Brandon, geopolitical analyst and foreign affairs writer, joined the show as Iran's demand list kept growing, and reached back 2000 years for the comparison:
"This is like the experience of Crassus. He invades with the Roman army thinking he'll run the tables on the Persians.
The Persians let his army come deeper and deeper in, then broke his supply chains, captured his army, and forced molten gold down his throat, and told the soldiers watching to tell the Roman Senate this is what happens to invaders.
I think they're trying to do the same thing to us."
Tehran wants Hormuz reopened only if the U.S. stops threatening it, ends hostilities against its allies, lifts the blockade, pays damages, drops sanctions, unfreezes assets. Most of that's standard.
The Gaza demand is the odd one. Iran knows the U.S. can't deliver it, so either they're not serious, or the anger's outrunning the strategy.
Brandon's real gripe: none of this was necessary. Hormuz was already fading in importance. 40% of global crude down to ~20%.
Another decade and Iran loses the leverage entirely. February's strike just handed it to them early.
On the ground: Dan Caine's been warning airpower can't finish this. Troops are still staged. Read into that what you want.
What worries Brandon most: if Israel strikes Iran solo, Tehran might not distinguish attacker from ally. Saudi Aramco ends up in the blast radius too.
On why the demands keep escalating instead of settling: "We do not have a rational man leading us here. This isn't the Art of the Deal.
If this were the Art of the Deal, we would have had a deal by now."
Thanks for coming on, @WeTheBrandon
