Transcript [00:00] It is time to check in on the proxies, [00:03] all of Iran's proxies, the Houthis, [00:05] Hezbollah, [00:06] Iraqi, Iranian proxies, and see what [00:09] they're doing because things have [00:11] changed dramatically with the proxy [00:13] behavior in recent days. So, we're going [00:16] to get into all of that in this video. [00:19] And before we go on, please make sure to [00:21] go to Israel365charity.com. [00:24] That's Israel365charity.com. [00:26] Passover is only a couple days away, and [00:29] there are many families in Israel who [00:30] need help. A lot of home front issues [00:33] with wars going on on multiple fronts. A [00:35] lot of young men being called up to for [00:37] reserve duty. A lot of jobs having been [00:40] shut down due to the war, and the strain [00:43] of the holidays coming up, the big [00:45] festivals coming up, and this is your [00:47] chance to help to help put money [00:50] directly into the pockets of people who [00:52] need it most, and to help with some [00:54] services that are desperately needed. [00:56] Israel365 is very well plugged in to all [00:59] the best charities on the ground. Go to [01:01] Israel365charity.com, [01:03] and please help us out there with [01:06] whatever you can you can afford to help [01:08] us with. Okay, let's get right to it. [01:09] Let's start with the Houthis. [01:11] The Houthis have actually joined the [01:12] war, folks. They've joined the war. They [01:16] joined the war just [01:18] yesterday or 2 days ago, sorry. They [01:20] launched a ballistic missile attack on [01:22] southern Israel. So, here let's take a [01:24] look. Sirens sounded in Beersheba. [01:26] That's the largest southern city in [01:28] Israel. And surrounding towns in the [01:31] southern Israel due to a ballistic [01:32] missile attack from Yemen. It marks the [01:34] first attack by the Iran-backed Houthis [01:36] on Israel in the current war. The [01:38] military says it identified a missile [01:40] launch from Yemen and is working to [01:42] intercept the threat. The Houthis, whose [01:44] slogan calls for death to America, death [01:46] to Israel, and a curse on the Jews, [01:49] first began attacking Israel and [01:50] maritime traffic in November '23, a [01:53] month after October 7th. [01:55] The Iran-backed group launched dozens of [01:57] missiles and drones at Israel during [01:58] that war. And since the October 2025 [02:02] ceasefire with Hamas, they've held their [02:04] fire until just 2 days ago where they [02:07] launched a ballistic missile barrage at [02:08] Israel. Now, we have to ask why. If [02:11] you've been watching my videos since the [02:12] beginning of the war, I've been [02:13] predicting that the Houthis would not [02:15] join the war. I thought that they would [02:17] they would back off because they would [02:18] be afraid of getting slammed by the [02:20] Americans. [02:21] But now they have joined the war, and [02:24] that's and one other factor is that [02:26] Hezbollah, who joined the war much [02:28] earlier, I pointed out many times, [02:30] they're actually an arm of Iran. They [02:32] don't have a choice. If Iran says you [02:33] are joining the war, they kind of force [02:35] them to. They didn't join the war in [02:38] June during the 12-day war, but they [02:40] were much they were much worse shape [02:41] then, and [02:43] apparently in Tehran they weren't too [02:45] happy about that. But Hezbollah has been [02:47] in the war almost since the beginning. [02:50] Not right away, but they joined. But the [02:53] Houthis joined now, and they're a much [02:54] more independent organization, which [02:56] raises the question, why did they do it? [02:58] What did they see? So, I have a theory. [03:00] First, I'm going to share with you some [03:01] analysis from a from a couple of other [03:04] outlets that I saw, and then I'll share [03:05] with you my take about what I think the [03:08] Houthis are doing. And it's based on [03:11] it's it's a little different than what [03:13] we're going to read here, but let's take [03:14] a look. So, first we have Time magazine. [03:16] Yemen's Houthis have entered the war. [03:18] What you need to know. [03:20] And it talks about how they entered the [03:22] war by firing a barrage of ballistic [03:24] missiles ballistic missiles at southern [03:26] Israel on Saturday. That is just uh [03:29] released