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Rubio said Iran's revised 
proposal looks better than what 

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we thought they were going to 
submit. 

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He said it on Fox News Monday 
night after Trump and his 

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national security team review 
the proposal during their 

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Situation Room meeting. 
He also said the nuclear 

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question is the reason why we 
are in this in the first place 

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and that any agreement must 
definitively prevent Iran from 

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sprinting toward a nuclear 
weapon at any point. the US 

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showed little immediate 
enthusiasm for a proposal that 

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would end the war and reopen the
Strait of Hormuz, while 

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deferring nuclear negotiations 
to a later phase. 

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The Gulf Cooperation Council 
held an emergency session in 

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Jeddah on Tuesday to discuss the
Iranian offer. 

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Gas prices hit a new war high of
$4.18 per gallon. 

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Oil rose to a three-week high 
above $111.00 per barrel. 

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Iran's oil storage is running 
out. 

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Intelligence firm PLUR estimated
Iran has enough remaining 

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capacity for approximately 12 to
22 days of production. 

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And eight ships transited the 
Strait of Hormuz overnight 

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Monday into Tuesday, the 1st 
meaningful commercial movement 

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through the waterway in days. 
It is Wednesday, May 20th, 2026,

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day 82 of Operation Epic Fury. 
The strike plan for Tuesday was 

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called off at the Gulf leaders 
request. 

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Iran's revised proposal was 
reviewed by Trump's national 

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security team in the Situation 
Room on Tuesday. 

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Rubio said it is better than 
expected, a qualified upgrade 

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from the garbage rejection that 
triggered the scheduled Tuesday 

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strike. 
The US also made clear that 

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better is not the same as 
acceptable, not while the 

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nuclear question in Rubio's 
formulation remains the reason 

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the US entered this conflict. 
Oil is at a three-week high 

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above $111.00 per barrel. 
Iran's oil storage is 

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approaching capacity. 
The Straight saw its first 

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trickle of commercial movement 
in 82 days. 8 ships, possibly 

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including the first loaded LNG 
tanker since February 28th. 

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And the gap between better and 
acceptable is the specific 

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distance this war must cross to 
become something other than what

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it is. 
This is episode 82 of Epic Fury,

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the US Iran War podcast. 
Follow on Spotify and Apple 

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Podcast to stay with this story 
as it develops. 

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Let's get into it. 
Begin with Rubio. 

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Because his Fox News interview 
on Monday night, delivered after

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the NSC meeting reviewed Iran's 
revised proposal is the most 

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specific public US assessment of
that proposal available. 

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The combination of better than 
expected and but the nuclear 

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question is why we are here is 
the precise formulation of where

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the US position stands after the
Gulf leaders intervention bought

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2 to three days. 
Rubio told Fox News on Monday 

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night that Iran's revised 
proposal was better than what we

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thought they were going to 
submit a qualified and carefully

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worded acknowledgement, 
deliberate in its calibration 

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and specific in its limitations.
It is not we accept it. 

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It is not we reject it. 
It is, we looked at it and it 

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has moved somewhere. 
That somewhere is different from

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where the last proposal was. 
For context, the previous 

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Iranian proposal was the one 
Trump called garbage 

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unbelievably weak and stupid, 
whose rejection triggered the 

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nothing left warning, then SC 
meeting on military options, and

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the scheduled Tuesday strike 
that 3 Gulf leaders had to 

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intervene to stop. 
Coming from the Secretary of 

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State of a president who called 
the previous proposal garbage 

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unbelievably weak and stupid, 
the word better is a meaningful 

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and documented upgrade in 
official language. 

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It is Rubio signaling that the 
revised proposal has moved in 

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some direction, that it is not 
simply a restatement of the 

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position that produced the 
garbage rejection, the nothing 

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left warning, and the scheduled 
Tuesday strike. 

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But Rubio then said suffice it 
to say that the nuclear question

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is the reason why we are in this
in the first place. 

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He said Iran are very good 
negotiators, a phrase that 

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simultaneously acknowledges 
Iran's diplomatic skill and 

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signals that the US is not going
to be negotiated out of its 

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nuclear requirement. 
He said any agreement must 

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definitively prevent Iran from 
sprinting toward a nuclear 

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weapon at any point in the 
future. 

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And he said the pressure on Iran
is extraordinary. 

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Those four statements better 
than expected. 

