US Iran Failure Accidentally EXPOSED by Pete Hegseth episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 20, 2026 · 51 MIN

US Iran Failure Accidentally EXPOSED by Pete Hegseth

from Useful Idiots with Katie Halper and Aaron Maté · host Useful Idiots, LLC

Go to our sponsor https://venice.ai/useful and use code useful to enjoy private, uncensored AI. Using our code will get you 20% off a pro plan.Visit www.functionhealth.com/USEFUL and use gift code USEFUL25 for a $25 credit toward your membership.Check out the Peace Corps at https://peacecorps.gov/serveCheck out Quince: https://quince.com/USEFULCheck out Webroot: https://webroot.com/USEFULCheck out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com/IDIOTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Click here for the full interviews with journalist Hala Jaber and Professor Sami al Arian: https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/full-episode-us-iran-failure-accidentally?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webWatch this week's Friday Free-For-All: Tulsi Gabbard Just Hit Rock Bottom https://open.substack.com/pub/usefulidiots/p/tulsi-gabbard-just-hit-rock-bottom?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webJoin us LIVE on Youtube every Monday at 10am EST for Monday Mourning, where we watch the Sunday morning news shows so that you don't have to.“It’s a psyop!” says Professor Sami al Arian, responding to the blustering and bloodthirsty address Pete Hegseth gave this week.In the speech, Hegseth claims that US “capabilities continue to build. Iran’s continue to degrade. We’re hunting and striking death and destruction from above. Iran’s air defenses [are] flattened. Iran’s defense industrial base, the factories, the production lines that feed their missile and drone programs [are] being overwhelmingly destroyed.”For good measure of ridiculous sadism, Hegseth quotes a World War II admiral to flaunt the murder of Iranians: “And to borrow a page from Admiral Ernest King in World War II, we’ve decided to share the ocean with Iran. We’ve given them the bottom half.”But, Professor al Arian claims, this is bluster. This is a psyop against the American people.“What he’s trying to do is to psyche the people and tell them that we’re winning and that the other side is totally decimated and obliterated and defeated. But the fact of the matter is that Iran is still shooting. Iran is having a war of attrition.Whatever he’s blustering, whatever he’s saying, it’s total exaggeration as I see it.First of all, you cannot defeat your opponent or change the regime from the air. The Taliban didn’t have a single air [defense]. And who won at the end? Who was fleeing and leaving in a hurry? Hamas didn’t have any air. And two years, they couldn’t pacify Hamas over Gaza, which was 360 square kilometers.Iran is a vast country. Iran is 1.65 million square kilometers. We’re talking about an area greater than Western Europe. So whatever is hitting is hitting, obviously. But Iran is not going to surrender. It’s not going to submit to whatever dictates he may have.”Subscribe for the full interview with Professor Sami al Arian in which he predicts how Iran’s regional allies like the Houthis in Yemen will affect the war, why Iran is striking other Arab nations, and whether the US actually gets any material benefit from helping Israel in their hunt for dominance over the Middle East.We also speak with Lebanese journalist Hala Jaber, who joins us from Beirut as Israel expands its assault on Lebanon. She reports on Israel’s continued targeting of journalists, including this week’s “deliberate” airstrike on journalist Steve Sweeney, caught on video in Southern Lebanon, the surprising and stifling control the US has over the Lebanese government, and Hezbollah’s role in the fight against Israel and the broader Iran War.00:00 Intro00:53 Hegseth wants $200 BILLION for Iran War03:34 Resigned Counterterrorism Dir. Called ANTISEMITIC for Opposing Israel05:52 Jake Tapper is so mad about it06:32 Hala Jaber interview from Beirut16:24 Israelis Caught on Film Trying to Kill Journalist36:48 Professor Sami al Arian interview on Iran41:59 Debunking Hegseth: Iran isn't losing49:42 How will the HOUTHIS change the course of the war?Our Sponsors:* Check out Chilipad and use my code sleep.me/USEFUL for a great deal: https://sleep.me* Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com* Check out Mint Mobile and use my code mintmobile.com/USEFUL for a great deal: https://www.mintmobile.com* Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/useful for a great deal: https://www.quince.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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US Iran Failure Accidentally EXPOSED by Pete Hegseth

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This episode was published on March 20, 2026.

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Go to our sponsor https://venice.ai/useful and use code useful to enjoy private, uncensored AI. Using our code will get you 20% off a pro plan.Visit www.functionhealth.com/USEFUL and use gift code USEFUL25 for a $25 credit toward your...

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