishment, which some analysts believed would make her a loyalist. However, their different views on U.S. intervention in the Middle East led to this public rift.
Vid
Since 2002, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has explicitly argued that Iran and others are seeking nuclear weapons and made it always sound as an immediate threat for at least 30 years. Recently, he has claimed invasion was justified even after the 2025 bombing and has used a “months” timeline for Iran’s nuclear program as a key justification for launching the current war, and this pattern of issuing such warnings dates back decades.
On March 2nd, 2026, Prime Minister Netanyahu gave a series of interviews, primarily to Fox News, where he laid out his rationale for the military strikes against Iran that began on February 28. He stated that the attacks were a pre-emptive measure because Iran had begun constructing new, heavily fortified underground bunkers for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
His central warning was that these new facilities would become “immune within months,” making a future military strike impossible. “If no action was taken now, no action could be taken in the future,” Netanyahu said, framing the attack as a necessary action to close a closing window of opportunity.
This recent use of a ticking clock is NOT new. According to a historical analysis, Netanyahu has been sounding similar alarms for over 30 years.
Early in his political career back in 1992, Netanyahu told the Israeli parliament that “Iran is close to producing a nuclear weapon within three to five years.”
In a famous 2012 speech at the United Nations, Netanyahu held up a diagram of a bomb and drew a red line, warning that Iran was “a few months, possibly a few weeks” away from having enough enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon.
The 2026 military campaign is the culmination of this long-held position. After years of advocating for a strike, Netanyahu successfully enlisted the support of President Donald Trump to take action. His March 2 interviews explicitly linked the imminent threat of Iran’s “immune” facilities to the necessity of the war he and the U.S. were waging.
However, by late March 2026, Netanyahu’s tone had shifted significantly. After weeks of conflict, he held a press conference declaring victory, stating that “Iran today has no ability to enrich uranium, and no ability to produce ballistic missiles.” He hinted that the war could end “a lot faster than people think,” suggesting that the original justification for the invasion had been achieved.
In 2024, in his Knesset speech, Netanyahu said: “I’ve been warning about Iran for 30 years.” It was reported on March 3rd, during a visit to a site struck by an Iranian missile, Netanyahu stated: “We read in this week’s Torah portion, ‘Remember what Amalek did to you.’ We remember—and we act.”
In 1 Samuel 15:2-3, God gives King Saul a specific, direct order to carry out this command. The prophet Samuel relays the message: “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys. ‘”
I have said, I grew up in the Philadelphia area and I know that Netanyahu went to school in Philadelphia and hung out with Irving Kristol, the godfather of the whole Neocon movement. It was Irving’s son, Bill Kristol, who even spoke at one of our WEC events during the ’90s who wrote the book to justify the Iraq War. If I remember correctly, he said taking out Iraq was to secure the future of Israel.
Kristol co-authored the 2003 book The War Over Iraq: Saddam’s Tyranny and America’s Mission with Lawrence F. Kaplan . In this and other writings, he argued for war based on these grounds:
Saddam Hussein as a Direct Threat: He argued that Saddam Hussein posed a “grave threat to the United States and its allies,” possessing or seeking weapons of mass destruction that could be used against America.
American Global Leadership: He believed the war was necessary to establish a “new American foreign policy” after 9/11 and to shape a new world order.
Spreading Democracy: He viewed the removal of Saddam as a step toward spreading democracy in the Middle East, which he argued was in the U.S. national interest.
Many have argued that the real, unstated motivation was to eliminate a strategic threat to Israel and reshape the Middle East to its advantage. They often point to his leadership in the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) and the group’s 1996 “Clean Break” memo, which advised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on remaking the regional balance of power. Key figures involved in the PNAC included Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, and other prominent defense and foreign policy hawks who would later become central figures in the George W. Bush administration.
Netanyahu has argued this Clean Break memo by his rhetoric and actions. Kristol’s rebuttal and his allies have explicitly rejected this accusation, calling it a “canard.” They have stated that a stable, democratic Iraq was vital “first and foremost, to American interests” and that the idea they were driven by “dual loyalties” to Israel is false. I do not recall any disregard for Israel and I believe that was the main point.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has explicitly and repeatedly expressed support for a vision of a “Greater Israel.” While he has used the term “New Middle East” less frequently, the geopolitical outcome of his actions, particularly the war on Iran, aligns with that concept as a strategic reality shaped by Israel’s military dominance.
