Iran War: Lies and More Lies | With Dimitri Lascaris

In this conversation, Aidan Simardone and Dimitri Lascaris sit down to unpack the dominant narratives surrounding Iran, Israel, and the wider regional conflict—and explore what the future of the Iran war could look like.

Dimitri recently traveled to Iran and describes a very different reality from the one often portrayed in Western media: not chaos or collapse, but a socially cohesive society under attack from America and Israel. He shares his firsthand observations and reflects on how those perceptions contrast with mainstream reporting.

The discussion also examines the strategic relationship between Israel and the United States, Greece and Cyprus’ alliance with Israel, and the looming energy and economic crises that could reshape global stability.

This is a wide-ranging geopolitical analysis aimed at separating narrative from reality and understanding the deeper forces driving conflict in the region.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to the Simrdoni Show. I'm your host, Aidan Simmerdoni. Three months into the Iran war, and with no end in sight, rumors are swirling of an imminent deal, supposedly, as missiles are flying overheads. Meanwhile, Israel's continuous genocide not only in Gaza, but now in Lebanon. To break this down for us, I'm joined by Dmitry Laseris. Dimitri is a lawyer, journalist, and activist, and the founder of Reasons to Resist. He has traveled actually to Iran and done great journalism on the region. Dimitri, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_02 0:37

Excuse me. Thank you for having me in no problem.

SPEAKER_00 0:43

These things happen. So uh Dmitri, first of all, I want to talk about you actually went to Iran, and this is incredible, uh, you know, because we get so much news from Westerners of the evils of Iran, how radical they are and scary. What was it like going there?

SPEAKER_02 1:01

Well, um, I, you know, can't uh uh before I answer your question, which I'm happy to do, I can't, I want to be clear that my experience may not be representative of the experience of others. Uh, I was in the country twice in my life. The first time was in uh May of last year. I was there for seven days, and and I spent the entire time in Tehran. And uh on my trip during the hot phase of this war, uh it was 11 days from March 20th to March 31st, and I was in seven cities, uh and from Tabriz in the north to Minab in the south, where the US military massacred 168 uh school children and teachers on the first day of this war. Um, so with that as background, uh I felt uh well, with the bombs dropping around, and there were bombs, you know, uh landing in every city we went. Uh, we didn't, there wasn't a single city we visited where we didn't hear and or see explosions. Um, so obviously that uh was a risk uh that all the people in our entourage had to cope with. But putting that aside, putting aside the risks that were created by the war that was being waged on Iran, I felt very safe. Uh, you know, I didn't feel uh that I was being followed, I didn't feel that I was being uh uh menaced in any way. I saw almost no military presence. It was quite remarkable uh because I was I'd been in a war zone um in other countries when there was active combat uh and you know the military uh presence was quite palpable, even extreme in those other cases. Uh but here I didn't see any military uh activity at all on the ground. Uh all I saw, I heard warplanes flying overhead from time to time, and I I you know heard the explosions from the munitions that were being dropped on Iran. Um the police were generally uh unarmed and there weren't there wasn't much visible police presence on either excuse me, either of my trips.

SPEAKER_00 3:15

Uh that's actually even different from Toronto, for instance, where there's a police on every single block.

unknown 3:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:22

Every major western city I've been in in the last uh 10 years, I saw a I've seen a substantially heavier police presence. Of course, uh I can't speak to un you know civilian cops in civilian clothing. Maybe they're all over the place in Iran. I don't know. I can only tell you about the uniformed cops that I saw. And by the way, there are you know, there are cops in civilian clothing in every major western city too. So, but let's put that aside. Actually, visible police presence. Uh that in Tehran, which is a city of some 15 million people, it's a huge city. I saw less of a police presence, a visible police presence than I did in any other major Western city in the past 10 years.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

If they had another year, they could have gone to 90%. Now we've struck all those sites. We're watching all of those sites. I think it's the Iranian uh program here.

SPEAKER_02 4:16

Oh God. I don't know how that happens.

SPEAKER_00 4:19

I recognize the voice, though. I think that's um uh Pape or something. Maybe, maybe it's uh Ilan Pape or whatever his name is. Um, anyways, continue though, please. I'll try to cut the next people.

SPEAKER_02 4:32

No, we have a cat. Everything's going wrong. I'm coughing, the cats, the school. No, it's okay. So uh you know, as I was saying, the people are very hospitable. Uh uh they um I had the probably one of the most remarkable experiences of uh of my life was that um I uh I went to a hospital uh in Esfahan uh along with uh a group of other journalists to visit uh the survivor of uh an attack on the home of a colonel in the IRGC, uh the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. And uh the the attack destroyed his home and killed his not only him, but his wife and his two sons. And the only survivor was his daughter, uh, who was uh about 10 years old. And uh we were taken to the hospital to visit with her, and she was in a coma and uh her face was deeply scarred. Uh she was on uh ventilator and she hadn't yet learned that uh her family was dead. And uh I was uh I was overcome with emotion when I uh saw her. Uh not just because of the horror of her own condition and her own loss, but uh it reminded me also of all the uh the terrifying and uh abominable things that I've seen coming out of Gaza. The children, uh the wounding. So I was overwhelmed with emotion, and there were there was an Iranian television crew in the hospital room, and uh they caught me uh at that moment. I didn't know that they did. Um and that evening they published the footage of me uh you know reacting very uh in a very uh powerful way uh on Iranian national television. And so the next day uh I started receiving emails from friends of mine in the Iranian diaspora in Canada uh telling me they were very moved by what they saw. And I said to them, What are you what are you talking about? Uh and they said, Well, you were on Iranian television, we monitor Iranian television and we saw what happened in the hospital room. So from that day on, this was about the sixth day of the trip. I was getting uh, you know, I've I by that point in time I'd spent a total of two weeks of my life in this country. Uh and I was getting approached by people in the street uh and the people in the train station, people on the train uh that we took back, and they were hugging me. And uh uh, you know, they were asking me uh if they could take their photograph with me. And uh uh some people asked me for my autograph. I mean it was it was unbelievable. And uh it wasn't, you know, um the thing that I remember about this the most, it wasn't it wasn't that the it somehow was flattering. Uh I mean I was very touched by the fact that they showed me so much affection, but I really began to understand uh in those moments how much uh the people of this country have been demonized, you know, that they could react in this way, such a powerful way, from such a simple thing um to a foreigner, you know, who showed compassion for one of their own. Um what that said to me was that these are people who, for decades, their entire lives, they have been demonized by the West. And the reason why they've reacted so powerfully was because uh this was an unusual thing for them. Somebody from the West showing compassion for, you know, a girl from their own society who had been victimized by the West.

