1 00:00:16,830 --> 00:00:20,790 Make Iran great again. That is what Donald Trump wrote 2 00:00:20,790 --> 00:00:24,470 on Truth Social on Friday, March 6th, 2026. 3 00:00:24,910 --> 00:00:28,350 Four words. A deliberate echo of the slogan 4 00:00:28,430 --> 00:00:31,550 that defined his political career, and a statement that, 5 00:00:31,550 --> 00:00:34,750 more than any press conference or Pentagon briefing this week, 6 00:00:35,110 --> 00:00:37,670 captured the extraordinary ambition at the heart of 7 00:00:37,670 --> 00:00:41,760 Operation Epic Fury. Not just to bomb Iran, not just 8 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:46,240 to destroy its military, but to remake it entirely in a form 9 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:51,720 acceptable to Washington. It is Saturday, March 7th, 2026, 10 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:56,560 day 8 of Operation Epic Fury. The war has entered its second 11 00:00:56,560 --> 00:01:00,680 week. At least 1332 people have been 12 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:04,080 killed in Iran. More than 200 have been killed 13 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:09,160 in Lebanon. 11 have been killed in Israel, 6 American service 14 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:14,320 members are dead, 330,000 people have been displaced across the 15 00:01:14,320 --> 00:01:17,800 Middle East, and the United States military has now struck 16 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:22,440 more than 3000 targets inside Iran and destroyed 43 Iranian 17 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:27,160 warships since February 28th. This is episode 8 of Epic Fury, 18 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:31,800 the US Iran war podcast. There is a great deal to cover. 19 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:35,520 Let's get into it. Begin with the 2 words that now 20 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:38,480 define everything about where this conflict is heading. 21 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:43,840 Unconditional surrender, Trump posted on Truth Social on Friday 22 00:01:43,960 --> 00:01:47,280 in capital letters. There will be no deal with Iran 23 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:51,360 except unconditional surrender, he elaborated to reporters 24 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:54,400 throughout the day. He said unconditional surrender 25 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:56,600 means when Iran can no longer fight. 26 00:01:57,040 --> 00:01:59,800 And he added something that underlined just how total his 27 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:03,520 vision for this conflict is. He said that after a surrender, 28 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:06,640 the United States would help select a great and acceptable 29 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:09,759 leader for Iran, that the country would have a great 30 00:02:09,759 --> 00:02:14,000 future, That he wanted to see Iran become economically bigger, 31 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:17,960 better and stronger than ever before, he told CNN. 32 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:21,080 I'm saying there has to be a leader who is going to be fair 33 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:25,400 and just, do a great job, treat the United States and Israel 34 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:28,080 well and treat the other countries in the Middle East 35 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:30,280 well. They're all our partners. 36 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:33,840 White House press secretary Caroline Levitt confirmed on 37 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:36,880 Friday that American intelligence agencies and the 38 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:39,960 broader United States government are actively examining a number 39 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:43,000 of possible replacements for the late Supreme Leader Khamenei. 40 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:46,840 She declined to name any of them publicly, but the picture that 41 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:50,040 emerges from Trump's Truth Social post, his media 42 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:52,920 interviews and Levitt's confirmation is unmistakable. 43 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:57,000 the United States of America is prosecuting a war with explicit, 44 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:00,120 stated goal of forcing Iran's unconditional surrender, 45 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:03,440 selecting its next leader, and rebuilding it in a form that 46 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:05,800 serves American and Israeli interests. 47 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:09,600 That is the most expansive public statement of war aims by 48 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:13,000 any American president since the unconditional surrender demands 49 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:16,040 of the Second World War. Trump also told reporters 50 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:19,040 something that provided one of the starkest justifications yet 51 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:21,240 for the timing of the entire operation. 52 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:25,200 He said if we did not hit within two weeks, they would have had a 53 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:29,840 nuclear weapon. Two weeks, not months, not 54 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:33,800 years, two weeks. And the IEA had independently 55 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:37,440 confirmed on February 27th, just one day before the strikes 56 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:40,680 began, that Iran had been secretly stockpiling highly 57 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:43,400 enriched uranium in an underground facility that had 58 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:47,040 not been declared to the agency. The combination of that IEA 59 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:50,080 discovery and the American intelligence assessment that 60 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:53,000 Iran was two weeks from a functional weapon provided the 61 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:56,640 final trigger for the operation, understanding that timeline 62 00:03:56,640 --> 00:03:59,880 matters enormously when evaluating the decision that was 63 00:03:59,880 --> 00:04:01,880 made. Iran's response to the 64 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:05,600 unconditional surrender demand was swift and unambiguous. 