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Nuclear is why we are here. 
Definitively prevent nuclear 

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Sprint and pressure on Iran is 
extraordinary Are Rubio's 

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structured public account of the
US position after reviewing 

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Iran's latest offer. 
The proposal moves in the right 

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direction but does not address 
the central reason the war 

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began. 
And no amount of diplomatic 

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skill on Iran's part will 
produce AUS signature on an 

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agreement that does not 
definitively resolve the nuclear

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question. 
That formulation, better but not

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on the nuclear question, maps 
precisely on to what Iran's 

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00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:06,640
revised 14 point proposal 
appears to contain. 

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Iran's revised proposal would 
end the war and reopen the 

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Strait of Hormuz, but defer 
nuclear negotiations to a later 

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phase. 
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister 

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Gharib Abadi described the 
proposals terms publicly ending 

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hostilities on all fronts, the 
exit of U.S. forces from areas 

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close to Iran, the lifting of 
sanctions, the release of frozen

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Iranian assets, and an end to 
the US naval blockade. 

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What is absent from that list, 
conspicuously and entirely, is 

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anything that addresses the 
nuclear program. 

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There is no enrichment 
moratorium. 

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There is no uranium custody 
arrangement. 

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There is no IAEA inspection 
commitment. 

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00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:49,360
There is no nuclear Sprint 
prohibition. 

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There is no reference to the 
specific verbal commitment that 

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Trump says Iran made to hand 
over the uranium and is not put 

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in writing. 
Despite multiple requests and a 

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00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:01,680
scheduled military strike that 
was only prevented by three Gulf

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00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:05,400
leaders Monday phone calls. 
Iran is offering war ending and 

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straight opening in exchange for
sanctions relief and blockade 

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withdrawal. 
Nuclear talks in Iran's framing 

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are subsequent phase, something 
to be negotiated after the guns 

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are down and the blockade is 
lifted. the US is saying the 

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nuclear question is why we are 
here and cannot be deferred. 

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Those two positions have not 
converged throughout the entire 

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42 day ceasefire, and whether 
they can converge within the two

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to three day window the Gulf 
leaders negotiated on Monday is 

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the specific question the 82nd 
day cannot yet answer. 

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The structural tension in the 
proposal exchange has been 

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consistent throughout the entire
42 day ceasefire. 

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Iran wants to end the war first,
then discuss nuclear constraints

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in a different context, one 
where U.S. troops are no longer 

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at Iran's perimeter and the 
economic blockade is lifted. 

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The US wants the nuclear 
constraint as part of the war 

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ending package, simultaneous, 
inseparable and formalized 

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before any sanctions relief. 
Every Iranian proposal since the

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Islamabad talks in late April 
has reflected the first 

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approach, war ending first, 
nuclear discussion second in a 

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00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:14,480
subsequent phase. 
Every US response since the 

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ceasefire began has reflected 
the second nuclear constraints, 

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simultaneous and inseparable 
from war ending. 

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00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:24,520
Rubio's better, but the nuclear 
question is why we are here is 

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the clearest and most direct 
articulation of that structural 

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impasse that any senior official
has placed on the public record 

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since the ceasefire began 42 
days ago. 

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Rubio also addressed the 
hormones toll mechanism with 

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language more direct than 
anything the administration has 

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put on the public record about 
the PGSA since it was announced.

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He said the US cannot normalize 
and cannot tolerate Iran trying 

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to normalize the system in which
Iran decides who gets to use an 

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international waterway and how 
much they have to pay to use it.

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That statement is Rubio 
identifying the Persian Gulf 

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Straight Authority and its fee 
collection mandate as a 

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specifically unacceptable 
development that goes beyond the

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immediate ceasefire impasse. 
The distinction Rubio is drawing

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is operationally important. 
The US position on the Straight 

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has been since the ceasefire 
began on April 8th, that it must

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be fully and freely reopened as 
a condition of any settlement. 

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What Rubio is adding on Tuesday 
night is a more specific 

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formulation. 
Not only must the straight be 

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reopened, but the PGS as fee 
collection system cannot be the 

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architecture through which that 
reopening occurs. 

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A straight that is technically 
open but commercially managed by

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a new Iranian state authority, 
the PGSA, under which vessels 

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pay Iran for the right of 
passage, is not the straight the

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US went to war to restore. 
It is a fundamentally different 

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geopolitical outcome than the 
pre February 28th status quo, 

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one that locks an Iranian 
sovereignty over transit in 

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perpetuity. 
Rubio's framing of the PGSA is 

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something the US cannot 
normalize or tolerate. 

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Is a public commitment made on 
Fox News on the record that any 

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deal must address the toll 
mechanism directly. the US will 

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00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:06,680
not simply obtain an end to the 
shooting while leaving the 

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PGSA's fee collection 
architecture intact and 

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operational. 
Any deal must ensure the 

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Straight reverts to its pre war 
governance status free from 

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Iranian commercial authority 
over transit decisions. 