SPEAKER_00 8:10

Unfortunately, it's unique in a way, like we don't we really don't see that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:15

Yeah. All they get from the West is hatred, vilification, suspicion, persecution ever since the Islamic Revolution. Whether you agree with it or you don't agree with the Islamic Revolution, the fact of the matter is, from the moment that the Shah was overthrown, uh Western governments led by the United States have done everything they can to inflict pain, not just on the government of Iran, but on the people of Iran.

SPEAKER_00 8:39

And it's it's it's really incredible because you know, we all always hear these things that Iran, Iranians hate the West so much, like, or Westerners, like it's almost like a primordial instinct. I'm always shocked they don't hate Westerners more, because imagine, Dimitri, if it was the other way around, if Iran on February 28th had gone, murdered Donald Trump, and then hit an American school, killing over 165 people, almost all of whom are schoolgirls. People would be calling for nuking Iran, right? And yet somehow the West does this and it's it's it's wow, they hate us. Oh my gosh. And yet that's not even quite the case. Now they hate the government that of America and the West, that's fine. But the compassion, like, you know, I always hear these things, um, Iranians say, Oh, we don't have a problem with the American people, we have a problem with the American government. I'm like, wow, I mean, if you guys hate even if you hated Americans, that'd be okay with me, like like everything you've gone through, you know? So it's it's really shocking. And what you're saying is they're not used to that reaction from Westerners.

SPEAKER_02 9:47

Right. And when it when they see it, on a rare occasion that they see it, they're uh my experience was that they're full of appreciation and love for the uh or just the simple, you know, simply treating them as human beings. Uh so that was uh that was uh something that will always stay with me. And you know, this is that and all the other things I've described to you, um, really made me feel uh a bond with the Iranian people and with this country by the time uh my trip was over. And uh I'm actually going to be, I I expect to be going back in about a week's time. I've been invited to return uh to uh be there for the uh funeral of the Supreme Leader, Ali Khameini. Um and I'm sure that there will be other activities as well that uh I and whoever else is, you know, accepts the invitation will be um asked to participate in. Uh and I'm really looking forward to it. I really am. I I missed the people that I met in this country.

SPEAKER_00 10:52

Incredible. My other question is also just regarding being there. We're fed these this propaganda in the West that Iran at any moment is just ready to collapse. That's actually part of the narrative that launched this war. Get rid of the supreme leader, um, get rid of Khamenei, and then everything, the government's gonna get overthrown. We uh keep hearing that, oh, the pressure of the blockade at any moment Iran's just going to collapse. I wonder what it was like being there. Do you have a sense of collapse and speaking to people? I want to know one, what they thought of the what they think of the war and what they think Iran's position is, I guess, in this grand historical moment, and also what they think of their own governments. I know that's like three questions in one, but that would be we would I would love to hear from that.

SPEAKER_02 11:41

Well, on a practical level, I saw no evidence of an imminent collapse. Uh the people were driving the cars, the train stations were operating, the trains were operating, the subway system was operating.

SPEAKER_00 11:55

That doesn't happen in Toronto. So maybe Carney government will fall first. Yeah. Continue.

SPEAKER_02 12:03

By the way, their their train, even though it wasn't world-class or anything, was not near nearly the best train I've ever been on. It was better than Amtrak, I'll tell you that. Uh in any case, uh, I saw plentiful food in the grocery stores in the shops. Um now that's not to say that things are easily affordable. Uh, you know, uh they're struggling with uh increases in the cost of living. There's uh you know very bad uh inflation in the country, uh, and the wages are low. Uh but this is virtually inevitable with the the sanctions and the war. Uh there and there has probably, I'm sure there has been to some degree some economic mismanagement as well. Uh but in any case, um, and and I never there were never any power outages of any significance while I was there. Uh there was always you know abundant water flowing through the taps. So uh the the the the protest that I saw, and I I mean there weren't really protests, there were rallies. I saw rallies all over the place, but they were supportive of the government. I didn't see a single, not a single anti-government protest. I was in seven cities in 11 days. Uh, and we went all around those cities. So uh, you know, uh there was nothing there that remotely resembled an imminent collapse me. And to be perfectly blunt about it, uh, I think that the West is closer to collapse than Iran is right now.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

I agree with that. I've I've I've long said you're gonna see uh so-called regime change sooner in the United States than you are going to see it in Iran. You know, it's funny because they always have these rumors, oh, like, you know, the president of Iran's gonna resign never happens. Just these, I don't know, viral Facebook posts. But look at the United States, like all these generals resigning. Like this is this, these are countries. And as we just mentioned, you know, Canada, United States, for instance, our our subway system. I have so much frustration with the subway system here in Toronto, for instance. Um, so it's just kind of funny, you know, we we often hold these countries also to higher standards than we hold ourselves. I'm also curious, what do Iranians think about their position? Like, I'm curious what they think about the war. Uh, if they Iran, of course, has been through, was through even a more devastating war with the Iran-Iraq war, which killed, I believe, either half a million or a million people. They're now going through another war again. And I'm curious what their thoughts are. Are they anxious? Are they ready to fight? What what are people on the st so-called people on the street saying about the current conflict?

