All right, Alexander, let's discuss the situation that is unfolding in the Middle East,

the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran. I think it is safe to say this is,

without a doubt, a war. And my impression of things, Alexander, is that this is an escalating

war and an expanding war, for which it appears

Trump believed that this would be a short operation, a short war, a three-to-four-day operation,

at least that's how it looks. And now the situation appears to be that things are escalating. Things are

expanding. And as we said on many programs that we did here on this channel, as well as on our

individual channels, the longer this drags out, the more things favor Iran and the worse it looks for

the United States and Israel. Does that still hold? What are your thoughts on everything that is

happening? It still holds, and I'm going to go further, I would argue that that analysis,

which has always been on

analysis, is now becoming increasingly vindicated. We have seen Trump making the first steps to try

to get the Iranians to agree to a ceasefire. He said that he was ready to talk. He spoke about how the Iranians are ready to talk.

There was a story that was planted. I think it was in the Wall Street Journal, saying that there'd been some approach to the Iranians via Italy, via Georgia Maloney, that negotiations were underway.

And clearly the initiative for all of that has come from the US.

It, exactly as the Iranians were saying, before the war began, they've rejected it.

Ali Larijani, who, since the killing the supreme leader Ayatollah Hamanae, Ali Larijani

has come out and said that they're not interested in negotiations with the United States

at this time.

So Iran is doing exactly what it said it would do. It is doing exactly what we said

the United States need to be aware that it might do. It is doing what various officials

in the US, the vice president, J.D. Vance, the Director of National Intelligence, Talsi Gabbard,

...