The “Greater Israel” Vision This concept refers to an expansionist ideology that seeks Israeli control over territory beyond its current borders, often invoking biblical claims to the “Land of Israel.” Netanyahu has openly declared his commitment to this vision. In an August 2025 interview with Israel’s i24NEWS, Netanyahu was directly asked if he subscribes to the “Greater Israel” vision. He responded, “Absolutely… very much.” He described his connection to this vision as a “historic and spiritual mission,” and in a separate interview stated, “I am emotionally connected to the vision of Greater Israel.”
The “Greater Israel” concept, rooted in Revisionist Zionism, claims territory from the Nile River in Egypt to the Euphrates River in Iraq. This would encompass not only all of Israel and the Palestinian territories but also large parts of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq. His constant attack on Iran has many questioning if this is another weapons of mass destruction lie used for the Iraq War where Americans are sent to die for the dreams of Neocons.
I believe that Trump has been sucked into this game that these Neocons have refused to relinguish and stupidly think that they can conquer the entire Middle East simply because the United States has the largest military force. I have spoken with people who try to help veterans, and they have always said that the vets from Vietnam are angry knowing that their country lied to them compared to the vets from World War II.
I have family members who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. I lost most of my high school friend to Vietnam. I believe these disgusting Neocons who are consumed with power and hatred used Netanyahu to manipulate Trump knowing what I know between the Philadelphia connections when I was just a kid. Benjamin Netanyahu lived in the Cheltenham, located in the suburbs of Philadelphia during two distinct periods. He lived in Cheltenham for elementary school while his father taught at a local college 1956–1958. He then attended Cheltenham High School from 1963 to 1967. Netanyahu was groomed as a Neocon and just because he sought a political career in Israel did not alter his Neocon upbringing.
Posted originally on Mar 22, 2026 by Martin Armstrong |
I have warned that (1) Iran can become a proxy war dragging the USA in deeper and deeper using up its missile inventory. At the same time, this is distracting the Administration from Ukraine and Taiwan. The obvious way to defeat the United States is the way Napoleon was defeated. While fighting on multiple fronts certainly contributed to Napoleon’s downfall, describing his defeat as simply a result of “too many wars” is an oversimplification. The core of the problem was strategic overreach: he initiated massive, unnecessary conflicts that bled his forces dry, which in turn allowed a united coalition of European powers to eventually overwhelm him.
China has adopted what is known as the “All-Dimensional Deterrence outside the island chain.” This is a very clear reference to intercepting any U.S. military forces in the Western Pacific Ocean that might attempt to intervene in Taiwan’s defense against an actual attack. Taiwan is already concerned that the US is going through cruise missiles like water in Iran even bringing assets from other regions to protect Ukraine and now Iran. I am concerned that the arrogance of the Neocons really running this war are clearly blinded for they cannot see that engaging in three wars simultaneously will necessitate resurrecting the draft and will add so much debt, the entire system may come crumbling down post 2028.
Iran’s warning that it will strike energy and water infrastructure across the Persian Gulf if Donald Trump follows through on his threat to destroy its power plants has raised fears of mass disruption in a region heavily dependent on desalination for drinking water. Such an attack on Iran’s electricity may hurt the Iranian people where they hope they will rise up against the government. But such an attack will be potentially catastrophic for its Gulf neighbors, which consume around five times as much power per capita. It is electricity that makes the desert cities habitable, in part by powering the desalination plants that produce 100% of the water consumed in Bahrain and Qatar. Such plants use seawater to meet more than 80% of drinking water needs in the United Arab Emirates, and 50% of the water supply in Saudi Arabia. Donald Trump on Sunday gave Iran 48 hours to fully reopen the vital strait of Hormuz to shipping or face the destruction of its energy infrastructure.
The consequences of that will backfile on Trump for it will drastically cut energy from the Middle East and send prices significantly higher and this will shift the markets that are up to now believing the BS that this will be a short war, So far, it appears Trump might back down, but not for long.