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Whether Iran's revised 14 point 
proposal addresses that specific

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requirement, given that Iran's 
foreign ministry has 

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simultaneously been working with
Oman to Co develop the transit 

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mechanism under the new PGSA 
structure, with expert 

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delegations already having met 
in Muscat, is one of the 

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specific and documented gaps 
between what the proposal 

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contains and what the US has 
explicitly said it will accept. 

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The Gulf Cooperation Council's 
emergency session in Jeddah on 

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Tuesday is the institutional 
follow through from the three 

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Gulf leaders Monday phone calls 
to Trump, Saudi Arabia, the UAE,

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Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman,
all six GCC members convening 

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the day after their Heads of 
Government persuaded Trump to 

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hold off the Tuesday attack. 
Is the Gulf states moving from 

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individual diplomatic 
intervention to collective 

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institutional positioning on 
what a deal needs to contain? 

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2 Gulf officials confirmed to 
NBC News that Iran's revised 14 

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00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:16,560
point proposal was among the 
primary topics discussed at the 

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Jetta session. 
The GCC session adds collective 

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institutional weight to the 
individual Monday interventions,

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confirming that the Gulf 
position give the revised 

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proposal a short window and hold
off. 

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The attack has brought regional 
backing across all six GCC 

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members for Saudi Arabia, the 
UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and 

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Oman to convene together in 
Jeddah the day after their three

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00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:41,520
most powerful Heads of 
Government persuaded Trump to 

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00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:43,840
hold off the Tuesday attack. 
As those countries saying, 

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00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:48,440
collectively we stand behind 
what MB, SMBZ and the Emir of 

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00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:52,160
Qatar told Trump on Monday. 
We believe Iran's revised 

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proposal deserves the two to 
three days we asked for and we 

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00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:58,440
have reviewed it at the 
institutional level ourselves. 

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The NSC meeting on Tuesday, held
in the Situation Room, was the 

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00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:06,200
institutional mechanism through 
which Iran's revised proposal 

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00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:10,040
was formally assessed. 
Vice President JD Vance, Rubio, 

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00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:14,240
CIA Director John Ratcliffe and 
Special envoy Steve Witkoff 

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00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:17,160
participated, according to an 
administration official. 

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00:11:17,560 --> 00:11:20,800
Caroline Levitt confirmed the 
meeting at a press briefing. 

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00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:24,320
The meeting reviewed Iran's 
proposal, updated Trump on the 

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00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:28,080
military options, and produced 
the Rubio Fox News assessment 

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00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:31,440
Better than expected, but not on
the nuclear question as its 

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00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:34,640
principal public output. 
What the NSC meeting did not 

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00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:36,680
produce is as significant as 
what it did. 

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00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:40,200
No announcement of a deal. 
No announcement of a new US 

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00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:42,680
counter proposal. 
No public statement that the 

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00:11:42,680 --> 00:11:44,400
deadline has been extended 
further. 

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00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:48,000
The meeting reviewed Iran's 
proposal, updated Trump on the 

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00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:51,280
current state of military 
options, and produced Rubio's 

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00:11:51,280 --> 00:11:54,040
Fox News assessment as its 
principal public output. 

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00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:57,400
What the NSC meeting did not 
produce is as significant as 

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00:11:57,400 --> 00:11:59,680
what it did. 
No announcement of a deal. 

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00:11:59,920 --> 00:12:03,000
No new US counter proposal 
submitted to Pakistan. 

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00:12:03,040 --> 00:12:05,160
No statement that the Gulf 
leaders window has been 

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00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:07,480
extended. 
The 82nd day ends with a 

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00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:10,920
decision still pending with 
Iran's oil storage clock ticking

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00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:14,000
toward the 12 to 22 day horizon.
Blur describes. 

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00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:17,480
With A2 to three day Gulf 
leaders window counting down and

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00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:20,000
with the military on hair 
trigger readiness at a moment's 

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00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:23,680
notice, the economic data 
arriving on day 82 is 

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00:12:23,680 --> 00:12:26,840
compounding pressure from both 
directions simultaneously. 

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00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:32,240
US gas prices hit a new war high
of $4.18 per gallon on Tuesday, 

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00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:36,720
up from 4:11 the day before and 
from 298 on February 28th. 

