Trump once again threatens Iran as war nears 8th month

Morning Joe

The episode covers a series of escalating global and domestic tensions involving the Trump administration's foreign and domestic policies. D

Key takeaways

• President Trump decided against joining Saudi airstrikes against Houthi rebels despite pressure from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent faced market criticism after an attempt to influence bond yields failed, with critics calling his approach 'unserious'.

Main topics

• Middle East conflict escalation
• US-China diplomatic summit

Notable quotes

I am the house. Don't bet against me.

Conclusion

The episode provides a comprehensive look at the high-stakes intersect

Transcript preview

Speaker 8 (0:00) Watch Ali Velshi five nights a week in primetime on MSNOW as he hosts the 11th Hour. The Justice Department is facing its own legal obstacles over this case. Putting today's stories in perspective. This one is perhaps one of the more interesting surprises. And tomorrow's headlines in focus. Economists are warning that American consumers are soon going to feel the hurt. The 11th Hour with Ali Velshi. Weeknights at 11 p.m. Eastern on MSNOW. And find more on the MSNOW app. Speaker 1 (0:31) The price of oil has gone up. And Speaker 6 (0:34) oil's in everything. And the price of fertilizer has gone up. I get all that. And I'm not going to get off the subject here. We'll talk about Iran some other time. But we're achieving our objectives in Iran. And without going into details, I think we'll be out of there in about six months. And when that happens, you're going to see the price of oil go down. And you're going to see inflation go down. Speaker 1 (1:05) That was Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana trying yesterday to convince voters in Nebraska that the war will end sometime early next year. It's pretty remarkable, though, that his best case scenario, his encouragement to voters as we now are a month or so away from an election is that. The war is going to end in the next six months. That's something that the people of Nebraska, that's something that voters all over America are going to be deeply concerned about. They're feeling the pain right now. Good morning and welcome to Morning Joe. It's Monday, September 21st. To our Jewish viewers observing Yom Kippur. We wish everyone a meaningful and easy fast. And with us this morning, we have the co-host of our 8 a.m. hour staff writer at The Atlantic, Jonathan Lemire. We also have co-hosts of the Rest is Politics podcast, the BBC's Katty Kay, columnist and associate editor of The Washington Post, David Ignatius, and U.S. national editor and columnist at The Financial Times, Ed Luce. We've got so much to talk about. David Ignatius, I just want to start with you before we get into all of our news. Not just Washington, but Washington and capitals across the world have been locked in conversations and deep concerns over a possible eruption, further eruptions in the Middle East. That situation continues to melt down with the Houthi rebels. But also, of course, We keep hearing about the possibility of an attack against NATO countries and Vladimir Putin, and it seemed to reach a heightened pitch throughout the weekend. What can you tell us on both fronts? So, Joe, both these wars Speaker 7 (2:57) seem to me to be escalating, you could say horizontally spreading to different countries. The Iranians who were in a chokehold economically from U.S. pressure. have decided to escalate by using their proxies. And the Houthis, their allies in Yemen, are formidable adversaries. It's clear from Trump's back and forth over the past few days that he does not want to go into a new war against the Houthis. Iran's proxies in Iraq are able to hit the Saudi pipeline that stretches from east to west, which was their key way to escape. the impact of the closing of the Strait of Hormuz. That's now under attack. And in the Ukraine war, we're seeing Russia just absolutely bogged down at the front in Donetsk, escalating against the European supporters of Ukraine in increasingly aggressive ways. My European friends are really talking now about being on the verge not of a hybrid wars as they call it, but of a real war with real weapons and the beginnings of real casualties, struggling to think of how to deter that conflict. So in all these ways, the UN is meeting in New York this week for its annual gathering with a world that's really closer to a kind of breakdown of the international order that I can remember in a long time. And we're not hearing clear responses from the president. Speaker 1 (4:35) No, it has, Katty Kay, the chaos, the concern, the spread of these wars, as David said, horizontally, two wars at the same time, causing deep concerns with allies across the Middle East and also, of course, allies across Europe. And talk about how in Europe that concern has reached almost a fevered pitch. Speaker 3 (5:00) Yeah, I mean, actually, allies right around the world. I was in Hong Kong last week talking to some business people there, and they are watching what is happening and feeling the gas prices, the rice prices, the bread prices that have risen as far away as Asia because of what's happening in Iran. And they are all so confused about what America's strategy is at the moment. Well, maybe we'll get a better sense this week because President Trump has a packed diplomatic schedule this week. beginning in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. And that's where the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, along, of course, with artificial intelligence and the future of the UN itself, are going to be expected to dominate discussions. Trump will arrive in New York today. He's got a meeting planned with Mayor Zoran Mamdani before he addresses nearly 130 world leaders at the UN tomorrow. On the sidelines of the General Assembly, Trump will meet Ukrainian President Zelensky. Zelensky says the two agreed to meet in New York after a phone call that they held yesterday calling peace in Ukraine the top priority. One notable absence, though, from Trump's New York schedule is a sit-down with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu is expected to address the General Assembly later in the week, but a meeting with Trump isn't currently planned. An official with the Trump administration cited scheduling. difficulties. Meanwhile, as you were saying, Joe, the fighting is intensifying between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Over the weekend, the Houthis said they launched missiles and drones at Saudi capital Riyadh and at oil facilities in retaliation for Saudi airstrikes and other attacks inside Yemen. It all comes amid continued fighting on the ground in Yemen as the Houthis push to expand. territory there and around crucial shipping choke points in the Red Sea as well, as the group seeks to establish greater control over that waterway. And as tensions escalate in the region, the New York Times is now reporting today that President Trump had for weeks been wavering over Saudi appeals for help in fighting the Houthis before ultimately deciding yesterday not to join the strikes. Administration officials tell The Times that on Thursday, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Trump to implore him again to step in to help blunt the group. Trump had said a day earlier he did not favor strikes, but after speaking with the crown prince, he reversed himself and told the Pentagon to prepare for them. Commanders had approved target lists and the wave of attacks was just about to begin. But by midday yesterday, the president appeared to have reversed himself again. There would be no U.S. airstrikes against the Houthis, at least not for the time being, according to administration officials. So, Joe, you can see from those stories why allies around the world, allies in Europe, allies in Asia, allies in all parts of the world, the Middle East included, are thinking, how do we deal with the capriciousness that's coming out of Washington? We have to do what Mark Carney has said. We have to start making deals with each other. That is that is the backdrop to this week's United Nations General Assembly. Speaker 1 (8:14) Coming up, we're going to preview President Trump's planned summit with China's leader as the two countries duel on everything from trade to artificial intelligence.