65 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:09,440 President Massoud Posseshkian posted on social media that 66 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:12,920 unnamed countries had begun mediation efforts, briefly 67 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:15,000 raising hopes of some diplomatic opening. 68 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:19,320 But then he made Iran's position on surrender completely clear. 69 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:21,880 He said Iran would never capitulate. 70 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:26,200 Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security 71 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:29,600 Council, went further. He warned that Iranian forces 72 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:32,480 are waiting for a potential United States ground invasion 73 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:35,600 and threatened that Iran would kill and capture thousands of 74 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:38,440 American troops if they set foot on Iranian soil. 75 00:04:38,840 --> 00:04:41,680 Iran's deputy foreign minister issued a direct warning to 76 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:45,000 European nations, saying they will become legitimate targets 77 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:48,280 for Iranian retaliation if they join the United States and 78 00:04:48,280 --> 00:04:53,040 Israel in a conflict. Two sides, 2 positions, both 79 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:56,680 stated as absolute. Trump demands unconditional 80 00:04:56,680 --> 00:04:59,240 surrender. Iran says it will never 81 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:02,640 capitulate. There is no diplomatic overlap 82 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:05,600 between these positions at this moment and that means this 83 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:08,680 conflict has no visible off ramp on the horizon. 84 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:13,000 The military intensity on Friday and Saturday was staggering in 85 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:15,880 its scale. The Israeli military announced 86 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:19,040 it is now moving to what its chief of staff, described as the 87 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:22,840 next phase of the war. Israel has carried out 2500 88 00:05:22,840 --> 00:05:26,160 strikes, deploying more than 6000 individual weapons. 89 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:30,560 It claims to have destroyed 80% of Iran's air defense systems 90 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:33,760 and achieved near complete air superiority over Iranian 91 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:37,120 airspace. On Friday alone, Israel struck 92 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:40,880 more than 400 targets in western Iran, destroying ballistic 93 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:43,760 missile launchers and drone storage facilities across an 94 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:46,280 entire belt of Iran's western provinces. 95 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:50,320 The United States military has now struck more than 3000 96 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:53,120 targets inside Iran since February 28th. 97 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:56,480 The Air Wars Monitoring Group, which independently tracks 98 00:05:56,480 --> 00:05:59,960 military strikes and civilian casualties in conflict zones, 99 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:02,960 said on Friday that the opening days of the United States and 100 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:06,440 Israeli campaign against Iran hit significantly more targets 101 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:09,040 than any military campaign in recent decades. 102 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:13,120 More targets than the invasion of Iraq in 2003. 103 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:17,680 More targets than the air campaign over Libya in 2011. 104 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:21,680 More targets than any sustained American drone campaign in 105 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:25,080 Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia or Yemen. 106 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:28,600 The sheer volume of ordnance that has fallen on Iran in eight 107 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:31,960 days is without precedent in recent military history. 108 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:35,840 Iran's 23rd wave of strikes was launched on Friday. 109 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:39,520 The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced the start of the 110 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:42,800 wave and the Israeli military confirmed its air defense 111 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:45,200 systems were actively intercepting missiles. 112 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:49,680 Iran has now fired more than 500 ballistic and naval missiles and 113 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:52,440 almost 2000 drones since February 28th. 114 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:56,440 Almost 40% of those launches were aimed at Israel. 115 00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:01,200 Almost 60% were aimed at United States military targets across 116 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:04,240 the region. Iran launched a hybrid drone and 117 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:06,680 missile attack at Tel Aviv on Thursday night. 118 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:10,400 Hezbollah has fired rockets at multiple locations in northern 119 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:14,560 Israel on a sustained basis, forcing the IDF to fight on 2 120 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:18,400 fronts simultaneously. 8 Israeli soldiers were wounded by 121 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:21,960 Hezbollah fire on Friday. Israel's military is 122 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:26,120 simultaneously conducting major air operations over Iran and a 123 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:29,320 ground and air operation in southern Lebanon that is an 124 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:32,440 extraordinary operational burden to sustain. 