We need someone with a cool head here to prevent a major crisis that will forever change the political landscape post-2032.
Posted originally on Mar 22, 2026 by Martin Armstrong |
QUESTION #1: Marty, will anyone in Washington call Trump and insist that he at least meet with you? You have the only geopolitical computer that has more than a 50 year track record?
QUESTION #2: You also said that Netanyahu would use at least tactical nukes on Iran. Would you put a probability on that?
QUESTION #3: Martin …
I’ve been an independent trader for 34 years now, but I’m sitting here looking at forward Crude futures. Currently Dec 2028 futures is 69.91. This seems to be saying “the market” isn’t seeing a prolonged conflict yet Socrates is saying the opposite with potential $200+ Crude.
Dec 2028 Call Options are rediculously cheap.
I’m struggling a bit because we always say “the market is never wrong” . Somehow I cannot help but feel like at least temporarily the market is wrong.
Interesting times for sure !
So gratefull for you, your team and Socrates !
Allen H
ANSWER: These are some loaded questions. Netanyahu is dead wrong and he has bullshitted Trump and now Trump admit that so we are in a death spiral geopolitically as well as economically. There is absolutely nobody in Washington willing to stick their neck out because they fear they would be fired or not endorsed for the Midterm election.
Iran has responded to Trump’s 48 hour deadline stating it will move to shut down the entire Strait of Hormuz if Trump follows through with his threats to hit Iranian energy facilities. Trump said that the U.S. military would within 48 hours on his social media post Saturday evening that he would
“hit and obliterate [Iran’s] various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST” if Tehran doesn’t fully open the Strait of Hormuz “without threat.”
Doing that will start the real energy crisis for that will be structural long-term damage not mere short-term rhetoric. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards said in its statement Sunday that any companies with U.S. shares will be “completely destroyed” if Washington targets Iranian energy facilities. Energy infrastructure of nations that host U.S. military bases will be “lawful” targets, they made clear.
Israeli will use tactical nuclear strikes on Iranian military targets and I would place the probability at 60-75% (likely). The targets will be IRGC bases, missile sites, military command centers. The justification will be a claimed “proportional WMD response, deterring future use.” I do not expect this to be shared with Trump.
However, the forwards are reflecting the rhetoric that they do not expect this war to be a long protracted event. It is the near markets that are never wrong, not the distant forwards. There is also a liquidity crisis where lending has dried up because of war risks and this has led to private selling of gold especially coming from Dubai, yet the central bank increased its gold reserves significantly before the war. This will turn more into a crisis starting in mid April running especially into June. When the perception shifts to realizing this will be a Middle East War that will not go away in just a few weeks, then things will get much more heated.
Posted originally on CTH on March 23, 2026 | Sundance
The scene on the ground at LaGuardia airport are horrific as the nose of the Air Canada regional jet is completely destroyed. AP reports “two persons” were killed in the crash.
Apparently, an aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle was crossing the runway at the same time the Air Canada plane was arriving. The New York Times has a live update feed with the following information:
[SOURCE] An Air Canada Express regional jet collided with a Port Authority fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, killing the plane’s two pilots and shutting down all flights at the airport, officials said Monday.
Forty-one passengers and crew members were taken to the hospital, Kathryn Garcia, the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said at an early morning news conference. She said that 32 of them had been released, and that some of the others had been seriously injured.
The vehicle struck by an incoming plane at LaGuardia Airport was a Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle that had been responding to a separate incident, the agency said in a statement. (source)
At approximately 11:40 p.m. on Sunday, a Jazz Aviation flight operating on behalf of Air Canada was involved in an incident on Runway 4 at LaGuardia Airport in which the aircraft struck a Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle that was responding to a separate incident.
Emergency response protocols were immediately activated. The Port Authority Police Department is on scene along with the agency’s Chairman and Executive Director. The airport is currently closed to facilitate the response and allow for a thorough investigation.