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00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:40,480
Everyone cent increase in the 
daily petrol average adds 10s of

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00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:43,760
millions of dollars in daily 
cost to US consumers and the 

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00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:46,600
broader economy. 
Oil reached a three-week high 

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00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:50,880
above $111.00 per barrel on 
Tuesday, its highest level since

229
00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:54,120
the period immediately following
Trump's garbage rejection of 

230
00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:56,480
Iran's previous proposal in 
early May. 

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00:12:57,040 --> 00:13:00,080
The combination of a somewhat 
better Iranian proposal and an 

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00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:03,400
NSC meeting that produced no 
immediate deal has given markets

233
00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:07,280
a probability weighted reading. 
Oil above 111 says markets 

234
00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:10,480
believe the attack is postponed 
rather than cancelled, and that 

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00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:13,840
the next two to three days carry
a material probability of either

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00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:17,120
a deal or a strike. 
The plural intelligence estimate

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00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:20,240
Iran has enough remaining oil 
storage capacity for 

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00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:23,920
approximately 12 to 22 days 
worth of continued production at

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00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:27,040
current levels is one of the 
most consequential single data 

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00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:31,200
points of the 82 day conflict. 
PLUR is an independent commodity

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00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:34,720
intelligence platform used 
extensively by the global oil 

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00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:38,280
trading and insurance industry. 
It's estimates are based on 

243
00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:41,360
satellite surveillance of 
storage facilities, tanker 

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00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:43,480
tracking and production flow 
data. 

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00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:47,440
It's estimate is not a political
projection or a diplomatic 

246
00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:50,280
calculation. 
It is a physical inventory 

247
00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:53,000
measurement of remaining 
available space in Iran's 

248
00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:55,960
onshore and offshore oil storage
infrastructure. 

249
00:13:56,360 --> 00:13:58,200
What it means in practice is 
this. 

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00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:02,840
Iran is running out of places to
put its oil. the US blockade has

251
00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:05,680
been preventing Iranian oil 
tankers from offloading at 

252
00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:09,240
Iranian ports and from exiting 
the Gulf to reach Chinese and 

253
00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:11,480
other buyers. 
The Hormuz closure 

254
00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:14,040
simultaneously has been 
preventing the broader 

255
00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:17,280
commercial shipping that would 
allow Iran to move its exports. 

256
00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:20,440
The combined effect is that 
Iran's oil production, which has

257
00:14:20,440 --> 00:14:24,520
not stopped, is filling Iran's 
onshore and offshore storage at 

258
00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:28,320
a rate that PLUR estimates will 
reach capacity within 12 to 22 

259
00:14:28,320 --> 00:14:29,760
days from the date of the 
report. 

260
00:14:30,160 --> 00:14:33,600
When that capacity is reached, 
Iran faces a choice that no 

261
00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:35,680
government wants to make under 
these conditions. 

262
00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:38,720
Cut production, which means 
shutting down its primary 

263
00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:41,640
revenue source and implicitly 
acknowledging the blockades full

264
00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:44,160
effectiveness. 
Or find a way to move the oil, 

265
00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:47,240
which means either breaking the 
blockade, doing a deal that 

266
00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:50,240
lifts it, or finding alternative
routes that currently do not 

267
00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:55,280
exist at the necessary scale. 12
to 22 days is not a long time. 

268
00:14:55,720 --> 00:14:59,040
It is the specific window within
which Iran faces an internally 

269
00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:01,720
generated production crisis 
caused not by the bombing 

270
00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:05,040
campaign, which obliterated the 
nuclear facilities but left 

271
00:15:05,040 --> 00:15:08,560
Iran's oil industry largely 
intact, but by the economic 

272
00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:11,280
architecture of the blockade and
the straight closure working 

273
00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:13,520
together. 
The bombing obliterated the 

274
00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:17,480
nuclear facilities in February. 
The blockade is now approaching 

275
00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:20,600
the moment where it obliterates 
Iran's ability to continue 

276
00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:24,080
producing oil without filling 
every available storage tank to 

277
00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:26,800
capacity. 
That timeline may be the single 

278
00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:30,040
most significant structural 
factor in the negotiations that 

279
00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:33,280
the public record has produced. 
It is more consequential than 

280
00:15:33,280 --> 00:15:36,480
Trump's public warnings, which 
Iran has navigated and extended 

281
00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:40,040
before, because it is a physical
reality, one that no statement 

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00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:43,720
from the president, no common a 
audio communication, no IRGC 

283
00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:47,520
military exercise, and no 
diplomatic posturing can extend 

284
00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:49,920
or delay. 
The 8 ships that transited the 

285
00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:53,520
Strait of Hormuz overnight 
Monday into Tuesday represent 

286
00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:55,280
something worth watching 
carefully. 

