A

lot of experience of being able to articulate that in a very sophisticated way.

So let's step back for a minute.

One thing about foreign policy, a lot of things can be true at the same time.

Make no mistake, Iran is a cancer in the Middle East.

This hasn't changed since the Shah left in 1979.

They have spread their tentacles of hate and destruction to the region since that, and it continues today.

How do you think things have changed with the UAE, with Saudi Arabia, the Abraham Accords? How do you see that? How has that evolved? And how do you see it evolving going forward?

What are the risks if th- if this truly becomes a, a whole new full-bore front to this US war with Iran except through proxies?

Well, you know, listen, Jake, I think all, none of us want to see that happen.

Listen, I think at the end of the day, you know, it reminds me as I harken back, you know, if, if, you know, the, a lot of people didn't like the JCPOA, the agreement that w- we and the Biden administration or the Obama administration were negotiating, uh, early on.

But I bet you right now today, if the JCPOA was presented to Donald Trump as was written back then, I think everyone would be very pleased, uh, to, to sign it.

And you know, on the day of, you know, Lindsey Graham's, you know, funeral, listen, I had enormous respect for, uh, Senator Graham.

I didn't agree with him on all things, but had enormous respect.

He was pushing, we were close to getting normalization, uh, with s- the Saudis and tr- really creating a new, uh, paradigm in the region.

Am I wrong?

Are we back to square one?

No, I don't think we're back to square one.

I think the reality of this is, I think there's been an enormous amount of damage to the Iranian infrastructure.

I think that's significant.

I think the Iranian people are suffering.

I think the United States and Israel have done a good job of trying to at least temper some of the activities of Hezbollah.

No, I don't think we're at square one.

Do you think that Iran struck Israel as a way to show that this is not gonna be how things are gonna be done from now on? Because every single ceasefire has now been unilaterally violated by Israel when it deems that there is a threat to it, whether or not it provides enough sufficient evidence for that or not, that at the end of the day Israel has practiced or exercised its right or what it says is its right to unilaterally strike targets, whether it's in Gaza or whether it's now we're seeing Iran or whether in Lebanon.