just yesterday, 2 days ago, [03:31] depending on when you're seeing this [03:32] video. [03:34] And their their their spokesman said [03:36] that they targeted sensitive military [03:38] sites, whatever. [03:40] And [03:42] it then says that the Israelis um [03:45] caught it, and they shot down most of [03:47] the missiles. [03:48] The long-threatened entry of the group [03:50] into the fray adds a new front to the [03:52] regional conflict with a [03:55] which began on on February 28th. In the [03:57] months since Iran's counterattacks have [04:00] struck US bases across the Gulf, [04:02] strategic infrastructure, and [04:03] drastically slowed shipping in the [04:05] Strait of Hormuz. Those attacks have had [04:07] a dramatic impact on global oil and [04:10] energy prices and sent gas prices in the [04:13] US skyrocketing. [04:15] The Houthis played a similarly outsized [04:17] role in upending global shipping between [04:19] November 2023 and January 2025 when they [04:23] attacked over 100 merchant vessels in [04:26] the Red Sea campaign of solidarity with [04:29] the Palestinians during the Gaza war. [04:32] The group regularly launched missiles [04:34] towards Israel during the same period, [04:37] although most were intercepted. Israel [04:40] responded with heavy air strikes against [04:42] Houthi targets in Sanaa and across the [04:44] group's territory. Now, at this point, [04:47] so that's just a sum up of where we are, [04:49] and then they quote this this professor [04:51] from this Professor Thomas Juneau, who's [04:53] a professor at University of Ottawa's [04:56] Graduate School of Public and [04:57] International Affairs. I guess he's an [04:59] expert on this. And [05:02] he says here that if Houthi strikes [05:04] remain limited to a small number of [05:06] direct attacks on Israel, they will not [05:08] have a major impact on the evolution of [05:10] the war. I agree with that. If all [05:13] they're going to do is have a small [05:14] number of attacks at Israel, those [05:16] missiles will will largely get shot down [05:18] as they were in the past. As someone who [05:20] lives in Israel, the Houthi missiles [05:22] woke us up at night. That's for sure. [05:24] They were very unsuccessful missile [05:27] attacks, thank God, from the Houthis. [05:29] They were kind of one at a time. They'd [05:31] get shot down. They were just they were [05:33] an irritant. [05:35] But they didn't really change the the [05:38] outlook of the war in any material way. [05:41] And he says here, as we saw in the past [05:43] rounds of strikes, Israeli anti-missile [05:44] defenses are able to intercept most [05:47] Houthi Houthi missiles and drones. [05:51] And then he says, but if the group [05:52] decides to attack shipping on the Red [05:54] Sea again, that would change things. The [05:56] Houthis would cause a much more [05:57] important impact on the war if they were [05:59] to start targeting maritime shipping in [06:01] the Red Sea and try to close the Bab [06:04] el-Mandeb Strait. This would amplify the [06:06] war's already strong impact on oil and [06:08] natural gas prices and on the global [06:11] economy. [06:13] Attacks on the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb [06:15] Strait would likely disrupt traffic [06:17] through the Suez Canal, through which [06:19] around 15% of global maritime trade, [06:22] including 30% of container ship traffic, [06:25] travels each year. Okay. Let's pull up a [06:29] map. [06:31] Bab [06:33] el-Mandeb Strait, and let's find it on a [06:36] map. Let's go to maps. [06:39] Maps. [06:41] And let's pull it up here. Okay. [06:45] So, [06:48] let's get over here. Here we go. This is [06:50] Yemen. [06:51] Here's Yemen. Here's Sanaa. [06:54] This is the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Okay, [06:56] let's pull out a little bit more. [06:58] Okay, this is the Red Sea. The Bab [07:01] el-Mandeb Strait. Um shipping comes [07:03] down. Here is the the Suez Canal is [07:06] right here. Okay, this is the Suez [07:08] Canal. [07:09] Okay, that cuts right here. Here, I'll [07:12] show it to you. [07:14] This is the Suez. Okay, the Suez Canal [07:17] comes down from the Mediterranean. So, [07:19] global shipping to Europe and from [07:21] Europe, whatever it is, it goes up it [07:23] goes through the Suez Canal and then [07:25] down the Red Sea [07:27] into the Arabian Sea and