SPEAKER_02 14:43

Well, I'll start my answer to your question by telling you a story about uh the remarkable thing that I witnessed in Esfahan, which is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. And we were walking uh in the central square uh and uh on a beautiful spring day, and uh the square was full of uh couples and uh children on bicycles, uh and uh uh just whole families walking through, strolling around in the sunshine, and uh there was a bomb, a bombing, uh not far from the central square as we were walking in the square. And uh it was close enough that we could see the plume of smoke, and uh we heard the explosion very clearly. Uh and when the explosion occurred, uh everybody heard it in the square. Nobody panicked. There were hundreds of people in that square, including the children. Nobody panicked. Uh nobody ran for cover, nobody screamed. Uh everybody, there was there was some people who kind of turned around and looked in the direction of the explosion and saw the plume of smoke, paused, and then just continued doing what they were doing, like riding their bicycles, walking hand in hand. Um, and so that and many other I saw that was probably the most dramatic thing that I saw along those lines, but I saw many instances in which uh it was very clear that the Iranian people have uh acclimatized themselves to this war, had acclimatized themselves to this war. And they had uh become sufficiently acclimatized to it that they were able just to continue conducting their lives as normal, uh, even though uh any one of them could die at any minute, because that's the nature of the campaign of terror that the United States and Israel had were waging on the country. They were just blowing up uh, you know, civilian infrastructure, sports complexes, schools, uh, they were striking uh emergency centers, they were using double trap tap strikes. They were dropping uh, you know, I covered this uh uh uh in real time. They dropped electromagnetic mines on a village. Things that looked like cans, and one a man, a 23-year-old man, picked one up and was blown to bits. Uh you know, we visited his house on that day. So they were they were living with they were living with the risk of dying at any particular moment for no reason, uh, with no warning, and yet they were going about their lives in a normal way. So, but at the same time, when you talk to them, it was very clear that they they were anxious, they're worried. But I think the predominant emotion that I sensed from them when we talked about the war was sadness. They were really saddened about what was being done to their country. You know, one of the things that they didn't they they hit, they hit they really did some severe damage to some extraordinarily important historical sites in Iran, uh, including some sites that have been designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. We expected some of these sites ourselves. Um and so these types of things, you know, and they know they're being set back, and it's it's going to take a while for them to rebuild. Uh, so there was a there was a certain sadness, but at the same time, they were absolutely determined, you know. Uh they uh said over and over again, I heard this from people who were retirees, and I heard this from 10-year-old children. Uh, we are willing to lay down our lives to defend our land and our country. This wasn't these were not scripted you know sentiments, they were speaking from the heart. That was my strong impression. Uh, so uh I wouldn't want to go to war against these people. No, I don't think that's uh I don't think that's a smart move, frankly.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

No, it it isn't. It's a little um sad and a little funny. I remember two days before the war began, I did a video and I said, I think war's coming, but this would be just an incredibly stupid thing. And as I mentioned before on the show, I was right that was stupid, and I was wrong that, well, I was partly wrong that the United States and Israel went ahead and carried out these attacks, which is absolutely nuts. And my final question on this, and then I want to pivot to some more recent stuff as well as the wider Mediterranean. Um, what do people also see, like people in the like my perspective on the war right now, and it's very easy when I'm not the one who's getting attacked, is Iran is in an incredible historical position. Iran's resilience and its ability to withstand everything that's going on right now, the blockade, the sanctions, the uh bombings and attacks. And the way I see it, the war is tragic. When the war is done, I'm going to I think Iran's gonna be in a much stronger position because, in my opinion, they're gonna be in control of the Strait of Hormuz. That means they'll have significant leverage over the Persian Gulf, but more importantly, the Persian Gulf countries. This is a country that is able to also survive a the evil empire of the United States, to be frank. And so I wonder how Iranians see themselves, not only the anxiety and tragedy, but I wonder if, like, what's their kind of geopolitical analysis of what's going on right now and how what do they how do they see their future?

SPEAKER_02 20:06

I think that their uh feelings about it have evolved as the war has unfolded. Uh I think probably at the beginning they were-I mean, how could you not be uh extraordinarily anxious about this after what you've you know, what we've all witnessed uh the Americans and the Israelis with the full backing of other Western countries due to the Palestinians over the last two and a half years? By the time the war was launched against them, they knew they were dealing with two genocidal monsters who have absolutely no compunction, they have no scruples, they have no decency at all, and they're cruel and sadistic. This is clear from what we've witnessed in Gaza for the last two and a half years. So um, I think they they had a lot of trepidation at the beginning of the war, uh, and uh a great deal of uncertainty about how it was all going to unfold. But as the war unfolded and uh it became clear that their military was inflicting uh considerable, in fact, unprecedented damage on US military bases in the region.

