Full transcript of “BREAKING: Trump says ‘effective immediately’ U.S. will blockade ships from Strait of Hormuz”. Click a timestamp to open the video at that moment. Need another video? Use the YouTube transcript generator.
0:00 The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmate commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon. But the simple question is, do we see a fundamental commitment of will for the Iranians not to develop a nuclear weapon, not just now, not just two years from now, but for the long term? We haven't seen that yet. We hope that we will. We're still learning exactly what broke dow behind those closed doors, but Iranian officials familiar with the talks tell The New York Times that major sticking points included the fate of roughly 900 pounds of highly enriched uranium, Iran's demand that about 27 billion dollars in frozen assets be released, and the U .S.
0:53 Iran refused, insisting it would only do so after a final peace agreement. Despite the failed talks, Pakistan's foreign minister, who brokered the current two-week ceasefire in Iran, is urging both sides to maintain that fragile truce. But tensions remain high across the region as Israel continues its offensive in southern Lebanon. The ambassadors to the U .S. for both Israel and Lebanon are expected to be in Washington, D .C., this Tuesday for direct talks. Joining us now is David Rode, MSNOW senior national security reporter. David, I want to actually start where we just left off, which is the status of Lebanon because I don't think we're all paying enough attention to what israel is actually doing right now i think it's really undersold actually the amount
1:39 that they're bombing them especially uh in beirut these apartment buildings where There appears to be lots of civilians. Can you talk a little bit about this factor and how it is playing into the overall negotiations and whether you think Israel is being a good-faith partner PARTNER HERE? LEBANON IS A CRITICAL FACTOR. IRAN IS UNDER ENORMOUS PRESSURE FROM ACROSS THE MIDDLE EAST, THE ARAB WORLD TO TRY TO USE IT'S LEVERAGE. AND THE KEY THING HERE WAS THAT PRESIDENT TRUMP A FEW DAYS AGO ASKED PRIME MINISTER NANYAHU TO SORT OF GO EASIER, TO REDUCE THE INTENSITIES OF THESE STRIKES SEVERAL DAYS AGO. THAT HASN'T REALLY HAPPENED THERE'S BEEN AT LEAST TWO DAYS WHERE THERE WERE A HUNDRED STRIKES AT ONE TIME AND MORE THAN,
2:25 YOU KNOW, HUNDREDS ACCORDING TO LEBANESE OFFICIALS, HUNDREDS OF CASUALTIES. SO THAT'S AN enormous challenge and I think it would be difficult for Iran to conclude a deal. There's those other deals, those other things that were just mentioned. But this is a, you know, it's a key issue for Trump to address? David, I'm sorry. We're just looking at a New Truth Social post from the president that I haven't had a real chance to read. Feel free to read it. Out loud, if you'd like. I don't know. Get into trouble. But here, I'll read it. So there you have it. The meeting went well. Most points were agreed to. But the only point that really mattered nuclear was not effective immediately.
3:11 The United States Navy, the finest in the world, will begin the process of blockading any and all ships trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz. At some point we will reach an all being allowed to go in all being allowed to go out. That's all caps basis. But Iran has not allowed that to happen by merely saying there may be a mine out there somewhere that nobody knows about but the United States is real. Can the United States do that? And if so, is there enough U .S. military equipment in the region to do
3:57 that effectively? Thank you for reading that, Jonathan. I didn't mean to put you on the spot but that's, you know, that's how we learn what's going to happen next in the United States these days. I think it's a pressure tactic by the Trump administration. I think there are━there is enough━the ships, R &F ships to carry that out. Some foreign policy experts, Richard Haass, who's often on Morning Joe, the former head of the Council on Foreign Relations has pushed that as an idea as a way to pressure Iran. But we're just sort of━it's more rounds of brinksmanship. I think you'll see oil prices rise if everything is cut off again. So you're going to see a lot of brinksmanship over the
4:42 I'M SORRY, OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS THE KEY HERE IS THE CURRENT CEASE-FIRE EXPIRES ON TUESDAY, APRIL 21st. And one other thing to note, the president, you know, for maybe for him, there's only one issue, the nuclear issue. But clearly Iran has to deal with Lebanon, as we've talked about. It wants some kind of AND IT WANTS FUNDS, THESE FUNDS TO BE RELEASED. SO THERE'S REALLY FOUR ISSUES HERE FOR BOTH SIDES TO RESOLVE. ROB MALLIE WHO LED THE U .S. NEGOTIATIONS UNDER THE HE IS SAYING ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN IN THE NEXT BETWEEN NOW AND THE END OF THE CEASE-FIRE. SO THE PRESIDENT IS NOT BRINGING THE TEMPERATURE DOWN BY TAKING
5:29 THIS BLOCKADE step. David Rode, thank you very much for responding to that. Truth social in real time. Have a good one. Joining us now, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressman Gregory Meeks of New York. So we're going to start where we ended with David Rode, President Trump's Truth Social, where he is threatening that the United States Navy, I'm reading from my iPad here, is blockading the Strait of Hormuz. He also says at the end of that, the blockade begins Now, our other nations are joining. We are locked and loaded. Iran knows how to end this. I'm not sure what other nations are going to stop oil, the little bit of oil that's coming out of THERE, HELP US UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING. MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO THE PRESIDENT'S THREAT TO IRAN AND THE REST