out to the [07:29] Indian Ocean, etc. Okay? [07:31] Now, the Houthis were disrupt have have [07:34] the ability to disrupt the traffic down [07:36] here. Okay, now in a in a previous video [07:39] that I just made, we talked about the [07:41] fact that Israel is getting more [07:44] embedded in the security architecture of [07:46] Somaliland, Ethiopia, and [07:50] you know, Kenya down here, Uganda, [07:53] Rwanda, because they and one of the main [07:55] reasons is that Israel wants to gain [07:57] more control over the situation around [07:59] the Horn of Africa and the Bab el-Mandeb [08:01] Strait. The Houthis decided that they're [08:04] now going to launch a rocket rockets at [08:06] southern Israel. Okay? Why'd they do [08:09] that at this time? As this guy in Time [08:12] magazine, this expert says, they would [08:13] cause much more [08:15] they'd have much more impact on the war [08:17] if they started bombing shipping vessels [08:18] and really disrupting the shipping here. [08:20] Firing rockets northward at Israel isn't [08:23] really going to materially change the [08:24] war, and that's correct. So, this expert [08:27] is just saying, well, you know, they [08:28] could have more impact if they did that, [08:30] why aren't they doing that? Which just [08:32] leaves open the question. He didn't [08:33] really answer the question. As an [08:34] analyst, he should be answering the [08:35] question, why did the Houthis join the [08:37] war now? [08:39] And why did they choose to do it not by [08:42] disrupting shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb [08:44] Strait, but by firing a rocket at [08:47] Israel? What do they have in mind? So, [08:49] now I want to go over to an Israeli [08:51] analyst, [08:53] very respected military analyst in [08:55] Israel, Ron Ben-Yishai. Let's see what [08:57] he has to say. [08:58] Why the Houthis chose to join the war [09:00] now? [09:02] This is his analysis. [09:03] There's likely a strategic military [09:05] reason why the Houthis, at Iran's [09:07] request, chose to join the fighting now [09:10] and launch a missile toward southern [09:12] Israel. Their apparent [09:14] apparent aim [09:16] Their apparent aim is to hinder the [09:17] movement of US aircraft carriers through [09:20] the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb [09:22] Strait, [09:24] particularly if President Donald Trump [09:25] decides to open the Strait of Hormuz or [09:27] launch a large-scale air, naval, and [09:29] ground operation in the Persian Gulf. [09:31] Okay? So, [09:32] their apparent aim, listen to what he's [09:35] saying, is to hinder the movement of US [09:38] aircraft carriers. Why? What's going on? [09:40] At present, the USS Gerald Ford is [09:42] undergoing urgent maintenance at Souda [09:45] Bay in Crete. That's near Greece. The [09:47] Pentagon has said another carrier, the [09:50] USS George H.W. Bush, is en route to the [09:52] Mediterranean with its strike group, [09:54] including three destroyers. If it's [09:56] going to the Mediterranean, [09:58] you see here's Crete. If it's going if [10:00] this one's going to the Mediterranean, [10:02] then the plan is for it to come down [10:03] through the Suez Canal. [10:05] Okay? So, what what Ron Ben-Yishai is [10:07] suggesting is that the Houthis are doing [10:10] this because they want to discourage the [10:13] US from sending these aircraft carriers [10:15] through the Suez Canal. [10:17] These carriers and their accompanying [10:18] naval forces are expected to reach the [10:20] operational arena off Iran's coast via [10:23] the Suez Canal, [10:24] the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb [10:26] Strait. That's the plan. The Houthis [10:28] have the capability to threaten large [10:29] vessels with anti-ship missiles, drones, [10:31] and explosive-laden speedboats, and [10:33] potentially to disrupt traffic in the [10:35] Bab el-Mandeb using naval mines. [10:37] Such capabilities could complicate or [10:39] even delay the passage of US ships. [10:41] While American carriers could operate [10:44] from the northern Red Sea off Saudi [10:46] Arabia's coast, [10:48] Houthi ballistic missiles can reach that [10:50] area as well. [10:53] Okay, so what they're saying here is [10:55] that [10:56] American aircraft carriers their [10:57] aircraft carriers, the point of them is [10:59] to have airplanes on them that can