This is a developing situation based on preliminary information. The Port Authority Police Department is working closely with our airline partners as well as federal authorities and will provide additional updates as more details become available. (source)
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Dear God, bring these grieving families to Your throne of comfort. Their pain is unimaginable as they anguish the loss of their loved ones. Father of mercy and comfort wrap Your loving arms around them. Help them to breathe and overcome the choking knot of despair in their throat. Please provide strength for their continued faith in You even through this unfathomable pain. Lavish them with Your love and fill the void in their crushed and broken hearts.
Posted originally on CTH on March 22, 2026 | Sundance
Peter Thiel is well known for his PayPal startup and later Palantir tech investment. Most people now have a better understanding of exactly what Palantir software and AI interface are capable of. Palantir AI is now established as a core military system, and the suite of associated products have both military and commercial applications.
At its core, the Palantir product line is about interfacing AI with surveillance software; behavior stuff that permits surveillance and targeting systems through massive database cross referencing and actionable targeting. I’ll leave the rest of the explaining to those in the comments section who have followed the developing technology.
For his latest endeavor, Peter Thiel has now invested $2 billion in a New Zealand (think five-eyes) based company that assists cattle ranchers with their herds. “New Zealand-based Halter has secured funding at a $2 billion valuation from Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, marking one of the highest-profile venture investments in agricultural AI to date. The startup, which manufactures AI-powered collars that autonomously manage cattle movement and behaviour, now operates across more than 5,000 farms globally.” (READ MORE) – AND WATCH:
“Peter Thiel just bet $2 billion on a collar that wraps around a cow’s neck. The company is called Halter and it has a proprietary algorithm that runs the entire operation. They actually trademarked the name for it and called it the Cowgorithm and here’s how it works.
A farmer opens an app, taps a button, and 600,000 cows across three countries start walking toward the milking station on their own. No farm dogs, fences or physical labor, it’s just a solar-powered GPS collar sending sound and vibration cues to each animal.”
“The collar does more than move cows around. It monitors digestion, fertility cycles, and health patterns in real time, 24 hours a day, using machine learning trained on the behavior of hundreds of thousands of animals.
Halter was founded by a rocket engineer who built spacecraft at Rocket Lab before deciding that farming was the bigger unsolved problem. US ranchers alone have already used the technology to build over 11,000 miles of virtual fencing, roughly the full perimeter of the continental United States, saving an estimated $220 million in physical fencing costs.
Halter’s previous funding round valued the company at $1 billion. This new round, led by Thiel’s Founders Fund, doubles that valuation to $2 billion before the new money even hits the account. And they charge farmers between $5 and $8 per animal per month on a subscription model, meaning the more cows they collar, the more locked-in the revenue becomes.
The most powerful venture capitalist on earth just decided that the future of food and farming runs through an algorithm named after a cow.” (SOURCE)
Peter Thiel’s prior developmental products are all based around human behavioral sciences. Geolocation, predictive analysis, consumer patterns, behavior patterns, targeting, and the streamlined assembly of mass surveillance systems such as Palantir facial recognition software connected to identity tracking and tracing.
Why would Peter Thiel be shifting to animal behavioral sciences. Yes, there is a strong marketable product that could ultimately make cattle ranching and cow farming much more efficient and productive.
However, overlay the Halter system on cows with the Palantir system on people. Replace the cow with a human.
Let me explain what a $2 billion “cow collar” actually is 👇
They put an AI collar on a cow. It tracks location. Health. Movement. Behavior. Every second of every day.
A farmer opens an app. Draws a line on a map. That line becomes a fence. No physical fence. No wall. Nothing visible.
When the cow gets close to the boundary.. the collar vibrates. The cow turns around. Within 10 days the animal doesn’t even test the boundary anymore. It just stays inside.
700,000 animals are already wearing them.
They called it a “cowgorithm.” They want you to laugh at it.
Now read the technology again without the word cow..
24/7 GPS tracking on every individual. Real time health and behavior monitoring. Invisible boundaries drawn from a phone. Movement controlled through vibration and sound. Subject learns compliance within days.
$2 billion. And guess who led the investment…
Peter Thiel. The same man who built Palantir. CIA backed surveillance from day one. The same man who just got a $10 billion Pentagon contract to run AI inside the military.
His entire career is building systems that track and control. Now he’s funding a collar that does exactly that.