287
00:15:55,680 --> 00:15:59,160
The Strait has been, for all 
practical purposes, closed to 

288
00:15:59,160 --> 00:16:03,120
commercial traffic since 
February 28th, almost 12 weeks. 

289
00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:06,480
What allowed eight ships to move
through it overnight is not 

290
00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:09,160
fully explained in the available
public reporting. 

291
00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:12,720
It may reflect the PGSA 
Selective Transit Approval 

292
00:16:12,720 --> 00:16:16,600
mechanism, ships that apply for 
and pay the Iranian fee being 

293
00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:19,200
allowed through. 
It may reflect the temporary 

294
00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:22,560
operational window that opened 
without formal authorization 

295
00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:25,280
from either side. 
It may reflect the beginning of 

296
00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:28,600
a quiet informal movement of 
commercial vessels testing the 

297
00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:32,280
straights passability during the
specific two to three day window

298
00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:34,120
the Gulf leaders negotiated 
Monday. 

299
00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:37,680
Whatever the cause, 8 ships 
transiting overnight represents 

300
00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:41,280
a small but visible crack in the
near complete standstill that 

301
00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:44,560
has characterized the straights 
since Operation Epic Fury began 

302
00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:47,800
on February 28th. 
Among the transiting vessels 

303
00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:51,560
were 4 tankers and two cargo 
ships, per Marine Traffic Vessel

304
00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:54,400
tracking data. 
A Japanese owned crude oil 

305
00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:57,800
tanker, the Itamitsumaru, moved 
through the Strait. 

306
00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:01,560
A Chinese owned cargo ship, the 
New Pioneer, which had sailed 

307
00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:04,160
from Argentina and whose 
transmitting destination 

308
00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:08,280
indicated food or grain cargo 
bound for Iran, also transited. 

309
00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:11,839
Most significantly, an LNG 
tanker named the Mubaras 

310
00:17:11,839 --> 00:17:14,920
reappeared off the coast of 
southern India, having last been

311
00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:18,000
seen transmitting in the Persian
Gulf approximately a month 

312
00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:20,280
earlier. 
If the Mubarak completed a 

313
00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:23,319
straight crossing, it would be 
the first loaded liquefied 

314
00:17:23,319 --> 00:17:26,440
natural gas tanker to transit 
the Strait of Hormuz since the 

315
00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:30,320
war began on February 28th. 
A historically significant data 

316
00:17:30,320 --> 00:17:33,400
point for a waterway through 
which roughly 1/3 of the world's

317
00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:38,440
LNG normally flows. 8 ships is 
not a functioning straight, but 

318
00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:42,120
it is 8 more than 0, and it is 
the first meaningful voluntary 

319
00:17:42,120 --> 00:17:44,080
commercial movement in a 
waterway that has been 

320
00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:47,080
essentially closed for 82 
consecutive days. 

321
00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:52,440
Day 82 Iran's revised 14 point 
proposal is better than expected

322
00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:56,400
Rubio's exact formulation. 
But the nuclear question is the 

323
00:17:56,400 --> 00:18:00,640
reason the US went to war on 
February 28th, and better is not

324
00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:04,400
the same as acceptable. 
The NSC reviewed the proposal in

325
00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:09,080
the Situation Room on Tuesday 
with Vance, Rubio, Ratcliffe and

326
00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:12,480
Witkoff present. 
It produced no deal and no new 

327
00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:18,280
US counteroffer to Pakistan. 
Gas at a new war high of $4.18. 

328
00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:23,840
Oil above $111.00 per barrel. 
Iran's oil storage running out 

329
00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:27,240
in 12 to 22 days. 
Perk plurs physical inventory 

330
00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:30,880
data. 
GCC emergency session in Jetta. 

331
00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:34,680
8 ships transited the straight 
overnight, including what may be

332
00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:39,000
the first loaded LNG tanker to 
transit since February 28th. 

333
00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:43,720
The PGSA is, in Rubio's own 
words, something the US cannot 

334
00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:46,760
normalize or tolerate. 
The gap between better and 

335
00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:50,040
acceptable is where this war 
currently lives, and the oil 

336
00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:52,640
storage clock is counting down 
in the background of every 

337
00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:56,040
conversation taking place across
the Pakistan Mediation Channel 

338
00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:59,640
today and every day forward. 
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339
00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:03,000
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343
00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:14,800
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345
00:19:18,280 --> 00:19:23,360
This has been episode 82 of Epic
Fury, the US Iran war podcast. 

346
00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:25,480
We will be back very soon.