take [11:02] off and go fly missions. So, what [11:04] they're saying is if you look at this [11:06] here, here's Saudi Arabia. This is the [11:08] Red Sea. Yemen's all the way down here. [11:10] The Houthis are all the way [11:12] down here. [11:13] Here's Iran. If the US is bringing an [11:16] aircraft carrier into the region, they [11:17] want to fly air sorties to Iran, [11:21] they don't need to get all the way [11:22] around here. [11:24] They could actually just park themselves [11:26] in the northern in this area [11:29] in the Red Sea and fly across Saudi [11:31] Arabia. [11:33] Right? They could do that. That's what [11:34] he's saying when he says [11:37] um [11:39] that [11:41] these carriers [11:45] right, they could operate [11:47] from [11:48] the [11:50] um they could operate from the northern [11:52] part of the Red Sea off Arabia's coast. [11:55] The the distance from Saudi shores to [11:56] the Straits of Hormuz exceeds 1,000 km. [12:00] Okay. [12:02] The missile launch the missile launch of [12:04] the Houthis against Israel and the [12:06] warning it conveyed appears intended to [12:08] deter the United States from [12:10] concentrating forces in the Red Sea [12:13] ahead of a potential major strike on [12:14] Iran or an effort to secure the Strait [12:17] of Hormuz by escorting shipping. [12:20] Even if the US military can intercept [12:21] Houthi missiles and drones as it has in [12:23] the past, the threat could at least slow [12:25] the build-up of forces for a large-scale [12:28] operation should Trump choose to [12:29] proceed. Another factor, according to a [12:32] Yemeni source opposed to the Houthis who [12:35] spoke to Ynet, is Saudi Arabia's [12:38] east-west pipeline which transports oil [12:41] to the Red Sea port of Yanbu as an [12:43] alternative route [12:45] in case Iran blocks the Strait of [12:46] Hormuz. This pipeline carries about 2 [12:49] million barrels of oil per day, a [12:51] significant volume for European supply. [12:53] In any case, Israel may be required to [12:55] assist the US in countering the Houthis [12:58] and protecting the aircraft carriers. [13:01] Okay? [13:02] So, that's this that's his analysis. [13:04] Now, let's take a look at the map again. [13:05] Let me tease some of this out. So, the [13:07] Yanbu port is all the way down here. [13:10] This is Yanbu. Okay? Let's keep that in [13:12] mind. Yanbu is right there. [13:14] That's Yanbu. There is a pipeline that [13:17] the that the Saudis have that runs [13:19] across [13:20] Saudi Arabia. Their main oil fields are [13:23] all the way over here in the eastern [13:24] part. [13:25] Okay? The most direct way to get the oil [13:27] out is to go into the into the Persian [13:29] Gulf and sail out through the Straits of [13:30] Hormuz. But because but because the [13:32] Saudis [13:34] uh have anticipated this problem with [13:35] the Iranians before, many years ago, [13:38] they built this pipeline that goes all [13:40] the way across from their oil fields out [13:43] here all the way across to Yanbu to take [13:45] the oil up to Europe that way. [13:48] Okay? So, so uh Ron Ben-Yishai um [13:51] Ron Ben-Yishai is that's that's that's [13:54] who wrote this piece, right? Ron [13:55] Ben-Yishai. Ron Ben-Yishai is is um [13:59] is is saying that maybe what the Houthis [14:01] are trying to do is also disrupt that or [14:05] threaten that by firing missiles this [14:07] way. Now, here's my take. [14:10] That first analyst in that first piece [14:12] said that, "Well, they would have much [14:14] more impact if they were trying to [14:15] disrupt shipping [14:17] or firing directly on boats out there." [14:22] But I think what they're trying to do is [14:23] what Ron Ben-Yishai said. They're trying [14:25] to warn the Americans. They don't want [14:26] those American forces coming down here. [14:30] So, what are they doing? [14:32] They could wait for the American [14:34] aircraft carriers to come down and fire [14:36] on them, but then they're opening up [14:37] straight-up declaration of war on the [14:39] United States. They don't want to do [14:41] that. [14:42] They they're not interested in direct [14:44] confrontation with the Americans. [14:46] They're interested in assisting the [14:47] Iranians in deterring the Americans, [14:51] in making life more difficult for them, [14:53] in scaring [14:55] people in scaring other nations