125 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:36,680 The Gulf states continue to absorb significant Iranian fire. 126 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:40,800 On Friday, Qatar's air defense systems intercepted 9 of 10 127 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:42,880 Iranian drones launched at the country. 128 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:47,040 On Thursday night, Saudi Arabia intercepted 3 drones east of 129 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:50,000 Riyadh and three ballistic missiles targeting a military 130 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:53,480 base South of the capital. Iran struck a state-run oil 131 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:56,680 refinery on Bahrain's main island, though the resulting 132 00:07:56,680 --> 00:07:59,600 fire was contained. Kuwait has begun cutting 133 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:02,800 production at some of its oil fields because it has run out of 134 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:05,840 storage capacity for crude it can no longer export through the 135 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:09,000 Strait of Hormuz. A major hotel in Erbil, the 136 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:12,720 capital of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, was struck by a falling 137 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:16,320 drone on Friday. Iran backed militias in Iraq 138 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:19,720 claimed responsibility. The Jordanian armed forces 139 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:23,480 confirmed they have intercepted 49 drones and ballistic missiles 140 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:27,640 that enter Jordanian airspace since the conflict began. 49 141 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:30,680 Jordan is not a party to this conflict. 142 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:34,640 It has no dispute with Iran. Its air defenses have been 143 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:38,039 firing almost continuously for eight days to protect its own 144 00:08:38,039 --> 00:08:40,840 population from munitions that pass through its airspace 145 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:44,240 targeting other countries. The geographic blast radius of 146 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:47,920 this war continues to expand in ways that no pre conflict 147 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:51,840 analysis fully anticipated. Russia entered the conflict in a 148 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:53,920 new and deeply alarming dimension. 149 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:58,040 On Friday, American officials, speaking anonymously, confirmed 150 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:01,000 to multiple news organizations that Russia has been providing 151 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:04,360 Iran with intelligence on the locations of American warships 152 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:07,040 and aircraft. A private Chinese satellite 153 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:09,880 company has separately been tracking American military 154 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:12,640 deployments with remarkable accuracy and sharing that 155 00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:15,400 information publicly, information that Iranian 156 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:17,640 military planners have reportedly been using for 157 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:21,240 targeting Vladimir Putin personally spoke with Iranian 158 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:25,040 President Possesskian, offering condolences for Iranian deaths 159 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:27,960 and receiving a briefing on the military situation. 160 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:30,720 And the Russian government publicly acknowledged that the 161 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:34,160 war has caused a significant increase in demand for Russian 162 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:37,680 energy products. Russia is not a formal party to 163 00:09:37,680 --> 00:09:40,720 this conflict, but it is providing intelligence that 164 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:43,880 helps Iran target American ships and aircraft. 165 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:48,040 It is providing political cover to Tehran at the United Nations 166 00:09:48,040 --> 00:09:51,720 Security Council, and its economy is directly benefiting 167 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:54,760 from the disruption to global energy markets that this war has 168 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:57,080 cost. Several American senators 169 00:09:57,080 --> 00:09:59,920 demanded on Friday that the Trump administration formally 170 00:09:59,920 --> 00:10:02,600 respond to the Russian intelligence sharing reports, 171 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:05,280 with some calling for new sanctions on Moscow. 172 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:08,960 No formal administration response have been issued as of 173 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:12,160 Saturday morning. If Russia is telling Iran, where 174 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:15,760 American aircraft carriers and warships are operating, is 175 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:19,240 directly enabling Iranian targeting of American military 176 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:23,520 assets and personnel, that is as close to direct participation in 177 00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:27,720 a conflict as it is possible to get without firing a weapon. the 178 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:31,320 United Kingdom stepped into a more significant role on Friday. 179 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:34,680 Prime Minister Kier Starmer spoke with Saudi Crown Prince 180 00:10:34,680 --> 00:10:38,040 Mohammed bin Salman and pledged British military support to 181 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:41,280 defend Saudi Arabia if necessary, including fighter 182 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:44,520 jets, helicopters and a Royal Navy destroyer. 