SPEAKER_00 21:10

Yeah, that was even for me, that was shocking. I knew Iran had this capability, but you know, even $20,000 drones to knock out, I think actually one of the radar systems, I believe it's $1.2 billion. I could be wrong on that, but yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:27

So, you know, and as the corporate meeting in the West has reported since then, Iran rendered most of the US bases in the Persian Gulf unusable, completely unusable. And there's satellite imagery showing devastation in one US military base after another. No country has done this to the United States in the post World War II period. No one's even come close. Okay. Uh even in the you know, they they they they decimated uh, you know, anywhere from 10 to 15 military bases in something like seven or eight different countries. Name a single war in which anybody did that to the United States military in the post-World War II period. So I'm not even sure it was done during the Second World War. So, you know, uh it really is when you and when you think about how outmatched they are, the you know, their military budget is, you know, probably well less than 5% of the U.S. military budget. Uh, they have a population that's approximately 25% of the U.S. population. The U.S. is a much bigger country. And the U.S. and Israel, whatever the Western governments may say, are supported by pretty much every major Western government in this war. In one way or another. They're providing, and it's not just rhetorical support, they're providing material support.

SPEAKER_00 22:44

So then how do Iranians see their future then? Like how they how do they see things playing out? Because, like, again, like my perspective is Iran's taking on this historic role. They're going to be the ones that are going to be actually, oddly enough, the ones, I don't want to say benefit, that sounds so cruel. They're not benefiting from attacks. But when things, when the dust settles, they're going to be a lot more powerful than they are already. So I'm just wondering if people talked about the future of Iran, what things are going to look like, and whether they kind of share this perspective of a future where they are the ones that are finally getting rid of the West from the region.

SPEAKER_02 23:19

I I think the way I would put it is, you know, there were there was I didn't encounter any presumption, any arrogance amongst the people I spoke to. But there is a there was there's an awakening. The way I put, I was interviewed on the last day that I was there and I was asked this question. What how would you sum up what you saw in the strip? And the best description I could come up with was uh Iran is assuming its rightful place in the world. And I think that that's what the Iranian people are uh waking up to is that they are a country that deserves uh a great deal of respect. They deserve a seat at the table, they're a major power. I would put them uh at this stage, somewhere between on sort of, you know, for me, all peoples are equal. I don't think any people from any country deserve any better treatment than anybody else. But if you just look at it from a practical perspective, you know, what are the elements of geopolitical power in the world today? Their population, territory, resources, technology, military capability, uh, education, uh, you know, uh these, you know, social cohesion, uh, these are the things that make a state powerful. And by those criteria, I would say that Iran's somewhere between, I don't know, um India and Germany. I think it's more powerful than Germany. It should be, it should be counted, it's uh and and uh, you know, but not quite as powerful as India. Uh whereas we've been treating Iran as though it's uh, you know, basically an outlier uh on the fringes of uh civilization and a bit player in uh you know global affairs. No, it is a major, major power, and Iran is assuming its rightful place in the world.

SPEAKER_00 25:10

90 million people. This actually, I think, off the top of my head, it makes Iran amongst one of the top 20 countries in terms of population, vast oil reserves. A lot of people also don't know how, at least looking at a map, how high the elevation is in Iran, which means it's actually not a flat country, which makes it very hard to invade. A major crossroads between uh the West Asia and South Asia, uh country that is oversees the Persian Gulf. I definitely, and also a country that has taken on a revolutionary role since 1979. So this is, I definitely agree with that assessment. I think, I think Iran is becoming one of these mid to high-tier powers for sure, and that they their the future is Iran globally, and that's definitely the case. I want to turn to some more recent news. So, right now, at the time we're filming this, uh, again, every day there's something new happening. Maybe I'll change by the time this recording comes out. But we had just yesterday, there were these attacks against Kuwait, Bahrain, uh, Iraq, uh, and possibly some other countries. We also had, and I wanna, I've I've heard your thoughts on this. I want to chat about this. So, Dimitri, apparently, according to Axios, which is a very great source, not like they lie ever. Uh, Donald Trump is furious with um Benjamin Netanyahu on the phone. He, I'm gonna read this out. I'll keep it PG. He said, apparently, Donald Trump said, What the F are you doing? You're Fing crazy. This is too Benjamin Netanyahu. You'd be in prison if it weren't for me. I'm saving your ass. Everyone hates you now. Everyone hates Israel because of this. End quote. Well, first of all, do you think this actually happened?

SPEAKER_02 27:03

No. I don't think it happened.

SPEAKER_00 27:06

You're you're telling me Axios, which keeps reporting for three months that a deal is imminent, a couple hours away, a day away. I don't know, they got a false information or lied.

SPEAKER_02 27:20

Hard to believe. They have such a record for you know truth telling. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:26

So so this speaks to a larger thing, though. So I want to touch on I've asked, I asked uh Sharmeen about this last week. Uh what is the relationship between the United States and Israel? Because I think there's two views. One is Israel is pretty much an overseas colony of the United States, or the West more broadly, and it's a tool for Western power projection across the region. And in that way, for the empire, it's nevertheless still an asset from a geopolitical perspective, not from a moral or ethical perspective. It's a tool for the West to use to keep all the other countries in uh West Asia in line. The other view is Israel's a liability. The Israeli lobby has, for instance, exercised great power over geopolitics and international affairs in the United States, in that, for instance, things are being carried out on Israel's terms. I want your perspective on this.