6:15 OF THE WORLD'S ECONOMIES? TO UNDERSTAND THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES WOULD BE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND And someone who was just nonsensical, who when you think about where we are now as a result of him and his presidency, you know, if you look at the state of Hamuz was not an issue. We were not at we're not spending $40 billion. We spent already too close to a billion or two a day when this war goes on, talking about annihilating a civilization. And we were not there until this
7:04 It's not serious about diplomacy. I think diplomacy is the only way to go here. He got us in this mess, and the way to try to resolve it is not going to take place in a I THINK IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF DIPLOMACY. YOU KNOW, ANYBODY THAT KNOWS ANYTHING ABOUT DIPLOMACY, IF YOU TALK TO ANY OF THE EXPERTS THAT WE HAD IN THE STATE DEPARTMENT THAT HE GOT RID OF ALL OF THEM, THEY WOULD I WANT TO TELL YOU THAT THIS IS HARD WORK AND YOU NEED TO SIT DOWN AND YOU TALK TO ONE ANOTHER AND USE YOUR PARTNERS WITH YOU. YOU DON'T ALIENATE THEM AS HE HAS DONE WITH OUR FRIENDS OF OUR PEOPLE AND OUR ALLYES, WHETHER IT'S IN EUROPE OR THE GULF COUNTRIES THAT ARE NOW SUFFERING ALSO AROUND THE WORLD WHERE PEOPLE ARE NOT GETTING FOOD AND OIL AND SO THEREFORE THEY'RE SUFFERING AS A RESULT OF THAT. SO I THINK THAT THIS IS WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS THAT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE
7:52 THAT THESE NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE AND TALK. HE SAYS NOW NUCLEAR WEAPONS IS THE BIG HE SAID HE OBLITERATED IT IN JUNE. REMEMBER, JCPOA, IRAN HAD AGREED NOT TO PURSUE A NUCLEAR WEAPON AND WE HAD THE IAEA READY TO GO THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION RIPPED UP. SO WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? I'M LOOKING, AND I WANT TO PREVENT HIM FROM SENDING TROOPS ON THE GROUND AND NOT COMING I'M LOOKING TO SET ANOTHER WAR POWERS RESOLUTION AND HOPE MY REPUBLICAN COLLEAGUES STAND UP FOR THE COUNTRY SO WE CAN STOP HAVING THIS NONSENSE THAT THIS PRESIDENT CONTINUES TO PUT US IN.
8:37 Congressman, I'm wondering if you can elaborate a little bit more on how exactly you're going to do that and whether or not you think anything is actually likely to make it onto the floor this week to take a vote on that. And I thought you could also share with us. What is the last that you heard from the administration? You're obviously privy to more information than most members as the ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Can you give us a brief update on what you've heard from Pentagon officials? Yeah, I wish I could say to you that this administration has been transparent with me, with the committee, with Congress and with the American people. We cannot say that. I don't think that anyone in Congress can say that, that this administration THE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN TRANSPARENT. WE HAVE FAILED TO DO OUR JOBS IN THE SENSE THAT ON THIS COMMITTEE, WHICH SHOULD BE OVERSEEING WHAT THE
9:24 PRESIDENT IS DOING AND TALKING AND WE HAVE NOT HAD ONE HEARING ON THIS MATTER. WE'VE ONLY HAD THREE CLASSIFIED HEARINGS PREVIOUSLY. SO I CAN'T TELL YOU, AND I DON'T KNOW OF ANY OTHER MEMBER OF CONGRESS THAT CAN TELL THE PRESIDENT, I WANT TO TELL YOU, DEMOCRAT OR REPUBLICAN FOR THAT MATTER AS TO WHAT THE MOTUS OPERANDII OF THIS PRESIDENT IS. AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHY WE SHOULD BE HAVING THESE HEARINGS AND EXACTLY WHY I'M CONTEMPLATING PUTTING THIS WAR POWERS RESOLUTION ON THIS WEEK AND WORKING AND TRYING TO GET REPUBLICANS TO STAND UP PUBLICLY ABOUT WHAT THEY SAY privately because they don't want this war to continue because they see the damage that it's doing to the American people. Congressman Meeks, in the Truth Social post
10:10 that the president and posted. He writes, I have also instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel into international waters that has paid a toll to Iran. He goes on to say any Iranian who fires at us or at peaceful vessels will be, in all camps, blown to hell. If Iran were to do that, that would be, you know, definitely an act of war. So absent a War Powers resolution, what can Congress do to stop to stop the president from taking the actions that he's taking right now? But one of the things that Congress can
11:18 is to take the duties that they have sworn to protect, to America, not to a president. We are not Russia. We should not be bowing down and letting this president do whatever he wants in a similar manner that Vladimir Putin does in Russia. This is not who we are. This is not who the American people are. And this is why you see this president and even in the Republican Party, you see where the Republicans are starting to say get away from the direction of which this president is leading us. So my hope was, you know,
12:09 working all week. I will continue to work, but I may very well have to bring the bill up this week to show the American people can see who is where in regards to the direction of when we're moving in. Because obviously it looks as though with that kind of language, there could very well be even troops on the ground pursued by this president.