They’re not investing in farming. The farming is the test. (SOURCE)
Where did the most aggressive testing of COVID-19 population control systems, and COVID-19 vaccination compliance take place? Australia and New Zealand. Five-Eyes countries.
Sound crazy?
So did this at the time:
Welcome to the future. Palantir is the gatekeeper for all your Facial Recognition permissions.
This is only a surprise to those who have not been paying close attention. The seed goes back to JD Vance. https://t.co/0IMK55V7GS
Posted originally on CTH on March 22, 2026 | Sundance
Apparently, CNN needs to play the game of pretending that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) do not already operate in U.S. airports.
Airports are border checkpoints, and the “customs” part of both ICE and CBP are functions that happen as part of regular duty for CBP and ICE officials.
As Tom Homan notes, CBP/ICE already exist in airports and can assist Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials in various duties including, customs checks, routine security, entrance/exit security as well as baggage and pre-boarding security checkpoints that do not involve the use of x-ray and scanning machines. In fact, more than half the functioning work of TSA agents can easily be handled/supported by ICE/CBP agents.
But CNN needs to build a narrative, so the reality of simple explanations works against their interests. WATCH:
Posted originally on CTH on March 22, 2026 | Sundance
U.S. Secretary to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, appears on CBS to discuss the political angles to the U.S. military operation against Iran. There was some critical questioning about whether Iran was factually capable of sending a missile from Iran to the U.S. base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. Ambassador Waltz seems to question the reporting on their capabilities. Video and Transcript Below:
[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: That’s Charlie D’Agata reporting in Arad, Israel. We’re joined now by the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, and it’s good to have you here in person.
AMB. MIKE WALTZ: Thank you, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So Ambassador, on Friday, the president tweeted, “The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it — The United States does not!” And then last night he threatened that if Iran doesn’t fully open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours from the time of his post, the US will “hit and obliterate” their power plants, starting with the “biggest one first.” So which is it, is the U.S. opening Hormuz by force or having others do it.
AMB. WALTZ: Well, I think it can be both. It’s not necessarily mutually exclusive. I am glad you are having NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on. I think at his urging and his leadership, we have now seen Italy, Germany, France and a number of others commit to help with this effort.
MARGARET BRENNAN: –After combat operations end.
AMB. WALTZ: Particularly since, particularly since so much energy is going to Europe out of the strait. We just had the Japanese Prime Minister commit to portions of her navy and the Japanese navy, 80% of what is coming out of the Gulf is going to Asia. So we are seeing our allies come around as they should, but at the same time, the president is not going to stand for this regime, as it has threatened and tried for five decades to hold the world’s energy supplies hostage under its, its genocidal intent.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So some allies like the United Kingdom have talked about things like surveillance, anti-mining, anti-drone support for the United States. But in that appeal from the United States, I should say in the Strait of Hormuz, but not until active combat ends. To be clear, that is what we are talking about.
AMB. WALTZ: And the president has been clear too. He’s going to continue to pound Iran’s capabilities, its missile, its naval and its drone capability. Margaret, we have to take a step back. We have seen what it’s doing now in terms of attacking ports, airports, civilian infrastructure, hotels, resorts, and what it is trying to do to global energy supplies. One can only imagine if it had a nuclear umbrella. One could only imagine if Iran achieved its aim to test. Then you have Saudi Arabia wanting a nuclear program, then perhaps the UAE, Turkey or others. And when people ask why this matters to our security here at home, it should petrify every American that you could potentially have a nuclear Middle East awash in weapons.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, they are not enriching. They weren’t enriching leading up to this. This is what U.S. officials have testified to. But just on this point about what the president–
AMB. WALTZ: Well they couldn’t enrich because of Operation Midnight Hammer that obliterated their ability to enrich. They had every intent to continue.
MARGARET BRENNAN: They do have a nuclear power plant, Bushehr. It’s actually their largest energy plant. It’s a civilian site.
AMB. WALTZ: It is actually not their largest energy plant. It is about one, about one gigawatt. They have larger ones that are gas, fired outside of Tehran. But just case in point, yeah.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, but- but in this case, in that clarification, the reason I am asking you is when the president says he is going to bomb energy infrastructure, civilian energy infrastructure, is he going to bomb a nuclear power plant, or is that off the table.
