Speaker
Frederik Pleitgen
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CNN's Frederik Pleitgen has traveled to Iran approximately 45-46 times, making him one of the most experienced Western correspondents covering the country.
After Ayatollah Khamenei was killed in the early hours of the US-Israeli campaign, Iran installed a new Supreme Leader within just three days, demonstrating institutional resilience.
Estimates of those killed in the Iranian protest crackdown range from roughly 3,000 to 40,000, with the true figure extremely difficult to verify.
Iranian officials told Pleitgen they considered the return of approximately $24 billion in frozen assets to be a key goodwill gesture from the United States.
Under the JCPOA, Iran got roughly $55 billion only after destroying its plutonium reactor, shipping out its uranium, removing centrifuges, and accepting inspections. The new deal's $300 billion reconstruction fund alone is nearly 6x that — and Iran hasn't yet met any comparable conditions.
The instinct to not attack Trump for fear of sounding hawkish is wrong. Democrats need to permanently discredit the neocon FDD worldview that America can bomb its way to peace. Not saying so now lets the White House set a false narrative that this was a victory.
Netanyahu went all-in with Republicans, attacked Obama, torpedoed the JCPOA, and now Democrats despise him. With the Iran war a catastrophe, Trump's approval in Israel has collapsed to 38%. Netanyahu has nowhere else to turn — and the Democratic Party is gone.
Trump told reporters at the G7 that Hezbollah is just a 'little pinprick' and that Netanyahu must be 'more responsible' in Lebanon. He even suggested Syria should handle Hezbollah. The hosts note this is designed to embarrass Netanyahu while revealing Trump's buyer's remorse.
Just 75,000 voters in a single UK constituency could decide the future of British politics. If Andy Burnham wins the Makerfield seat, he will likely challenge Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership and could become prime minister.
Bill Pulte — a housing finance official who used confidential mortgage data to target Trump's enemies — was withdrawn as DNI nominee after bipartisan pushback. The hosts read it as a sign Republicans may be pushing back more than they were a year ago.
Nigerian fans flew to Mexico just to watch South Africa lose. Korean fans shared tequila shots with Mexicans outside the stadium. Scottish supporters took over a Red Sox game at Fenway Park. This is what the World Cup looks like when it works.
Ayatollah Khamenei had led Iran for 37 years. He was killed in the opening hours of the campaign. Three days later, Iran had a new Supreme Leader in place. The Iranian system is a blob — you can kill the leaders, but you can't kill the institutions.
When the Israelis struck the Natanz nuclear facility, Iran responded within hours by hitting Dimona, Israel's nuclear facility. That moment proved Iran's command-and-control structure was fully functional and it could project power all the way into Israel.
In theory, Iran is a theocracy with one supreme authority. In practice, every military response required sign-off from the Supreme Leader's office, the Supreme National Security Council, the military, and the presidency. The US just needed one man's tweet.
Getting into Iran as a Western journalist means applying through an eVisa system, getting sign-off from the Foreign Ministry and Culture Ministry, working with a trusted local translator, and having no minder. Pleitgen has done it 45-46 times and drove 14 hours through a bombing campaign to file his last story.
Iran was already negotiating toward a nuclear deal before Trump launched the war. The US reopened a waterway that was open before the conflict began, handed Iran a financial windfall, and left the nuclear issue unresolved. This is what losing looks like.
JD Vance called the deal process 'cool' because of the relationships built with IRGC officials. The Obama administration proved you could talk to Iran without bombing them first. Vance and Trump just discovered what Ben Rhodes did in 2015 — after an unnecessary war.
Pleitgen flew into Armenia, drove nine hours to the Iranian border, then drove another 14 hours to Tehran as bombs fell on industrial areas along the route. There were no bomb shelters. 2,000-pound bombs in dense urban areas. The impact was felt by everybody.
Senior IRGC leaders were killed in the early stages of the war, but the organization reconstituted itself, struck back, and projected power into the Gulf. At a memorial ceremony Pleitgen attended, morale was high. The war that was supposed to destroy them made them stronger.
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