SPEAKER_02 28:25

Okay, well, it's not complicated. Israel is a pipsqueak. It's a tiny little country. I've been there five times. It's remarkable how small it is. It has a population of 10 million people, 2 million of whom are approximately 2 million of whom are non-Jewish. So 8 million uh Jews, the vast majority of whom are Zionists. Uh, and it has very scarce resources. Most of the country is desert. The Negev is, I've driven through the Negev a couple of times. It's just a complete barren wasteland. And uh, you know, the part that has actually fertile soil, it is water stressed, and um it has uh it's vulnerable in many respects, uh, from a uh from a military perspective, and uh the idea that this little country, which uh has uh alienated hundreds of millions of indigenous Arabs by its savagery over the course of uh its entire existence, and which couldn't possibly survive in this environment, this hostile environment, which it created without the support of the West. The idea that it controls the West, I find laughable. It's utterly preposterous. Like, what? This is not the way the world works. When people are dependent for their very existence on somebody else, the somebody else holds all the cards, okay? Right. It's not the it's not the dependent. So I'm just gonna read to you an uh the headline, just the headline of an article that appeared today in Hadetz. Okay, so this is an Israeli newspaper, and uh it's from one of their premier analysts, Amos Harel. And the headline of his article is Israel's capitulation to Trump in Lebanon and exposes its complete reliance on the US. Does that sound like they're in control to you? Right. This is the Israeli media. So uh I think it's really important for us to stop peddling this nonsense that Israel controls Western governments.

SPEAKER_00 30:25

It's just it's just laughable. But the way I might see it, so I have like I kind of have because it's very interesting because Sharmeen actually had a very different take last week. I always feel like I'm in the middle point here, because in my perspective, Israel is a colony of the West, but I've seen historically or read historically how colonies can also start to dictate the policies of the imperial corps. So, just to give a quick example, for instance, France for a long time had, well, one of its first African colonies was Algeria. And Algeria was settled by French uh people. They kicked out Arabs just like Israel did. And for a long time, Algeria as a colony was a tool for France. But at a certain point in the 1950s, especially, the settlers who were in Algeria started exercising greater and greater pressure over the French government to the point where there was almost a fascist coup in France by generals who were supportive of the Algerian French colony. Now, I know this is a long-winded history, but needless to say, Charles de Gaulle takes power. He kind of takes a mid-tier position between the left and the right. But I think this is a very clear example where like this very small colony can then start to dictate the policies of the center. And the way I see things is I don't think it's like, for instance, this stuff people say where Israel controls everything. I don't believe that. Like I definitely agree with you on that. But it would not be fair to say things like there's influence that exists and that that sometimes leads the United States to carry out policies that are actually ultimately detrimental to it.

SPEAKER_02 32:07

Uh well, let me just uh part company with you on a couple of things you said. Okay. Uh is Algeria relative to France is not a small colony.

SPEAKER_00 32:17

Well, I just mean the parts that are set, the Algeria is massive, but I just mean the parts of the north that were settled and stuff. Yeah, but continue, please. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:24

But but you know, it has huge resources uh relative to France. So the people who were running that colony, by virtue of all of the territory, the population that they had under their control, the resources, had a lot of power. Israel doesn't have that kind of power. It uh Israel as relative to the United States, and and we people who adopt this narrative don't just say it controls the U.S. government, they say it controls all Western governments. I mean this tiny little pipsqueak controls the governments of France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Australia, Italy, and the United States, and on and on. Come on, man. So the other thing I would point out to you is that uh in the end, the Algerians got their independence. Uh so de Gaulle gave it to them. So this attempted coup failed. Uh so the colonists didn't ultimately uh end up seizing power in France, they failed. And uh the very thing that they wanted the most, which was uh to maintain possession of uh the Algerian colony, uh, was taken away from them. So uh so I I don't I don't see the situation as being comparable, and I think the outcome uh demonstrates that uh it doesn't support the ultimate outcome of that uh attempted coup does not support the thesis in any. It's very different for a variety of reasons. No, I understand that. Very different. Now, this is not to say, okay, that the lobby isn't influential. Sure, it's influential. Uh so that what the lobby does is it and it's very effective at taking out fringe politicians. So uh, for example, uh it took out Thomas Massey. Thomas Massey was just a congressman who wasn't particularly powerful, you know. Not like it's not like he was like the ranking member on the banking service financial services committee or the national security committee or anything like that. He was a bit player. Uh so they took him out. They took out um uh Jamal Bowman, uh, you know, in the Democratic Party. He had no power. You know, would are they able to take out a president? No, no, they're not able to take out a president. If the president wants to squash Israel, squash Israel. And at the end of the day, the reason why presidents in the United States support what Israel does is because that's what they want them to do. The Israel does what it wants them to do. Now, you have to take into account, when I say you, I mean if you're the president of the United States, you have to take into account, if you want to remain in power, the uh preferences of your voters. You have to be cognizant of this. So let's talk about this joke of an article from Barak Barak Barak David, the former Israeli intelligence agent who now masquerades as a journalist who said all those things. All these unnamed sources come to him, Israeli and American. We don't know.

SPEAKER_00 35:14

You know, oh yeah, F U, B, B, were that's right.

SPEAKER_02 35:19

And it's all I you know, I don't think you mentioned this, but it every single piece of information in there is based on uh things said to Ravid by unnamed sources, and we really don't know anything about these people. Not only do we not know their names, he doesn't even say uh this person's Israeli military, this person's from the State Department. Okay, so it's just who knows who they are. So why what is going on here? What is going on here is the polls in the United States show that the war is wildly unpopular.