183 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:48,280 Additional Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets are being 184 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:51,680 deployed to Qatar to assist with defensive air patrols over the 185 00:10:51,680 --> 00:10:54,200 Gulf. Britain entered this conflict in 186 00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:57,840 a purely defensive posture, and that posture has not formally 187 00:10:57,840 --> 00:10:59,960 changed. But the commitment to defend 188 00:10:59,960 --> 00:11:03,480 Saudi Arabia with jet fighters and a warship represents a 189 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:05,920 meaningful escalation of British involvement. 190 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:10,040 If Iran strikes Saudi Arabia and Britain responds with military 191 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:13,320 force in defense, the United Kingdom will be in this war. 192 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:17,320 The India dimension produced one of the most revealing economic 193 00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:20,360 and diplomatic developments of the week. the United States 194 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:23,880 Treasury Department issued a 30 day waiver allowing Indian 195 00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:27,320 refineries to purchase Russian oil previously subject to 196 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:30,160 American sanctions. India is one of the world's 197 00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:33,680 largest oil importers and a major buyer of Persian Gulf 198 00:11:33,680 --> 00:11:35,800 crude. Those supplies are currently 199 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:39,080 completely cut off by the de facto closure of the Strait of 200 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:40,880 Hormuz. Trump administration, which 201 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:43,960 spent months pressuring India to stop buying Russian crude, 202 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:47,880 reversed course within 72 hours of the war's disruption to Gulf 203 00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:51,120 energy supplies. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson 204 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:54,080 described the measure as deliberately short term and said 205 00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:57,000 it would not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian 206 00:11:57,000 --> 00:11:59,920 government, noting it only authorizes transactions 207 00:11:59,920 --> 00:12:02,240 involving oil already stranded at sea. 208 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:05,880 The contradiction at the heart of this decision is impossible 209 00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:08,480 to ignore. The Trump administration is 210 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:11,920 bombing Iran partly to address threats to regional stability 211 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:15,480 and the global energy order. And in doing so, it has caused 212 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:18,440 such severe disruption to that energy order that it is now 213 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:22,200 forced to grant India a special waiver to buy Russian oil, which 214 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:24,680 directly generates revenue for the Russian government that is 215 00:12:24,680 --> 00:12:27,720 simultaneously providing targeting intelligence to Iran. 216 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:31,920 The strategic ironies of this conflict are compounding faster 217 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:35,560 than they can be processed. Qatar's Energy Minister Saad Al 218 00:12:35,560 --> 00:12:39,160 Qabi issued one of the starkest economic warnings of the entire 219 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:43,080 conflict on Friday. He said rising oil prices due to 220 00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:46,440 the war against Iran could bring down the economies of the world. 221 00:12:46,880 --> 00:12:51,040 That is not rhetorical excess. That is the energy minister of 222 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:54,520 one of the world's largest liquefied natural gas exporters 223 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:57,600 delivering a direct, specific warning about the economic 224 00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:00,440 trajectory of this conflict to the international community. 225 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:04,080 The economic data on Friday supports his concern. 226 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:08,280 Brent crude reached $91.00 a barrel at highest level since 227 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:11,920 October 2023. United States domestic oil 228 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:15,120 prices have surged 31% in a single week. 229 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:18,920 Brent crude has surged 24% in a single week. 230 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:22,880 Qatar Energy has halted liquefied natural gas production 231 00:13:22,880 --> 00:13:26,360 from its plants at Ras Laffin Industrial City and Mesade 232 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:29,400 Industrial Area. Kuwait has run out of oil 233 00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:32,120 storage capacity and is cutting production. 234 00:13:32,680 --> 00:13:35,720 European natural gas prices nearly doubled following the 235 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:39,720 strikes on Qatari facilities. The South Korean Kospi stock 236 00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:43,320 index suffered its biggest single day crash since the 2008 237 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:47,000 financial crisis, dropping up to 12% and triggering a circuit 238 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:49,880 breaker. Japan's Nikkei dropped more than 239 00:13:49,880 --> 00:13:53,720 2%. Pakistan's KSE 100 index 240 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:58,160 recorded its largest ever single day decline of 9.57%. 