AMB. WALTZ: Well, I would never take anything off the table for the president, certainly not on national television. However, there are larger plants. There is one outside of Tehran. There are others outside of other cities that are gas fired, thermal powered. I think the important point here is to understand the IRGC, a declared terrorist organization, not only by us–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah, in Europe too.
AMB. WALTZ: –but in a number of European countries, controls a huge swath of Iran’s critical infrastructure, their economy and certainly many of their governing institutions. And so to the extent we are degrading their military capability and their defense industrial base, all options should be on the table, and the president has made that very clear.
MARGARET BRENNAN: How do you ensure that this doesn’t constitute a war crime, which the UN Secretary General said an attack on energy infrastructure could be. How do you make sure this is not mass punishment for innocent civilians?
AMB. WALTZ: Well, I think you know, I would encourage and will encourage the Secretary General to point out the twenty to thirty thousand Iranians that the regime massacred at scale, the civilian infrastructure that they are attacking–
[CROSS-TALK STARTS]
MARGARET BRENNAN: –No one is endorsing that but how do you make sure this doesn’t hurt–
AMB. WALTZ: — And when you, but when have a regime that has its grips on so much critical infrastructure, that is using it to further not only the repression of its own people, to attack its neighbors, and in contravention of UN sanctions, to march towards a nuclear weapon, then that makes those legitimate targets.
[CROSS-TALK ENDS]
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, well, you know that in many of these places, water desalination is linked into that energy infrastructure, civilian infrastructure. This is why it is a question of it being a war crime.
AMB. WALTZ: I have no doubt that the president, the Pentagon, their team will ensure that what they target is geared towards the military infrastructure of Iran. But I have to tell you, they deliberately blend, have a long history, everything from hiding weapons under schools and hospitals to using power plants and other critical infrastructure to not only power their military but their civilian, and they deliberately blend in contravention of international law.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Let me ask you about what we saw overnight with these missile attacks. The Director of National Intelligence testified last week to Congress that Iran could not develop a militarily viable ICBM, intercontinental ballistic missile, before 2035 if it attempted to pursue that capability. Yesterday, the IDF said Israel said that Iran did fire an ICBM. Has this changed the U.S. assessment?
AMB. WALTZ: I am not familiar with the IDF assessment. I can tell you-–
MARGARET BRENNAN: They said what was fired at Diego Garcia and them was an ICBM.
AMB. WALTZ: I can tell you the UK just condemned the firing of an intermediate range ballistic missile at Diego Garcia, that same type of missile Iran has lied about in terms of its development, said they were not developing yet. They just lied. Yet they just did it. Not only could it hit Diego Garcia, it could hit capitals in Europe. And Margaret, the technology, the booster technology that Iran has been hiding behind its space program. I don’t think we are going to see Iranian astronauts on the moon anytime soon. That this space program has been hiding that technology. You have the re-entry technology to marry the two really does not take very much in terms of technological development. And we just have to you know, thank God the president is taking action now and stopping this march towards a fully fledged nuclear program, instead of waiting until after it’s developed, like we saw in North Korea under the Clinton administration say, surprise, we now have, a full program.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So a difference there in the assessments. But let me ask you about our polling.
AMB. WALTZ: It wouldn’t be the first time you have different intelligence assessments, by the way, by different intelligence communities.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Absolutely. The administration has not convinced, we’ve seen it in our polling, the majority of Americans that this war was necessary. Sixty six percent of Americans believe conflict with Iran is a war of choice. Sixty percent disapprove of the US taking military action against Iran. Fifty seven percent of Americans think the conflict is going very or somewhat badly. How do you tell the American people they’re wrong?
AMB. WALTZ: Well, I can. I could quote a whole slew of polls that show, for example, self-described MAGA Republicans give the president a 100% percent approval rating–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –his base is in there, absolutely–
AMB. WALTZ: A majority say the number one job of the commander in chief is to keep Americans safe. I can point here to an NBC poll, 90% of Republicans, broader Republicans, support Trump’s effort to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities. And I have to point out, no one should be surprised here. President Trump has said Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon 2016 campaign, 2020 campaign. Since 2024 he has said it seventy four times out in the public space.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But if he is going to commit any kind of ground troops or boots on the ground. Don’t you think he needs to persuade the majority of American people, not just his base?