SPEAKER_00 35:46

Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:47

The polls in Israel show that the war is wildly popular. Okay, so both and both Trump and Netanyahu are heading into an election. Okay, Trump has got the midterms coming up, and there are parliamentary elections in Israel. Trump, you know, Netanyahu could be removed from power. He's desperate to win, he's got these corruption cases, whatever. So, how does he maximize his votes? He maximizes his votes by pro by by uh by posturing as the guy who's determined to wage this war, come hell or high water. How does Trump win votes? By posturing as the guy who's trying to put a stop to it. And if you're if you they if you have these disparate points of view, one would expect there to be tension. So they put on this spectacle. But at the end of the day, what are their actions telling you? Their actions are telling you that they both want this war. Yeah. Trump is waging a war in every kind of conceivable way. So this is I I don't, you know, and Ravid said the same thing.

SPEAKER_00 36:44

No, I can't stand him because because also just for listeners and viewers and for view for listeners, I was just like shaking my head at at about Ravid, because this is also like market manipulation going on for three months. We keep we every time oil starts skyrocketing. Um, Ravide from Axios releases an unnamed source that says a deal is imminent, and then stock market goes up, oil goes down. It's just it's really sticking because because this is massive. And then also, who's getting rich from this? It's not the common person, it's it's people also in the higher ups who are, I guess, aware of these things. And we know that because there's often multiple, multi, hundreds of millions of dollars of deals that go in before these announcements. It's I've I've blocked Axios from from Twitter, I've blocked uh Revede. It's it's it's it's sickening. So um, I want to turn to another another area of the of the region, uh, one that actually I find doesn't get as much attention. I want to look at Greece and Cyprus, because just for people to know, uh Cyprus is actually not that far away geographically from Israel and uh so-called Israel and Lebanon. If you look at a map, it's uh not it's pretty close, needless to say. And, you know, Dimitri, you've covered this, and we're seeing, at least in the last couple months, or even maybe a little longer than that, a closer relationship with Israel, Cyprus, and Greece. I think you're the best person to kind of break this down. What's going on here? Why is it occurring?

SPEAKER_02 38:14

Well, uh there's the official reason why it's occurring, and then there's the real reason. The official reason is that the Greece's government is convinced that this is in the uh national security's in the interest of national security, and uh it's economically beneficial. That's their that's what they're claiming. The real reason it's happening, uh it was a max a mixture of things. First of all, the Greek government is a vassal of Washington, total vassal of Washington in Brussels. And they they want they want uh to support Israel. Come hell or high water, because Israel is their military garrison in the world's richest oil-producing region, and so they're they're playing ball for that reason. Number one, number two, uh Israel uh Greece has a number of you know long-standing uh grievances against Turkey. And uh Israel has persuaded uh the Greek and Cypriot government, of course, Cyprus does as well. There's an occupation, a Turkish occupation on Cypriot soil, right?

SPEAKER_00 39:17

And a British one too, actually. People don't know about that.

SPEAKER_02 39:20

Yeah. Uh so um Israel has done an effective job of persuading the governments of Cyprus and uh uh and Greece and a significant segment of the population in both countries who have these historical animosities towards the Turks, that they provide a measure of protection to Greece and Cyprus from Turkish aggression. Because you know, that Israel is like the regional superpower. Uh second another factor is Israel uh is developing these offshore oil uh gas deposits, and um Greece, for a variety of reasons, partnered up with them in order to exploit them, and uh Greece and that that you know uh gas is uh a significant source of energy to Greece. Uh so I those are the real reasons. Um I'm sorry, those are the official reasons. Um and some of them are uh valid, they actually are like real. Uh but this idea that that Israel uh that our relationship with Israel is uh promotes national security is that's complete nonsense. It's actually undermining it's undermining our national security, it's alienating Turkey. You know, Israel is being extremely bombastic in its comments about Turkey. Uh its conduct in the region is uh hyper-aggressive. Uh, we actually would have, I think, less tension in relations with Turkey if we weren't uh tied to the hip with Israel.

SPEAKER_00 40:47

Um and just for listeners to know, also I remember I forget who said it. Someone uh someone in the Israeli government, I don't know if it was BB, it may have been someone else, said after Iran, Turkey is like the next target, something along those lines.

SPEAKER_02 41:00

Neftali Bennett said it.

SPEAKER_00 41:01

Yeah, Neftali Benett, it was Neftali Bennett. Ah, there we go. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 41:04

He said it's the Turkey is the new Iran. Mm-hmm. Yeah, you could hardly be more, you know, uh threatening than that when he said this while Israel was bombing Iran. So what what what message are the Turks going to take from that? How is this promoting uh security, easing tensions between Greece and Turkey when we've aligned ourselves with these lunatics? I mean, it's it's nonsense. And if there is armed conflict between Turkey and Greece, and by the way, this is this this whole notion that Greece and Turkey might descend into armed conflict, it's that in itself is a bit of a scam. The Greek government plays that up to appeal to nationalists and also to justify exorbitant military spending. So this is a constant, it's like it's almost like it's almost like these articles in Axios by Barak Ravid. You know, it's this endless loop of stupidity, and uh so it's really be the tensions are overstated and they're hyped and they're exaggerated. But at the end of the day, this is not helping our relationship with Turkey. And Turkey, Turkey, what what should really, if the if Greece was really acting in the national interest, the Greek government of the national interest of Greece, and the Cypriots were acting in the national interest of Cyprus, they would um they would find ways to mend fences with Turkey and they would uh collaborate with each other to contain Israel and to bring Israel's aggression to an end. Uh, because it's they're they're blowing up the whole region. They're basically and they're on the verge of destroying the global economy, for God's sakes.