241 00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:02,360 The Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen more than 400 points 242 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:07,560 since the conflict began. The S&P 500 dropped 0.7% on 243 00:14:07,560 --> 00:14:11,080 March 2nd alone, and analysts from multiple institutions are 244 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:14,000 now warning that if the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively 245 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:17,240 closed for an extended period, the disruption to global supply 246 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:21,200 chains, food prices, fertilizer markets and energy costs could 247 00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:25,040 add as much as 0.8% to global inflation in a single year. 248 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:28,560 British think tank the Food Policy Institute warned of long 249 00:14:28,560 --> 00:14:32,320 term increases in food prices as a direct result of disruption to 250 00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:36,680 fuel and fertilizer markets. These are not abstract financial 251 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:39,520 statistics. They're the economic mechanism 252 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:42,480 by which a war being fought by military professionals in the 253 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:45,560 skies over Iran will arrive at the kitchen tables of ordinary 254 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:49,640 families in Britain, Europe, the United States, Japan and South 255 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:52,280 Korea. The humanitarian picture reached 256 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:55,200 a new threshold of severity on Saturday morning. 257 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:59,760 The United Nations estimates at least 330,000 people have been 258 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:02,880 forcibly displaced across the Middle East in eight days. 259 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:08,000 330,000 people in eight days. The Lebanese government reported 260 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:11,840 that more than 95,000 people have been displaced by Israeli 261 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:15,280 strikes in Lebanon alone. Lebanon's Health Ministry 262 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:20,320 confirmed 217 people killed and more than 600 wounded in Lebanon 263 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:24,040 since the start of the conflict. Israel issued evacuation orders 264 00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:27,280 for the entire Dahiya district of Beirut's southern suburbs. 265 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:30,560 Roads out of Dahiya were gridlocked as families fled, 266 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:33,680 carrying children and whatever belongings they could manage. 267 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:37,040 Schools in Beirut have been converted into emergency 268 00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:39,920 shelters for the displaced inside Iran. 269 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:44,760 The Iranian Red Crescent Society confirmed that 6668 civilian 270 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:48,880 units have been struck, damaged or destroyed by United States 271 00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:51,240 and Israeli strikes since February 28th. 272 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:54,920 That figure encompasses residential buildings, schools, 273 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:58,480 hospitals, religious sites, and commercial infrastructure. 274 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:03,240 One rights monitoring group has reported 742 confirmed civilian 275 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:06,280 deaths in Iran, a figure significantly lower than the 276 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:10,520 Iranian government's total casualty count of 1332. 277 00:16:10,840 --> 00:16:13,440 Reflecting the persistent difficulty of independently 278 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:15,720 verifying casualties in a country where Internet 279 00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:18,800 connectivity and media access have been severely disrupted, 280 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:22,040 the Minhub school investigation continued to generate 281 00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:24,080 significant international attention. 282 00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:28,640 Iran's Health Ministry now says approximately 180 young children 283 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:31,600 were killed in the air strike on the elementary girls school in 284 00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:35,240 Minim. the United Nations has formally verified the incident 285 00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:37,880 and described itself as deeply disturbed. 286 00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:41,360 Planet Labs satellite imagery shows the building struck 287 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:44,520 appears to be within the compound of a known Iranian 288 00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:47,800 military installation. Neither the United States nor 289 00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:50,360 Israel has formally claimed responsibility. 290 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:53,920 The Pentagon has confirmed an investigation is ongoing. 291 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:58,280 Whatever the final determination of that investigation, 180 292 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:01,480 children are dead and their deaths have become the single 293 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:04,920 most powerful image of civilian suffering in this conflict, 294 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:08,359 shaping global public opinion in ways that are only beginning to 295 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:11,440 be fully felt. The stranded Americans crisis 296 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:15,119 showed no sign of resolution on Friday, 1 American woman 297 00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:19,040 stranded in the region told NPR. My heart just starts racing 298 00:17:19,079 --> 00:17:22,040 every time I hear the booming and see the skylight up. 299 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:25,760 It is terrifying. Her parents have been protesting 300 00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:29,760 outside Macdill Air Force Base in Tampa, FL, where CENTCOM is 301 00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:32,840 headquartered, holding a sign that reads Bring our daughter 302 00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:34,920 home. The State Department has been 303 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:37,320 sending emails to stranded citizens. 