00:02When US President Donald Trump began his war against Iran on February 28, he had just kidnapped
00:09Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from his bedroom and begun the process of stealing Venezuela's
00:16oil. Analysts say he likely believed he would achieve the same results in Iran when he announced
00:22that the war would last only four to five weeks. But today, almost nine months later,
00:27the Trump administration is left with battered military installations across West Asia,
00:33the closure of the vital Hormuz Strait, and a historic loss at the US midterm elections.
00:39On November 3, Democrats seized control of both chambers of Congress. The losses were historic
00:46because Democrats also flipped Senate seats in deep red states like Texas for the first time in
00:53decades in Kansas for the first time since 1932. Vice President J.D. Vance took to X to concede
01:01that the war was the primary driver of the defeat. Vance had reportedly advocated for the Islamabad
01:09Memorandum of Understanding signed in June, though he later justified Washington's abandonment of it
01:15less than three weeks later. Continuing the war will likely bring similar results for Republicans in
01:22the 2028 presidential elections. Economic costs for American consumers, which were the driving factor
01:29for voting blue in the midterms, will only ease with the reopening of the Hormuz Strait. Iran says it
01:36will only open the strait once the US has returned to the Islamabad MOU. In the past 10 days, at
01:43least 11 oil
01:44tankers trying to pass through Hormuz have been hit by Iran. Iranian foreign minister and lead
01:51negotiator Sayed Abbas Arakji said on X over the weekend that American politicians can meet Iran's
01:58requirements for results or choose further war and expect to see hell rain down.