SPEAKER_00 42:36

I mean, yeah, I'm gonna touch on that at the end. What I want to say though, also is you know, one of the weird things also going on in Cyprus, a lot of people don't know this. There are UK military bases there that are actually considered British sovereign territory. Uh, Cyprus actually used to be a colony of the United Kingdom. Britain held on to these chunks of land, which is actually, by the way, against uh the international law in terms of decolonization. And I know those bases, is am I correct to say those bases have also been used to help? I think I was even seeing a year ago or so, these bases that were used to like, I don't know if we're drones or planes to get information on Gaza. Is that correct? I am I'm trying to remember what I saw there, but those UK bases have been helping out Israel with its genocide, right?

SPEAKER_02 43:28

The British sent spy flights over Gaza while the Israelis were carrying out war crimes there. Why were they doing that? They they gave out some cock and bull story that they were looking for hostages. Jeez.

SPEAKER_00 43:41

I mean, unsurprising, but sickening, really.

SPEAKER_02 43:43

Yeah. Yeah. But the the main the main uh complicity is the transfer of huge amounts of weaponry to Israel from Akarotidi, military base to Cyprus. I went there, I did uh four different occasions during uh the genocide, uh, and I stood at the edge of the military base. And every time there were military transport planes landing and taking off, and they were coming and going from the direction of Israel. It was constant, constant military transport planes. And the British government is very, very cagey about what's in those planes.

SPEAKER_00 44:14

That's so disgusting. I have nothing else to say on that. The last thing also I want to touch on is uh with regards to this, is I know, for instance, also Israelis are increasingly buying land on Cyprus and in Greece. Uh, I've read a bit about this. Cyprus is actually for people who are fleeing Israel, not from rockets, but just from, I don't know, they've lost their job or they're not the biggest fan of how the government's carrying out the genocide. Hardly ever are they actually opposed to it, although in some cases they are. But now they're going to Cyprus in Greece to buy up land. This is driving up costs and also causing issues with locals. Can you speak to this too? Because I'm curious. Uh, I know you've touched on this as well.

SPEAKER_02 45:00

Yeah, I covered it. I did two investigative reports and uh did some research, found out, found a number of investment properties that Israelis had purchased and went there. Uh and uh found out what I could. In any case, it's it's not just uh people who have left Israel uh who are moving to Cyprus, it's also people who want to have a second home, uh, or plan B, uh, you know, in case uh the Zionist colony goes up and smoke. Uh so they split their time between they're based in Israel, but they split their time between Cyprus and Israel. And then there are people who are uh based all the time in Israel, but who uh are have they're buying businesses and you know for profit-making purposes and they operate those businesses, they manage those businesses from Israel.

SPEAKER_00 45:47

They don't actually have any why Cyprus just goes close and warm? Is that why?

SPEAKER_02 45:51

Like but why why Cyprus is close, it has uh and it's a member of the EU. Uh, you know, relatively speaking, it has a relatively a stable economy. Um, and uh it too has a stake in uh these oil and gas deposits. Uh so um the the the the the result of all of these you know these three groups those who are leaving Israel, those who want a second home or a plan B, and those who are remain based in Israel, but they they want to they see profit opportunities in Cyprus, and so they buy up businesses there. Uh the result is there's a lot of money coming into uh Cyprus from Israel, and it's overwhelmingly concentrated concentrated on the southern coast of Cyprus. Um, and they've begun to build you know large residential complexes that they they don't come out and say this, but it's pretty clear that they're basically Jewish only. Uh, you know, so uh the the way they market them, it's quite clear that the properties are intended to appeal to Jews and that they don't really want other people living there.

SPEAKER_00 46:59

Um another another Zionist colony, really, in a in a sense, you know. Yeah. Yeah. Wow.

SPEAKER_02 47:05

And and you know, the the the Zionists, if you go all the way back to the 1800s, the original Zionists, they talked openly about uh they describe Cyprus as a springboard in a plan B. So this has been uh in the making, this you know, Zionist colonization of Cyprus for a long time.

SPEAKER_00 47:23

That's the problem with colonies and empires. They often do have plan B's and escape plans. My final question touches on something different. I I like what you said initially, and I agree with this. The West is closer to collapse than Iran is. I want to touch on what's going on in the world right now. I'm every day screaming my head off because I'm looking at the fact that the Strait of Hormuz has, it's not closed, it's under Iran's control, but the number of ships going through has been far limited than before, also because of the US blockade. Dimitri, this is we're actually facing the biggest energy crisis ever. I feel like a lot of some people are waking up to this, but prices have not gone up as much as expected. I want to know what you think the future, given this and the West is. I know it's a broad question intentionally, but I do think we're facing a very stark future, needless to say, but I want to hear your thoughts.

SPEAKER_02 48:25

I think we're about to experience a uh financial crisis, which is probably going to be significantly worse, possibly dramatically worse than the financial crisis of 2008-2009. Um the uh spot price of oil is actually already at about 145 bucks. Uh, it is down. Last time I checked, it's around 97. Uh, it went up today one or two percent. Uh and uh that's it, but that's in the futures market. Uh there are a lot of, you know, as one oil industry expert put it, gentleman by the name of Art Berman, uh, you know, there's a lot of dumb money in the futures market. Yeah. If you've heard from him, you will know uh that he doesn't have a lot of respect for the people who are uh buying and selling oil in the futures market right now. Uh but and he predicts, as do others, that this is the dumb money is gonna dry up and uh the futures, the the the price price of Brent crude and WTI in the futures market is gonna converge rapidly with the spot price of oil. And uh and the only the only way we've avoided a catastrophe up until now is that uh we have been depleting our governments uh have been depleting their reserves. Uh the strategic uh petroleum reserve in the United States, for example, is uh I think at a historic low.