AMB. WALTZ: I think the president will keep all options on the table to secure these objectives. And as a veteran, as a parent, I thank God he is not kicking the can like so many administrations have for fifty years, until this is a catastrophic problem where we have very limited options to deal with, much less an entire Middle East potentially awash in nukes.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Ambassador Walz, thank you for your time this morning.
Posted originally on CTH on March 22, 2026 | Sundance
Margaret Brennan’s husband is a Syrian Muslim named Major Ali Iyad Yakub, who goes by the nickname ‘Yado’. He served in the U.S. military. Mrs. Brennan studied abroad at Yarmouk University in Irbid, Jordan, and Yakub’s sister, Samia Yakub, was her roommate. Mr. Yakub founded Y2 Global Advisory specializing in global intelligence, communications, and government relations. He also worked for Senator Joe Biden on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Margaret Brennan and Ali Iyad Yakub have two children together.
NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte appears on CBS Face the Nation to discuss the European opinion of the U.S. military operation against Iran, and outline how many countries within the NATO alliance are prepared to support the ongoing effort to eliminate the threat Iran represented. Video and Transcript Below:
[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: We turn now to NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, who joins us this morning from The Hague in the Netherlands. Welcome back to ‘Face The Nation.’
NATO SECRETARY GENERAL MARK RUTTE: Margaret, good to be back on the program. Good morning.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Good morning. We did see that Iran fired two missiles at Diego Garcia. That’s that island in the Indian Ocean, which houses a U.S. UK joint base. That was 4000 kilometers from Iranian territory, furthest Iran has ever gone. You just heard Ambassador Waltz say there might be a difference there in how Israel and the U.S. assess that capability Iran has in terms of what they fired. But Israel says these were intercontinental ballistic missiles that could hit Berlin, Paris and Rome. Does NATO share that Israeli assessment?
SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE: We cannot confirm that at the moment, so we’re looking into that. But if this would be true, it is the more evidence that what the President is doing here, taking out the ballistic missile capability, taking out the nuclear capability from Iran, is crucial. And exactly as the ambassador just said, Ambassador Waltz, we have seen with North Korea, if we negotiate for too long, you might pass the moment where you can still get this thing done, and North Korea now has the nuclear capability. If Iran would have the nuclear capability, including, together with the missile capability, it will be a direct threat, a existential threat, to Israel, to the region, to Europe, to the stability in the world. So the president doing this is crucial, and I’ve seen the polling, but I really hope the American people will be with him, because he is doing this to make the whole world safer.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So but just to be clear at this hour, do you believe that Iran could bomb Berlin, Paris and Rome? Are they all within direct threat range?
SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE: What we know for sure is that they are very close to having that capability, whether this case with the UK base, Diego Garcia, we are still assessing. But if it is true, it means they already have that capability. If it is not true, we know they are very close to having that capability. And that is exactly why I feel in Europe, that most politicians, it resonates with them. What the President is doing here, which is taking out- degrading Iran’s capability to be, again, an exporter of chaos, sheer chaos to the region, to the world.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, I’m sure the president appreciates your praise, but he has been very frustrated, and made that clear this week with NATO and the European allies. He called NATO quote a paper tiger without the US. He said they complain about high oil prices when they forced to pay but they don’t want to help open the Strait of Hormuz. Easy for them cowards. We will remember.
SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE: I’ve been in several conversations this week with the president, and the good news is that, look, we had the U.S. for weeks planning for Epic Fury and for reasons of security and safety, they could not share with European allies and allies around the world and partner countries what they were doing, because that would have jeopardized the effect of the first- first attack–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –Or it would have allowed you to plan
SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE: So it is only logical that European countries needed a couple of weeks to come together. But at this moment, the good news is this, that since Thursday, 22 countries, most of them NATO, but also Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Bahrain, the UAE, have come together to basically answer three questions, what do we need? When do we need it? And where do we need it? These three questions are now worked through to answer the president’s call, to make sure that we secure the free sailing through the Strait of Hormuz.