from [14:57] sending their ships here. They don't [14:58] want to attack the ships yet. If they [14:59] start attacking international shipping [15:01] directly, [15:02] then the Americans will attack them. [15:04] They're they're and maybe worse. [15:07] And maybe worse. Who knows who will [15:08] attack them? Okay? If they if they [15:11] choose to do that while while Trump is [15:13] trying to solve the Straits of Hormuz [15:15] thing. [15:15] So, by firing a missile at Israel, [15:17] they're signaling that they're now in [15:18] the fight, that they're in the war, and [15:20] that they're willing to open fire, but [15:22] they're not taking a direct shot at [15:24] international shipping or at the [15:25] Americans. [15:27] But this still doesn't answer the [15:28] question, why now? Why suddenly what [15:31] happened in the last few days that made [15:33] them bold enough to join the war? I was [15:35] saying in earlier in earlier days in the [15:37] war that they weren't joining because [15:39] they don't want to get slammed by the [15:41] Americans, and that's exactly the point. [15:43] So, it's it's my belief that because the [15:45] US is now talking about trying to make a [15:49] deal and trying to end this thing, and [15:51] meanwhile there's and and this whole [15:53] Straits of Hormuz thing is is becoming a [15:56] a more a more and more difficult problem [15:57] to solve, [15:59] and the Iranian strategy looks like it [16:02] might be working. As crazy as that [16:03] sounds with all the beatings they've [16:05] had. I've talked about this since before [16:06] the war. Their strategy is to escalate, [16:10] cause this spike in oil prices, cause [16:12] global economic disruption, [16:15] and make drag this out as long as [16:18] possible, no matter how much of a [16:20] beating they take, and cause President [16:22] Trump to look for an off-ramp, [16:25] leaving the regime intact. [16:27] So, now that the Americans are pushing [16:30] are are talking about negotiations and [16:32] the Iranians are denying it, and the [16:33] Iranians in the Iranian state media [16:36] they're also saying that this the [16:38] Americans talking about negotiations is [16:39] a sign of weakness. It's a sign that [16:41] that the escalation hasn't worked out [16:43] well for them. Trump's looking for an [16:44] off-ramp. He's got the isolationist camp [16:46] pressuring him to look for an off-ramp [16:48] and get out of there, leaving the regime [16:49] intact. This is a good time for the [16:52] Houthis to escalate. [16:54] Because the last thing the Americans [16:55] want is further escalation. The last [16:57] thing the Americans want is a further [16:59] spike in oil prices because of [17:01] disruptions in oil either from Yanbu or [17:04] from or from tankers going through here [17:07] or just a general further disruption in [17:09] global shipping because everyone's now [17:10] worried about the Houthis cuz they woke [17:12] up. [17:13] The Houthis are suddenly not so worried [17:15] about the Americans striking them, [17:16] especially if they're just firing [17:18] missiles at Israel. The Americans never [17:20] stepped in and hit the Houthis cuz they [17:22] were firing missiles at Israel [17:23] throughout the time from November 2023 [17:26] to early 2025 when the Houthis were [17:28] firing missiles at Israel all the time. [17:30] The Americans never stepped in. [17:32] The Houthis are confident that the [17:34] Americans don't want further escalation, [17:37] and this is a good time for them to join [17:39] the fight, escalate, caught and and, you [17:42] know, twist the knife as it were. Like [17:45] if if America is struggling, if Trump is [17:47] struggling with the spike in oil prices [17:49] and the crisis because the because of [17:51] the Straits of Hormuz and the and and [17:53] all of that, then this is a perfect time [17:55] for the Houthis to to add to that [17:57] pressure by suddenly scaring everyone [18:00] about what's going to happen in the Bab [18:01] el-Mandeb Strait. That's why I think [18:03] that they're joining the fight right [18:05] now. [18:07] Now, let's go let's take a look at some [18:08] of the other proxies. Um let's go over [18:10] to Iraq. We'll do this quickly. Iran war [18:12] spills over into Iraq, Syria despite [18:15] neighbors' neutrality. Hmm, neutrality, [18:17] not really. At least seven rockets were [18:19] launched from the Iraqi town of Rabia [18:21] towards US military base [18:24] towards a US military base in [18:25] northeastern Syria on Monday, two Iraqi [18:28] security sources said, the first attack [18:31] of its kind since the start of the US [18:32] military [18:33] campaign against Iran. Look at that. [18:36] This is from last week. [18:38] The the Iraqi militias are now striking. [18:42] They're they're going after a US [18:43] military base. A rocket launcher [18:45] platform fixed on top of a burnt truck [18:48] was seized in that district in the in [18:50] the Rabia district of west of Mosul, [18:53] and it fired seven rockets towards this [18:56] US base in Syria. Look at that. It was [18:59] the first cross-border attack targeting [19:01] US troops in Syria since the start of [19:03] the Iran war. [19:06] Okay? [19:06] Um [19:08] and uh yeah, this is this is quite [19:11] something. And uh and then we have this [19:14] story. Iran-backed militias strike [19:16] Kurdistan, killing Peshmerga in northern [19:18] Iraq. So, we have Iranian [19:21] militias based in Iraq who are now [19:23] attacking the Kurds in northern Iraq. [19:25] So, they're also getting active up [19:27] there. That's what's happening up there. [19:29] Iran and its proxies have been attacking [19:31] the Kurdistan region since the US and [19:32] Israeli strikes began. There've been [19:35] more than 300 drone and missile attacks [19:38] targeting the autonomous Kurdistan [19:40] region northern Iraq. So, they're [19:42] working very hard. The Iraqi uh [19:44] pro-Iranian militias are working very [19:46] hard to hammer the Kurds and to keep [19:48] them from joining the war on the ground. [19:52] Uh Rudaw Media Network in the Kurdistan [19:54] Region noted that at least five [19:56] Kurdistan Region fighters uh [19:58] Peshmerga fighters, that's the Kurds, [20:00] were killed and over 19 others wounded [20:02] in missile strikes [20:04] at a base in Erbil province early [20:06] Tuesday, that's last week. Okay, so so [20:09] the this is what we see here that the [20:11] Kurds in Iraq are getting pounded. [20:14] Meanwhile, Hezbollah, another another [20:17] we're checking in all the proxies, [20:18] they're not really a proxy, they are [20:19] Iran, but we'll call them a proxy. [20:22] Hezbollah claims, and this is from [20:24] yesterday, 32 attacks on Israel in 24 [20:27] hours. Okay, so they've been attacking [20:29] Israel relentlessly. And what they've [20:31] also been doing is coordinating their [20:34] attacks. Look at this. Hezbollah rocket [20:36] attack, this is from today, Hezbollah [20:38] rocket attack triggers sirens in [20:40] Tiberias area as Iran salvo targets [20:44] central Israel. [20:45] Sorry, right? So this is what the [20:47] Iranians and and Hezbollah have been [20:49] doing. It's not just that Hezbollah [20:50] joined the fight, but Hezbollah, again, [20:53] they are Iran, so they're much more [20:55] coordinated. They're planning their [20:58] rocket attacks on Israel to be [21:00] simultaneous with the Iranian attacks to [21:02] try to overwhelm Israel's air defenses. [21:06] Okay? [21:07] And [21:08] just to add to the story about what's [21:10] going on with Hezbollah. So we've talked [21:12] a lot about Lebanon and about the [21:14] Lebanese government keeps making noises [21:16] and declarations about expelling [21:18] Hezbollah or making them illegal um or [21:21] or I'm not exactly expelling them, [21:23] disarming Hezbollah, making their [21:24] military operations illegal. [21:26] Um it's all bluster, they don't they [21:28] don't accomplish anything. [21:30] You got to go to uh my to the Israel 365 [21:33] News YouTube channel and find the video. [21:35] It's it's one of the most recent videos [21:37] about Lebanon to help understand why [21:39] Lebanon is so messed up. It's very [21:41] important video. [21:43] But uh last week the the Lebanese [21:45] government announced that they were [21:47] expelling the Iranian ambassador from [21:50] the country. [21:51] Let's remember, the Iranian ambassador, [21:53] not this guy, but his predecessor, the [21:55] Iranian ambassador was one of the people [21:57] injured in the beeper attack when all [21:59] the Hezbollah beepers blew up, famous [22:01] beeper attack. Because the Iranian [22:03] ambassador is really part of Hezbollah, [22:05] but look at this. Iran's ambassador [22:07] won't leave Lebanon despite expulsion. [22:10] Check it out. Iran's ambassador will not [22:12] leave Lebanon despite being declared [22:14] persona non grata and ordered to leave [22:16] the country by Sunday. [22:18] Look at that. Quote, "The ambassador [22:19] will not leave Lebanon in accordance [22:21] with the wishes of the speaker of the [22:22] parliament, Nabih Berri, and of [22:23] Hezbollah." So the speaker of the [22:25] parliament is a Shiite. [22:28] Okay? And in that video that on the [22:29] Israel 365 News site, I explain how the [22:32] the completely messed up uniquely messed [22:36] up Lebanese political system works. [22:38] But Nabih Berri is a Shiite Muslim, he's [22:41] kind of pro-Hezbollah, and he's the [22:43] speaker of the of the parliament. [22:45] Uh the president and the prime minister, [22:47] they're not Shiites. One's Christian, [22:50] one's Sunni. They they're trying to get [22:52] rid of Hezbollah. Okay? Hezbollah has [22:54] denounced the decision while Berri's [22:57] Amal party joined Hezbollah ministers in [22:59] boycotting a cabinet session in protest [23:02] at the order to expel Mohammad Reza [23:04] Shibani, the ambassador. [23:06] The foreign ministry this week gave [23:08] Tehran's envoy until Sunday to leave in [23:11] the latest unprecedented step by [23:13] Lebanese authorities since the new war [23:15] erupted on March 2nd between Israel and [23:17] Hezbollah. [23:18] The ministry accused him accused him of [23:20] making statements, quote, "interfering [23:22] in Lebanon's internal politics," end [23:24] quote. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël [23:27] Barrot called the expulsion a courageous [23:29] decision. He goes, "Oh, it's a [23:30] courageous decision to expel the Iranian [23:34] ambassador." Except that he's not [23:35] leaving. [23:36] Okay, the Lebanese authorities have [23:38] banned Hezbollah's military and security [23:39] activities. It's the only armed [23:42] non-state group in the country and a [23:44] close ally of Iran, understatement. It [23:46] has also banned the presence and [23:48] operations of Iran of IRG, the Iranian [23:51] Revolutionary Guards, whom Prime [23:53] Minister Nawaf Salam accused of [23:56] directing Hezbollah operations against [23:57] Israel. So this is this is also part of [24:00] the of the proxy story because [24:03] look, Lebanon has been occupied [24:07] territory, occupied by the Iranians for [24:09] decades. [24:11] Hezbollah is stronger than the Iranian [24:13] military. [24:14] And the the Shiites in South Lebanon [24:17] backed by the Iranians have basically [24:19] held the rest of the country hostage and [24:20] brought untold destruction on it [24:23] by attacking Israel all the time. So the [24:25] Lebanese are trying, or they're making [24:28] noises about trying to get rid of [24:30] Hezbollah and trying to get rid of the [24:31] Iranian influence, but it's simply not [24:33] working because Hezbollah is still [24:36] attacking Israel, they refuse to disarm. [24:39] And this dude, the Iranian ambassador [24:41] who was ordered by the by the prime [24:44] minister to leave the country, is just [24:46] saying, "No, I'm not going anywhere." [24:49] So that's our update on the proxies. I [24:52] hope that brings us uh a little bit more [24:54] clarity about some of what's going on in [24:56] this war. I will try to keep you updated [24:59] on all the other goings-on uh with this [25:02] uh with this complicated situation, but [25:04] I I want to focus in on one point that I [25:06] made, I think this is the key. [25:08] The Houthis joining the war now is [25:10] actually a sign that they they sus they [25:15] detect some waffling and some weakness [25:19] some weakness of resolve in the [25:22] Americans. They think that the Americans [25:24] are going to blink. [25:26] And that this and that a further [25:28] escalation and a further rise in oil [25:30] prices, a further global disruption in [25:32] in shipping [25:34] is going to make the Americans even more [25:36] jittery [25:38] about looking for an off-ramp. And uh [25:41] it's unclear which way Trump's going to [25:42] go. [25:43] But that's what I think that their [25:44] calculation is, if I'm right. [25:47] Uh all right, that's it. Thanks for [25:48] watching. Thanks for uh sharing, liking, [25:50] and helping grow the channel. [25:52] God bless.