SPEAKER_00 49:51

It is, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 49:52

So these are inventories all around the world have been depleted, and uh the the gig is almost up sometime in this month. Uh there or July at the latest, there are going to be major physical shortages of oil, actual physical shortages of oil. It's not just the price is gonna go through the roof and it'll become unaffordable. The necessary quantities of oil just aren't gonna be there, and so we're gonna have to cut back on economic activity uh severely. Uh you know, in especially, you know, industries that are uh uh fossil fuel intensive. Uh how are they gonna function?

SPEAKER_00 50:28

I want to also, yeah, sorry, I just want to interject and emphasize to people because I have an article coming out in the cradle on this that people should check out. Uh should be out in a couple days. You know, uh Dimitri, you probably know this. If they had a deal today, a lot of people are already also saying it's too late because it takes 40 days for ships leaving the Persian Gulf to reach all their global destinations. They're gonna have to, those ships are also gonna have to negotiate with their insurers to make sure it's okay to go through. I was even seeing this last week. I kid you not, people. Barnacles, these are grow on the sides of ships. Uh, the ships can't move if there's too many, too much um aquatic life growing on the side of them. If the strait opens today, if we if I release this podcast episode and suddenly you hear that the strait is open, it is already too late. And I don't think the strait's going to be open anytime soon. But please continue on the on this crisis, yeah, um shortages, etc., please.

SPEAKER_02 51:25

Uh there's uh actually uh Berman quoted a firm called Kepler, I believe it was Kepler, which is again a highly respected uh consulting firm in the oil industry, that said 700,000 barrels of oil a day from the Gulf has been lost forever. It's never coming back. Uh and uh he also points out that people may not want to do business in the Gulf anymore, because even if there is a restoration of tranquility and peace and harmony, uh this has demonstrated to people in the oil market that this is a very risky, risky region in which to operate. You know, even if there were some detente achieved, uh, there are going to be lingering resentments and probably there are going to be some issues resolved. The hostilities could flare up again. And so there may be companies that shippers, uh, oil producers just not gonna want to go back there. They're not gonna see that as a stable investment environment or uh a safe environment for their ships to operate. And it's not just, you know, that the ships are uh gonna have to take uh, you know, they're gonna take 40 days to get to their destination once they start uh loading up oil and going. As you pointed out, there's gonna be a period of time, it's gonna take, I think, somewhere in the range of 50 to 60 days, in the best case scenario, just to get the ships to the same level of traffic as uh there was pre-forward the war. Uh so we're toast. I mean, we're absolutely toast, it's just a question of how ugly it's gonna be. Uh, but the prices of oil are going to be highly elevated uh for uh, you know, certainly I think for a year. I think this is the best case scenario for a year, and they may be highly elevated for years to come. And uh, you know, Art Berman says, and I believe him, I I think I find his argument very persuasive, that the price of oil is never going back, never to where it was uh before this war began. It is permanently going to be substantially higher, way higher than what it was before this war began. So this is going to result in a uh widespread diminution in the quality of life of people all over the world, uh, particularly the people who are most dependent or living in countries that are most dependent on oil. And this is just the oil aiden, right? There's the humanium.

SPEAKER_00 53:45

There's fertilizer, fertilizer, fertilizer, sulfur, yep.

SPEAKER_02 53:48

Sulfuric acid. I mean, you know, this is this is a complete and utter catastrophe.

SPEAKER_00 53:53

And aluminum, too, oddly enough. In aluminum, oddly, oddly sorry, not to emphasize aluminum, but just because um bar Bahrain actually produces a lot of aluminum and that's no longer coming out. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 54:03

Absolutely. Yeah. So this is uh, you know, uh it is probably going to be in the final analysis, historians will look back and say that this was one of the most colossal blunders in the history of geopolitical blunders was launching this war. The world is not going to be the same. We have had our quality of life across the world to varying degrees permanently diminished by this war.

SPEAKER_00 54:28

And I just want to say something else on this. It's also startling because you know, 2008 was so bad, but we I feel like I still haven't recovered from 2008, uh, let alone other crises, COVID. And I think what's also so different now is before in crises, the West had a bit more social cohesion. There wasn't as much polarization. There was greater trust in institutions, misplaced trust, but nevertheless greater trust in institutions. I'm very curious to see what happens when we face an economic crisis amid now polarization, lack of trust, and lack of social cohesion. I think it's a very serious risk the West is facing.

SPEAKER_02 55:12

Oh, yeah. I mean, look at look at the look at the approval ratings of Macron, Starmer, and Mertz. They're all in the teens. Think about that. The three biggest economies in Europe, their leaders have an approval rating that is less than 20%. Okay, there's a huge amount of resentment built up in the population of Europe. And you when this thing, when the uh proverbial doo-doo hits the fan in a couple of months' time, or it might actually be this month, I think you could see revolutionary forces, forces, forces unleashed in Europe and in other countries around the world. And where that will lead, I don't know. And the really scary thing is, you know, when you think about the United States, where there's tremendous amount of uh, you know, resentment, uh, there are more guns in circulation in the United States than there are people.

SPEAKER_00 56:02

You know, no, I I agree with this assessment. I think it's getting very serious. Uh Dimitri, I don't know what to do though. I keep screaming my head every day about it. I know we're paying, we're all paying a little bit more at the pumps, but like right now, what we're facing, I think is nothing compared to what's coming. But I actually hope I'm wrong on that point. With that noted, thank you, Dimitri, so much for coming on the show. Really appreciate it. Everyone, you can see uh Dimitri's work at uh uh Reasons uh to resist. And you can also follow him on Twitter. Uh, I really appreciate the time you gave and the discussion we had.

SPEAKER_02 56:39

Thank you for having me, Eden. Pleasure talking to you.