304 00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:41,000 One recent e-mail noted that the Saudi border was open, but 305 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:44,160 provided no further guidance on what Americans are supposed to 306 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:45,800 actually do with that information. 307 00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:49,560 The succession question clarified somewhat on Saturday. 308 00:17:50,120 --> 00:17:53,640 Multiple sources confirmed that Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the 309 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:57,280 late Supreme Leader, has emerged as the strongest candidate among 310 00:17:57,280 --> 00:17:59,560 the Assembly of Expert surviving members. 311 00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:02,920 Other names in serious consideration include Ali Reza 312 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:07,640 Erifi, Mohammad Mehdi Murbagiri, Hashem Hosseini, Bhushari, Sadak 313 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:11,560 Larijani, Hassan Khomeini and former President Hassan Rouhani. 314 00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:15,360 Trump has publicly stated that Mojtaba is unacceptable. 315 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:19,520 Iran's constitution requires the Supreme Leader to be a senior 316 00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:23,440 Shia Muslim religious scholar. The Assembly has not yet 317 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:26,480 announced the decision, and given that their meeting was 318 00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:30,040 bombed by Israel while it was in session earlier this week, the 319 00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:32,000 conditions under which the remaining members are 320 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:35,320 deliberating are not normal by any definition of that word. 321 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:39,200 UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres described the United 322 00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:42,440 States and Israeli strikes as squandering an opportunity for 323 00:18:42,440 --> 00:18:45,960 diplomacy and condemn both the initial strikes in Iran's 324 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:49,000 counter strikes. He restated that Article 2 of 325 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:51,720 the United Nations Charter requires all member states to 326 00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:55,200 refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial 327 00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:57,840 integrity or political independence of any state. 328 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:01,360 That provision of international law has not prevented this 329 00:19:01,360 --> 00:19:05,120 conflict from happening, and there is no mechanism within the 330 00:19:05,120 --> 00:19:08,280 United Nations system that can compel any of the parties to 331 00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:10,760 stop. Consider the full picture as it 332 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:15,480 stands on the morning of Saturday, March 7th, 2026 day. 333 00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:19,520 the United States and Israel have destroyed Iran's Air Force, 334 00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:22,800 its Navy, and the majority of its air defense systems. 335 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:26,480 They have killed its supreme leader, his wife, and forty of 336 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:28,600 its most senior military commanders. 337 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:32,360 They have struck more than 3000 targets in eight days. 338 00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:35,920 They have displaced 330,000 people. 339 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:40,560 They have pushed oil prices to their highest level since 2023. 340 00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:44,240 They have caused South Korea's stock market to suffer its worst 341 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:47,520 crash since 2008. They have forced the United 342 00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:51,240 States Treasury to reverse its own Russia sanctions policy 343 00:19:51,360 --> 00:19:54,080 within 72 hours. And they have produced a 344 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:57,160 situation in which the president of the United States is publicly 345 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:00,160 demanding unconditional surrender and promising to 346 00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:03,560 personally help select the next leader of a nation of 90 million 347 00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:06,080 people. Iran has not surrendered. 348 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:09,080 Its president says it will never capitulate. 349 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:12,440 Its security chief is threatening to kill and capture 350 00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:16,440 American ground troops. Its forces have launched 23 351 00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:19,320 waves of strikes. And Russia is helping them 352 00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:22,680 locate American warships. The Strait of Hormuz is 353 00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:27,200 technically open, but Iran says any American or Israeli ship 354 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:31,400 attempting to transit it will be targeted. 20% of the world's oil 355 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:34,440 supply is flowing through a waterway that has effectively 356 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:37,160 become a kill zone. The gap between where this 357 00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:40,240 conflict is and where it needs to be to end has never been 358 00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:43,680 wider. That is episode 8 of Epic Fury, 359 00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:48,120 the US Iran war podcast. The story is moving fast. 360 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:52,600 Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcast or YouTube so every new 361 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:56,280 episode lands directly with you. Share this with someone who 362 00:20:56,280 --> 00:20:59,960 needs to understand what is happening and we will be back 363 00:20:59,960 --> 00:21:00,800 very soon.