MARGARET BRENNAN: To be clear, the president has said four to six weeks for this war, that would put us in early April for an end to combat operations. But then he’s also sending troops. He’s also possibly asking Congress for more money. What’s the when part? When did he tell you your support from these European countries will be needed because from the sources I speak to, they are not willing to send in the midst of combat.
SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE: Obviously, I cannot in a program which is aired around the world, and you have a lot of viewers, discuss with you what is discussed in secrecy, but I can assure you that, of course, and the UK is- is at the forefront of leading this effort of the 22 countries on the leadership of Prime Minister Starmer. I’ve been in the phone call this week with Prime Minister Starmer and President Macron, and again, this has led to 22 countries now signing up to this initiative. And indeed, one of the key questions is not only the what question and the where question, but also the when question. And this is why military planners are now working together to make sure that we are ready, to make sure that that street- that Strait of Hormuz, that we secure the free sailing there, which is crucial for the world economy.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The president seemed to say, though, that this will go beyond Iran in terms of the impact on his thinking about NATO and his willingness to help Europe. Take a listen to this.
[DONALD TRUMP SOT]
DONALD TRUMP: I think NATO is making a very foolish mistake. And I’ve long said that, you know, I wonder whether or not NATO would ever be there for us. So this is a this was a great test, because we don’t need them, but they should have been there.
[END SOT]
MARGARET BRENNAN: The president continues to frame this as sort of like a quid pro quo, and he’s also mentioned Ukraine in the same context, saying, I help Europe with Ukraine. Why aren’t they helping me? Are you worried that this is going to hurt NATO’s goals elsewhere?
SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE: What I know is that we always come together. It was under President Trump’s leadership that we had the extremely successful Summit in the Hague where we agreed to spend 5% of our GDPs on defense, and therefore equalizing for the first time since Eisenhower. So this is quite some time- some time back in history, equalizing what the Europeans are spending and what Americans are spending, not only because it is fair that we all spend the same, and this was a wish from Trump 45 and now is Trump 47 he got this done, but also because we need it, because of the Russian threat and our other adversaries. Then on Ukraine, it is again the U.S. providing critical intelligence support and weapons flow, working together with Europeans to secure Ukraine’s fight against the Russians, making sure they have what they need. And now with Iran, I’m absolutely convinced, and I understand the president’s frustration that it takes some time, but again, I also ask for some understanding, because nations had to prepare for this, not knowing and for good reasons about the initial attack on Iran, but now coming together to make sure that we can be able to secure the Strait of Hormuz.
MARGARET BRENNAN: No but to be clear, I’ve spoken to some NATO members who say this is a defensive alliance, not an offensive one. We didn’t sign up to go do what the president is asking us to do. But on the Russia point you just made, the European Council president said the U.S. decision to lift sanctions on Russian oil exports. Is very concerning as it impacts European security. This is part of what President Trump’s doing to try to stop the spike in oil prices here at home, the Treasury Secretary says this means about $2 billion is going to Russia now, President Zelenskyy says it’s more like 10 billion. Doesn’t this benefit Vladimir Putin?
SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE: Well, this is the thing the president has to balance all these different interests. I know that he is with his team, with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff and Marco Rubio. They are constantly working with the Ukrainians to put maximum pressure on the Russians to come to a deal. I know–
MARGARET BRENNAN: This isn’t maximum pressure.
SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE: –I spoke an hour and a half with President Zelenskyy in London. He wants to get the deal done, and we have to make sure that we also take this to the Russians, to make sure that they are willing to play ball. It is the president putting that pressure together with the Europeans. But again, he has to balance all these different interests. So I’m not going to comment on each element of what is happening here, but his effort to bring the war in Ukraine to a successful end is crucial. He was the only one who was able to break the death lock with Putin when he made the first phone call in February last year, and he has consistently, with his team, done what is necessary to put that pressure, of course, on the Ukrainians, and they want to play ball. They show this. They want to end the war, and are also with the Russians.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, we’ll see if Vladimir Putin wants to play ball. Secretary General, thank you for your time, and we’ll be right back with a lot more ‘Face the Nation.’ Stay with us.
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